Originally Posted by RidgeTop Reptiles

It's only a well thought out post if it gets your point across. Apparently your's is not well thought out.

It's been proven that corns and rats will breed in the wild. They are VERY closely related. Thus they are an 'intergrade' when they do. It happened in nature. However if you do the same pairing in captivity... they are a hybrid. That pairing was not the work of natural selection.

I suppose next your going to tell me that a cross between L. triangulum and L. getula should be an intergrade. All because they are in the genus Lampropeltis.

Maybe you should stop and think this. Scientists have determined that the following are different enough that they should be in their own SUB SPECIES.

Common Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula
California Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula californiae (Blainville, 1835)
Florida Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula floridana (Blanchard, 1919)
Eastern Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula getula (Linnaeus, 1766)
Apalachicola Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula meansi (Krysko & Judd, 2006)
Speckled Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula holbrooki (Stejneger, 1902)
Black Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula niger (Yarrow, 1882)
Western Black Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula nigrita (Zweifel & Norris, 1955)
Desert Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula splendida (Baird & Girard, 1853)
Isla Santa Catalina Kingsnake Lampropeltis "getula" catalinensis (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921)

And since they are in their own SUB SPECIES.... they are a distinct animal. Would like like to call it an 'intergrade' if I bred my Desert King to my Speckled King?

I do believe that is a hybrid... not an intergrade.... but yet they are both only sub-species of Lampropeltis getula or the Common Kingsnake.... which is the exact same thing you're trying to preach to all of us.How about we breed the California King to a Flordia King. Another "Intergrade"? YOUR logic is flawed. Intergrades have a chance of happening in nature and they are "Intergrades" when they do happen in nature.

Man made = Hybrid.