# The difference between breed and morph?



## Reece S19 (Aug 21, 2017)

Hi there, can someone explain the difference between the breed and the morph? And what circumstances you would use each term in 
Thanks


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## Central Scotland Reptiles (Nov 23, 2008)

I guess the easiest way to explain it is in practical terms:

Breed - Cornsnake
Morph - Amelanistic, Snow, Motley etc etc

Breed - Royal Python
Morph - Spide, Piebald, Pastel etc etc

Breed - Leopard Gecko
Morph - Snow, Enigma, Albino etc etc

Does this help?


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## Tarron (May 30, 2010)

not sure I agree with that Fraser

Species and Breed are different.

For instance, the species Canis lupus familiaris has hundreds of breeds. Different breeds come in different varieties (morphs)

I think breed is a fairly loose term that only really works with some of the most domesticated species where they have become so far domesticated that shapes and size vary massively from the donor species. Whereas morphs are generally naturally occuring (though artificially selected) phenotypical differences (Scale size, colour, etc)


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## Reece S19 (Aug 21, 2017)

I'm a little confused with I he term species, say for instance I had a ball python is the species:ball python or is the species snake or neither?


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## Tarron (May 30, 2010)

Reece S19 said:


> I'm a little confused with I he term species, say for instance I had a ball python is the species:ball python or is the species snake or neither?


The species is Ball Python (Python regius)

Snake is a common term for the sub order Serpentes


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## Reece S19 (Aug 21, 2017)

So would these be examples of species? Crested gecko, leopard gecko and corn snake


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## Tarron (May 30, 2010)

Basically it goes like this

Kingdom - Animalia - Animals
Phylum - Chordata - Vertebrates
Class - Reptilia - Reptiles
Order - Squamata - Lizards and Snakes
Sub Order - Serpentes - Snakes
Family - Pythonidae - African, Asian and Australasian Pythons
Genus - Python - African and Asian Pythons
Species - regius - Royal Python (Python regius, Shaw 1802)
Breed - Applicable to domesticated species only and not a taxonomic rank
Morph - Colour variant of a species and also not a taxonomic rank

There isn't always full agreement on the lists, things change constantly.


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## ian14 (Jan 2, 2008)

Reece S19 said:


> So would these be examples of species? Crested gecko, leopard gecko and corn snake


You've got it! All three are species.


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## Central Scotland Reptiles (Nov 23, 2008)

I don't disagree with you Tarron I was just trying tailor my answer to the person(s) asking the question (no disrespect to the original poster) by keeping things simple in the first instance. 

If I was holding a Royal Python and someone asked what breed of snake is that? my answer would be the same as if I was asked what species of snake is that? 

So yes, athough it isn't technically correct - it does answer the question sufficently for the person asking in my opinion. 

Once the person is more familiar with these basic terms they can then if they wish, start to look more indepth into things such as sub-species or genetic terms like recessive or dominant. 



Tarron said:


> not sure I agree with that Fraser
> 
> Species and Breed are different.
> 
> ...


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## Tarron (May 30, 2010)

Central Scotland Reptiles said:


> I don't disagree with you Tarron I was just trying tailor my answer to the person(s) asking the question (no disrespect to the original poster) by keeping things simple in the first instance.
> 
> If I was holding a Royal Python and someone asked what breed of snake is that? my answer would be the same as if I was asked what species of snake is that?
> 
> ...


Thats a fair point, I wouldn't discourage someone from asking questions just because they used to wrong term, which itself is arbitrary and subjective anyway


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