Gargoyle Gecko Morphs
Below are the gargoyle morphs we currently work with and what we look for in gargoyle structure. Much is unknown about how traits are inherited with gargoyles and at this time, and most are considered polygenic, like stripe/blotch intensity, base color, pattern and boldness and so on. There are some potential recessive and incomplete dominant traits that some folks are working with, but much more needs to be done in this area. I feel like gargoyles are where crested geckos were at a few years ago and it’s only a matter of time before some very interesting genes start to pop up in collections.
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Fig. 1. Merlin - Red & White super stripe gargoyle with a black & white base
Fig. 3. Calypso - bicolor (red & orange) blotch with brown reticulated pattern on light gray base color.
Fig. 2. Siren - Orange blotch with a medium brown base and brown reticulated pattern marking.
Fig. 4. Coffee - Bicolor banded reticulated with brown base and pattern color.
Fig. 5. Diablo - Red blotch with a light brown base, blue eyes, lipstick markings and red spectacles.
Fig. 6. Saoirse- Red stripe (quad) with lateral red blotching and a red base (fired down in pic)
Patterns and color in gargoyles are described separately as they do not seem to be genetically linked, similar to pattern and color in crested geckos. The two most commonly seen pattern types in the wild and when gargoyles were first introduced to the hobby were reticulated and striped with mostly brown and gray base coloring.
When I refer to pattern I am talking about the base patterning that sits underneath the color pigment (if present); this pattern is usually either black or brown. The colorful red and orange stripes and blotches on gargoyles is extremely variable and typically the highest priced animals have the highest coverage of red and orange pigment across their bodies.
Striped describes a gargoyle who ahs a dorsal stripe and lateral stripes. They can have several smaller dorsal stripes along the spine, or a bold solid stripe. The lateral stripes run from the shoulders & armpits to the flanks and hips. They too can be either a single bold stripe (rare) or several horizontal stripes. Most gargoyles have a pair of these lateral stripes on each side.
Aberrant lateral striping refers to pattern stripes that are irregular and not aligned horizontally along the body.
Super Stripe refers to gargoyles that have pattern striping that extends all the way down their tails.
Quad Stripe is a gargoyle with four color stripes (red or orange, or sometimes both) on its back. Six-Stripe is used to describe Quad animals that also have full lateral pigment striping
Reticulated
Banded
Blotch
Mottled
Skeleton/Dorsal Blotch
Super Blotch
Mosaic can be extremely varied.
Clown Vortex
Red, orange, and bicolor animals (aka bacon, but not Bacon line, animals) . Reverse bacon
Brown and gray base colors are the most common. Brown includes tan and dark brown base coloring, and gray includes light/white and dark gray base coloring.
Yellow base
Pastel - I don’t really know how to describe pastels as they have been described differently by different people in the hobby. My original understanding came from Gargoyle Queen Reptiles and described a light yellow gecko that would fire up brown; but MorphMarket has it as “The Pastel trait flares the white and yellow pigments to black and tan when fired up”. Which I don’t think is accurate anymore considering the “paste;” animals that are being sold. I think we need better terminology to describe what pastel means. I have seen “super pastels” that look like normals that lack color or bold patterning, and other geckos that satart off with a yellow cast to them that eventually disappears as they grow.
Purple, red, and pink base animals all describe variations in base color, and I thin some folks are calling the lighter versions of these “pastels.” These polygenic traits can be linebred and “stackeD” over generations to increase the saturation of the base color, though it can take a long time for a gecko’s base color to fully develop. For many it takes months, some, a year or even longer than that! Base color expression, much like color stripe expression, can also fade over time and as geckos get older. The best example maintain their base color throughout their lives. Some make it hard to tell though if they stay fired down the majority of the time.
Purple animals typically have a lavender cast to them and deep lavender-gray tones. Some purple and red base animals fire up an insane deep red base color (sometimes called super red), such as those in the Red Velvet project at Steadfast Lizards and Purple base project at Bergie’s Geckoyles. These animals still have a red base color when fired down, though not as intense when fired up.
