First record of melanism in the critically endangered Pampa cat (Leopardus munoai), an endemic species of the Pampa grasslands (original) (raw)
Therya Notes, 2023
Melanism is the excess of dark pigmentation that partially or completely covers the body of an animal. The presence of melanic individuals is relatively common in several feline species. The objective of this note is to report the second case of melanism in free-living Leopardus tigrinus in Colombia. For the country, there is only one published record for the Department of Caldas. Between June 2012 and March 2020, 158 single camera-trap stations were set up in 5 protected areas in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. After almost 8 years of monitoring and with a sampling effort of 60,704 nights/trap, we recorded one melanic individual of L. tigrinus, in El Cocuy National Natural Park. So far, the presence of melanic individuals of L. tigrinus has been recorded mainly in Brazil (although once its taxonomy is clarified it may correspond to a different species). For Colombia, there is one documented record more than 350 km away from ours (Department of Boyacá). It is considered that this phenomenon may be an adaptive response of the species to environmental evolutionary pressures and has been proposed as a niche segregation strategy; however, given the rarity of this phenotype in the study area, and in general throughout its distribution, it is necessary to gather more evidence that could potentially explain the selective forces that favor or limit this type of phenotypic expression.
Melanistic pampas cat (Leopardus colocolo) in the central Peruvian Andes
Cat News, 2012
The pampas cat Oncifelis colocolo is one of the most enigmatic of the neotropical felids. Little is known of its ecology and its distribution and taxonomy are still a matter of debate. Here we provide an account of a melanistic pampas cat in the vicinity of Yanachaga-Chemillien National Park in the Andes of Central Peru. This report is the first official confirmed record of the pampas cat from the Peruvian province of Oxapampa, which now contains a minimum of seven felid species.
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.
First Locality Record of Melanistic Oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus) in Monteverde, Costa Rica
Neotropical Biology and Conservation, 2021
The persistence of the coat color polymorphism melanism has been reported for several tropical felids, but its evolutionary advantages remain an active area of research. Few publications have explored melanism in the elusive species, oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus) within the Neotropical part of their range in Costa Rica. Herein, I present the first record of a melanistic oncilla within the montane cloud forest of Monteverde, Costa Rica. Recent studies have found support for theories (e.g. Temporal Segregation Hypothesis and Gloger’s Rule) explaining the ecological advantages driving melanism in oncilla and tropical felid populations. However, it is unclear what is driving melanism in this Monteverde oncilla population due to the singular observation. Further research investigating whether melanism is occurring at a higher frequency in other individuals in the region is critical to better understanding the occurrence of melanism in local populations of this cryptic species. The montane...
Mapping black panthers: Macroecological modeling of melanism in leopards (Panthera pardus
The geographic distribution and habitat association of most mammalian polymorphic phenotypes are still poorly known, hampering assessments of their adaptive significance. Even in the case of the black panther, an iconic melanistic variant of the leopard (Panthera pardus), no map exists describing its distribution. We constructed a large database of verified records sampled across the species' range, and used it to map the geographic occurrence of mela-nism. We then estimated the potential distribution of melanistic and non-melanistic leopards using niche-modeling algorithms. The overall frequency of melanism was ca. 11%, with a significantly non-random spatial distribution. Distinct habitat types presented significantly different frequencies of melanism, which increased in Asian moist forests and approached zero across most open/dry biomes. Niche modeling indicated that the potential distributions of the two phenotypes were distinct, with significant differences in habitat suitability and rejection of niche equivalency between them. We conclude that melanism in leopards is strongly affected by natural selection, likely driven by efficacy of camouflage and/or thermo-regulation in different habitats, along with an effect of moisture that goes beyond its influence on vegetation type. Our results support classical hypotheses of adaptive coloration in animals (e.g. Gloger's rule), and open up new avenues for in-depth evolutionary analyses of melanism in mammals.
Further occurrences of melanism in a northern, peripheral, population of Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
The Canadian Field-Naturalist
Although melanism is understood to occur commonly among some felids, it is reported to be most frequent among cat species that occur in humid, tropical, and densely vegetated habitats. Previously, a single record of a melanistic Bobcat (Lynx rufus) from eastern Canada (New Brunswick) appeared to be a northern outlier, with all other reports of melanism in this species restricted to the warm, humid, climate of southern peninsular Florida. Here, I document a further five occurrences of melanism in Bobcat from New Brunswick and review evidence that a mutation in an agouti-signalling protein gene may be responsible for melanism in New Brunswick Bobcats.