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Although polymorphic phenotypes are common in wild felids, leucism is a rather rare characteristic and consists in the general cleaning of the animal's coat, assigning a white coloration pattern. This characteristic is genetically controlled, with reces-sive inheritance. We present the first record ever of leucism in pumas Puma concolor recorded in wild populations, from Serra dos Órgãos National Park, Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. This record was documented with a great sampling effort, with camera traps from 2010 to 2016, being registered only in two of the twenty-four sampling stations in 2013. The record of this rare phenotype will be the baseline for later studies on the genetic basis of leucism and the adaptive relevance of this phenotypic characteristic in wild cat populations.
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ISSN 1027-2992
CAT
news
N° 68 | Autumn 2018
CATnews 68 Autumn 2018
02
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CATnews 68 Autumn 2018
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CECÍLIA CRONEMBERGER1,2, FABIANE DE AGUIAR PEREIRA1, ANA ELISA DE FARIA BACELLAR1
AND LUCAS GONÇALVES DA SILVA3
First record of leucism in
puma from Serra dos Órgãos
National Park, Brazil
Although polymorphic phenotypes are common in wild felids, leucism is a rather rare
characteristic and consists in the general cleaning of the animal's coat, assigning a
white colouration pattern. This characteristic is genetically controlled, with reces-
sive inheritance. We present the first record ever of leucism in pumas Puma concolor
recorded in wild populations, from Serra dos Órgãos National Park, Atlantic Forest of
southeastern Brazil. This record was documented with a great sampling effort, with
camera traps from 2010 to 2016, being registered only in two of the twenty-four sam-
pling stations in 2013. The record of this rare phenotype will be the baseline for later
studies on the genetic basis of leucism and the adaptive relevance of this phenotypic
characteristic in wild cat populations.
Polymorphic phenotypes are common in wild
cats. There are records of iconic cases such
as melanism in leopards and jaguars called
‘black panthers’ (Eizirik et al. 2003, Schnei-
der et al. 2012, Silva 2017, Silva et al. 2017)
and leucism in white tigers and lions (War-
rick 2010, Cho et al. 2013, Xu et al. 2013).
Leucism can be defined as the total lack of
pigmented cells in the fur in some areas
or all the body, which rarely affects hair-
less body parts such as the nose, feet, and
exposed skin but never affects the iris, while
albinism is the impairment of the bioche-
mical pathway of melanin production that
affects all body parts, including hair, eyes
and skin (Arriaga-Flores et al. 2016, Utzeri
2017). The main distinctive feature of albino
animals is pink eyes, because without me-
lanin in the body, it is the colour that comes
from blood vessels behind the eye (Sokos
et al. 2018). These polymorphic phenotypes
are genetically controlled by several genes,
dominant in some cases, and recessive in
others (Eizirik et al. 2003, Utzeri 2017) and
can play adaptive roles in certain ecological
conditions (Caro 2005, Silva et al. 2017).
The main adaptive functions of colouration in
mammals, as a general rule, are concealment,
communication, and regulation of physiologi-
cal processes, but these mechanisms are still
poorly understood in felids (Caro 2005). Albi-
nism and leucism are commonly considered
a disadvantage for wild animals for various
reasons, such as their higher visibility to pre-
dators, visual pathologies and immunological
defects (Abreu et al. 2013, Sokos et al. 2018).
However, some authors argue that survival
of albinos does not differ from that of non-
albinos of cryptic or nocturnal species and of
those that have few predators (Abreu et al.
2013). Albino or leucistic specimens may not
be so attractive for breeding or be treated as
foreigners by their co-specifics (Sokos et al.
2018). Because such colour abnormalities
are rare and poorly studied, their effect in
the fitness and survival of the affected indi-
viduals is not yet known (Caro 2005, Abreu et
al. 2013, Sokos et al. 2018). Monitoring this
polymorphism may contribute to the identifi-
cation of the populations exposed to stress or
inbreeding (Bensch et al. 2000).
Only for two species of wild cat leucism is
presently described and already genetic ba-
sis defined: in tigers Panthera tigris the white
colouration pattern is associated with the
A477V gene that causes a dysfunction in the
transporter protein SLC45A2, promoting the
loss of function for pheomelanin (Xu et al.
