AMELanistic12

 

Sometimes less accurately called albino or red albino, the Amel corn gets its morph name from the Latin, amelanistic, meaning no melanin (black pigment). Amelanistic is a better name than albino for this genetic mutation, since unlike mammals that have just one type of color rendering cell (melanosome) the general appearance of snakes is the visual product of more than one color pigment. Mammals lacking melanin are befitting the name albino since they are usually white and pattern-less in the absence of their only color pigment; melanin (i.e. rabbits, deer, mice).  Albino humans usually have pink skin, pink eyes, and white hair.  Most color in non-albino mammals is the result of various chemical impacts that alter the appearance of melanin (i.e. blue eyes or red hair). In most snakes, the absence of melanin alters the expression of cells that previously contained melanin, usually resulting in general enhancement of the remaining colors.  Therefore, if you hear someone say “albino corn snake”, they are referring to the Amel corn, which is very colorful — instead of lacking all color.  White corns are virtually always the expression of two color mutations that have essentially cancelled each other out.  A popular example is the Blizzard Morph; (Amel + Charcoal = Blizzard) Another example of a white corn snake has not yet been demonstrated in this species, the Leucistic mutation. To date, non-HYBRID corns have never existed in a Leucistic form, but the hybridization of Leucistic Texas Rat Snakes with corns has been done by snake breeders for many years.  Thankfully, the final HYBRID products of those crosses have not yet entered mainstream corn snake herpetoculture.

The amel mutation is elemental in many compound corn snake morphs, and since many of the other color and pattern mutations can alter the general coloration of amel corns, the one all Amel types of corns have in common is their complete absence of black over their entire bodies. The most popular selective variations of the amel mutation include the Candy Cane , Reverse Okeetee, Fluorescent, and Sunglow.  They are all polygenic variants of the base mutation, amel. Dark areas may be seen in some of the eyes of amel types, but this is not melanin.  It is tissue in the eyes that does not reflect light, and therefore only appears to be black.