Buckskin

Type: Other

Issues: N/A

First Produced In: Unknown

Availability: Rarest

Last Updated: 2023-04-23

Base Color

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History

At the onset of our hobby, some wild-type animals were described as buckskin, but there was a range of interpretations. Some were very dark, like what we call black and brown base, and some were a light tan or dirty yellow. These geckos, after reviewing some historical photos, appear to be displaying combinations of traits. The effects of them being naturally combined are beneficial, and/or not harmful for survival in the wild. From these variations, it is fairly easy to see how black base , yellow base, phantom , and hypo forms began to emerge more with selective breeding causing them to separate into distinct phenotypes. The term polymorphic was used to describe these animals and is correct, however, it became interpreted wrong in the hobby. This single interpretation has slowed the advancement of genetic understanding, in our community, more than any other factor to date. Please refer to “ Polymorphic ” in part 1 of Foundation Genetics. ^[1]

Appearance

Body

The base colors can be swapped on nearly every single phenotype in the pattern, and pattern color categories. This behavior is what it would be like if base colors occupy their own locus. Using the phenotypic ratio in breeding results and testing how the traits behave in subsequent generations we have worked out the inheritance of each one. Each pattern morph can slightly affect the base colors. As for patternless animals, the base color of the animal is what we are seeing. ^[2]

Proven Lines

Black Base, Red Base, Yellow Base

Buckskin appears to be from multiple combinations, that may or may not include, yellow base , red base , black base , hypomelanism , and phantom , along with influence from wild-type brown melanin. Remember that this morph is very much a wild-type combination that ranged drastically in the natural population. Pattern morphs are also mixed in with the base combination of buckskin. There was also occasional orange/yellow spotting seen in wild crested geckos. We still see it today in the hobby.^[3]