Erythrism


Erythrism or erythrochroism refers to an unusual reddish pigmentation of an animal's hair, skin, feathers, or eggshells.
Causes of erythrism include:
Erythrism in katydids has been occasionally observed. The coloring might be a camouflage that helps some members of the species survive on red plants. There is also consensus that the erythristic mutation is actually a dominant trait among katydid species, albeit a disadvantageous one, due to the overwhelmingly green coloration of most foliage. Hence, most pink or otherwise vividly colored katydids do not survive to adulthood, and this observation explains their rarity. Erythrism in leopards is rare, but one study reported that two of 28 camera trapped leopards in a nature reserve in South Africa were erythristic, and the authors found records of five other 'strawberry' leopards from the region.

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