Reproduction in Captive Corn Snakes, Elaphe guttata guttata

Bechtel, H. Bernard; Bechtel, Elizabeth

doi:10.2307/1440565

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…1 ). In 1953, one amelanistic snake from North Carolina was incorporated into a small captive-breeding population and subsequent crosses demonstrated that the trait is determined by a single-locus recessive mutation 28 29 30 . Today, the amelanistic morph is the most frequent variant in captive-bred populations across the world, and all individuals exhibiting that trait are thought to bear the mutation of the founding North Carolina individual.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Amelanism in the corn snake is associated with the insertion of an LTR-retrotransposon in the OCA2 gene

Saenko

Barrio

Rafati

et al. 2015

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) is a new model species particularly appropriate for investigating the processes generating colours in reptiles because numerous colour and pattern mutants have been isolated in the last five decades. Using our captive-bred colony of corn snakes, transcriptomic and genomic next-generation sequencing, exome assembly, and genotyping of SNPs in multiple families, we delimit the genomic interval bearing the causal mutation of amelanism, the oldest colour variant observed in that species. Proceeding with sequencing the candidate gene OCA2 in the uncovered genomic interval, we identify that the insertion of an LTR-retrotransposon in its 11th intron results in a considerable truncation of the p protein and likely constitutes the causal mutation of amelanism in corn snakes. As amelanistic snakes exhibit white, instead of black, borders around an otherwise normal pattern of dorsal orange saddles and lateral blotches, our results indicate that melanocytes lacking melanin are able to participate to the normal patterning of other colours in the skin. In combination with research in the zebrafish, this work opens the perspective of using corn snake colour and pattern variants to investigate the generative processes of skin colour patterning shared among major vertebrate lineages.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Amelanism in the corn snake is associated with the insertion of an LTR-retrotransposon in the OCA2 gene

Saenko

Barrio

Rafati

et al. 2015

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…MacMahon (1957), Bechtel and Bechtel (1958) and Holman (i960) also agree that a similar pattern is seen in E. guttata. Carpenter (19^7), Simonson (l95l) and Gillingham (197^)» demonstrated that E. vulpina does not vary appreciably from the former two species but has the additional coital neck-biting.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…Preliminary observations were made on Elaphe obsoleta by Mansueti (1946) and Johnson (1951) and on E. guttata by MacMahon (l95l), Bechtel and Bechtel (1958) and Holman (1960) . Mating behaviour of E. vulpina was described by and the results of that study demonstrated the need for the present endeavor.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive Behavior of the Rat Snakes of Eastern North America, Genus Elaphe

Gillingham¹

1979

Copeia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This material was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original submitted.The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction.1.T he sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent pages to insure you complete continuity.2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a large round black mark, it is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have moved during exposure and thus cause a blurred image. You will find a good image of the page in the adjacent frame.3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., was part of the material being photographed the photographer followed a definite method in "sectioning" the material. It is customary to begin photoing at the upper left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue photoing from left to right in equal sections with a small overlap. If necessary, sectioning is continued again -beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete.4. The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value, however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could be made from "photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation. Silver prints of "photographs" may be ordered at additional charge by writing the Order Department, giving the catalog number, title, author and specific pages you wish reproduced. PLEASE NOTE

show abstract

At the lower size limit in snakes: two new species of threadsnakes (Squamata: Leptotyphlopidae: Leptotyphlops) from the Lesser Antilles

Hedges

2008

Zootaxa

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Islands are viewed as natural evolutionary laboratories for terrestrial organisms because they have boundaries that limit dispersal and often reveal evolutionary patterns and mechanisms. One such pattern is that the smallest and largest species of different types of tetrapod animals are frequently found on islands. Here I describe two new diminutive species of snakes of the genus Leptotyphlops from the Lesser Antilles: one from Saint Lucia and the other from Barbados. The one from Barbados is the smallest species of snake and has a total adult length of approximately 100 mm. Limited evidence indicates a clutch size of one and a greatly elongated egg shape (length /width). Comparison of egg shapes in snakes indicates that the shape is a packaging phenomenon, related primarily to the shape of the available body cavity and clutch size. For a clutch size of one, expected egg shape is eight whereas expected egg shape drops to two at a clutch size of ten. The body shape of snakes, defined as snout-to-vent length divided by width, also varies and influences the shape of snake eggs. The smallest snakes are typically stout-bodied with shapes of 30–35 whereas the longest snakes usually are more elongate, with shapes of 45–50. The allometry of organ size also affects clutch size and shape, because the smallest snakes have the smallest proportion of body cavity space available for reproduction. The best explanation for the observation of body size extremes on islands is that colonizing species have adapted to open ecological niches that would otherwise be occupied on the mainland. Island colonists encounter novel environments and reduced interspecific competition, allowing species to evolve physical traits, including extremes in size, not normally seen on continents. However, the lower limit of adult size appears to be constrained by the allometry of morphology, physiology, and reproduction. The smallest tetrapods have small clutches, usually one egg or young, and offspring that are relatively large. In the smallest snakes, offspring are one-half of the length of adults, compared with 10% adult length in the case of large species of snakes. Thus the evolutionary tradeoff between number and size of offspring appears to have reached a size boundary in these species, limiting the evolution of yet smaller species.

show abstract

Reproduction in Captive Corn Snakes, Elaphe guttata guttata

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Amelanism in the corn snake is associated with the insertion of an LTR-retrotransposon in the OCA2 gene

Amelanism in the corn snake is associated with the insertion of an LTR-retrotransposon in the OCA2 gene

Reproductive Behavior of the Rat Snakes of Eastern North America, Genus Elaphe

At the lower size limit in snakes: two new species of threadsnakes (Squamata: Leptotyphlopidae: Leptotyphlops) from the Lesser Antilles

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About