Scott Howard
All intergrades are hybrids, but not all hybrids are intergrades. I would like to know if the graptemys/malaclemys hybrids are sterile. I have seen intergrades of pileata and macrospilota, I would assume there to be a carolinian influence in some of the northern populations. As far as the dominance of color is concerned (speaking for macrospilotas), there seems to be a translucent skin trait that is recessive. Dominated by a thicker skin and scute coverings gene. The presence of skin melanins seems to follow a different gene and is co-dominant. The scute color center also seems codominant. So basically a homozygous individual with lack of skin melanin and homozygous for thin skin will be pink (vic and I have these). Thick skin and low melanin will be white. Because of the co dominance there can be every shade of gray. Blue is typically thin skinned and a medium level of melanin. Spots are another issue and a dominant trait. The spotted gene is also very abundant in populations and only rarely is hidden (chun had one in a very few and female, I wish I knew the source of this specimen). Chun could have had a spottless white and pink strand of ornates in just a few years, what a price those babies would bring. 🙁 Heterozygotes for spots, I cannot identify any better than a het albino RES. I hope this might help to build the color phases more clearly. Scott — In diamondbackterrapins@egroups.com, greentrees