Question: Unusual Coloration: Chimera or Harlequin?

[Bette]

Hi Everyone! I recently noticed that one of my hatchlings has unusual coloring. It looks as if it could be perhaps a chimera or harlequin! I am so excited to see how it turns out! What do y'all think?

Just today, I posted pics of it in the forum's photo gallery.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/members/bette-albums-bette-s-axolotls-possible-chimera-harlequin.html

 

[auntiejude]

He's not a harlequin, he may well be a chimera - but 2 different shades of wildtype fused together rather than leucistic and wildtype.

 

[Bette]

He's not a harlequin, he may well be a chimera - but 2 different shades of wildtype fused together rather than leucistic and wildtype.

Thank you auntiejude -
Is this something that is not usually seen? I've just heard of the leucy/wild type chimera.

 

[rachel1]

Any chimera is pretty rare, and having one growing and developing normally is even less common. A chimera can be a combination of any two colors that the parents can produce. It occurs when two separate eggs fuse into one, so the animal that results is half one animal and half another. It is most obvious when there are two different colors. If both halves were the same color, you may not even be able to tell it is chimeric. I had a group of eggs I sold with 2 chimeras- a Leucy/melanoid and a Leucy/wild. Only the second survived, and it is developing very well. I'll see if I can figure out how to post the pics she texted me.

 

[Bette]

Any chimera is pretty rare, and having one growing and developing normally is even less common. A chimera can be a combination of any two colors that the parents can produce. It occurs when two separate eggs fuse into one, so the animal that results is half one animal and half another. It is most obvious when there are two different colors. If both halves were the same color, you may not even be able to tell it is chimeric. I had a group of eggs I sold with 2 chimeras- a Leucy/melanoid and a Leucy/wild. Only the second survived, and it is developing very well. I'll see if I can figure out how to post the pics she texted me.

Thank you for the information! It would be so awesome to see those photos of the other chimeras.:happy:

 

[Jonjey]

That's a very rare and expensive axolotl you have there, if he lives you could cash in big time. Some might keep him, cause it's not every day you can say you have a chimera axolotl.... But a g bar for an axolotl does sound nice doesn't it?

 

[rachel1]

Here are the 2 chimeras out of my egg clutch. See how on the first the black side has grown faster than the white side, causing it to curl? That's pretty common on chimeras, and is a frequent cause of death. Second pic is wild/leucy still and egg, and third is the same animal now. Photo credit to Lotlladywho.

 

[Lianne]

See how on the first the black side has grown faster than the white side, causing it to curl? That's pretty common on chimeras, and is a frequent cause of death

Wow, I never knew this, how interesting! I wonder how this all works physiologically.

 

[Bette]

That's a very rare and expensive axolotl you have there, if he lives you could cash in big time. Some might keep him, cause it's not every day you can say you have a chimera axolotl.... But a g bar for an axolotl does sound nice doesn't it?

That may be so, but I would love to keep him or her & see what would result from a breeding!
Hopefully, the little one will continue to thrive. When I know the sex, perhaps I might be able to obtain another of the opposite sex... I can hope, right? ;-)

 

[Jonjey]

That may be so, but I would love to keep him or her & see what would result from a breeding!
Hopefully, the little one will continue to thrive. When I know the sex, perhaps I might be able to obtain another of the opposite sex... I can hope, right? ;-)

Well I'm pretty sure chimera isn't a gene but a mutation or even deformity? Two axolotl eggs happened to fuse together to make a chimera, so whatever those two axolotls genes are are what the genes would be as the passed on to the next generation. I could be wrong on this but that's what I would assume is the case.

 

[Bette]

Well I'm pretty sure chimera isn't a gene but a mutation or even deformity? Two axolotl eggs happened to fuse together to make a chimera, so whatever those two axolotls genes are are what the genes would be as the passed on to the next generation. I could be wrong on this but that's what I would assume is the case.

Does anyone know how this works for sure?

 

[Bette]

Here are the 2 chimeras out of my egg clutch. See how on the first the black side has grown faster than the white side, causing it to curl? That's pretty common on chimeras, and is a frequent cause of death. Second pic is wild/leucy still and egg, and third is the same animal now. Photo credit to Lotlladywho.

Thanks rachel1! That is so cool. The third pic shows a very nice specimen.

 

[rachel1]

The breeding is an interesting topic! It is a developmental error, where two eggs somehow manage to be combined into one early on, and it is unlikely to be genetically heritable . It has been done intentionally in lab settings for research purposes, but naturally occurring chimeras are rare. What's interesting is that hypothetically you could get one gonad from each half animal in the chimera, so potentially it could have two separate sets of genetic material that could be passed on to offspring.

 

[Jonjey]

The breeding is an interesting topic! It is a developmental error, where two eggs somehow manage to be combined into one early on, and it is unlikely to be genetically heritable . It has been done intentionally in lab settings for research purposes, but naturally occurring chimeras are rare. What's interesting is that hypothetically you could get one gonad from each half animal in the chimera, so potentially it could have two separate sets of genetic material that could be passed on to offspring.

What if one half was a male and the other a female?

 

[rachel1]

Again, hypothetically possible, although I don't know enough about axolotl developmental biology to know when sex determination occurs and what factors are at play. I would imagine the reproductive tract would be pretty wonky , and probably not functional. Here's a male/female chimeric cardinal I found online, photo by Brian Peer.

 

[Bette]

Again, hypothetically possible, although I don't know enough about axolotl developmental biology to know when sex determination occurs and what factors are at play. I would imagine the reproductive tract would be pretty wonky , and probably not functional. Here's a male/female chimeric cardinal I found online, photo by Brian Peer.

Wow, crazy pic!

 

[xxianxx]

The breeding is an interesting topic! It is a developmental error, where two eggs somehow manage to be combined into one early on, and it is unlikely to be genetically heritable .

The same people seem to have chimeras thrown up occasionally by their bloodlines whilst most people will never see one, this would indicate their is a genetic componant.

 

[rachel1]

The same people seem to have chimeras thrown up occasionally by their bloodlines whilst most people will never see one, this would indicate their is a genetic componant.

Ooh, that's really interesting. It seems like it would be a random occurrence looking at it from a developmental standpoint. But there is a lot about genetics that remains to be learned! It would make sense-there are other developmental happenings that have a genetic component, like the probability of having twins in humans. Now I'm not gonna want to sell any eggs out of this pair, so I can check every single one to see if I get another chimera!

 

[Dunny]

Talking about twins in humans. My fiance is an identical twin and her second pregnancy produced identical twin boys. Talking about weird genetic taking place.

 

[rachel1]

Bette, I want to see more pics as it grows! It looks like it's gonna turn out pretty unique!