anerythristic? what exactly...

[chiemi_chan]

i suppose this is sort of a "newbie" question... but oh well, here goes.

when i bought avery, my baby corn snake, i was told he is an anerythristic corn. what exactly does this mean? does it refer to his breed, his color, or both, or something else entirely? i'd like to post a picture of him, but i'm unable to for some reason.

thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Ssthisto]

"Anerythristic" describes his appearance and his genetics.

It means he doesn't produce normal red pigment (but he does produce black pigment). This usually results in a snake that's shades of black, grey and white.

 

[Rich Z]

In a nutshell, "Anerythrism" is a single recessively controlled genetic trait, if that helps. So it does refer not only to the coloration of the animal, but also to the genetic component that makes the animal look the way it does.

To take this a bit further, actually this is a very interesting question. Historically speaking, "Anerythrism" was meant to describe a corn snake that was supposedly "lacking in red and orange pigments".

I have believed for a long time that this description is false or at least misleading. The corn snake exhibiting "Anerythrism" has not LOST those pigments at all. They have been transposed into grays and black, or infused and overlaid with melanin. If the reds and oranges were extracted from the snake, the underlying colors certainly would not be those shades at all. Instead you would likely get a pretty much completely yellowish brown (yes, I think I could make a case of a Caramel being a *true* Anerythristic corn) corn snake as those are the pigments that would remain behind afterwards.

But I am afraid the term is pretty much set in stone now, and although most certainly inaccurate as being descriptive of what makes the snake look like that, it has become a "common name" that describes a melanin infused corn rather than an erythrismally deficient corn.

 

[TripleMoonsExotic]

One of the rare morph lessons from Rich! Much appreciated explanation on Anery.

 

[Tula_Montage]

Agreed Steph More of this would be rather good reading! Thanks Rich.

 

[chiemi_chan]

wow, so much info! thank you, ssthisto and rich! avery is certainly grey and black (and, in my opinion, kind of a light purplish blue... would that be.. lavender? or maybe i'm just imagining.) :crazy02:

while i'm on the topic... are there any behavioral traits that distinguish an anerythristic corn from another corn? or is it solely appearance and genetics?

 

[TripleMoonsExotic]

while i'm on the topic... are there any behavioral traits that distinguish an anerythristic corn from another corn? or is it solely appearance and genetics?

There is generally no behavioral difference between cornsnake morphs. They all are the same species, but different color/patterns. However, some will say that Sunkissed are known for being nippy; Bloodreds are known for being finicky feeders. Though I wouldn't say that is 100% accurate.

 

[Mark Dwight]

In a nutshell, "Anerythrism" is a single recessively controlled genetic trait, if that helps. So it does refer not only to the coloration of the animal, but also to the genetic component that makes the animal look the way it does.

To take this a bit further, actually this is a very interesting question. Historically speaking, "Anerythrism" was meant to describe a corn snake that was supposedly "lacking in red and orange pigments".

I have believed for a long time that this description is false or at least misleading. The corn snake exhibiting "Anerythrism" has not LOST those pigments at all. They have been transposed into grays and black, or infused and overlaid with melanin. If the reds and oranges were extracted from the snake, the underlying colors certainly would not be those shades at all. Instead you would likely get a pretty much completely yellowish brown (yes, I think I could make a case of a Caramel being a *true* Anerythristic corn) corn snake as those are the pigments that would remain behind afterwards.

But I am afraid the term is pretty much set in stone now, and although most certainly inaccurate as being descriptive of what makes the snake look like that, it has become a "common name" that describes a melanin infused corn rather than an erythrismally deficient corn.

Great post. The fact that snows will exhibit some pinks and oranges and butters are only white and yellowish proves your point. Butters are the real snows.