Can anyone remember he LAST new genetic form of the corn snake that was NOT thought to be a hybrid by someone?
So the bulk of Joe Pierce's argument of tesseras being hybrids is based on variable and/or patternless belly pattern? Heck, I can't remember any cultivar of the corn snakes I used to work with that DIDN'T at one time or another, produce some specimens with variable or non patterned bellies. So Motley's are now hybrids? Blood Reds are hybrids? Stripes are hybrids? I produced MANY Miami phase and Silver Queens with completely or partially patternless bellies. Heck, look at the bellies on Upper Keys corns. That is the stock that the Ashy (Cinder) corns originally came from. And of course, the Ultras also had weakly patterned abdomens.
So if it doesn't fit in Box A or Box B, neatly, it MUST be a hybrid? Maybe we just need more boxes defined.
I would imagine it's getting to be close to the point where most people will be scared to death to announce that they have produced something new in corn snakes because of the gauntlet they will have to run to attempt to prove the ancestry or have their reputation suffer.
And I am still waiting for someone to explain to me how it is that new genetic traits in the corn snakes can ONLY be produced via hybridization with another species or genus. That IS what some people seem to be claiming, you know....
Lord have MERCY, I am glad I retired from this.
