Glossary of terms

♀ The astrological symbol for the planet (and Roman Goddess), Venus was borrowed by life scientists to symbolize the Female gender

 

♂ The astrological symbol for the planet, Mars was borrowed by life scientists to symbolize the MALE gender.

 

Aerobic: Aerobic literally means that oxygen is required for life, but relative to corn snakes that use only one of their lungs, I refer to the species as being "low-aerobic". This distinction (relative to animals that require more oxygen than snakes) is important in explaining why--along with not metabolically creating body heat--corn snakes do not require as much exercise as most mammals, and therefore tolerate less ventilation and relatively smaller enclosures than captive mammals and birds.

 

Albino/Albinism: A single recessive gene mutation rendering an animal completely devoid of melanin. In corns, this mutation is called Amelanistic (abbreviated common name; Amel), but unlike most albino mammals, in the absence of melanin, corns exhibit all other colors (usually reds, oranges, and yellows). When Amel is in combination with other mutations, those base colors can be skewed or even absent (i.e. Snow corns that are essentially two shades of white due to the cancellation of color from the Anerythristic mutation).

 

Allele: An alternate form of a gene - resulting in hereditary variation.  When we say, "...this odd head color could be the result of an allele" we are referring to a unique gene mutation, but the word allele is most often used to describe a situation where two different mutations reside on the same DNA locus.   

 

Amelanistic: Abbreviated as Amel, refers to a snake with a total absence of melanin; the result of the gene mutation with the same name.  Scientific language is founded from the Latin language. When an A is the first letter of a descriptive word (i.e. Amelanistic), it denotes a lack of the term that follows that A.  In the case of Amelanistic, the derived meaning denotes the lack of melanin. If melanin were the only color cell in snakes, we would refer to snakes lacking melanin as Albinos. Since other colors remain when melanin is absent in snakes, a more descriptive term is required. Hence Amelanistic.

 

Anerythristic/Anerythrism: Commonly shortened to Anery, anerythristic means absence of erythrism -- the red pigment in their skin (including the scales).

 

Anomaly: Relative to snakes, any trait that is unexpected or unlike others of its' type.  Example: If virtually all members of a particular species have 15-18 dorsal markings, and one was discovered to have only ten, that distinction would be anomalous.

 

Anterior: Essentially meaning the front half of the snake that includes the head, but anterior also refers to the tail-ward direction. (e.g. Anterior markings on corns tend to be more color saturated in the first 1/3 of the body).

 

Atypical: Not typical.

 

Axanthic: Lack of yellow pigment.

 

Bechtel, Dr. H. Bernard: Famed Dr. of Dermatology and acclaimed author of many scientific publications regarding the genetics of colubrid snakes, and often regarded as the Father of Corn Snakes, for his accomplishment of reproducing the first albino corn snakes in 1961, thereby identifying the mutation's mode of inheritance.  His accomplished book, Reptile and Amphibian Variants - Colors, Patterns, and Scales (Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida, 1995) is still widely known in the Herpetocultural community and hailed as one of the best hardbound resources in our hobby today.

 

Brumation is very nearly the serpent equivalent to hibernation in mammals and other animals. It is the reaction to sensing insufficient heat necessary for survival. In the wild, snakes instinctively burrow below the usual frost line where cold temperatures thicken their blood to the point of lethargy. At properly cold temperatures, their metabolism is impaired to a point of burning virtually no calories and having no appetite to feed. In captivity, it is not necessary to brumate your snakes, but by brumating adult corn snakes, you significantly increase the rate of fertile reproduction. Hatchling and sub-adult corns need NOT be brumated and if reproduction is NOT a goal for your pets, you never need to impose this state of cold dormancy.