2013); and in lions Panthera leo it is caused
by a mutation in the TYR260G>A gene, in the
same way inducing the white background
colour phenotype (Cho et al. 2013). This trait
has a recessive inheritance pattern, with very
low frequency and appears to be a neutral
character in wild populations (Xu et al. 2013).
The puma is the most widely distributed wild
cat in the Neotropics, occurring from northern
Canada to the southern tip of South Ame-
rica, from sea level to 5,800 m (Sunquist &
Sunquist 2002). This large felid is found in a
broad range of habitats, in all forest types,
shrublands, grasslands and savannas, as well
as lowlands and montane deserts (Sunquist
& Sunquist 2002). Throughout its distribution
this species is categorised by the IUCN as
Least Concern (Nielsen et al. 2015), but in
Brazil it is considered as Vulnerable (Azevedo
et al. 2013). Pumas are threatened by habitat
loss and fragmentation, and poaching of their
wild prey base (Novack et al. 2005). They are
persecuted across their range by retaliatory
hunting due to livestock depredation and the
fear that they pose a threat to human life
(Treves & Karanth 2003).
Adult pumas are uniformly coloured with no
body marks (Werdelin & Olsson 1997). Adult
dorsal pelage is usually tan but may appear
greyish, reddish, or brownish, and ventral
Fig. 1. Map of the study area, Serra dos Órgãos National Park (PARNASO) in Rio de Janei-
ro State, southeastern Brazil, depicting the locations of each camera trap sampling station
(orange circles) and the locations where the leucistic phenotype was registered (red circles).
original contribution
CATnews 68 Autumn 2018
39
pelage ranges from creamy to white (Trani &
Chapman 2007). The tail tip and the back of
the ears are brown to black, and the white
muzzle is bordered by a black line. According
to Sunquist & Sunquist (2002), temperate
pumas tend to have paler, light greyish co-
louration, while tropical pumas tend to have
brighter, reddish tones. There is no record of
any melanistic or leucistic phenotype for this
species in wild populations, although albi-
nism has been rarely recorded (Sunquist &
Sunquist 2002).
Serra dos Órgãos National Park (PARNA-
SO) is located in the mountainous area of
Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Bra-
zil, about 100 km from Rio de Janeiro city
(-22°23’36.96’’ – -22°34’57.72’’ N and
-43°10’57.72’’ – -42°58’43.68’’ E). The park
protects 200.24 km² of Atlantic Forest, one the
most threatened biodiversity hotspots of the
world (Rezende et al. 2018), in a very complex
scenery, surround-ed by rapidly growing cities
and various sources of pressure, such as pol-
luting industries and agrochemical-based ag-
riculture (Cronemberger & Viveiros de Castro
2009).
According to Thorntwaite’s classification, cli-
mate in PARNASO is mesothermic and super
humid, with little or no water deficit (FIDERJ
1978). Rainfall presents a seasonal distribu-
tion, with concentration in summer (Decem-
ber to March) and dry season in winter (June
to August). This area has the highest rainfall
of Rio de Janeiro state, which varies from
1,500 to 3,000 mm annually, due to orograph-
ic rainfall (Davis & Naghettini 2000).
The park shows a very steep relief that
ranges from 80 to 2,275 m. The considerable
variation in altitude contributes to maintain a
high variety of micro habitats that favours the
occurrence of great biological diversity. The
vegetation is mainly dense ombrophilous for-
est (Veloso et al. 1991), which can be divided
into four phytophysionomies, according to al-
titude (Rizzini 1959). Over 2000 plant species
have been found in the area (Rizzini 1959).
The fauna is similarly diverse, and the most
species-rich vertebrate groups are birds, with
over 460 species, and amphibians, with over
100 species (Cronemberger & Viveiros de
Castro 2009). A recent study listed 99 mam-
mal species for the area, including five wild
cats with recent records (Puma concolor, Her-
pailurus yagouaroundi, Leopardus pardalis,
L. wiedii and L. gutullus; Cronemberger et al.
in prep). The jaguar Panthera onca was once
present but is considered locally extinct in
this area, along with three other large-sized
mammals (Cunha 2007).
Park staff conducted an extensive mammal
monitoring project using camera traps from
2010 to 2016, with a total effort of 18,252
camera trap days, which has recorded 24
species of medium and large sized mammals
(Pereira 2017). Puma was the second most
registered species in the sampling period,
being the opossum Didelphis aurita the first
one (Pereira 2017).
