Genic Similarity in the Gray and Brown Color Morphs of the Snake Storeria occipitomaculata

Genic Similarity in the Gray and Brown Color Morphs of the Snake Storeria occipitomaculata

The red-bellied snake is a small natricine found in eastern North America. Two distinct dorsal color morphs occur sympatrically, light charcoal gray or medium brown. Natural populations vary in the proportion of brown and gray individuals, but there is no color variation within or integration betwee...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of herpetology Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 90 - 92
Main Authors: Grudzien, Thaddeus A., Owens, Paul J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Saint Louis, MO Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles 01-03-1991
Subjects:
Alleles
Animal morphology
Biological and medical sciences
Electrophoresis
Evolution
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gene flow
Gene frequency
Genetic loci
Genetic variation
Lizards
Snakes
Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution
North America
America
Vertebrata
Similarity
Color
Electrophoresis
Reptilia
Genetic distance
Ophidia
Polymorphism
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Summary:The red-bellied snake is a small natricine found in eastern North America. Two distinct dorsal color morphs occur sympatrically, light charcoal gray or medium brown. Natural populations vary in the proportion of brown and gray individuals, but there is no color variation within or integration between them. The disjunct nature of the morphs might be the result of positive assortative mating. If assortative mating occurred, decreased gene flow would tend to isolate newly acquired mutations within each morph. Should a fixed allelic difference be found between the morphs, lack of gene flow would be demonstrated. The purpose of this study was to use allozyme electrophoresis to investigate the possibility of morph-specific mating in Storeria occipitomaculata .
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0022-1511
1937-2418
DOI:10.2307/1564799