REPTILE CULTURE

MORPH PROFILE / Leopard geckos

Mack Snow

One copy produces Mack Snow. Two copies produce the super form, Mack Super Snow.

Single trait Snow

Mack Super Snow leopard gecko illustration with a pale body and rows of dark spots
Mack Super Snow (two copies of Mack Snow). · Reptile Culture · AI-generated illustration

Genetics

Inheritance
Incomplete dominant
Locus
PAX7 (associated)

One Mack allele produces Mack Snow; two copies of the same allele produce Mack Super Snow. These are two expressions of one locus. The inheritance term used here is incomplete dominance.

Established Ullate-Agote & Tzika (2024)

Researchers associated the studied Mack Snow allele with a deletion affecting PAX7, a gene involved in pigment cell development.

Established Ullate-Agote & Tzika (2024)

One copy · Mack Snow

One copy is visible, so a Mack Snow is not a visually normal recessive carrier.

Established Ullate-Agote & Tzika (2024)

Two copies · Mack Super Snow

Mack Super Snow is homozygous for the Mack variant. The study documented adults, so the two-copy genotype is viable; that observation does not establish that all individuals are free of health concerns.

Established Ullate-Agote & Tzika (2024)

Appearance

A one-copy hatchling typically has pale bands where a wild-type hatchling has yellow. Yellow can become more visible with age, which can make adult identification harder.

Established Ullate-Agote & Tzika (2024)

Dark hatchlings develop black spotting against a light background as adults. The study also shows dark eyes. Other traits can modify the appearance.

Established Ullate-Agote & Tzika (2024)

Related morphs

Sources & references