T. marmoratus and T. pygmaeus

[pezzatos]

Hi everybody! Do you have any news for recognise these two species? I searched everywere, and maybe you had post these informations before, but I could not find.....
The only thing I know is that T. pygmaeus is smaller and most of times with brighter green than T. marmoratus...... I would like to know something more....
And I also wanted to know: do they can mate togheter and create hybrids?

Thank you! Cheers

 

[Azhael]

The main difference is of course size, but there are other clues that help make the distinction. Colour is perhaps the less useful characteristic as there is huge variation in either species with populations that resemble each other.
One good diagnostic characteristic is the crest of males. T.marmoratus will have high crests with a very marked depression right at the base of the tail, whereas T.pygmaeus has a shorter crest with a smoother transition from back to tail.
The colour of the belly has been said to be a consistent difference but i find this to be useless. Both species have variation that goes from black with white spots to cream with black and white speckles. Dorsal coloration is close to useless in my opinion. Sometimes it´s very obvious, sometimes it´s virtually indistinguishable.
Another characteristic which may or may not be useful is head shape. T.pygmaeus tends to have a slightly narrower and smaller head, but it may be difficult to tell specially if you can´t compare individuals.
Other than size and crest shape, the best way to tell is by locality.

They can hybridize so make sure to keep them separate. Unless you can confirm the origin of the animals, don´t mix them...hybrids would cause a lot of trouble.

 

[pezzatos]

Thanks Azhael,
and do the hybrids between those species are fertile...?

So they are almost indistinguishable without comparing individuals of the two species......

No problem for mixing, as I keep only T. marmoratus. I just wanted to know those things I asked....

 

[pezzatos]

Someone told me yesterday that hybrids between those two species are fertile only in the first and second generation... Do anyone agree/not agree?.....

 

[sergiom]

Hi,

pezzatos, I think that's not true, because where I live exists natural hybrids between T. marmoratus and T. Pygmaeus. So, if that´s true, they can't produce new babies every season, but they continue