Crested Gecko Morphs
The variety of our hobby
Morphs?
Probably the most asked question in crestie groups goes like: "What morph is my crested gecko?"
The answer you'll get will depend on how your gecko looks like but it will probably sound like something as: "Tricolor, harlequin, dalmatian, brindle,..."
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Ok stop, Stop, STOP!
These are not morphs at all. These are patterns, colors and traits. But I'm happy to explain you the difference!
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Definition by the Dictionary of Biology (version ): Morph
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A new morph arises when a genetic mutation in an individual leads to a morphological difference. Mutations can happen due to many reasons: environmental changes, stress, maternal or paternal effects, coincidence, chromosomal cross over... If a mutation turns out to be beneficial for the survival of this individual, and it can be inherited, then the mutation can continue to exist in the population, or a part of a population, and even become the new "standard". In this way, new species can eventually evolve.
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In this hobby, almost all individuals are able to survive as long as the mutation is viable. Our cresties don't have to cope with stress, predators, hunger, environmental changes etc. It's more about what we aesthetically prefer in them. Therefore it is much easier for a new morph to arise in a hobby like this. Once a mutation turns up, breeders will try to prove this mutation by breeding it. If the mutation is inheritable, a new morph is born.
Current morphs
Morphs that are known and proven amongs crested geckos.
Wild type
The most common morph amongst crested geckos is the wild type. This morph looks like the ones from the wild. Does it mean those are all patternless, dark colored? No! These can have every color, pattern and trait like harlequin or dalmatian. Wild type just means they are none of the morphs names below.
Lilly White
Lilly whites first appeared at Lilly Exotics when they hatched a total oddball with a thick layer of extra white cream in 2010. After breeding this extra white crestie, it turned out the morphological trait was inheritable and thus genetic. With a 50% Lilly White ratio, the Lilly White morph got confirmed as a co-dominant gene in which the heterozygous individuals express the Lilly White appearance. Unfortunately the homozygous genotype appears to be lethal, so no leucistic forms survived as of yet.
Within Lillies, there is also a spectrum of expression (low-high expression).
Axanthic
Visual axanthic crested geckos in fact lack yellow pigmentation. recessive trait
Soft Scale
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Melanistic
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