Xanthism and Other Pigmentation Disorders

Way back I saw a news story on an orange nurse shark found in the wild.  Soon after, I read an article about a snowy owl with orange coloration among its white feathers.  I thought they were fake, but apparently they both had Xanthism.  This is when there is excess of yellow or orange pigmentation.  I got curious to see if there are others along with examples.

First, albinism would fall under this category, but I figure everyone knows about it.  This one is popular from what I can tell because albinism in humans shows up in fiction.  There is also the interest in white tigers and white alligators.  This is when there is a lack of pigmentation (melanin), which affects the eyes and skin.  So, what about the other ones in the animal kingdom?  (Names and explanations in captions of Google Image Search pictures.)

Xanthism, which creates a yellow/orange coloration. This shark also has albinism.

Axanthism is when there is no yellow pigmentation production\

Melanism, which is excess of melanin

Erythrism, which is caused by an absence or excess of pigmentation to make the organism red

Leucism, which is partial loss of pigmentation

Unknown's avatar

About Charles Yallowitz

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.
This entry was posted in Animal Posts and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

16 Responses to Xanthism and Other Pigmentation Disorders

  1. noelleg44's avatar noelleg44 says:

    Beautiful examples, Charles. We had a colony of black squirrels near us when we lived in Evanston, IL. I would often see them running down the sidewalk with an apple in their mouth – from our apple tree!

    Like

  2. These are very unusual pigment variations. Thanks for sharing them.

    Like

  3. V.M.Sang's avatar V.M.Sang says:

    A

    Thus is strange. A few days ago I did a crit for someone who had an animal with white patches. Now you’re doing a post about animal colouration.

    These are fascinating. I was unaware of many of these. They are wonderful, but not so muscle for tge animal concerned as it disrupts camouflage.

    Like

  4. The pink katydid is quite something!

    Like

  5. Interesting breakdown.

    Like

  6. Traci Ashbe's avatar Traci Ashbe says:

    This is interesting, Charles!

    Like

Leave a reply to DebyFredericks Cancel reply