Melanism is the congenital excess of melanin in an organism resulting in dark pigment .
49-455: Felidae ( / ˈ f ɛ l ɪ d iː / ) is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats . A member of this family is also called a felid ( / ˈ f iː l ɪ d / ). The 41 extant Felidae species exhibit the greatest diversity in fur patterns of all terrestrial carnivores. Cats have retractile claws , slender muscular bodies and strong flexible forelimbs. Their teeth and facial muscles allow for
98-463: A Mendelian , monogenic recessive trait relative to the spotted form. Pairings of black animals have a significantly smaller litter size than other possible pairings. Between January 1996 and March 2009, Indochinese leopards were photographed at 16 sites in the Malay Peninsula in a sampling effort of more than 1000 trap nights. Of 445 photographs of melanistic leopards, 410 were taken south of
147-530: A sister group , which split about 35.2 to 31.9 million years ago . The earliest cats probably appeared about 35 to 28.5 million years ago . Proailurus is the oldest known cat that occurred after the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event about 33.9 million years ago ; fossil remains were excavated in France and Mongolia's Hsanda Gol Formation . Fossil occurrences indicate that
196-497: A foraging advantage during night hunting. Typically, adaptive melanism is heritable : A dominant allele , which is entirely or nearly entirely expressed in the phenotype , is responsible for the excessive amount of melanin. By contrast, adaptive melanism associated with Batesian mimicry in Zelandoperla fenestrata stoneflies is controlled by a recessive allele at the ebony locus. Adaptive melanism has been shown to occur in
245-496: A half of the body length, although with some exceptions, like the Lynx species and margay ( Leopardus wiedii ). Cat species vary greatly in body and skull sizes, and weights: Most cat species have a haploid number of 18 or 19. Central and South American cats have a haploid number of 18, possibly due to the combination of two smaller chromosomes into a larger one. Felidae have type IIx muscle fibers three times more powerful than
294-443: A high-altitude adaptation, since black fur absorbs more light for warmth. The chicken breeds Silkie and Ayam Cemani commonly exhibit this trait. Ayam Cemani is an uncommon and relatively modern breed of chicken from Indonesia. They have a dominant gene that causes hyperpigmentation (Fibromelanosis), making the chicken entirely black; including feathers, beak, and internal organs. In April 2015, an extremely rare black flamingo
343-471: A hundred taxonomic publications. Such descriptions typically result from either the discovery of organisms with unique combinations of characters that do not fit existing families, or from phylogenetic analyses that reveal the need for reclassification. The taxonomic term familia was first used by French botanist Pierre Magnol in his Prodromus historiae generalis plantarum, in quo familiae plantarum per tabulas disponuntur (1689) where he called
392-666: A lack of widespread consensus within the scientific community for extended periods. The continual publication of new data and diverse opinions plays a crucial role in facilitating adjustments and ultimately reaching a consensus over time. The naming of families is codified by various international bodies using the following suffixes: Name changes at the family level are regulated by the codes of nomenclature. For botanical families, some traditional names like Palmae ( Arecaceae ), Cruciferae ( Brassicaceae ), and Leguminosae ( Fabaceae ) are conserved alongside their standardized -aceae forms due to their historical significance and widespread use in
441-597: A powerful bite. They are all obligate carnivores , and most are solitary predators ambushing or stalking their prey. Wild cats occur in Africa , Europe , Asia and the Americas . Some wild cat species are adapted to forest and savanna habitats , some to arid environments, and a few also to wetlands and mountainous terrain. Their activity patterns range from nocturnal and crepuscular to diurnal , depending on their preferred prey species. Reginald Innes Pocock divided
490-509: A significant practical role in biological education and research. They provide an efficient framework for teaching taxonomy, as they group organisms with general similarities while remaining specific enough to be useful for identification purposes. For example, in botany, learning the characteristics of major plant families helps students identify related species across different geographic regions, since families often have worldwide distribution patterns. In many groups of organisms, families serve as
539-709: A variety of animals, including mammals such as squirrels , many cats and canids , and coral snakes . Adaptive melanism can lead to the creation of morphs , a notable example being the peppered moth , whose evolutionary history in the United Kingdom is offered as a classic instructional tool for teaching the principles of natural selection . A more replicated example of human-induced shifts in melanism has arisen from repeated selection against melanic Zelandoperla fenestrata stonefly phenotypes following widespread deforestation in New Zealand . Industrial melanism
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#1733093752777588-438: Is an evolutionary effect in insects such as the peppered moth, Biston betularia in areas subject to industrial pollution . Darker pigmented individuals are favored by natural selection , apparently because they are better camouflaged against polluted backgrounds. When pollution was later reduced, lighter forms regained the advantage and melanism became less frequent. Other explanations have been proposed, such as that
