2/5/2021: The fallacy-filled mystery of “Ghost” scaber
It’s time to put on your sleuthing gear as we dissect the mystery of yet another isopod line!
A few years ago Porcellio scaber “Ghost” began circulating amongst several other supposed morphs. “Ghost” was characterized by a pale grey-purple body color and light eyes. Of course a purplish isopod of good size is highly desirable, but the naming confusion didn’t stop there as full body pigmentless lines were also marketed as some sort of “Ghost” morph.
Fast forward to the present day and folks have found themselves in an interesting predicament… their “Ghost” lines are all compromised with white outs! But perhaps the case is a bit more cut and dry than many would care to admit…
The above photo shows the genetics behind “Lucy”, a black-eyed white (Leucistic) scaber strain derived from California stock. As I demonstrated in an earlier post with full body pigment loss mutations, there is incomplete dominance in at least some of these scenarios. While leucistic and white out are distinct mutations, considering the similar phenotype effects we could expect that the heterozygous individuals of any isopod species will exhibit similar characteristics. Thus it’s not far-fetched to conclude that het. white out scaber would look very similar to het. leucistic scaber… and thus, an origin for the supposed “Ghost” strain.
My only disclaimer is that I have never personally kept “Ghost”, as I have had minimal desire to fiddle around with other folks’ untracked Porcellio scaber lines. But reports from at least three breeders confirm my suspicions that “Ghost” (at least the pale purple line) does not breed true and is thus a strain of mixed origin white outs and their hets. All the more reason to make sure your lines are tracked and proven!
-Kyle