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August 29, 2008 10:14:46 CDT



Hybrid Lizards Muscle Out Mom and Dad

Posted Sep 18, 07 3:04 CDT in Science & Health 

(Newser) – The offspring of California tiger salamanders and barred tiger salamanders are living proof that not all hybrids are mule-style genetic dead ends: They’re breeding their parents out of house and home. In a watershed instance of "hybrid vigor" among animals, Science reports, the progeny of two species for the first time have a higher survival rate than their ancestors.

The native Californians have been breeding with Texas’ banded species for 50 years, but scientists only recently compared the viability of the lizards. The former animal is a threatened species with a threatened habitat; the new discovery raises the question of whether the hybrids should be killed to protect the purer original amphibians.

Source Science

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SALAMANDER - BARRED TIGER   (Earth Life Forms - Animals)
Julian Peacock of Brooklyn, New York, center, and his brother, Sam, take a peek at a salamander held by their father, Robert Peacock, during a hike at the Massachusetts Audubon's High Ledges site in Shelburne,...   (Associated Press)
SALAMANDER - TIGER(2 Of 4)   (Earth Life Forms - Animals)
SALAMANDER - TIGER(3 Of 4)   (Earth Life Forms - Animals)
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California   Texas   animal   species   hybrid animal   lizard   salamanders



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