In 2013, we used 48 camera traps (Tigrinus®
and Bushnell® models) in 24 sampling
stations each consisting of 2 camera traps
facing each other, in an attempt to record
both left and right sides of the animals to
be able to identify individuals. Sampling
stations were located about 3 km apart from
each other (Fig. 1). The total sampling effort
was of 4,792 camera trap days (from April to
December 2013).
We obtained 33 independent records (at least
one hour apart from each other) of puma
from 11 different sampling stations. In this
dataset, we found four records of an indivi-
dual showing leucistic characteristics: its fur
was greyish white and it did not show typical
puma colouring on the tip of the tail, behind
the ears or around the mouth. This individual
was identified as a male and a young speci-
men (Fig. 2). This same specimen was cap-
tured by two different camera trap stations
located about 4.5 km apart (Fig. 2). Both sites
were located in dense ombrophylous forest;
MAE was located in 1,054 m of elevation and
CX was located in 1,259 m (Fig. 1). Because
Fig. 2. Leucistic male puma recorded in two different sampling stations of PARNASO: (A) MAE July 5th 2013, (B) MAE in August 13th
2013, (C) CX in July 21st 2013 and (D) CX in September 7th 2013 (Photos ICMBio).
first record of leucism in puma, Brazil
A B
C D
CATnews 68 Autumn 2018
40
of the proximity of the sites, and considering
the rarity of leucism in this species, assuming
it was a single individual seems more parsi-
monious than considering that two leucistic
individuals would appear in the study area at
the same time.
The animal visited both sites repeatedly: re-
cords show him on MAE on 5. July; then in CX
on 21. July; then back to MAE on 13. August
and back to CX in 7. September. In MAE, the
leucistic individual was the only puma record-
ed. In CX, there were other three records of pu-
mas (on 7. and 15. July and 2. September), but
different from the previous mentioned records,
these were made at night, using infrared light,
and resulted in poorer quality pictures which
do not allow to check the animal's fur colour-
ation. Nevertheless, considering the animal’s
size and structure, it does seem like the same
individual, but, being conservative, we have
not considered these records. Moreover, it is
noteworthy that between the two sites where
the leucistic individual was recorded lies a
third sampling station (CA2) where a female
and another male were recorded during the
same period, showing that the leucistic indi-
vidual may have crossed their territory mul-
tiple times to move between MAE and CX.
Unfortunately, the leucistic animal was not
seen in the following years, despite the effort
of 5,531 camera trap days in 2014, 2,023 in
2015 and 1,561 in 2016, including the same
sites where this phenotype was recorded in
2013. The two sites where it was recorded
were occupied by ancestral coloured pumas
between 2014 and 2016.
Despite the species’ wide distribution, this
is the first record ever of leucism for puma in
wild populations. We did not find any records
of leucism in this species, either in wild or
captive populations, described in the scienti-
fic literature. The next step of this study will
be to locate this individual, live capture it and
obtain a biological sample, aiming to identify
the leucism mutation in this species. Addi-
tionally, we hope to compare this genetic data
with the identified mutation for white tigers
(Xu et al. 2013) and lions (Cho et al. 2013) to
test if these different mutations have arisen
independently. As this record is very rare
and uncommon, this animal can be treated
as a treasure and opens up new avenues to
investigate this colouration polymorphic phe-
notype in wild cats and its ecological implica-
tions. Considering the recessive nature of leu-
cism (Utzeri 2017), the decreasing population
trend of pumas (Azevedo et al. 2013, Nilsen
et al. 2015) and the fragmented landscape of
the Atlantic Forest (Rezende et al. 2018), the
appearance of this leucistic specimen may be
an indicator of inbreeding or environmental
stress (Bensch et al. 2000) in the local popula-
tion, which is of conservation concern.
