I'm studying biology in college, the basic courses now, more advanced stuff later (biology will be my major after I complete my science transfer degree.)

I'm collecting photos of unusual animals, mainly ones that have "discoloration." If you have such a photo, I'd appreciate you sending it to me or posting it here. Let me know if I can use it on the internet, because I might make a webpage eventually about it, and/or update the Wiki online encyclopedia.
*I will not sell your photos. I will give you credit with your name if you wish.

What I am especially interested in:

Melanistic animals:
Melanism is basically the opposite of albinism, it's extra melanin pigment in the skin, making an animal look black or chocolate brown when they normally wouldn't be. For example, the "black panther" is a melanistic jaguar. It's a genetic condition.
(I now have a 'coon example, thank you Wiley. ) notworthy

Albino animals:
Albinism is a lack of melanin (a type of pigment) in skin AND eyes, which results in either a white appearance or pink; the pink coming from the blood vessels beneath the skin. (This is why albinos have pink eyes.)
Albinism does not occur in every animal species, for example, there are no known albino tigers, nor are there any historical reports of them. White tigers are not albinos, as the have blue eyes and black stripes. They suffer from a different genetic disorder...

(Albino coyotes seem to be extremely rare, I'd faint it I were lucky enough to come across a photo!)

Leucistic animals: (pronounced Loo-kism, Loo-kis-tik)
This is similar to albinism. The difference is, it can be a lack of any type of pigment in skin/hair/feathers, not just melanin. So it can result in a pure-white animal, or just make an animal have white patches. If you have ever seen a crow with some white feathers, that's leucism.

Off-color animals:
I'm especially interested in coyotes. Black ones, white ones, chocolate ones, red ones, blond ones...any sort of unusual coloring or pattern I want. Foxes with half of their tail a different color, black/blond beavers, animals with eyes of different colors (one brown and one blue eye etc)...

So, if you have any unusual animal pics, show and tell!

My brother caught this coon last season.

Here's a Black Coyote my daughter Katye caught last year....
Before

After

gator that martin is SWEEET!

[IMG]http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff162/troyerickson/blackcoyote-1.jpg[/IMG]

Nice very nice, keep them coming. I hope to put my collection of them on a website one day, and attempt to explain all of them. I believe that's a leucistic coon, and a melanistic coon (and yote,) but that marten is pretty mysterious.

If you can in the future, try to take pictures close up of the face also, as eye color can be important in determining what's going on. And I hope you guys get these mounted.

Caught an albino possum, but do not have a digital camera. Wife said I could hve it mounted fro father's day, but who the heck wants one of those ugly beasts in thier house, alive or dead.

Here is a piebald doe that I used to see all the time. In three years, she had three sets of twins with 4 of the 6 fawns being piebald as well.

Tim

yea, im just south of MORDOR!!!!!!

that is a cool looking marten!

charles....man, that thing is ugly!

here's an ugly beaver i caught...

here's a coyote jtrapper caught



and a light color yote i caught

here's Blackdog's black coyote!

Here is a bobcat with white socks from last year, a friend of mine caught it.

Corey

oh corey!

i bet that belly was WIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE and CLEAAAAAAAAAAAR! eh?

cute kitty!!

Here's a beaver with a white "collar" around the neck I caught a few yrs ago.

[url="http://www.hunt101.com/?p=451069&c=542&z=1"][/url]


Another guy caught this marten who traps near me.
[url="http://www.hunt101.com/?p=459801&c=542&z=1"][/url]

Charles....it had a nice nice belly. I need to thaw it out and get it skinned. Our local C.O. caught it last winter in a bucket. Real odd, i've had my hands on a bunch of dead cats, but never seen one with the white socks like this one had.

i hear ya corey. i got one similair a couple years ago, really white feet, NOT socks, but by far the best belly i ever got on a cat.

here is a marten for ya... also check out the kermode bears..white blackbears..



glacier bear

I got 25 Black Richardsons ground squirrels frozen whole in my deepfreeze. And don,t tell me that they are common! Melanistic variation . Whithout the watermelon!