Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A partial loss of pigmentation in a human or other animal, resulting in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair, fur, or feathers but not the eyes.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In zoology, whiteness resulting from lack or loss of coloring; albinism, partial or complete: a technical term, correlated with melanism and erythrism. See
albinism .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An animal condition characterized by
reduced pigmentation .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Initially it was thought the deer was suffering from albinism, but experts now believe a rare genetic mutation resulting in a condition called leucism has changed the deer's pigmentation.
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Weighing in at just over 14 pounds, the creatures are not albino, but are born with a genetic condition known as leucism, which means they have a reduction in all types of skin pigment.
Home | Mail Online 2009
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Weighing in at just over 14 pounds, the creatures are not albino, but are born with a genetic condition known as leucism, which means they have a reduction in all types of skin pigment.
Home | Mail Online 2009
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With its beady black eyes, the Polar Squirrel most likely suffers from "leucism," a rare genetic condition in which the body cannot produce pigment on all or part of its skin and fur, Gilman said.
White Squirrel Jan 2008
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Unlike albinos, which have characteristically red eyes, deer with leucism have normal colouring in their eyes.
Archive 2008-02-01 Jan 2008
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Famous as the home of the world's only gators with leucism, Audubon Zoo took care of 18 white baby gators in the late 1980s and out of that batch they still have 10.
Home | Mail Online 2009
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The jay was an example of something called "leucism."
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Famous as the home of the world's only gators with leucism, Audubon Zoo took care of 18 white baby gators in the late 1980s and out of that batch they still have 10.
Home | Mail Online 2009
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White deer are often mistakenly thought to be albinos, but their unusual condition is caused by leucism, a rare genetic pattern that causes a reduction in the pigment in the animal’s hair and skin.
Archive 2008-02-01 Jan 2008
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A spokesman for RSPB Scotland said: "Experts had diagnosed the bird as having leucism - a mutation that causes cells to have less or no colouring.
unknown title 2009
bestiary commented on the word leucism
reduced pigmentation in animals (without the characteristic red eyes of albinism).
July 24, 2008