Erythrism
Unusual reddish pigmentation in animals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Erythrism or erythrochroism refers to an unusual reddish pigmentation of an animal's hair, skin, feathers, or eggshells.[1]
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Causes of erythrism include:
- Genetic mutations which cause an absence of a normal pigment and/or excessive production of others[2]
- Diet, as in bees feeding on "bright red corn syrup" used in maraschino cherry manufacturing.[3]
Erythrism in katydids has been occasionally observed. The coloring might be a camouflage that helps some members of the species survive on red plants.[4] There is also consensus that the erythristic mutation is actually a dominant trait among katydid species, albeit a disadvantageous one, due to the overwhelmingly green coloration of most foliage. Hence, most pink or otherwise vividly colored katydids do not survive to adulthood, and this observation explains their rarity.[5] Erythrism in leopards is rare, but one study[6] reported that two of twenty-eight leopards seen in camera traps in a South African nature reserve were erythristic, and the authors found records of five other "strawberry" leopards from the region.[7]
Bird's eggs
Common guillemots lay eggs with highly variable egg colors, including rare red eggs, which are estimated by Tim Birkhead to be at a frequency of 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000 eggs.[8] The red color is thought to be due to the absence of biliverdin, and/or an excess of protoporphyrin IX. One such rare red common guillemot egg was the Metland Egg.[8]
Gallery
- Erythrism in Katydids