637-584: Is another variant of pigmentation, identifiable by dark spots or enlarged stripes, which cover a large part of the body of the animal, making it appear melanistic. The morbid deposition of black matter, often of a malignant character causing pigmented tumors , is called melanosis . Melanism related to the process of adaptation is called adaptive. Most commonly, dark individuals become fitter to survive and reproduce in their environment as they are better camouflaged. This makes some species less conspicuous to predators, while others, such as leopards , use it as
686-496: Is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". The delineation of what constitutes a family—or whether a described family should be acknowledged—is established and decided upon by active taxonomists . There are not strict regulations for outlining or acknowledging a family, yet in the realm of plants, these classifications often rely on both the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plant species. Taxonomists frequently hold varying perspectives on these descriptions, leading to
735-519: Is not melanism. This rare genetic disorder is characterized by the development of macules with hyperpigmentation on the lips and oral mucosa ( melanosis ), as well as benign polyps in the gastrointestinal tract. The term melanism has been used on Usenet , internet forums and blogs to mean an African-American social movement holding that dark-skinned humans are the original people from which those of other skin color originate. The term melanism has been used in this context as early as
784-480: Is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy . It is classified between order and genus . A family may be divided into subfamilies , which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae , but that family
833-588: Is the oldest known pantherine cat dated to the late Messinian to early Zanclean ages about 5.95 to 4.1 million years ago . A fossil skull was excavated in 2010 in Zanda County on the Tibetan Plateau . Panthera palaeosinensis from North China probably dates to the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene . The skull of the holotype is similar to that of a lion or leopard. Panthera zdanskyi dates to
882-569: The Prodromus of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle and the Genera Plantarum of George Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker this word ordo was used for what now is given the rank of family. Families serve as valuable units for evolutionary, paleontological, and genetic studies due to their relatively greater stability compared to lower taxonomic levels like genera and species. Families play
931-753: The Feliformia . All members of the cat family have the following characteristics in common: The colour, length and density of their fur are very diverse. Fur colour covers the gamut from white to black, and fur patterns from distinctive small spots, and stripes to small blotches and rosettes . Most cat species are born with spotted fur, except the jaguarundi ( Herpailurus yagouaroundi ), Asian golden cat ( Catopuma temminckii ) and caracal ( Caracal caracal ). The spotted fur of lion ( Panthera leo ), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and cougar ( Puma concolor ) cubs change to uniform fur during their ontogeny . Those living in cold environments have thick fur with long hair, like
980-570: The Gelasian about 2.55 to 2.16 million years ago . Several fossil skulls and jawbones were excavated in northwestern China. Panthera gombaszoegensis is the earliest known pantherine cat that lived in Europe about 1.95 to 1.77 million years ago . Living felids fall into eight evolutionary lineages or species clades . Genotyping of the nuclear DNA of all 41 felid species revealed that hybridization between species occurred in
1029-546: The Kra Isthmus , where the non-melanistic morph was never photographed. These data suggest the near fixation of the dark allele in the region. The expected time to fixation of this recessive allele due to genetic drift alone ranged from about 1,100 years to about 100,000 years. Melanism in leopards has been hypothesized to be causally associated with a selective advantage for ambush. Other theories are that genes for melanism in felines may provide resistance to viral infections, or
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#17330937527771078-588: The Late Pleistocene . Results of mitochondrial analysis indicate that the living Felidae species descended from a common ancestor , which originated in Asia in the Late Miocene epoch. They migrated to Africa, Europe and the Americas in the course of at least 10 migration waves during the past ~11 million years. Low sea levels and interglacial and glacial periods facilitated these migrations. Panthera blytheae
1127-451: The snow leopard ( Panthera uncia ) and the Pallas's cat ( Otocolobus manul ). Those living in tropical and hot climate zones have short fur. Several species exhibit melanism with all-black individuals, cougars are notable for lacking melanism but leucism and albinism are present in cougars along with many other felids. In the great majority of cat species, the tail is between a third and
1176-447: The -idae suffix for animal family names, derived from the Greek 'eidos' meaning 'resemblance' or 'like'. The adoption of this naming convention helped establish families as an important taxonomic rank. By the mid-1800s, many of Linnaeus's broad genera were being elevated to family status to accommodate the rapidly growing number of newly discovered species. In nineteenth-century works such as
