What does the term " morph" mean to you?

[ChromaChameleons]

I'd be curious to know what the term "morph" means to the members here at chamforums. I ask this because it is becoming apparent that several members are using the term to mean quite different things. It conjures up confusion and may lead some of us astray as to what meaning is originally intended.

I believe that "morph " is a word synonymous to "locale". Others suggest , by their useage, it means "cross breed".

So, what does "morph " mean to you?

 

[Canopy Chameleons]

To me, morph means a mutation in genetics. And locale is the color/size variant. I think something like a Translucent Veiled is a morph, because it`s alleles were mutated to created translucent skin, where as a locale`s genetic strain is consistent, and not mutated.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I thought it meant the same as "local", as in
"this chameleon is a Sambava Morph; it is from or its heritage is of the Sambava region of Madagascar"

I would call crosses "Hybrid" or "Cross"

I would call an animal with a genetic mutation a "Mutant" (or deformed or ugly or unfortunate)

 

[SoCaliSon]

I was noticing the same thing Harry... This should be interesting... Lets get it cleared up!

I try not to use the term morph for this reason... Locale, Hybrid, Cross... This is the clearer terminology to use.

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

To me...same thing as a cross or mix. Morph signifies change...which crossing locales results in a changed or different appearance. My two cents

-chris

 

[Kent67]

When used correctly, as in Biology, morph refers to a "form" of a certain species in which more than one form exists. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/morph

Locale and locality are used incorrectly all the time in this forum. These are PLACES, not what an animal looks like. And since NO exporter gives exact collection details, calling any animal locality pure is nothing more than marketing/advertising, imho. Individuals may APPEAR to look a certain way, but that doesn't mean they came from within a certain town's borders.

So to me, morph can be used to describe a certain locality-type as in panthers, or to describe color variation that is selectively bred for as in sunburst and translucent veileds, or as in albino boa constrictors. It's just a different form, in which several occur.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

This is getting interesting . I looked up the definition on the web's Free Dictionary.... http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dict.asp?Word=morph ...

It seems that the definition of Morph would support its use as a pure locale identifier or a cross bred animal. So, it is a universal term by my interpretation of the definition.

Confusion is the only certainty in this debate...LOL

 

[hallenhe]

I consider Thaxter's morph to be Ambilobe, which I am interpreting in this sense as referring to a color pattern that shows some correlation with a location on Madagascar, based presumably on genetic differences that have become somewhat fixed with time, which in turn may reflect UV radiation levels, (female) mate preference, mutations which have been favored for some reason or another at a given locale... In plant biology, we'd probably be using the term "ecotypes".

I like Kent67's definition, which allows for the above, but also for such things as albinos, translucents, hypos, etc.

 

[KevinA]

I've noticed that people with cross "local" type panthers use it to unobtusively lable their chams. I find it somewhat misleading as most people don't recognize the term for how their using it.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I try not to use the term morph for this reason... Locale, Hybrid, Cross... This is the clearer terminology to use.

Good thinking. I will try to simply not use the term Morph, since it isnt a clearly agreed upon term. Instead, I will try to be more specific and clear about what Im sayin

 

[Niels Pedersen]

The difference in morphs and locales is that morphs also include unnatural variations and locales ( I really prefer natural locale variations) is used when you talk about a species that has changed because of natural isolation. These natural variations can be colour, size and so on, but still only small variations in the same species.