Albino and melanistic genets (Genetta genetta) in Europe

While melanistic genets (Genetta spp.) are well known in a few species of the genus, albino specimenshave not been described to date. Here, we report on the presence of unusual albino and melanistic common genets (Genetta genetta) in Spain, discussing their frequency of occurrence in the wild. Melan...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Delibes, M., Calzada, Javier
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/73219
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/73219
Access Level:acceso abierto
Descripción
Sumario:While melanistic genets (Genetta spp.) are well known in a few species of the genus, albino specimenshave not been described to date. Here, we report on the presence of unusual albino and melanistic common genets (Genetta genetta) in Spain, discussing their frequency of occurrence in the wild. Melanistic and albino common genets are not known in the original African range of the species, thus phenotypical variability in coat colour appears to be greater in Europe, its introduced range. Natural (e.g. a reduced risk of predation in Europe) and/or artificial (e.g. captive-rearing of the species) selection could explain this fact, but more research on the topic is needed.

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