Acknowledgements
Authors would like to thank PARNASO’s staff for par-
ticipation in field expeditions and logistic support;
CENAP/ICMBio and LabVert/UFRJ for camera-trap
loans; Ernesto Viveiros de Castro, Vitor Pimentel,
Jorge Luiz do Nascimento, Eduardo Eizirik, Martín
Alejandro Montes, Felipe Pessoa, Ronaldo Morato,
Rogério de Paula and Beatriz Beisiegel for helpful
discussions;and ICMBio for research authorization
(number 24613). We thank PIBIC/ICMBio and PI-
BIC/UFRJ for undergraduate scholarships. We also
thank Maria de las Mercedes Guerisoli and Laura
Bertola for helpful comments in the editorial pro-
cess. This research was funded by ICMBio, CNPq,
PPBio/CNPq – Rede BioM.A., FAPERJ and FACEPE.
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1 Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Bio-
diversidade, Parque Nacional da Serra dos Ór-
gãos, Av. Rotariana s/n, Teresópolis, RJ, Brazil,
25960-602
2 Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Pro-
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3 Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, De-
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<ceciliacronemberger@gmail.com>
<lucas_gonc@yahoo.com.br>
ROLAND BÜRKI1 AND URS BREITENMOSER1
Inaugural Range State meet-
ing for the joint CMS–CITES
African Carnivores Initiative,
5–8 November 2018 in Bonn,
Germany
In 2014, the Convention on the Conservation
of Migratory Species of Wild Animals CMS
and the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flo-
ra CITES developed a joint work programme
for the period 2015–20201. It aims to perform
“joint activities addressing shared species
and issues of common interest”. Subse-
quently, the Secretariats of both Conventions
proposed the establishment of a Joint CMS
– CITES African Carnivores Initiative (ACI;
CMS & CITES 2017), covering the African lion
Panthera leo, leopard Panthera pardus and
cheetah Acinonyx jubatus, which are listed
under both Conventions, and the African wild
dog Lycaon pictus listed under CMS (CITES
2017, CMS 2018). The proposal was en-
dorsed by the 12th Conference of the Parties
to CMS and the task of establishing the ACI
was formally given to the Secretariat in Deci-
sion 12.60 (CMS 2017). The CITES Secretariat
does not yet have a mandate beyond the joint
working programme, as there has not been a
CoP since the development of the proposal.
However, it is expected that at the upcoming
18th CITES CoP in May 2019 in Colombo, Sri
Lanka, the ACI will be discussed.
The 1st Meeting of Range States for the Joint
CMS – CITES African Carnivore Initiative
ACI1 took place at the UN Campus in Bonn,
Germany from 5 to 8 November 2018. Repre-
sentatives of 31 Range States attended the
conference (Fig. 1 & 2; CMS & CITES 2018);
Fig. 1. Attendants of the 1st Meeting of Range States for the Joint CMS – CITES African Carnivores Initiative (Photo UNEP–CMS).
... It is caused by genetic mutations that result in excess (melanism), an absence of (albinism) or deficient (leucism and piebaldism) melanin synthesis (Eizirik et al., 2003;Miller, 2005). Leucism is caused by low frequencies recessive mutations in mammals (Cho et al., 2013;Xu et al., 2013) and is rare in wild populations (Cronemberger et al., 2018;Silva et al., 2019a). Leucistic individuals may have the same coat color pattern as their conspecifics (Miller, 2005;Silva et al., 2019a), but with a lack or reduction of pigmentation in most or parts of the body, except for the eyes and body extremities (Aximoff et al., 2020;Mendes-Pontes et al., 2020). ...
... Leucistic individuals may have the same coat color pattern as their conspecifics (Miller, 2005;Silva et al., 2019a), but with a lack or reduction of pigmentation in most or parts of the body, except for the eyes and body extremities (Aximoff et al., 2020;Mendes-Pontes et al., 2020). This polymorphism commonly is considered as a disadvantage, possibly decreasing individual survival and fitness (Caro, 2005;Cronemberger et al., 2018) due to greater susceptibility to predation or difficulty with camouflage, especially in the case of top predators (Abreu et al., 2013;Sokos et al., 2018), and can be associated visual and immunological pathologies (Grant et al., 2001;Summers, 2009). ...
