URBAN ALBINO BALL PYTHONS

Aberrant- Deviating from the ordinary, normal, or expected.

Abundismus- A type of Melanism in which the specimen is not completely black, but shows a change in the elements of the basic pattern as consequence of the number of isolated black spots or dots in the nonblack areas of the pattern.

Albinism- The heritable condition observed as the inability to form melanin in the skin and scales. Lacking pigment and therefore appearing pink or white.

Albino- Albino ( T- ) Normal pigment is absent from the scales. The blood pigment hemoglobin is present and may result in pinkish specimens or specimens with red eyes. A commonly used term for Amelanistic. The brown turns yellow; the black turns white and the white stays white

Amelanism- A term sometimes used instead of Amelanistic.  The appearance resulting from a lack of melanin.

Amelanistic- The pigment melanin, which is responsible for black, brown, and yellow colors, is absent; specimens are pale in color, although they may have some color, especially red or pink, owing to the presence of other pigments.   A single recessive mutation resulting in a lack of black pigment referred in both skin and eyes; bright red and orange predominate.  Containing no melanin.  The appearance created by the lack of all Eumelanin and BCM.

Anal scale- A single unpaired scale that covers the cloacal opening.  Although it may be regarded as the posteriormost scale in the series of ventrals, the anal scale is not included in counts of the ventral scales.

Anerythristic- Having a lack of red pigment and all red markings A mutation that can be caused by two separate defective genes resulting in a lack of red and orange pigment; predominantly marked with grays but also black, brown, or yellow An appearance that is without red; and appearance usually assumed to be the result of reduced or absent Erythrophore pigment production in the skin.

Appearance- The perceived outward aspect of a snake resulting from the combination of its color and pattern.  Sometimes used as a synonym of phenotype.

Arboreal- Its meaning comes from the Latin arbor, meaning tree.

In biology, an arboreal animal is one which inhabits or spends large amounts of time in trees.

Axanthic- lacks of yellow pigment.  In the descriptive sense, an appearance lacking the expected visual contributions from yellow or orange pigments.

Backcrossing- Mating of an male/female with a parent.

Breed true- A phenotype for a trait is said to breed true if two parents with that phenotype produce offspring of that same phenotype exclusively.  line breeding enough generations so that the offspring when bred together will produce offspring exhibiting the trait in question.

Carotene- A yellow skin pigment widely distributed in animals, yellow pigment.

Character- An observable phenotypic attribute of an reptile.

Chromosome- Occurring in the nucleus of a cell.  Composed mainly of DNA and basic protein, and bearing the genes being arranged in linear order .  Chromosomes are arranged in pairs with the genes being arranged on the chromosome.

Circumoculars- The series of scales that rim the eye.

Cloaca- The common chamber in the body of reptiles and amphibians into which the reproductive, intestinal, and urinary ducts open. The external opening of the cloaca is termed the vent/anus.

Co-dominant gene- Expression of heterozygous phenotype resulting in hybrid offspring that resemble both parents equally for a particular trait.

Designer appearance- Popular term referring to the phenotype resulting from the selective breeding to combine two or more appearances, each caused by a different mutation.  Gotta love Designer Morphs

Dominance series- Dominance relations of all possible pairs of alleles are arranged in order from most dominant to most recessive.

Dominant gene-  An allele that determines the phenotype of the heterozygote. An allele that can determine the phenotype whether heterozygous or homozygous.

Dorsal- Pertaining to the back; an anatomical direction meaning toward the back.  The top, back, or uppermost surface of an snake.

Dorsolateral- Pertaining to the area between the dorsal and lateral surfaces.

Dorsum- The upper surface or back of a python.

Double Recessive - Two different Homozygous, recessive traits breed together to produce a visible double-homozygous mutation.

Ectothermic (cold-blooded)- Possessing no internal means for controlling body temperature.

Embryo- Organism in early stages of development, before it is physiologically independent.

Endothermic  (warm-blooded)- Having ability to maintain constant body temperature in different ambient temperatures.

F1 - 1st generation from a wild caught parents. F2, F3 and so on.

Gamete-  In the case of ball pythons, a male gamete is termed a sperm or spermatozoon, and the female gamete is termed the ovum.

Gene- Unit of inheritance (DNA), carried on chromosomes.  A gene is the basic unit of heredity in a living organism.

Gene pool- Collectively, all of the alleles of all the genes in a population.

Genetics- Study of heredity.

Genials- The scales bordering and lining the mental grood.

Genotype- Genetic constitution of an organism as opposed to its physical appearance (phenotype).

Germ cell- Mature haploid egg or sperm.