1225-963: The Early or Middle Miocene, the saber-toothed Machairodontinae evolved in Africa and migrated northwards in the Late Miocene . With their large upper canines , they were adapted to prey on large-bodied megaherbivores . Miomachairodus is the oldest known member of this subfamily. Metailurus lived in Africa and Eurasia about 8 to 6 million years ago . Several Paramachaerodus skeletons were found in Spain. Homotherium appeared in Africa, Eurasia and North America around 3.5 million years ago , and Megantereon about 3 million years ago . Smilodon lived in North and South America from about 2.5 million years ago . This subfamily became extinct in
1274-826: The Felidae arrived in North America around 18.5 million years ago . This is about 20 million years later than the Ursidae and the Nimravidae , and about 10 million years later than the Canidae . In the Early Miocene about 20 to 16.6 million years ago , Pseudaelurus lived in Africa. Its fossil jaws were also excavated in geological formations of Europe's Vallesian , Asia's Middle Miocene and North America's late Hemingfordian to late Barstovian epochs. In
1323-581: The Pantherinae and Felinae, with the Acinonychinae subsumed into the latter. Pantherinae includes five Panthera and two Neofelis species , while Felinae includes the other 34 species in 12 genera . The first cats emerged during the Oligocene about 25 million years ago , with the appearance of Proailurus and Pseudaelurus . The latter species complex was ancestral to two main lines of felids:
1372-434: The body from harmful ultraviolet radiation . The same ultraviolet radiation is essential for the synthesis of vitamin D in skin, so lighter colored skin – less melanin – is an adaptation related to the prehistoric movement of humans away from equatorial regions, as there is less exposure to sunlight at higher latitudes. People from parts of Africa, South Asia , Southeast Asia , and Australia may have very dark skin, but this
1421-530: The cats in the extant subfamilies and a group of extinct "saber-tooth" felids of the subfamily Machairodontinae , which range from the type genus Machairodus of the late Miocene to Smilodon of the Pleistocene. The "false saber-toothed cats", the Barbourofelidae and Nimravidae , are not true cats but are closely related. Together with the Felidae, Viverridae , hyenas and mongooses , they constitute
1470-531: The course of evolution within the majority of the eight lineages. Modelling of felid coat pattern transformations revealed that nearly all patterns evolved from small spots. Traditionally, five subfamilies had been distinguished within the Felidae based on phenotypical features: the Pantherinae , the Felinae , the Acinonychinae, and the extinct Machairodontinae and Proailurinae . Acinonychinae used to only contain
1519-420: The extant Felidae into three subfamilies: the Pantherinae , the Felinae and the Acinonychinae, differing from each other by the ossification of the hyoid apparatus and by the cutaneous sheaths which protect their claws. This concept has been revised following developments in molecular biology and techniques for the analysis of morphological data. Today, the living Felidae are divided into two subfamilies:
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1568-399: The following cladogram: Sunda clouded leopard (N. diardi) Clouded leopard ( N. nebulosa ) Tiger (P. tigris) Snow leopard (P. uncia) Jaguar (P. onca) Lion ( P. leo ) Leopard ( P. pardus ) Serval (L. serval) African golden cat ( C. aurata ) Caracal ( C. caracal ) Family (biology) Family ( Latin : familia , pl. : familiae )
1617-399: The fully black color evolved over time and was thus selected for over many generations. Melanism, meaning a mutation that results in completely dark skin, does not exist in humans. In humans, the amount of melanin is determined by three dominant alleles (AABBCC), and different ethnicities have varying amounts. Melanin is the primary determinant of the degree of skin pigmentation and protects
1666-859: The genus Acinonyx but this genus is now within the Felinae subfamily. The following cladogram based on Piras et al. (2013) depicts the phylogeny of basal living and extinct groups. † Proailurus bourbonnensis † Proailurus lemanensis † Proailurus major † Pseudaelurus quadridentatus † Pseudaelurus cuspidatus † Pseudaelurus guangheesis † Machairodontinae [REDACTED] † Hyperailurictis intrepidus † Hyperailurictis marshi † Hyperailurictis stouti † Hyperailurictis validus † Hyperailurictis skinneri † Sivaelurus chinjiensis † Styriofelis turnauensis † Styriofelis romieviensis Felinae [REDACTED] † Miopanthera lorteti † Miopanthera pamiri Pantherinae [REDACTED] The phylogenetic relationships of living felids are shown in
1715-400: The jaguarundi. Sequencing of the agouti signalling peptide in the agouti gene coding region revealed a 2-base pair deletion in black domestic cats . These variants were absent in melanistic individuals of Geoffroy's cat , oncilla , pampas cat and Asian golden cat , suggesting that melanism arose independently at least four times in the cat family. Melanism in leopards is inherited as
1764-406: The literature. Family names are typically formed from the stem of a type genus within the family. In zoology, when a valid family name is based on a genus that is later found to be a junior synonym , the family name may be maintained for stability if it was established before 1960. In botany, some family names that were found to be junior synonyms have been conserved due to their widespread use in
1813-426: The melanin pigment enhances function of immune defences, or a thermal advantage from the darker coloration. Melanistic coat coloration occurs as a common polymorphism in 11 of 37 felid species and reaches high population frequency in some cases but never achieves complete fixation . The black panther , a melanistic leopard , is common in the equatorial rainforest of Malaya and the tropical rainforest on