... Among Neotropical mammals, rodents, chiropterans, and cetaceans have more reports of species with polymorphic pigmentation, with leucism being the least frequent anomaly (Abreu et al., 2013;Fertl et al., 2004;Neves et al., 2014;Silva et al., 2019b;Stumpp et al., 2019). Within Carnivora, records of species with leucism in the Neotropics are still few and punctual, being already reported in Lontra longicaudis (Olfers, 1818) (Arriaga-Flores et al. 2016), Eira barbara (Linnaeus, 1758) (Mendes-Pontes et al., 2020;Scrich et al., 2019;Talamoni et al., 2017), Nasua narica (Linnaeus, 1766) (Silva-Caballero et al., 2014), Puma concolor (Linnaeus, 1771) (Cronemberger et al., 2018), Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758) (McBride & Giordano, 2010) and, recently, in three canids, Lycalopex gymnocercus G. Fischer, 1814 (Chatellenaz & Zaracho, 2021), Canis latrans Say, 1823 (Arroyo-Arce et al., 2019) and Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766) (Oliveira et al., 2019). This last case of a leucistic crab-eating fox (C. ...
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Leucism has been increasingly reported in mammals, but there are still few records for canids. Here, we report the first record of a leucistic crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) from Atlantic Forest in the southern Brazil. The region possesses savanna relics immersed into the Atlantic Forest domain and is characterized by large crops and habitat loss. This coloration morph is a very rare recessive and can be influenced by selection under certain environmental characteristics. Anthropic factors may be isolating local populations and be playing a role in inducing the appearance of this pigmentation variant in natural populations of this wild canid.
... An increasing number of mammal coloration anomalies have been recorded in the Neotropics. Such cases have been reported for more than seven taxa (Abreu et al. 2013), including Chiroptera (Lucatti & López-Baucells 2016), marsupials (Abreu et al. 2013), Carnivora (Talamoni et al. 2017;Cronemberger et al. 2018;Scrich et al. 2019;Aximoff et al. 2021a), primates (Vasconcelos et al. 2017;Leandro-Silva et al. 2022) and ungulates, from deers (Guastalla et al. 2021), to tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) (Landis et al. 2020) and Tayassuidae species (collared-peccary and white-lipped peccary) (Veiga, 1994;Silva et al. 2019;Aximoff et al. 2021b). The only three records of chromatic anomalies for D. tajacu at the neotropical region are from leucistic individuals of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Veiga, 1994;da Silva et al. 2019) and an individual with no identified anomaly (Urgiles-Verdugo et al. 2024). ...
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Coloration is crucial for mammalian adaptation, influencing predator defense and social behavior. In recent decades, chromatic anomalies have been documented in Neotropical mammals, including albinism, leucism, and piebaldism, affecting several species. Pie-baldism is a rare autosomal disorder characterized by asymmetric depigmented patches on the body. This study presents the first record of piebaldism in the collared peccary (Dicotyles tajacu Linnaeus, 1758) throughout its distribution. The record was obtained using camera traps at the Estação Ecológica (ESEC) da Terra do Meio in 2023. Observations showed that the affected peccary coexisted normally with other peccaries and engaged in typical feeding and social behaviors, suggesting that piebaldism does not affect individual social interactions. This finding is consistent with the literature indicating that chemical signals are more important than visual signals in Tayassuidae. This finding highlights the need to understand the frequency and distribution of chromatic anomalies to assess their implications for conservation plans over time.
... A similar situation appears to occur in the highly fragmented Atlantic rainforest, where melanism in jaguars Panthera onca is increasing, reaching frequencies of up to 38% Haag, Santos, Valdez, et al., 2010). A leucistic cougar has been spotted in the same area, which was speculated to be a sign of inbreeding (Cronemberger et al., 2018). Likewise, in Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx a wide range of natural coat patterns exists, associated with geographic location (Darul et al., 2022), which frequencies have recently altered due to population bottlenecks resulting from habitat fragmentation (Kubala et al., 2020). ...
