I've been working on a theory

ever since the lotto days (No, this is not a rant about how the lottery is the only reason rares exist or how you only get new rares from old lotto lines. I'm pro-lotto days, if it matters).

The theory is that (ignoring pine/gael) all the Species are Inside each other. What do I mean by this? I will break it down following:

Masked is inside Nile. Example: Breeding a Koi and a Painted giving Kabuki, Jubilee, RARELY a Geisha, Azure. A Painted is the "first" tier of Nile, a Koi is the "first" tier of Masked. Kabuki/Azure fight for 3rd/4th, Geisha is seemingly 5th (with Sakura being the Snowpaw/Loch of the Masked line at 6th). Jubilee is 2nd in the Nile series.

This suggests to me that if you breed a "low" Masked with a "low" Nile (One species "above" Masked) you will get either a progressively higher Masked or a slightly improved Nile.

This theory has been around a while in the forums and live chats in SL. It's frequently called "coat upgrading". My theory goes on beyond that.

The same phenomenon can be seen between Nile and Savannah - Painted/Zulu giving HIGH end Masked such as Kabuki/Geisha consistently, middle of the road Nile such as Jubilee/Desert/Dune, or Terracotta - A single step up from Zulu in the Savannah species.

Where I diverge from the coat theory... is mine is a species theory.

What happens when you mix a Koi with a Zulu?

What I have observed happening time and time again is you get usually a Jubilee/Desert/Dune Nile! Or you get recessive offspring (Wine/fawns that don't visibly carry their parents coats, but when bred to other offspring do crazy things like make Geishas, Dynastys, or a few times.. I saw Kimodo!) - which for my purposes is considered a -good- thing and progresses down the species just as well if not better.

So Masked is inside Nile genes, Nile is inside Savannah genes... and Masked is inside Savannah. This ALSO means that your Savannah genes should ALSO be found inside your Nile (as seen by Nile that start making Zulu) as you breed them. That you can find Savannah inside Masked (Koi making Kimodo? Yep!).

The only puzzle piece I am missing is I can not for the life of me figure out where the link is in Pine and Gael species to get Masked to express! It's throwing me for a damn loop and very frustrating that I can not get my non-Masked lines (I earned them in contests, not from my own breeding) to express the Masked! Heaven help me if I wanted to start trying to get them to express Savannah! (Which I have seen happen for friends. I was so happy for them).

Comments, questions, or additions are *very* welcome. (Especially if you have 'cracked' the species jump between Pine/Gael and Masked, lol)