 

Carotenoid: Yellow to red pigments, including carotene, found in many plants and animal fats. Not unlike flamingos that owe their overall Pink coloration to dietary carotenoids, some corn snakes retain carotenoids - consumed from their diet - that are consequently rendered as yellow skin coloration in specific locations on their bodies. These diet-attained color pigments are increasingly rendered throughout maturity, and should not be confused as the colors that are genetically inherited and consequently demonstrated in corns via chromatophores in their skin (including scales). Anerythristic-type corn snake mutants are the most notable examples. As hatchlings, they do not show any yellow coloration on their bodies, but carotenoids consumed from their diet are retained and increasingly demonstrated as the snake matures. Therefore, most corns gain yellow coloration from dietary carotenoid retention throughout their lives, and apparently never cease to gain this coloration in volume and saturation.  This type of yellow is mostly relegated to the face and neck, and spreads slowly tail-ward through ontogeny (maturity).

 

Celsius: The scale used throughout most of the world (NOT in the U.S.) to quantify temperature values. Celsius temperatures are usually signified as a number followed by c, but on this web site, Celsius temperature values are often followed by deg C.

 

Chromatophore: Relative to snakes, cells in the skin (including the scales) that contain and/or produce color pigments. These pigment cells are genetically inherited from a snake's parents.

 

Chromosome: The genetic mechanism containing genes whose collective function dictates a snake's phenotype.

 

Cloaca: The opening at the underside base of a snake's tail - used for excretion of fecal matter and for copulation.  

 

Codominance / co-dominant (aka: codominance / co-dominant): When both alleles at a gene locus (one from each parent) contribute to the phenotype of a snake, the mode of inheritance is said to be codominant.

 

Colubrid: A member of the Scientific Family Colubridae to which Corn Snakes and the other 2/3 of the world's snakes belong.

 

Compound: Relative to genetic corn snake conversations, compound is the product of more than one trait or mutation.

 

Conjunct: Relative to most discussions on this web site regarding pattern and color fields of snakes, conjunct has shared meaning with joined and is the antonym of disjunct.  For example, the random, lateral white that is visible on most Pied-sided Bloodred corns is usually conjunct (therefore connected) to the white on their bellies.

 

Crypsis: Pertinent to animals, the visual result of lying still in surroundings similar to the animal's color scheme and markings. Genetics equip such reptiles with the colors and markings, and also with the complementary behavior of lying still, thereby effectively utilizing their appearance to hopefully render them undetectable to both prey and predators. Crypsis could also be attained via a false illusion rendered from color and/or pattern in motion to facilitate evasion from predators.

 

Dilute: A relatively new single recessive mutation (in terms of date of genetic discovery) - combined with most other corn snake mutations - has a color dilution impact.

 

Dimorphic/Dimorphism: There are many applications of this word that apply to animals. Many animals are clearly dimorphic, like the red birds we call Cardinals. The males are shocking red and the females are almost brown. That type of gender dimorphism is obvious, and consistent throughout their species. In corn snakes, almost the only obvious distinction between male and female wild-type corns is that the males are generally larger than females. Since some females can be larger than males, and vice-versa, size distinction does not qualify corns as a gender dimorphic species, but some mutations of corns are somewhat gender dimorphic. The best example are Anerythristic mutants. In most cases, males exhibit "earth tones" on their markings and sometimes all over their bodies, but females almost always lack notable expression of "earth tones". As hatchlings, male and female Aneries are virtually indistinguishable by color, but as adults, females are generally gray with black markings. Of course, there are color exceptions in all directions, but for the bulk of the Anery mutants in our hobby, females are blacker than males. No corn snake morph demonstrates true dimorphism, since less than 99% of comparative events do not denote gender distinctive appearance.

 

Disjunct: Relative to most discussions on this web site regarding pattern and color fields of snakes, disjunct has shared meaning with dis-joined and is the antonym of conjunct.  For example, the random, lateral white that is visible on most Pied-sided Bloodred corns is usually not disjunct (therefore, is connected) to the white on their bellies.

 

Diurnal: The instinctive habit of a species to be most physically active during daylight hours. They usually sleep during the hours of darkness. The antonym is nocturnal.

 

DNA: Often called the blueprint for life, DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) is the acid that holds the instructions that allow development and survival of all organic life.  In the realm of snakes, the acronym DNA is most commonly referred to as the basis for testing to determine the genetic identity of animals. It is essentially the unique fingerprint of an organism that becomes its' definitive identifier.

