melanism

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melanosis

[mel″ah-no´sis]

1. disordered melanin production, with darkening of the skin; called also melanism.

2. a disorder of pigment metabolism.

melanosis co´li brown-black discoloration of the mucosa of the colon.

melanosis i´ridis (melanosis of the iris) abnormal pigmentation of the iris by infiltration of melanoblasts.

mel·a·nism

(mel'ă-nizm),

Unusually marked, diffuse, melanin pigmentation of body hair and skin (usually not affecting the iris).
See also: melanosis.

melanism

/mel·a·nism/ (mel´ah-nizm) melanosis.

melanism

(mĕl′ə-nĭz′əm)

1. See melanosis.

2. Dark coloration of the skin, hair, fur, or feathers because of a high concentration of melanin.

mel′a·nis′tic adj.

melanism

[mel′əniz′əm]

Etymology: Gk, melas, black

an abnormal deposit of dark brown to black melanin pigment in the skin, hair, and other tissues. Also called melanosis.

mel·a·nism

(mel'ă-nizm)

Unusually marked, diffuse melanin pigmentation of body hair and skin (usually not affecting the iris).
See also: melanosis

melanism

a condition in which excessive production of MELANIN produces unusual dark colour or blackness in scales, skin or plumage. see INDUSTRIAL MELANISM.

melanism

excessive deposition of melanin in the skin.

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References in periodicals archive ?

Melanism in endangered Mohave tui chub Siphateles bicolor mohavensis Snyder, 1918 (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae).

First record of melanism in Cheilodactylus variegatus Valenciennes, 1833 (Perciformes, Cheilodactylidae)/Primer registro de melanismo en Cheilodactylus variegatus Valenciennes, 1833 (Perciformes, Cheilodactylidae)

The back-wingtip score was doubled because plumage melanism is considered the best way to visually distinguish hybrids from pure birds (Bell 1996).

Mating patterns and breeding success in gulls of the Larus glaucescens-occidentalis complex, Protection Island, Washington, USA

feronia butterflies experimentally with regard to their choice of resting sites, to investigate how that relates to their biology and behavior, and perhaps to be able to provide a new example of the industrial melanism concept.

Selection of perching site background color by Hamadryas feronia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Costa Rica: implications for industrial melanism

So I set up our problem: "Industrial melanism is a fascinating example--the same effect was measured in England and the northeastern United States in the same species as pollution increased, and then the trend reversed on both sides of the Atlantic following clean-air legislation.

The power of natural selection: a guided investigation of three case studies

Melanism in the spider Pityohyphantes phrygianus (C.

Bird predation on spiders: ecological mechanisms and evolutionary consequences

coeruleus by higher number of scales around mid-body (variable selected by discriminant analysis), lower ventral melanism and shorter forelimbs (concordant with the original description).

Diferencias morfologicas y status taxonomico de las especies simpatricas Liolaemus coeruleus y Liolaemus neuquensis (reptilia: iguania: Liolaemidae)

Key words: Turtle communities, trap bias, melanism, Trachemys scripta, Chrysemys picta, Chelydra serpentina, Sternotherus odoratus

A three year survey of aquatic turtles in a riverside pond

In cats, this so-called melanism results in the fur being very dark or black, although the usual markings can still be seen faintly, especially in bright sunlight.

The riddle of Lewa Downs: the black leopard is one of the world's most elusive creatures. So when reports filtered through to Christopher Ondaatje that one had been seen on Lewa Downs in central Kenya, he dropped everything, grabbed his cameras and drove deep into the bush to fulfill a lifelong ambition: to see a black leopard in the wild

In 1906 before the zoological section of the British Association in York he read a paper on melanism in Yorkshire lepidoptera (how the smoky, polluted atmosphere seemed to encourage moth and butterfly variations with a black tint) which the general committee ordered to be printed in full.

Porritt's progress

Kettlewell's results, published in 1959, seemed to prove that industrial melanism was a fact.

Hooper, Judith. Of moths and men: an evolutionary tale; the untold story of science and the peppered moth

The study suggests that melanism may not confer a strong disadvantage with respect to visually-oriented predators.

Polymorphic clay models of Thamnophis sirtalis suggest patterns of avian predation (1)

The black colour, called melanism, is caused by a recessive gene (Page 10, May 31).