Sources and method

No fake animals, no fake science. Descriptions on a gene page are drawn from the sources listed at the bottom of that page. If a detail could not be checked, the page says "not yet verified" rather than repeating hobby lore. Disputed points are shown as disputed. No AI-generated images. Some example photos are colour-enhanced; each one's caption says so, because colour is part of how morphs are told apart.

• Text read from the page's sources: the recognition notes were read directly from a reference page for that gene.
• Partly sourced: some notes were read from a source; the rest are marked "not yet verified".
• Description not yet sourced: the gene has photos, test information and sources, but its description was written from general knowledge and is withheld.
• Not yet verified (38 genes): no source read yet. Name only.
• Inheritance (recessive, incomplete dominant, dominant) is the trade's usage unless a page's sources state it; "(trade usage)" marks the ones the record itself flags.
• Health paragraphs print only where the record was read from a source. Elsewhere the page says a concern is reported and points to the sources.

31 of 45 gene pages carry a description today.

It cannot confirm what a snake is. Ball python genes overlap, stack in combination and shift with age, and several are indistinguishable by eye. Breeding results and DNA tests confirm genetics; a description narrows the field.

Photos sent in with a lab report carry this label. It means a reviewer read the report and it named those genes. It does not mean the report was authenticated or that the animal in the photo is the one that was sampled.

Photos are submitted by members and credited to their display name, are free-licence photos (public domain, CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA) credited to their author, or are sellers' photos, used with the seller's permission. Seller photos may be colour-enhanced and say so; member submissions must be unedited, because they form the lab-backed reference. Captions give the morph as the submitter or photographer labelled it; unless a caption says a lab report was seen, it has not been tested.

Free-licence photos used on this site:

• Albino. Photo: WingedWolfPsion, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Black Pastel. Photo: Kaorte, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Citrus Bumblebee combo (Citrus Pastel + Spider). Photo: Kaorte, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Hypo (Orange Ghost). Photo: WingedWolfPsion, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Lavender Albino, head close-up only. Photo: Kaorte, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Lesser with a black-back trait. Photo: Eclipse Exotics, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Mojave Enchi combo. Photo: Kaorte, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Mojave. Photo: WingedWolfPsion, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Orange Ghost (Hypo), hatchling. Photo: Eclipse Exotics, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Pastel. Photo: Cody Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Piebald, close-up of one coloured patch. Photo: Dr.Zoidberg2186, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Piebald. Photo: Eclipse Exotics, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Spider. Photo: WingedWolfPsion, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Woma. Photo: Eclipse Exotics, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.
• Woma. Photo: WingedWolfPsion, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized; some converted from PNG to JPEG.

• MorphMarket Morphpedia and community reference threads
• World of Ball Pythons
• The Rare Genetics Inc test list as shown on MorphMarket
• Peer-reviewed papers where they exist, cited on the gene page

Each gene page lists its exact sources with links.

Errors, removal requests and copyright concerns: hello@whatmorph.com.

I'm not a veterinarian and I don't hold a degree in animal science or animal care. This is a reference I compiled from the sources cited on each page. A photo or a checklist can suggest a morph; only breeding results or a DNA test can confirm genetics. For a sick animal, a reptile vet is the authority.