Wow. Look at this Mexican "green" sea turtle...

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sibi

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Too perfect to be real! If it is real, that's the closest thing to perfection I've ever seen.
 

GeoTerraTestudo

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I hate to be contentious, but I really don't see how anyone can call a specimen missing pigmentation "the closest thing to perfection." This poor creature has a genetic disorder.
 

EricIvins

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GeoTerraTestudo said:
In the wild, an albino sea turtle like this one would be a sitting duck for a tiger shark. More vulnerable to blindness and skin cancer, too.

You have proof of this how?
 

GeoTerraTestudo

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EricIvins said:
GeoTerraTestudo said:
In the wild, an albino sea turtle like this one would be a sitting duck for a tiger shark. More vulnerable to blindness and skin cancer, too.

You have proof of this how?

Well, as I mentioned above, leucistic and albino animals in the wild are more likely to get eaten because they lack camouflage, and in both the wild and in captivity, they are more likely to have their skin or eyes damaged by the sun because they lack pigmentation to absorb UV radiation.
 

EricIvins

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GeoTerraTestudo said:
EricIvins said:
GeoTerraTestudo said:
In the wild, an albino sea turtle like this one would be a sitting duck for a tiger shark. More vulnerable to blindness and skin cancer, too.

You have proof of this how?

Well, as I mentioned above, leucistic and albino animals in the wild are more likely to get eaten because they lack camouflage, and in both the wild and in captivity, they are more likely to have their skin or eyes damaged by the sun because they lack pigmentation to absorb UV radiation.

Again, as I mentioned, you have first hand accounts of this how? Granted there may have been long term studies done that I have not come across, but last I researched only a few very short term studies have been done on Leucistic animals that are no where near complete...
 

GeoTerraTestudo

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EricIvins said:
Again, as I mentioned, you have first hand accounts of this how? Granted there may have been long term studies done that I have not come across, but last I researched only a few very short term studies have been done on Leucistic animals that are no where near complete...

The negative effects of albinism in reptiles (and other animals) are well documented. Albinos are more likely to be found by predators, develop eye and skin problems, and have other morphological birth defects (see attached: Glazebrook and Campbell 1990, Kaska and Downie 1999, