wild garters cross breeding in the wild.

[chris-uk]

Science, as a rule, never proves anything. Gravity, evolution, etc. are all theories. A theory may have a lot of evidence to support it, but it can never be "proven." This is a basic "rule" of science.

There's a great many facts that have been proven by science. For example, science has proven that my unborn child is male, this has been done using ultrasound tests and a full chromosomal mapping. I wouldn't call the ultrasound proof because there is a risk of human error, however correct scientific method precludes the possibility of an error in the chromosomal mapping. There's a difference between science proving a fact and proving out a theorem.

Here's a three-way atratus cross (Santa Cruz, Oregon and Diablo Range Garter Snake) that I found last year.

Nice snake.

That snake was tested at the California Academy of Science - so that's why. It's not an arguement - it's a simple statement of fact.

Given your earlier statement that science never proves anything (as a rule), I'd be interested to know what tests were done at the California Academy of Science that makes the atratus specimen an exception to your rule. I do science (at least I claim to, I do have a medical genetics degree which tells me I used to do science) which makes me curious about the sort of tests that are done by professional herpetologists in institutions around the world.