Anomalous Fur Colouration in Eight Small Mammal Species from Türkiye

Abstract

In mammals, hair and skin colour play crucial roles in concealing individuals from predators, facilitating communication within and between species, and contributing to essential physiological functions like thermoregulation. However, certain individuals exhibit abnormal colouration patterns due to either an excess (melanism) or deficiency (albinism, leucism, or piebaldism) in melanin production. Despite the prevalence of chromatic disorders in mammals, instances of species displaying colour anomalies remain infrequent. Here, we report the occurrence of colour anomalies in eight small mammal species (Microtus hartingi, M. dogramacii, M. schidlovskii, M. levis, Mus macedonicus, Sorex sp., Apodemus sp., Nannospalax sp.). In some specimens with colour abnormalities (M. hartingi, M. schidlovskii and M. dogramacii), species identification was confirmed by molecular analysis (cyt b gene region). An individual of M. dogramacii exhibiting colour anomaly was compared with the M. dogramacii species displaying normal colouration through multivariate morphometric analysis and was found to be in the normal range for the species.