1862-481: The muscle fibers of human athletes. (A) Homotherium latidens (Owen, 1846), specimen DMF AS RS, no. Met-20-1, frozen mummy, Russia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Indigirka River basin, Badyarikha River; Upper Pleistocene; The family Felidae is part of the Feliformia , a suborder that diverged probably about 50.6 to 35 million years ago into several families. The Felidae and the Asiatic linsangs are considered
1911-907: The primary level for taxonomic identification keys, making them particularly valuable for field guides and systematic work as they often represent readily recognizable groups of related organisms with shared characteristics. In ecological and biodiversity research, families frequently serve as the foundational level for identification in survey work and environmental studies. This is particularly useful because families often share life history traits or occupy similar ecological niches . Some families show strong correlations between their taxonomic grouping and ecological functions, though this relationship varies among different groups of organisms. The stability of family names has practical importance for applied biological work, though this stability faces ongoing challenges from new scientific findings. Modern molecular studies and phylogenetic analyses continue to refine
1960-486: The scientific literature. The family-group in zoological nomenclature includes several ranks: superfamily (-oidea), family (-idae), subfamily (-inae), and tribe (-ini). Under the principle of coordination, a name established at any of these ranks can be moved to another rank while retaining its original authorship and date, requiring only a change in suffix to reflect its new rank. New family descriptions are relatively rare in taxonomy, occurring in fewer than one in
2009-567: The seventy-six groups of plants he recognised in his tables families ( familiae ). The concept of rank at that time was not yet settled, and in the preface to the Prodromus Magnol spoke of uniting his families into larger genera , which is far from how the term is used today. In his work Philosophia Botanica published in 1751, Carl Linnaeus employed the term familia to categorize significant plant groups such as trees , herbs , ferns , palms , and so on. Notably, he restricted
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2058-450: The slopes of some African mountains, such as Mount Kenya . The serval also has melanistic forms in certain areas of East Africa . In the jaguarundi , coloration varies from dark brown and gray to light reddish. Melanic forms of jaguar are common in certain parts of South America . In 1938 and 1940, two melanistic bobcats were trapped alive in sub-tropical Florida . In 2003, the dominant mode of inheritance of melanism in jaguars
2107-508: The understanding of family relationships, sometimes leading to reclassification. The impact of these changes varies among different groups of organisms – while some families remain well-defined and easily recognizable, others require revision as new evidence emerges about evolutionary relationships. This balance between maintaining nomenclatural stability and incorporating new scientific discoveries remains an active area of taxonomic practice. Melanism Pseudomelanism, also called abundism,
2156-556: The use of this term solely within the book's morphological section, where he delved into discussions regarding the vegetative and generative aspects of plants. Subsequently, in French botanical publications, from Michel Adanson 's Familles naturelles des plantes (1763) and until the end of the 19th century, the word famille was used as a French equivalent of the Latin ordo (or ordo naturalis ). The family concept in botany
2205-439: The yellow spots of some sub-species are called xanthophores. It appears that the fully-black phenotypes do not ever develop these xanthophores. Alpine salamanders produce a toxin from their skin, and both fully melanistic, black salamanders and spotted individuals produce the compound. Studies done that traced DNA histories have suggested that the original alpine salamander phenotype was black with some yellow spots, meaning that
2254-414: Was confirmed by performing phenotype -transmission analysis in a 116-individual captive pedigree . Melanistic animals were found to carry at least one copy of a mutant MC1R sequence allele , bearing a 15- base pair inframe deletion. Ten unrelated melanistic jaguars were either homozygous or heterozygous for this allele. A 24-base pair deletion causes the incompletely dominant allele for melanism in
2303-412: Was further developed by the French botanists Antoine Laurent de Jussieu and Michel Adanson . Jussieu's 1789 Genera Plantarum divided plants into 100 'natural orders,' many of which correspond to modern plant families. However, the term 'family' did not become standardized in botanical usage until after the mid-nineteenth century. In zoology , the family as a rank intermediate between order and genus
2352-435: Was introduced by Pierre André Latreille in his Précis des caractères génériques des insectes, disposés dans un ordre naturel (1796). He used families (some of them were not named) in some but not in all his orders of "insects" (which then included all arthropods ). The standardization of zoological family names began in the early nineteenth century. A significant development came in 1813 when William Kirby introduced
2401-555: Was spotted on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus . The alpine salamander , Salamandra atra , has one subspecies ( S. atra atra ) that is completely black. The pigment comes from a specific cell called a melanophore, which produce the compound melanin. There are four other subspecies of this salamander, and they have varying levels of melanin pigmentation. The subspecies have yellow spots in different concentrations or proportions. The pigment-producing cells that contribute to
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