Talk:Melanism

Organisms or just animals
We define melanism as 'an increased amount of black or nearly black pigmentation (as of skin, feathers, or hair) of an individual or kind of organism.'

The only organisms discussed however are animals - should we say 'animal' instead of organism, or is the article just being a little animalia-centric?

Melanism as a recessive or dominant gene mutation
The introduction section says “In the Jaguar, melanism is due to a recessive gene mutation meaning that black jaguars may produce spotted offspring. In the leopard, melanism is due to a dominant gene mutation meaning that two spotted leopards carrying the gene may produce black cubs, but black leopards will breed true when mated together.” This does not seem right as only when melanism is a recessive gene mutation (meaning when the genotype and phenotype are the same) will the carriers breed true. When melanism is a dominant gene mutation, the carriers may be homozygous or heterozygous for the melanism gene, meaning a mating of two carriers of this gene could result in three distinct but broad litter classifications: the entire litter not being melanistic (no black cubs), the litter being partially melanistic (some black cubs) or the litter being completely melanistic (all black cubs), depending on the genotype of the parents. If melanism is due to a dominant gene mutation in the leopard, then a leopard simply cannot be a “spotted” one and still be a carrier of the “black gene”. The article seems to state otherwise. Anjali (talk) 10:47, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

I agree, this passage is definitely wrong. However I do not know which part: The one stating that it is dominant/recessive in the respective species or the one explaining what consequences it would have on the offspring. Ueberzahl (talk) 21:00, 1 November 2008 (UTC)

According to the wiki-articles on Leopard and Jaguar, the author of this passage just inverted dominant and recessive. (I have also checked the primary source - scientific article). Corrected the entry, should be right now. Ueberzahl (talk) 21:12, 1 November 2008 (UTC)

Industrial melanism
Does it exist? The peppermoth study was a fraud. --~ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.107.91.99 (talk) 19:25, August 27, 2007 (UTC)

I think increased melanin in animals is beneficial for survival. I have experienced this first hand because my cousin breeds top of the line AKC registered poodles. All of which are well cared for. The poodles came in a variety of colors: peach, red, white, grey, brown and black. And all of them were healthy puppies, with beautiful large dark eyes and curly coats. However, as they got older close to the age of 15, the lighter coated poodles developed arthritis, cancer, and became ill. This was indeed sad because they were greatly loved by my cousin and her family. The poodles received the best medical treatment available. They were able to live for another year (taking alot of medicines) until they went on their own. But the odd thing is, is that the solid black poodles are now 25 years old!!!! They are still on the beat, moving briskly and looking after the new golden retriever puppy. Long story short, I think "melanism" or lots of pigmentation in the animal kingdom does improve survival rates! signed Hearts  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.54.85.162 (talk) 16:51, 19 December 2007 (UTC)
 * These animals are so cute on the melanism page.
 * Please discuss changes before making them, not after. I've reverted your edit as vandalism. Sign your posts, and provide sources for this 'widely known' fact of yours. Richard001 01:47, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

Want to add to page: I think the Industrial Melanism section could use some more examples of animals that undergo this type of selection, and other reasons for the selection of melanism other than the visual inconspicuousness from predators.Lihini 2 (talk) 05:25, 9 October 2013 (UTC)
 * There is now a separate article on Industrial melanism David notMD (talk) 23:36, 15 December 2017 (UTC)

Melanosis
Hi! I know nothing about the subject, so I'm just asking. Melanosis redirects here, but is not really discussed. I read the article, but did not learn if melanism can occur in humans. Is it called melanosis if it occurs? Or is that something different? The article could spend a sentence or two on humans. --CyHawk (talk) 23:14, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

I agree. The article barely mentions melanism (or melanosis?) in humans. This needs to be adressed.Lemming42 (talk) 13:50, 22 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Same question, seven years later. Does this occur in people? If not, why not? Paul, in Saudi (talk) 12:31, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:NuwaubianBeginning.jpg
The image Image:NuwaubianBeginning.jpg is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check


 * That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
 * That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Media copyright questions. --07:41, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Panther pic has to change
Black panthers and jaguars are not examples of melanism, but are classic and obvious examples of psuedomelanism. Go to a zoo and look at a specimen of either species' black variety, and you'll see for yourself - the vestigial spotting is very, very clear. —  SMcCandlish  &#91;talk&#93; &#91;cont&#93; ‹(-¿-)› 09:12, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

Melanistic penguin
Can we use the photo found here??

Disease resistance
The discussion of disease resistance among animals with melanism almost entirely concerns felines. It's reasons for reduced disease resistance are also poorly elaborated on. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.62.1.91 (talk) 17:38, 6 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Agreed. Deleted. David notMD (talk) 12:21, 16 December 2017 (UTC)

Industrial melanism
I'm developing this quite large subject (researched since 1921 and going strong) as a separate article, and have accordingly summarized the topic in a short section here. Chiswick Chap (talk) 15:42, 26 April 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Melanism. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20111101193859/http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster's to http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster%27s&word=melanism&use1913=on&use1828=on

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 21:50, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Melanism. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130729213810/http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster%27s&word=melanosis&use1913=on&use1828=on to http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster%27s&word=melanosis&use1913=on&use1828=on

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 03:45, 25 January 2018 (UTC)

Adaptive melanism
This term may also be used for a type of heat-absorption melanism. For example, Galapagos lizards and the marine iguana are black or blackish. This helps them absorb heat which, despite the latitude of the Galapagos, they may need. The islands are especially cool in the first part of the day, with the cold Humbolt current flowing past them. Source: Carlquist, Sherwin 1965. Island life: a natural history of the islands of the world. American Museum of Natural History, p187.

Black Panther
This article states "The black panther, a melanistic leopard..." while the black panther article states "A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (Panthera pardus) and the jaguar (Panthera onca)" (bold added for emphasis). I believe that the black panther article is correct, but this is my first ever contribution to Wikipedia and I do not feel confident enough to edit. 70.172.240.198 (talk) 14:46, 19 September 2023 (UTC)