Murphy Patternless Leopard Geckos

Because the Murphy Patternless gene removes the bands and spots of a leopard gecko, the appeal of the animal is its clean colour instead of its markings. This is one of the oldest recessive genes in the hobby. Nowadays, it appears more often as a building block in combo morphs than as a headline gene bought on its own.

Appearance

A light body features faint tan, grey or brown markings near the head and shoulders on hatchlings. These markings fade steadily and are gone by around ten months old. From pale yellow to deep purple, the adult is a single flat colour. Sometimes a grey or greenish cast and a purple-grey tail are present. The eyes stay a normal leopard gecko colour throughout. Because the look is close enough to Blizzard, keepers compare the two side by side, although a Blizzard hatches patternless from day one instead of losing its markings as it grows.

Genetics

Because Murphy Patternless is recessive, a visual is the only way to identify it as it is not a normal leopard gecko. A carrier cannot be told apart by eye. This is why the family includes 50% Het, Het, 66% Het, Pos Het Murphy Patternless and the visual. No allelic partner or complex one is documented. It sits on its own locus instead of sharing one with Blizzard. A separate combo called Banana Blizzard comes from pairing the two genes rather than either parent showing through on its own. Murphy Patternless is also stacked into Super Platinum with Super Mack Snow, into Cyclone with Rainwater Albino and Eclipse, and into Ember and Snowflake alongside Tremper Albino, Eclipse and Mack Snow. Until the true leucistic Blizzard gene surfaced and forced a rename, it was sold as Leucistic. Listings still use Patty, MP, PA and Patternless as shorthand. Pat Murphy produced the first one in 1991.