Are hybrids sterile?

[Adam165]

I was just curious if hybrid snakes like the ball x blood pythons are sterile. I don't know a thing about breeding snakes but I do know that mules are sterile so does this apply to other animals?

[NBLADE]

Originally Posted by Adam165

I was just curious if hybrid snakes like the ball x blood pythons are sterile. I don't know a thing about breeding snakes but I do know that mules are sterile so does this apply to other animals?

I believe most mammal hybrids are sterile, however with reptiles it seems to not be the case, and most snake hybrids are fertile, ball x blood pythons are fertile.

[pdomensis]

Good question. The problem is that for years we've learned in biology class that a species is a group that can breed and produce fertile offspring and that critters not in the same species can't do that. While this holds true for a lot of things there are a number of examples of cross-species and even cross-genus hybrids out in the real world (and on the market). Some times the animals are "breaking the rules" and sometimes we just don't know enough about the relationships to correctly define a "species". While NBLADE is correct in that most hybrids on the market are fertile, that doesn't mean you can breed more distant relatives, say boids and colubrids and expect fertile offspring-much to my disappointment.

Anyone interested in a retic/milksnake?

[warehouse13fan]

There are a very,VERY small amount of sterile reptile hybrids in the world, an even smaller amount in snakes.

[exwizard]

Originally Posted by pdomensis

...Anyone interested in a retic/milksnake?

That's funny

[smy_749]

Some are sterile, some are not. (I believe the greater majority are not fertile)

[Aaron_S]

Originally Posted by smy_749

Some are sterile, some are not. (I believe the greater majority are not fertile)

So which ones are not?

To my knowledge, in snakes, most are fertile.

[smy_749]

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

So which ones are not?

To my knowledge, in snakes, most are fertile.

I don't mean a specific hybrid combination. I meant on an individual snake scale.

[Starbuck]

in mammals, the reason most are sterile is because the numbers of chromosomes do not match up; i.e. a horse and a donkey have 64 and 62 chromosomes respectively; therefore, horse and donkey zygotes (sperm and egg) have 64/62 chromosomes. when they hybridize, you end up with a mule with 63 chromosomes (some from the horse and some from the donkey).The mules zygotes are non functional because they have wring sets of chromosomes; they will ONLY be fertile if the chromosomes happen to recombine in a perfect horse/donkey alignment- which is why the occasional mule female will give birth.

A quick google search of how many chromosomes does a snake have yeilds 'Most have 36 pairs'; which is probably why similar species can interbreed and have fertile offspring. Once you start crossing function barriers (live bearers vs eggs) and extreme evolutionary distance you cease to get viable offspring.