1. (Zoology) the condition in man and animals of having dark-coloured or black skin, feathers, etc. Industrial melanism is the occurrence of dark varieties of animals, esp moths, in smoke-blackened industrial regions, in which they are well camouflaged
Looking to the cases which I have collected of cross-bred animals closely resembling one parent, the resemblances seem chiefly confined to characters almost monstrous in their nature, and which have suddenly appeared--such as albinism, melanism, deficiency of tail or horns, or additional fingers and toes; and do not relate to characters which have been slowly acquired by selection.
A panther is any leopard, cougar or jaguar with a condition that turns their fur black, called melanism. Believe it or not, Padma and her kin have spots on their fur like leopards, but they're too dark to see!
The flamingo, which is believed to suffer from 'melanism', a genetic irregularity which turns it a dark brown or black, had caused a media storm all over the world when it first arrived in 2015.
The thermal melanism hypothesis is the most accepted and suggests that individuals with greater quantities of melanin thermoregulate more quickly under low temperature conditions.
The finding adds turtle-headed sea snakes (Emydocephalus annulatus) to the diverse list of creatures that exhibit"industrial melanism," when darker animal varieties become dominant in polluted environments.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.