 

Dominant: Applicable only to THIS web site, when dominant is used to denote inheritance, in the absence of respective descriptions, it implies that its context refers to genetic inheritance that is dominant to wild-type. When used to describe the mode of a gene's inheritance, dominant refers to an allele's relationship to its allele counterpart(s). In the heterozygous relationship of alleles, the phenotype of the dominant allele will mask that of one or more of its' counterpart(s). Example: If you breed a Common (wild-type) corn to an Amelanistic (Amel) corn, all offspring will resemble the wild-type parent - presuming no other mutations are possessed by that corn. 

 

Dorsolateral: The serpent body zone where lateral (side) pattern/color meets the dorsal zone.

 

Dorsum/Dorsal: The Latin word for BACK - dorsum refers to the back of an animal. In most four-legged or legless animals (like snakes), this is the uppermost (top) of the body.

 

Dysecdysis: The technical term for complications of - or incomplete sloughing of a snake's dead epidermal skin layer (including scales). The antonym is ecdysis (sloughing of the old outer epidermal skin).

 

Dystocia: Sometimes called egg-binding dystocia refers to the difficulty or inability of a female to successfully lay one or more eggs.  

 

Ecdysis: The technical term for the sloughing (shedding) of a snake's old outer skin layer (epidermis), exposing the completed replacement outer skin layer. The term for complications of ecdysis is dysecdysis - the incomplete or improper sloughing of the old outermost skin layer. Unlike the sloughing and replacement of superficial aspects of the skin in most animals that is achieved by the casting of dead skin individually in many pieces, ecdysis in snakes usually involves ALL components of their outer skin sloughing in one piece each time (usually between four and 12 weeks - depending on temperature, health, and environmental stimuli).

 

Ectothermic(aka: poikilothermic):Relative to corn snakes, the term refers to an incapability to produce body temperature, but more precisely, it means that they depend on heated air or surfaces with which they are in contact for the heat necessary to metabolize. Mammals are Endotherms (producing their own body heat) - the opposite of Ectotherms.

 

Embryo: Regarding snakes, embryo is the term for a snake before it begins to respire via lung function.  Except for the transference of gases and some nutritional resources through the porous "shell", with a proper incubating environment, embryos have all the sustenance required for development.

 

Embryogenesis: Development of the embryo prior to hatching.

 

Empirical: A word that denotes information gleaned by study or experiments that point to known science or data that is relatively without challenge.

 

Epidermis: The outermost layer of the corn snakes integument (skin).

 

Erythrism: Red color pigment.

 

Erythrophores: Red chromatophore.

 

Extant: Relative to reptiles, extant is the status of a species that exists today. Extant is the antonym of extinct. Example: Pantherophis guttatus are extant, but Tyrannosaurus rex are extinct.

 

Extinct: Relative to reptiles, extinct is the status of a species that no longer exists. Extinct is the antonym of extant. Example: Tyrannosaurus rex are extinct, but Pantherophis guttatus are extant.

 

F1, Filial generation for example: Relative to corn snakes, F1 is the symbol designating the first filial (family) generation progeny from the pairing of any two animals.  All subsequent generations directly related to this original pair will thereafter be designated with the capital letter F followed by the chronologically successive generational number.  Example: Pairing a wild caught corn with an Amel mutant corn results in all wild-types (heterozygous for Amel) in the F1 generation. Progeny from the pairing of two of the F1 siblings will represent the F2 generation (in this case, the F2 genotypes should be approximately 25% wild-types, 25% Amels, and 50% wild-types Het for Amel).

 

Fahrenheit: The scale used in the United States and a few other countries of the world to quantify temperature. The Celsius scale us used throughout most of the world. Fahrenheit temperatures are usually signified as a number before f, but on this web site, Fahrenheit temperature values are often followed by deg F.

 

Gene: A unit of inheritance that holds information that is necessary to pass genetic traits to an organism's offspring. Each gene location on the chromosome strand is called a locus (plural: loci).

