You really expect me to believe that you were being 100% serious and not
just poking fun at me regarding earlier comments on the list? Especially
given that your last post or two had been very unserious. :-)
I have no clue as to the presence of hybrids. I think the boundary
between these two species is fascinating if they do indeed overlap. An
investigation of it (which I intend to do) should give many clues as to
potential modes of speciation in rainbows and other fishes. There are a
number of other species which have their northern boundaries around
this area (and probably southern) and there are a few species/subspecies
which cross over from one to another around this point and there may be
more that we have not recognised.
> that this was a different conversation to the Murray Cod/Trout Cod
> hybrids found in the Dam outside Sydney whose name has slipped my mind
Cataract Dam on the Nepean River. It is a water supply dam, thus folks
can't fish in it. There are also hybrids in the Murray River below
Yarrawonga.
> there being some naturally occuring Rainbow hybrids as well, or at
> least some evidence to suggest that there were.
I have suggested that they probably exist. Although, I am using a
different time frame to most folks. I am not saying that there are two
species out there today hybridising in the wild. I am suggesting that
over geological time there are probably some rainbowfish that are a mix
of two other species, subspecies or populations. The folks in Craig
Moritz's lab found limited evidence suggesting old hybridisation between
M.s. australis and M. exquisita. However, it takes a lot to prove this,
usually at least 3 independant techniques, ie allozyme genetics,
morphology/meristics, MtDNA and others depending upon the critter and
other things.
Tootles
Peter Unmack
Confusius says "Rooster one day, feather duster the next"
:-)