Apparent piebald variants in quolls (Dasyurus): examples of three recent cases in the spotted-tailed quoll Dasyurus maculatus

Autor: Andrew W. Claridge, Timothy Henderson, Brendan Alting, Simon B. Z. Gorta
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Australian Mammalogy. 43:373
ISSN: 0310-0049
DOI: 10.1071/am20058
Popis: Pelage patterning plays an important role in animal behaviour. Variation in pelage patterns can change with pigment distribution and quantity in individuals. We present three cases of apparent piebaldism – a condition where the body is patchily unpigmented – in the spotted-tailed quoll Dasyurus maculatus. Using a comprehensive dataset of historical descriptions (from Dunlop et al. 2020), we conclude that these cases represent the first description of this phenotype in the genus Dasyurus, but acknowledge capture and testing of these individuals is required to be certain of the cause. Little is known about the implications of pelage patterning in quoll species and further investigation is required to understand the evolutionary and functional role of unaffected and unpigmented variants.
Databáze: OpenAIRE