Unusual Color Variations in the Natural World
By Frances Boyd
Photo by Shauneen Hutchinson
One of the beautiful gifts of nature is that of color . We enjoy the endless hues of birds and the intricate patterns of butterflies . We marvel at how animals ’ protective camouflage keeps them safe and aids in their ability to hunt . Likewise , we are puzzled and somewhat alarmed when we see something that looks out of order , like a splotchy deer or a white squirrel . What happened ? Why don ’ t these creatures look like they should look ?
The reason is that now and then , the genes that make nature natural mutate . Sometimes the mutated genes are passed on to offspring so that we see more than an occasional splotchy deer or encounter an entire area filled with white squirrels . How do these unnatural colorations occur , and what are the correct terms for them ? The following information is a very basic primer about coloration because the topic is too multi-layered to go into great detail in this format . The definitions and characteristics were obtained from various Internet sources .
Leucistic penguin .
Piebald deer .
Albinism Simply stated , albinism is the complete lack of pigmentation in a person , animal , or plant . The hair , feathers , and skin are all white , and the eyes are usually pink . An individual with albinism inherits the recessive gene from both parents .
Albino animals are rarely seen in the wild for several reasons . Without melanin , the eyes do not develop properly , and depth perception is affected — the eyes have trouble focusing . Besides , albino creatures have no protection from the sun . They can die from overexposure , not to mention the danger of attack from predators due to their lack of natural camouflage .
Albinism in plants interferes with photosynthesis due to the lack of chlorophyll pigments and other structural abnormalities .
Leucism Often mistaken for albinos , leucistic animals have a partial loss of pigmentation . While leucistic creatures can appear completely white , leucism is a very different type of abnormal genetic condition . It may have a variety of causes and does
36 Naturally Kiawah