Ball python single gene morph descriptions -need feedback

[Eric Alan]

Thanks again for the helpful feedback! While I agree that there is an issue with terminology being used inconsistently, even discussing with my professor it has been difficult to really determine an exact difference between "codominant" and "incomplete dominant" alleles, unless you actually know the underlying coding sequences involved. Still, in any paper we write we would probably use incomplete dominance to refer to the currently cataloged "co-dominant" mutations. However, we can only publish this work if our dataset is robust and is thoroughly verified (ie every morph we include has been confirmed in inheritance pattern and is confirmed to be distinct from other existing mutants).

The exact difference is clear, though. Phenotypically, there are no known co-dominant mutations in ball pythons.

As an example, when you cross a Pastel with a Spider you get a Bumblebee, which is a blend of the two mutations. This indicates phenotypical incomplete dominance. You do not get a "zebra-patterned" animal which shows areas of both individual Pastel and individual Spider pattern. That result would indicate phenotypical co-dominance. The same phenotypical blending of mutations holds true with every known mutation in ball pythons. If your professor cannot see this difference, I would be questioning their understanding of the two terms.