 

Genome: The complete genetic inventory of an organism's hereditary assets. genetic traits to an organism's offspring. Each gene location on the chromosome strand is called a locus (plural: loci).

 

Genetics: The science of genes.

 

Genotype: Relative to discussion of corn snakes, genotype is the sum of its' genetic assets.

 

Gravid: Possessing eggs.  The reptile equivalence of pregnancy.

 

Greenhouse Effect: So named for the reality of increased heat inside a greenhouse when sunlight (or any strong light source) penetrates the glass and is absorbed by objects inside. Relative to snake enclosures, if inadequate ventilation exists in a glass cage exposed to sunlight (even through a house window), the relatively quick rise in temperature can be deadly to animals inside that cage. Snake cages should NEVER be exposed to sunlight (indirect light from windows is not inherently dangerous in this realm).

 

Hatchling: In corn snakes, from the day one hatches to the day of its first birthday, they are called hatchlings.  Thereafter, and until they are two years old, they are referred to as yearlings. Thereafter, they are considered adults or sub adults.  In that corns are not mature by age (they mature by size), such labels are relatively unnecessary without knowing the size of the snake, but they are good terms for identifying the age of the snake.  Corns can be sexually mature before their first birthday if power-fed or as late as several years of age.

 

Herpetoculture: The keeping of reptiles and amphibians in captivity - either as pets or to breed for commerce.

 

Heritable: Capable of being reproduced from parent to offspring.

Heredity: Passing on genetic traits from parent to offspring.

 

Herpetology: The science of reptiles and amphibians.

 

Heterozygous: Simplified for the sake of corn snake genetic discussion, each snake receives one set of genes from each parent. If those genes are different, the individual is said to be heterozygous.  If each of the two genes is alike, that individual is said to be homozygous. Example: Breeding a wild-type corn to an Amel corn results in all wild-type phenotypes that are Amel heterozygotes (Het for Amel).  If a snake possesses two different alleles on the same locus of the chromosome, that snake is heterozygous. In the case of a simple dominant gene, the heterozygote (individual with two different genes from parents) will only express the dominant allele of the respective gene.  Simplified, a mutation that is recessively inherited, by breeding the homozygote to an unrelated corn (one without any copies of the gene mutation), all F1 progeny will be carrying one copy of the mutant gene and are therefore considered heterozygotes (Hets) that will NOT demonstrate the mutation for which they have only one DNA copy.  

 

Het (Visual): Sometimes, heterozygous (Het) versions of mutants demonstrate a phenotype that is similar or identical to the homozygote.  We usually regard such snakes as Visual Hets. They are heterozygous, but unlike most heterozygotes of recessively-inherited mutants that have the common corn snake phenotype, Visual Hets look like their homozygous counterparts.

 

Homozygous: If a snake possesses identical alleles on both chromosomes of the same gene, that snake is homozygous. In the case of a simple recessive gene, that homozygote (individual with two identical genes from parents) will express/exhibit the recessive allele of the respective gene.)

 

Hybrid: Relative to most Colubrid Snakes, we use the term Hybrid to describe the products of two different species (aka: interspecific hybrid) or two different genera (aka: intergeneric hybrid).  The Creamsicle morph is the oldest and most common example of a hybrid in Corn Snake Herpetoculture. Creamsicle is the albino compound product of the Amel mutation of Corn Snake and any form of Emory's Rat Snake (aka: Great Plains Rat Snake).  HYBRID VIGOR (notable exaggeration of appetite, growth, and size) is common among Interspecific and Intergeneric Hybrids.

 

Hygrometer: An oversimplified description of a hygrometer would be a device for determining approximate ambient humidity.  For the purposes of why we snake keepers would use one, this modified definition should suffice.

 

Hyper: Of the many definitions that can apply to HYPER, the only one used in corn snake genetics is: more than normal or remarkably increased.

 

Hypo: Of the many definitions that can apply to HYPO, the only one used in corn snake genetics is: less than normal or remarkably reduced.

 

Hypomelanistic/hypomelanism: The abbreviation hypo loosely means extreme volume reduction and melanistic refers to the pigment that renders most shades of black in snakes.  Hence