Common Snapper x Alligator Snapping Turtle??

[A. gigas]

Although the species may be similar, breeding may be difficult or impossible. Look at the Argentine Red tegu and Black/White tegu, very similar species from the same area, but I've never heard of hybridization.

http://www.tegusforsale.com/allamericantegus.htm

 

[SimonL]

Whoa cool! First ones I've seen.

 

[Zfishies]

so am guessing that was an example of hybrid genus?

 

[Creek_stomper]

If you head over to Turtleforum.com and seek out a member named Batagur, he'd probably be able to give you the most concise answer to just how possible this is. He's the director of animal management for the Turtle Survival Alliance. He knows his stuff.

Josh H

 

[SimonL]

so am guessing that was an example of hybrid genus?

Naw, Tegus are just different species, but same genus. What I was trying to relate is that even really closely related species from the same area have behavioural inhibitors to prevent hybridization.

 

[coura]

Tegus not only hibridize but also hibrids are fertile. Several new types of "domesticated" tegus are emerging.

 

[SimonL]

When you remove the natural inhibitors, you can get all sorts of hybrids that don't normally occur in the wild. Wolves and coyotes for example, also produce fertile hybrids.

 

[coura]

When you remove the natural inhibitors, you can get all sorts of hybrids that don't normally occur in the wild. Wolves and coyotes for example, also produce fertile hybrids.

Actually they do. Red wolfes Canis rufus, are the result of a hibrid lineage of coyotes/wolfes that appeared several thousand years ago in the Southwest states.

 

[SimonL]

Yeah but this doesn't occur in all areas. Usually there is some sort of mitigating event, like the wolf/coyote hybrids appearing in the Eastern provinces thanks to increased urbanization. If it was the "norm", you wouldn't have separate species.

My point isn't that hybrids don't occur at all naturally, just that species typically remain differentiated by behavioural factors.

 

[coura]

That is true. The factors it seems behind the origin of red wolfes lie on the smaller size of the southweast wolf subspecies for starters and on smaller and more disperse prey items in a more covered habitat. That created a niche in wich a species with intermediate caracteristics between wolfes and coyotes could survive.