Have you ever caught a glimpse of a shadow moving through the forest, only to realize it was a living panther, black as ...

The black-and-white coloring of manta rays is one of their most defining features. Some are all-black. But how does this impact their lifestyle? One study aims to find out.

The unique dark Canada lynx is thought to be an example of melanism, a genetic condition that causes the overproduction of melanin.

Principal Investigator Professor Ilik Saccheri explains: "Although many people have heard about industrial melanism in the British peppered moth, it is not widely appreciated that dark forms ...

A black jaguar swims in Brazil. The term "black panther" is an umbrella term that refers to the 14 species of wildcat that can have melanism. Photograph by Frans Lanting, Nat Geo Image Collection ...

Melanism is merely the dark pigmentation of skin, fur–or in this case, feathers. The unique trait derives from increased melanin in the body. Genes may play a role, but so might other factors.

In the second generation of moths fed upon the treated material, melanic forms appeared, and the melanism afterwards was inherited on Mendelian lines.

BELIEVING that light can be thrown on some of the problems of evolution by an experimental investigation of the development of melanism in lepidoptera, we have been studying the influence of the ...

Some cats have very dark fur due to an increased amount of melanin, a trait called melanism. Wild cats with melanism may have advantages, such as better camouflage while hunting at night, warmth in ...

It’s also the best-known case of industrial melanism —the phenomenon where animals become blacker in areas that are affected by industrial pollution.

Principal Investigator Professor Ilik Saccheri explains: "Although many people have heard about industrial melanism in the British peppered moth, it is not widely appreciated that dark forms ...