IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Gonzalez-Maya, J.F.; Arias-Alzate, A.; Granados-Pena, R.; Gomez-Hoyos, D.A.; Schipper, J.; Manjarres-Morron, M.; Pinzon, G.M. | |
| Margays also hide their spots: first records of melanistic _Leopardus wiedii_ from Colombia and Costa Rica | |
| 2018 Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad (89): 587-589 | |
Melanism has been commonly recorded in tropical felids, especially within the genus _Leopardus_. However, so far there are no reports of the existence of melanism in _Leopardus wiedii_. Herein, we present the first report of melanistic individuals of margays, obtained in Colombia and Costa Rica. The low frequency and scarcity of melanistic margay records along its distribution reflect that this is potentially not an ecological or adaptive advantage for the species, and likely the mutation is not established, or even follows a random frequency in the populations. |
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