melanism
n.
exceptionally dark pigment of skin or hair (Ethnology); concentration of dark pigment in the feathers or skin of an animal (Zoology)
Melanism
Melanism is an increased amount of black or nearly black
pigmentation (as of
skin,
feathers, or
hair) of an organism, resulting from the presence of
melanin. It is the opposite of
albinism, which occurs due to lack of melanin. More technically, it refers to a
phenotype in which the pigmentation of an organism is entirely, or nearly entirely, expressed. A synonym for this condition used in the context of human disease is melanosis. Abundism is an increase in dark pigmentation in patterned coats or skins which causes an increase in the number or size of pigmented spots, stripes or other patch types. Abundism which is sufficiently extreme to appear like melanism, such as when the stripes of a striped animal increase in width sufficiently to overlap, is known as pseudo-melanism. Melanism and abundism are often the result of genetic
mutation, but can result from other stimuli, such as exposure to abnormal temperature changes during gestation which transiently alter gene
transcription or
translation. Melanism or abundism triggered by human modification of the environment is known as industrial melanism; the history of this phenomenon in the
peppered moth in the United Kingdom is a classic instructional tool for teaching the principles of
natural selection.
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Melanism
melanism
Noun
1. a condition characterized by abnormal deposits of melanin (especially in the skin)
(synonym) melanosis
(hypernym) skin disease, disease of the skin, skin disorder, skin problem, skin condition
Melanism
(n.)
An undue development of dark-colored pigment in the skin or its appendages; -- the opposite of albinism.
(n.)
A disease; black jaundice. See Mel/na.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter.
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