Gravid- Pregnant - bun in the oven.

Habitat- is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular animal or plant species

Hereditary- Capable of being transmitted from generation to generation.  The way genes transmit biochemical, physical, and behavioral traits from parent to offspring.  Transmission of traits from one generation to another.

Herpetoculture- Breeding and husbandry of reptiles and amphibians.

Herpetology- Study of reptiles and amphibians.

Heterozygous- Also referred to as “het” or “hetero.”  Describes animals that appear to be normal (dominant genes) but carry a recessive gene (hidden gene) for some known characteristic; the recessive gene may be passed on to future generations.  The heterozygous condition may be represented by the symbol Aa with the upper case “A” representing the dominant gene and the lower case “a" representing the recessive gene. Having nonidentical alleles for the trait in question.  Having different alleles on homologous chromosomes at the same locus.

Homologous genes- Genes determining the same character.

Homozygous- Two copies of a gene that are identical. Having identical alleles for the trait in question.

Hybrid- Any crossbred animal; heterozygous (Holmes, 1979).  Individuals resulting from a cross between parents of different genotypes. Offspring of parents that differ in one or more heritable characters.  Also refers to offspring of parents of different species. I far as I know, ball pythons have been crossbred with the Borneo python (Python breitensteini), the short-tailed python (Python curtus), the Angolan python (Python ancheitae), and the woma (Aspidites ramsayi).

Hypermorphic mutation- Produces an allele generating either more protein than the wild-type allele or the same amount of a more efficient protein.  If excess protein activity alters phenotype, the hypermorphic allele is dominant.

Hypomelanistic- A single recessive mutation that greatly reduces the amount of melanin but does not eliminate it entirely; the pupil of the eyes remains black, and the appearance of the snake is between that of normal and amelanistic .   Hypomelanistic snakes have a normal pattern, but the overall appearance is lighter because of a reduction in the dark pigments. The shed is usually white.

Inbreeding (Line breeding)- Mating between closely related snakes.

Internasals- A pair of plate-like scales located on the anterior end of the snout between the nasals, usually in full medial contact.

Iridocytes- See iridophores.

Iridophores- Guanine bodies, granules, or plates of which the reflective tissue of reptiles is composed.

Labial pits- Infrared-sensitive depressions on the anterior supralabial scales and posterior infralabial scales.

Lateral- An anatomical direction away from the midline; pertaining to the sides.  Usually the terms lateral and medial are opposite directions.

Leucistic-  Appearing as white.  Absence of pigment (melanophores and xanthophores) through out the body with the exception if the animals iris; usually a solid white animal with black or blue eyes. Beautiful Snake.

Linkage-  the closer together the markers are, the lower the probability that they will be separated by recombination.  Genes are linked when the frequency of parental type progeny exceeds that of recombinant progeny.

Longitudinal- Running lengthwise, parallel to the long axis of a python.

Loreal- An area on the side of the snout between the eye and the nose.  In ball pythons, loreals are scales in the loreal area, an area bounded by the supralabials, nasals, preoculars, and prefrontals.

Mapping-   The study of the position of genes on chromosomes.

Marker- An identifiable physical location on a chromosome, whose inheritance can be monitored.  Markers can be expressed regions of DNA (genes) or any segment of DNA that has variant forms which can be followed. 

Melanism-  A condition in which an animal has an unusually large amount of dark pigment so that it appears black or blackish.

Melanistic-  Totally black owing to the abundance of the black pigment, melanin, which obscures all other colors and markings (Mattison, 1986).  A term sometimes used erroneously for Anerythristic specimens.

Melanophore- A chromatophore of a cold-blooded animal that synthesizes black or brown pigments known as melanin; melanophores are divided into dermal and epidermal, based on their location in the skin.

Melanotic- Dark colored as a result of an exceptional development in the amount of black pigment.

Mental- The single large triangular scale on the front of the lower jaw.

Mental groove- The longitudinal groove or inward fold of skin on the chin.

Morph-   Synonymous with appearance, or an individual or lineage with a particular appearance. See Designer.

Mutation- An abrupt change in the base sequence of DNA, resulting in new genetic information.  If the mutation is in a gamete, the new genetic information can be passed to the next generation.  The process producing a gene or a chromosome differing from the wild type.

Nasal- The scale surrounding the nostril.

Normal- An adjective used to refer to the expected or average condition of a character, trait, or appearance; wild type ball Python.

Null Allele (Null mutation)-  Mutation that abolish the function of a protein encoded by the wild type allele. Such mutations either prevent synthesis of the protein or promote synthesis of the protein incapable of carrying out any function.

