Written Assignment#6

Basselopes and Reproductive Barriers Between Species

Basselopes were created by Berkeley Breathed in his Bloom County Comic Strip. Berkeley Breathed wrote an entire book devoted to the basselope entitled The Last Basselope: One Ferocious Story.

A basselope is part Basset Hound and part Antelope. They are very rare. Rumor has them to be vicious and unpredictable creatures when in fact they are very docile, peaceful animals. See attached mug shots of the last basselope named Rosebud.

Your assignment is to discuss/describe the pre-zygotic and post-zygotic reproductive barriers that are present that may or may not impede the mating of a Basset Hound and an Antelope.

The following information is provided to help support or disclaim your arguments as to the ability of a Basset Hound and Antelope to produce viable, fertile offspring.

	Basset Hound (Dog)	Antelope (Pronghorn)
# of chromosomes	78 chromosomes or 39 pairs of homologous chromosomes	58 chromosomes or 29 pairs of homologous chromosomes
Breeding season	Twice a year, one of which could be from Aug to Oct.	Last week in August to first week of October
Gestation Period (Length of pregnancy)	63 days	7 – 7 ½ months
# of babies per pregnancy	7 -10 average	2
Age of sexual maturity	6 – 12 months	1 year
Dietary habits	Omnivores – eat almost anything	Vegetarians – eat shrubs, forbs, grass, flowers (like daisies), and fruit
Similar Habits	Curious Disinclination to jump over fences and other objects – prefer to crawl under or between obstacles Eat constantly	Curious Disinclination to jump over fences and other objects – prefer to crawl under or between obstacles Eat constantly
Different Habits	Sedate, though can track for hours (running speed about 2 miles/hour for SHORT bursts) Primarily use sense of smell Prefer to be next to range/stove Thrive on human attention	Swift runners (run at just under 70 KM/ hour) Primarily use sense of sight Prefer open range Prefer little human contact

BONUS (3 points): Show how a Basset Hound and an Antelope COULD produce viable, fertile offspring. (Berkeley Breathed’s basselope eventually bred with a jack rabbit and produced jackabasselopes so the basselope must have been reproductively viable!!)