Erythrism or erythrochroism refers to an unusual reddish pigmentation of an animal's hair, skin, feathers, or eggshells.
Causes of erythrism include:
- Genetic mutations which cause an absence of a normal pigment and/or excessive production of others
- Diet, as in bees feeding on "bright red corn syrup" used in maraschino cherry manufacturing.
Erythrism in katydids has been occasionally observed. The coloring might be a camouflage that helps some members of the species survive on red plants. 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. Erythrism in leopards is rare, but one study 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.
Gallery
- Erythrism in katydids
See also
External links
- The Mystery of the Red Bees of Red Hook, The New York Times, November 30, 2010
- Rare Pink Katydid Discovered in Northern Illinois, Chicago Tribune, August 10, 2011
- Another Nice Example of Erythrism: Grasshopper, August 28, 2009
- Erythrism: Grasshopper in New Zealand, Rod Morris, 2010
- Pink Animal Amazingness Archived 2008-12-23 at the Wayback Machine, Paula Kashtan, lemondrop.com, December 18, 2008