Zigzag

Simply put, the mode of inheritance for Zigzag is at best, poorly understood. At different times Zigzag (and its associated varieties) has been considered to be potentially dominant, line-bred, and even the result of incubation/developmental issues. Experimental pairing of Zigzag to Zigzag Corn Snakes have produced all Zigzag progeny, and clutches without any Zigzag progeny. Likewise, Zigzags are sometimes produced by pairings that include only a single Zigzag parent and by pairings of individuals that do not display the trait at all. Clearly more breeding trials are needed to determine Zigzag’s mode of inheritance. All that can be said unequivocally is that Zigzag is not inherited in a recessive or dominant mode with respect to the traditional Mendelian definitions of those terms. However it bears mention that some breeders have hypothesized that perhaps the ‘misalignment’ of dorsal blotches is sometimes randomly ‘re-aligned’, and this pattern phenomena could be responsible for the apparently non-Mendelian behavior of this mutation. It should also be noted that no data currently exists to support that tentative hypothesis, and with the exception of ‘genetic fingerprinting’, it is unclear how such a hypothesis would be tested. Thus, terms such as “Het Aztec” or “Homozygous Zigzag” are not applicable when referring to Zigzag Corn Snakes or their progeny, regardless of whether they do or do not display the visual traits associated with the morph. ^[1]

Although relatively small quantities of connected dorsal blotches are a natural occurrence in many Corn Snakes in both captive and wild populations, multiple lines of what are now typically called “Zigzag” were developed starting in the 1980’s. Bill and Kathy Love’s Zigzag line originated from inbreeding siblings descended from the original Charcoal (i.e., “Anerythristic B”) female, and was refined over multiple generations to produce individuals with increasing amounts of aberrant pattern. Also, during the 1980’s other breeders such as John Albrecht and later Rich Zuchowski, developed lines of aberrantly patterned Corns Snakes derived from Lavender lines that they referred to as “Aztec”. Additionally, Andy Barr was working with descendants of Kathy and Bill Love’s Charcoal Zigzag line and produced what came to be known as “Widestripe” Corn Snakes, which were typified by a rather wide dorsal stripe/area accompanied by lateral pattern aberrations that resembled both Zigzag and Aztec lines. Aztecs are generally considered to have a more chaotic pattern including broken lines, spots, etc…, but as noted by Kathy and Bill Love (Love and Love, 2005; pg.189), pairing Zigzag to Zigzag led to ever increasingly aberrantly patterned individuals that resembled the “Aztec” line, leading many to suggest that the mutation or mutations (see section on Zigzag genetics below) responsible for Zigzag and Aztec were the same. Where one draws the line between what is a Zigzag and what could be considered an Aztec seems arbitrary and the term “Zagtec” has been applied by some breeders for Corn Snakes that simultaneously display visual traits associated with one or more of these morphs. Given the origination of all these morphs in the hobby at similar times, the breeding history noted above, and when considering that some individual Corn Snakes display classic Zigzag sections, “Widestripe” sections, and more chaotic “Aztec” sections, there appears to be a high probability that the same mutation or mutations are involved in producing Widestripe, Aztec, and Zigzag varieties. Further adding to the confusion surrounding Zigzag, a line of Corn Snakes called “Chaos”, with highly aberrant patterns resembling classic “Aztecs” has been developed by breeders in Europe, but its relation to Zigzag remains uncertain. Furthermore, the potential contribution of “Chaos” lines to the new line of Corn Snakes named “Mimosa” is also not well understood.