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odd collor Northern Pacific
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by viridsoreganus on July 24, 2008
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Hello, Has anyone seen a Northern Pacific rattlesnake this color? I caught this snake 2 years ago and there was an adult female at the same den that was this color but these are the only two I have ever seen this shade. Thank you, Dean
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q86/snakecollectordean/PICT0030.jpg
copy and past this link to your address bar for the photo.
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RE: odd collor Northern Pacific
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by theemojohnm on July 24, 2008
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I live in Pa, so I do not herp in your area very often. However, I cannot seem to recall what for, but I did see a northern Pacific / C. o. helleri intergrade which looked very similar to this snake.
I have no extensive knowledge on this species by any means, but I do know that Crotalus oreganus oreganus has very different color variations depending on location.
Here, I think this is the link to the site from which I obtained the photo. Patern is a bit different, but pretty close to that shade in terms of color. And a natural intergrade is pretty cool.
http://www.californiaherps.com/snakes/pages/c.o.oreganus.html
~John.
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RE: odd collor Northern Pacific
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by theemojohnm on July 24, 2008
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Well, I did find the photo I was mentioning. The intergrade does seem a bit more blue than your photo.
I actually like the more black tone to the snake in your photo. Awesome looking find!
~John.
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RE: odd collor Northern Pacific
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by Cro on July 25, 2008
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Dean, that is a fantastic looking Northern Pacific Rattlesnake.
It does look a lot like the photo of the intergrade between Northern Pacific and Southern Pacific Rattlesnaks on the link that John posted. Intergradation could easily produce the coloration seen, because of dominance of the coloration of one snake over the coloration of the other.
However, when we look at your profile, we see that you live in Myrtle Creek, Oregon, which is quite a long ways from where those two snakes would have intergrade populations.
So, I think there is something different going on.
There is a Genetic Mutation that occurs in the Xanthophore Pigment Cells of snakes that causes them to not produce the Red Pigmentation. When this happens, we get a condition that is called Anerythrism. We have to remember that the Red Pigment is what combines with other pigments, (mostly Yellow Pigments), to produce the Brown Colorations in snakes.
When this mutation happens, we often wind up with snakes that exhibit "Black and White" Colorations, which in various combinations produce the Black and Grey Coloration that we see in the Northern Pacific Rattlesnake in your photo.
Mutations in Pigment Cells happen from time to time in nature. If a mutation produced a Albino, we would have a bright snake that would lack normal camaflague coloration, and would probably be eaten by a predator at a young age.
However, in this anerythristic mutation, the snake still has a coloration that blends in well with the natural landscape, and the snake is able to grow to adulthood.
If possible, depending on the laws in your state, this snake could be put into a breeding program that would isolate the strain, and keep the mutation going. That would be accomplished by breeding this snake to its siblings from the same den, or back to it's offspring.
Let me know if you need more information on this.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: odd color Northern Pacific
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by viridsoreganus on July 25, 2008
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Thanks John, I should have said I am in SW Oregon, too far North for an intergrade. I have been playing with these oreganus for over 25 years now, and you are right they do have a variety of colors, mostly tan, brown and the large males tend to be green. Just thought I would share. I really like this color too, that's why I kept it. There is another one that was almost orange but it is turning more brown. Dean
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RE: odd collor Northern Pacific
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by viridsoreganus on July 25, 2008
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Thank you John Z, That was very informative, I really like genetics. She is a young snake but should be large enough to breed this year. The area where her den is has a lot of snakes, I found 4 dens within a quarter mile and lots of individuals that year. I will see what I can come up with for a mate.
Thanks again, Dean
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RE: odd collor Northern Pacific
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by Cro on July 25, 2008
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Dean, keep us informed in the results.
Try to pair her with a snake from the same den that is the same age / size if at all possible, as that snake has the best chance of being a sibling.
Even if that snake has normal coloration, it is likely to be Heterozygous for the Axanthism, and to carry the recessive genes for the trait.
Best Regards John Z
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RE: odd color Northern Pacific
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by FSB on July 26, 2008
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Dean I share yor enthusiasm for the C. oreganus complex, and that is definitely a beautiful specimen, but not out of bounds for such a variable serpent. Other than the nice blue ground color, the pattern, etc is fairly typical, as you would know. I am very much attracted to highly variable species, whether it's C. horridus, copperheads or amazon tree boas. I have a juvenile C. o. oreganus that looks very much like a Coronado Island RS, C. o. caliginus, but it's definitely a N. Pacific from WA state. I had a great time looking for and filming these snakes in the Okenogan Valley along the Canadian border, though we did attract the attention of the border patrol. Fortunately, it was that last peaceful summer of 2001, before you-know-what happened, so I didn't end up at Gitmo..
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RE: odd color Northern Pacific
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by theemojohnm on July 27, 2008
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Well I guess thats what the profiles are for.. LOL
I really know nothing about the locations and such in your are, and have only herped in that area twice, once being when I was too young to really know what we were looking for.. haha..
That is some GREAT genetic info John! That would be a very interesting project, as thats is dfenietly the most appealing specimen I've ever seen!
Let us know if you come up with anything in the next few years!
~John.
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