Most interesting color mutations you have seen?

Nature Talk
21

I have just seen a moth that I cannot find a picture of anywhere on line. It may be a common moth but it is the first time I have seen it.

It was solid brown, slightly larger then a monarch with rounded wings. It had yellow spots in a super straight line from large wing tip to the other large wing tip. It also had yellow spots in a perfect radius from mid, large wing to the opposite wing, cutting the straight line spots in two.

Does anyone know what this is? I saw it in southern ontario in Rondeau Provincial Park landing near puddles on the wet dirt/gravel.

22

If you have a picture of it, please upload it on https://www.inaturalist.org/home. This is the way to go to get an ID.

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23

Whoa! That is a good one. :hushed: Does it also have an extra vestigial abdomen?

24

I once saw a melanistic mule deer. Didn’t have my camera with me though :(

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25

In the summer of 2018 we had a white-tailed squirrel. I think there was a family with more than one with white tail, but I’m not sure.

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26

I think what you might be talking about is just its back leg. It’s missing the back leg on the other side so it looks a bit off.

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27

Wait, is that variegation? I’d assumed it was some kind of nutrient deficiency.

28

Gynadromorphy is a mutation, though not a colour one, but it affects it too.

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29

Here is albinism in 2 Coast redwood trees at Henry Cowell State Park:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/55315013

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/55975574

image

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30

I thought it was interesting that there wasn’t a 100% linkage. The article mentioned that they had found specimens that were gynadromorphic but not two-toned, and some two-toned lobsters that weren’t not gynadromorphic, although the two are highly correlated.

31

This blog post that I believe is yours was a very interesting read: https://namericanbirds.wordpress.com/2020/01/27/albinism-and-leucism/

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32

Yep, that’s mine. You know, after I realized I’m been lied to by the birding community for so many years. I got to thank @fffffffff for putting on the road towards truth.

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33

FWIW, I have occasionally walked passed this tree since I was a kid and only just got interested in it’s unusual make-up since this post came up. Here’s a big fun thing I find about iNat: You come across something intriguing and look into learning further about it.

After visiting this tree again, I got more interested in albinism in redwoods. Redwoods have incredibly complex genetic make-up with 6 sets of chromosomes, instead of two. What do they do with all that genetic information? Especially, as redwoods often reproduce as clones from the base of a parent tree?

http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/08_00/redwood_genome.shtml

Video: https://www.kqed.org/quest/17062/albino-redwoods-ghosts-of-the-forest

One theory for the instances of albino shoots is that they are not just parasitic sports, but have a useful function of removing toxic metals from the soil. If true, that would make them symbionts.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/10/07/the-mystery-of-the-ghost-trees-may-be-solved/

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34

This photo of what appears to be two partially amelanistic Cackling Geese (and not Canada Geese as I originally IDed) was interesting. Never seen anything like that before.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1184136

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35

I can’t think of any observations of a cool color mutation I’ve recorded here on iNat, but there was this melanistic rock squirrel that used to live in my neighborhood that I was never able to get a photo of.

36

If you don’t have a photo, you can draw it and submit it as an observation (like this one), and see if you get an ID.

That immediately reminded me of this observation (not mine).

37

I found this Sitka Valerian plant a few days ago while hiking in Banff. Half of the leaves seemed completely devoid of chlorophyll. I’ve never seen one like it before: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/55955288

If anyone knows the origin of this kind of colour variation (e.g. viral, mutation, etc…), I’m curious.

38

Virus probably.

39

I didn’t even own a camera at the time, but I used to see occasional Texas longnose snakes without the red (anerythristic) in the eastern Texas panhandle. I’ve also seen diamondbacks were the back 1/3rd or so is strongly reduced pattern.

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40

the mourning dove is not depigmented, just showing normal white under tail feathers.

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