Hobby culture

Yellow Albino

Colour or form line Probable

A culture sold as Yellow Albino. The working identification is Ceratophysella isabellae.

Read this first

A colour morph is not a species. A colour word in a name does not name a taxon.

What the name stands for

Three different things share one name. A culture is not a species, and a species is not the animals in your tub. Keeping them apart is how this site avoids repeating the trade's mistakes.

  1. The culture

    A lineage kept in tubs and passed between keepers under one name. The name comes from the trade.

    Name type
    Colour or form line

    The origin of this stock is not documented.

  2. The species it matches

    The working identification, and how it was reached.

    Ceratophysella isabellae
    Name form
    Exact name The name has been matched against the published description.
    How sure
    Probable More likely than not, with gaps left.
  3. The animals checked

    No specimen has been examined. The name rests on the trade label.

    Basis
    Trade label only
    Review
    Reviewed by a curator

Care advice follows the working identification. Check it against what you see.

Notes

Warning The word albino is a hobby label for a pale form. No source read for this site shows that the animals lack pigment because of a genetic change. Anecdotal 1

What would settle it

  • Which species is this culture, checked by a specialist?

    Identification Needs a voucher specimen

    Why it matters. Hobby cultures are mostly named from a seller's label or a photograph. A wrong name spreads from seller to keeper and then into care advice.

    What would help. Preserved vouchers from the culture in 80 to 95 percent ethanol, mounted specimens examined by a springtail specialist, and a DNA barcode where a reference exists. Deposit the voucher with a museum or a university collection.

Sources

  1. 1

    Springtail Identification and Common Name Resource

    Pavy R. Springtails US

    Link works · Retailer

    Cited at hobby name list, Ceratophysella isabellae.