This is the most I've ever seen it spelled out on the leopards (3rd post down):
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...hlight=leopard
... Unfortunately, that isn't very clear at all
As far as the "super spider" debate goes, I think the reasoning is that, since there does not appear to be a visually distinct "super" form, it's either got to be simple dominant and nobody's produced or come out with a homozygous spider yet, or else there's something about the homozygous spider that's incompatible with life. Otherwise we would've seen something by now ...
I think though that it can be tough to prove homozygous lethal conditions (unless the baby dies after birth, like the white foals in Lethal White Overo Syndrome in horses, or late enough term to have an abortus with an obvious phenotype). I know that in chinchillas, there are two mutations that are said to be homozygous lethal (black velvet and mosaic) based on the fact that no homozygous BV or mosaic has ever been produced. However, despite the fact that they have been around and bred for a few decades now, in fairly large numbers, nobody's definitively "proven" the homozygous lethal condition. It is suspected that the babies die in utero and are resorbed, or else maybe aborted and consumed by the mama before they can ever be discovered. However, I know of at least two breeders who routinely breed mosaic x mosaic and have never reported obvious problems (though no homozygotes either).
So, I guess it's kind of a default suggestion when we can't find proof of a homozygote, visual or not.
Reply With Quote