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Coat color and pattern are a distinguished feature in mammalian carnivores, shaped by climatic cycles and habitat type. It can be expressed in various ways, such as gradients , polymorphisms, and rare color variants. Although natural selection explains much of the phenotypic variation found in the wild, genetic drift and heterozygote deficiency, as prominent in small and fragmented populations, may also affect pheno-typic variability through the fixation of recessive alleles. The aim of this study was to test whether rare color variants in the wild could relate to a deficiency of heterozy-gotes, resulting from habitat fragmentation and small population size. We present an overview of all rare color variants in the order Carnivora, and compiled demographic and genetic data of the populations where they did and did not occur, to test for significant correlations. We also tested how phylogeny and body weight influenced the presence of color variants with phylogenetic generalized linear mixed models (PGLMMs). We found 40 color-variable species and 59 rare color variants. In 17 variable phenotypic populations for which genetic diversity was available, the average A R was 4.18, H O = 0.59, and H E = 0.66, and F IS = 0.086. We found that variable populations displayed a significant reduction in heterozygosity and allelic richness compared to non-variable populations across species. We also found a significant negative correlation between population size and inbreeding coefficients. Therefore, it is possible that small effective size had phenotypic consequences on the extant populations. The high frequency of the rare color variants (averaging 20%) also implies that genetic drift is locally overruling natural selection in small effective populations. As such, rare color variants could be added to the list of phenotypic consequences of inbreeding in the wild. K E Y W O R D S anomalous colouration, Carnivora, color morphs, genetic diversity, inbreeding, population bottleneck
... Hasta ahora, no se ha contabilizado, en la mayoría de los órdenes, el número de especies de mamíferos que han presentado anomalías de pigmentación pero existen registros en carnívoros (Arriaga-Flores et al., 2016;Cronemberger et al., 2018;Ruiz-Gutiérrez et al., 2023;Scrich et al., 2019;Silva-Caballero et al., 2014), primates (López-Platas et al., 2021), murciélagos (Lucati y López-Baucells, 2016), roedores (García-Casimiro y Santos-Moreno, 2020; Marín, 2021;Martínez-Coronel et al., 2013), musarañas y marsupiales (Marín, 2021), perisodáctilos (Nivelo-Villavicencio y Rodas-López, 2021), artiodáctilos (Ruiz-Gutiérrez et al., 2023), y cetáceos (Cremer et al., 2014;Fertl, 1999;Pérez-Puig et al., 2019). ...
... Polymorphic phenotypes are common in wild cats, with records of albinism, leucism and melanism in several species of felids from Africa, South America and Asia (Eizirik et al. 2003, Warrick 2010, McBride & Giordano 2010, Schneider et al. 2012, Silva 2017, Cronemberger et al. 2018. Melanism can be defined as the darkening of the background coloration of the integument (fur), which is genetically controlled. ...
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We report the first record of a melanistic individual of the critically endangered Pampa cat (Leopardus munoai), from July 8th, 2021, at 10:45 am (coordinates 30.096288° S; 54.941139° W) in the area of the Brazilian army, known as Campo de Instrução Barão de São Borja (CIBSB), popularly known as Saicã.
... The incidence of individuals with aberrant phenotypes may be a habitat degradation indicator (Łopucki and Mróz 2010). This is frequently referred to in the literature (Brito and Valdivieso-Bermeo 2016;Cronemberger et al. 2018;Cuxim-Koyoc et al. 2019; García-Casimiro and Santos-Moreno 2020; Montilla and Link 2022). In small and isolated populations, inbreeding enhances homozygosity, and recessive alleles are expressed more frequently within these populations (Bensch et al. 2000). ...
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Albinism and leucism are genetic disorders that cause atypical coloration. Herein, we present observation cases of hypomelanism not previously recorded in the literature for a Ctenodactylidae species. We report two observations of an albino and a leucistic specimens from two separate locations distant of 230 km in the central and southern Tunisia. The first observation was in Metlaoui (34°21′14.9″N 8°22′16.7″E) and the second in Ghomrassen (33°04′46.5″N 10°21′23.7″E). Certain factors can increase the chances of these atypical colorations in the natural population, but these phenotypes remain rare in rodents, especially in African species.
... In mammals, genetic anomalies in coat color are documented in most taxa (Abreu et al., 2013;Camargo et al., 2014;Cronemberger et al., 2018;Descalzo et al., 2021;Keener et al., 2011;McAlpine, 2021;Muller, 2017;Olson & Allen, 2019). The increase in camera trap use has recently been revealing new evidence on this phenomenon in mustelids too Gong et al., 2021;Hofmeester et al., 2021;Olson & Allen, 2019;Scrich et al., 2019). ...
