Possible WC hypo

[adamanteus]

Okay, but who says so? It's no secret that I'm not any kind of expert on genetics, but I really want to know this. Every single scientific definition I can find tells me that albinos are white, lacking all pigmentation.... Like the three I already posted (including the Oxford dictionary) and this one....

Feathers (and scales in snakes for instance) can have multiple concentrations of multiple pigments. When one of these pigments, say black for ease of understanding, is missing, the color appears washed out -- that is, it is left without the darkness created by the black pigment, in addition to say, red and yellow (those are the three common pigments in nature). This is the generally accepted use of leucism -- some pigment missing, but some pigments left. [But note discussions in of "imperfect" and "incomplete" which look at this from a different angle, and unnecessarily complicate it in my mind].
When all pigments are missing (which makes the dead cell outgrowths like feathers, nails, hair, scales, etc., appear white; and the living cell structures, like skin and eyes appear pink to red because of blood), this is albinism. So albinos look, as most people would recognize it, white.

Who says an animal with pigment is an albino?

[Bill]

And you didn't just look that up in the dictionary either.

[adamanteus]

It's a direct quote, Bill. From a scientific paper. I don't claim to know this stuff. (That's why I put it in italics).

[adamanteus]

Another scientific paper says....

The confusion stems from a definition of albinism apparently first suggested by Paul Buckley in which "albino" is all-or-nothing and all forms of partial albinism are relegated to the term "leucistic." Buckley, P. A. 1982. Avian genetics. Pp. 21-110 in M. Petrak (ed.), Diseases of cage and aviary birds, 2nd ed. Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia. “Perhaps more loosely and improperly used than any other term relating to color in birds, albinism is, no more and no less, the complete absence of all pigmentation, resulting in white feathers (for the reasons just discussed), pink eyes (no melanin obscures blood circulation, cause of the pink color) and light bills and legs/feet. Albinism is all or nothing, and a bird can no more be a “partial albino” than a female mammal “partially pregnant.”

So educate me guys.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I am going by the way I have been taught and read ever since the beginning. Albino burmese python, albino ball python, albino checkered garter snake, albino sonoran gopher, albino black rat snake, albino cornsnake, all of these animals have a ton of yellow, orange and red pigmentation , no greens and blues and browns because without melanin, they can't have it.

There has always been debates on this topic, it's actually quite interesting.

James, I am trying to figure out exactly what your definition is here. If a snake that is albino is supposed to be white, then how would they differ from leucistics?

Also, what would you peronally call this animal here?

[Bill]

I do. James have you seen albino retic pythons they are white and yellow, that yellow is pigment. They have no melanin. That black pigment. So they have no dark colours.

[adamanteus]

Here's another quote from a Doctor of Genetics... it's a bit vague on the albinism topic, but she explains the yellow leucism quite clearly, I think.

Message:

The following is a definition of albinism as it relates to people, but the same will hold true for animals. I found this information at http://www.albinism.org/publications/what-is-albinism.html Recent research has used analysis of DNA, the chemical which encodes genetic information, to arrive at a more firm classification system for albinism. Type 1 albinism (also called tyrosinase-related albinism) is the type involving almost no pigmentation. Type 1 albinism results from a genetic defect in an enzyme called tyrosinase. This enzyme helps the body to change the amino acid tyrosine into pigment. (An amino acid is a "building block" of protein, and comes from protein in the diet.) Type 2, a type with slight pigmentation, results from a defect in a different gene called the "P" gene. Researchers have identified several other genes that cause forms of albinism. In one form of albinism, the Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, there can be problems with bleeding, and with lung and bowel disease as well. Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome is a less common form of albinism, but should be suspected if a child with albinism shows unusual bruising or bleeding. I could not find the word leucistic anywhere. I'm assuming you are talking about luteal which is a yellow or orange yellow color. Luciditas refers to brightness or shining. Lutein is a yellow pigment of the corpus luteum (part of the female reproductive organs). According to Mader's Reptile Medicine and Surgery, published by BW Saunders in 1996, animals with albinism involves red, yellow or white and produces varying color patterns. I hope this helps to answer your question.

[adamanteus]

I do. James have you seen albino retic pythons they are white and yellow, that yellow is pigment. They have no melanin. That black pigment. So they have no dark colours.

Who said they are albino? The seller? Do these 'handles' just get used for convenience, or are they scientifically accurate?

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

possibly you missed it haha. James, what is your definition of the above pictured snake?

[adamanteus]

Shannon, to me the snake in your pic is an albino... although I dare say it's a 'snow' or something.
I'm not trying to say anyone is wrong, I'm simply asking 'Who says?'

To simplify it... who says an animal can be an albino if it has pigment? And how can you have a 'dark albino'?