MadSci Network: General Biology
Query:

Re: Do fish exhibit leucistism ?

Date: Tue Sep 19 09:57:08 2000
Posted By: John Franklin Rawls, graduate student, Developmental Biology, Washington University
Area of science: General Biology
ID: 967474665.Gb
Message:

Leucistic?

When asking a question, it is helpful to explain your terminology.  I am 
not sure what you mean by leucistic.  If you mean albinism, in which the 
pigment of the body and the retina are both absent, the answer is yes.  
There are numerous species of cave fishes that are albino.  If you mean a 
fish that lacks body pigment but retains retinal pigment, the answer is 
also yes, but I am only aware of laboratory mutations that display this 
phenotype (nothing you'd find in a pet store).  In the above examples, I am 
specifically referring to the pigment melanin.  So if you are refering to 
other types of pigment, of which fish have several, then my answers would 
be different.  



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