Patternless Crested Geckos
Sold by its shade, a patternless crested gecko is one solid colour from nose to tail, ranging from red and yellow to olive and near-black. It is still argued whether this is a gene of its own or the strongest form of Phantom, so ask what a breeding line has actually proven.
About the Patternless gene
A crested gecko with a Patternless look is the plainest it can be. These animals have one solid colour over the body with no lateral or dorsal pattern at all. Because the colour is the whole appeal, these animals are sold by their shade as Patternless Red or Patternless Yellow.
Appearance
Other geckos might have pinstripes, harlequin markings or flames, but a patternless crested gecko has one even colour. Any base colour can appear, including red, orange, yellow, olive, brown and near-black, along with every shade in between. Animals that are brown, tan or olive are usually called Buckskin. A gecko is rated higher if it has fewer marks and the best examples are most uniform with little or no variation across the body. A few extras do not take a gecko out of the category. A plain animal might have contrasting portholes, and Dalmatian spots make a Patternless Dalmatian. The comparison that matters most is with Phantom. A true patternless animal shows no trace of its underlying pattern, while a Phantom usually still shows a faint trace.
Genetics
Patternless is traded as a recessive, meaning a het looks like any other crested gecko. Sellers use Patternless for the visual animal, while Het Patternless, 50% Het Patternless, 66% Het Patternless and Pos Het Patternless are used for animals that may carry it. There is a dispute about whether it is a gene of its own. One view claims it is a separate recessive that removes pattern entirely, told apart from Phantom by breeding look-alike hets. The other view is that patternless is a descriptor rather than a trait, and every patternless animal is a Phantom whose pattern colour has been suppressed. Because the two are so easily confused, ask the seller if the line has been test bred for Patternless itself. No originator or first year is recorded.