Ocular- Pertaining to the eye.

Ontogenetic- Development of an individual organism. Changes occurring during postembryonic life are ontogenetic.

Oviparous- Reproducing by laying eggs.

Phenotype-  Genetic constitution of a group of individuals.  The phenotype of an organism or a group of similar organisms is the observable appearance.

Physiology- Science dealing with function of organisms and their parts.

Piebald- Spotted or patched, usually in black and white.

Poikilothermic (cold-blooded)- Having no internal means for controlling body temperature.

Polychromatic- Referring to a pattern or appearance composed of two or more colors.

Polymorphism- The appearance of more than one color type or pattern type within a single species or subspecies, not to be confused with occasional mutants such as albinos, nor with instances in which juveniles are marked differently from adults.

Posterior- An anatomical direction meaning toward the tail.

Posterior prefrontals- A group of 10 to 24 small scales bounded in the front by anterior prefrontals, in the back by frontals and supraoculars, and on the sides by loreals and the upper preoculars.

Prefrontals- The scales on top of the snout in the area bounded by the frontal scales, supraoculars, upper preoculars, the loreal scales, and the internasals.  In ball pythons, the prefrontals are divided into two types: anteriorprefrontals and posterior prefrontals.

Preoculars- Scales in contact with the anterior margin of the eye.

Preventral- An anterior scale or scales in the ventral scale series, distinguished from a ventral by being bounded on one or both lateral margins by gular scales, whereas ventrals are laterally bounded by the paraventral series of scales.

Progeny- The subsequent generation following a mating or crossing of parents; offspring.

Punnett square- Named after the British mathematician Reginald Punnett. The square provides a simple and convenient method for tracking the kinds of gametes produced as well as all the possible combinations that might occur at fertilization. Very important when breeding double receive hets.

Recessive gene- A character or gene possessed by one parent that in a hybrid (heterozygous condition) is masked by the corresponding alternative or dominant character derived from the other parent.  A gene whose effect is expressed in the homozygous state, but masked in the presence of a dominant allele when the organism is heterozygous for that gene.

Recombination- The process by which offspring derive a combination of genes different from that of either parent; the generation of new allelic combinations. In higher organisms, this can occur by crossing over.

Rictus- The corner of the mouth; the juncture of the upper and lower lips.

Rostral- The single large scale on the front of the upper jaw.  In pythons, this scale is bordered by the anteriormost supralabials, nasals, and internasals.

Sex chromosome- Special sex-determining chromosome.

Sex-linked- Genetic traits that determined by genes carried on a sex chromosome.

Siblings- Two or more offspring of the same parents.

Species- Group of organisms which interbreed and are reproductively isolated from all other such groups.

Subcaudals- In ball pythons, a series of paired scales on the underside of the tail from immediately behind the vent to, but not including, the terminal scale on the tip of the tail.  The first row of subcaudals constitutes the posterior margin of the cloacal opening; this row may be composed of irregularly shaped small scales, unlike the subsequent uniform paired scales of the series.  The first subcaudal row may be partly covered by the anal scale.  The first row is counted when recording the number of subcaudals.

Subspecies- Well-defined geographic or physiologic aggregate of local population which differs from other such subdivisions of the same species .

Supralabials- The series of labial scales bordering the lips of the upper jaw, excluding the rostral.  The supralabials are numbered from the anteriormost (which contacts the rostral) posteriorward to the final posterior supralabial at the rictus.

Supraocular- A scale above the eye, in contact with the upper margin of the eye.

SVL- Abbreviation for snout-vent length, a measure of length from the tip of the nose to the posterior margin of the anal scale.

Temporals- Small scales on the side of the head in the area bounded by the postoculars, posterior supralabials, and the parietals, extending posteriorward to the area above the angle of the jaw.

Terrestrial- Living on ground .

Trait- Any detectable phenotypic variation of a particular inherited character.

Transverse- Crosswise; passing or lying across the body; an anatomical direction perpendicular to the long axis of a python.

Tyrosinase-negative albinism- Albinism due to absence of tyrosinase.

Tyrosinase-positive albinism- Albinism in animals capable of synthesizing tyrosinase, but yet unable to synthesize melanine.

Variant- Differing from normal.

Vent- The cloacal opening; also termed the anus.

Ventrals- The ventral scales; the longitudinal series of wide scales covering the belly of a python from the neck posteriorward to the anal scale.  Counts of the ventral scales do not include the anal scale. 

Wild type-  The “normal” appearance of a species.

Xanthic-   In common usuage, an appearance dominated by an apparent surplus of yellow color (yellow pigment).