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Evidence of abnormal coloration in wild animals provides useful information to better understand its adaptive function and its impact on survival. For this reason, we need to know the frequency and distribution of these abnormal phenotypes in wild populations. Here, we report two records of hypopigmentation in European pine marten Martes martes, obtained during a camera‐trapping survey on Elba Island, Central Italy. We do not know what has caused anomalous coloration of pine marten on Elba Island, but it is possible that the inbreeding may have played a role in this isolated population. Although the light coloration certainly entails an increased visibility of pine martens, it is possible that the low predator pressure and the absence of other wild carnivore populations in our study could mitigate the mortality risk due to the light phenotype. The increased use of camera traps across the world can potentially facilitate the discovery of cases of anomalous colorations in wild populations, providing an unprecedented insight into the occurrence of this phenomenon in wild mammal species. Evidence of abnormal coloration in wild animals provides useful information to better understand their adaptive function and their impact on survival. For this reason, it is useful to know the frequency and distribution of these abnormal phenotypes in wild populations. Here, we report two records of hypopigmentation in European pine marten Martes martes, obtained during a camera‐trapping survey on Elba Island, Central Italy.
... Reports of mammalian leucism include the puma (Cronemberger et al. 2018 (Ritland et al. 2001), sea lion (Acevedo and Aguayo 2008), shrew (Chetnicki et al. 2007;Guevara et al. 2011), wild boar (Samson et al. 2021), and field mice (Brito and Valdivieso-Bermeo 2016). This note documents the first report of a leucistic individual of Romerolagus diazi (Ferrari Pérez in Diaz, 1893), commonly known as zacatuche or volcano rabbit, which is endemic to México, has a restricted distribution, and is listed as an endangered species (Velázquez and Guerrero 2019). ...
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El leucismo es la pérdida total o parcial de la pigmentación del pelaje o plumaje sin afectar el color de los ojos, la piel y las uñas. Durante uno de los recorridos diarios de vigilancia y protección que realiza la brigada comunitaria Teporingos 1 realizó el registro de un zacatuche juvenil leucístico en los terrenos de la Reserva Ecológica Comunal de San Miguel Topilejo de la Ciudad de México, México. En esta nota, reportamos este primer registro de leucismo en la especie y discutimos la relevancia de este hallazgo.
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This paper documents the first record of chromatic anomalies in Collared Peccary (Pecari tajacu) and the third in the Raccoon (Procyon lotor) for Mexico. The findings were made during monitoring conducted between 2009 and 2021, using camera traps, primarily in the Sierra Madre del Sur ecoregion of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. Procyon lotor was recorded between November 5th and December 1st, 2019, in riparian vegetation of a deciduous tropical forest (17°47’35”N, 98°39’59”W, 1134 m altitude). Meanwhile, Pecari tajacu was recorded on June 7th and July 22nd, 2021, in an abandoned crop clearing (17°38’12”N, 100°40’50”W; 1532 m altitude).
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Este trabajo documenta el primer registro de anomalías cromáticas en el pecarí de collar (Pecari tajacu) y el tercero en el mapache (Procyon lotor) para México. Los hallazgos se realizaron durante el monitoreo realizado entre el 2009 y el 2021, utilizando cámaras-trampa, principalmente en la ecorregión de la Sierra Madre del Sur del estado de Guerrero, México. Procyon lotor fue registrado entre el 5 de noviembre y el 1 de diciembre de 2019, en vegetación riparia de bosque tropical caducifolio (17°47’35”N, 98°39’59”W, 1134 m de altitud). Mientras que Pecari tajacu se registró el 7 de junio y el 22 de julio del 2021 en una brecha saca cosecha abandonada (17°38’12”N, 100°40’50”W; 1532 m de altitud).
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New remote sensing data on vegetation cover and restoration opportunities bring hope to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, one of the hottest of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots. Available estimates of remaining vegetation cover in the biome currently range from 11% to 16%. However, our new land-cover map, prepared at the highest resolution ever (5m), reveals a current vegetation cover of 28%, or 32 million hectares (Mha) of native vegetation. Simultaneously, we found 7.2Mha of degraded riparian areas, of which 5.2Mha at least must be restored before 2038 by landowners for legislation compliance. Restoring the existing legal debt could increase native vegetation cover in the Atlantic Forest up to 35%. Such effort, if well planned and implemented, could reduce extinction processes by increasing connectivity of vegetation remnants and rising total native cover to above the critical biodiversity threshold established for different taxonomic groups. If undertaken, this process can be adaptive to climate change and boost sustainable development in this most populous biome in Brazil, turning it into a hopespot.
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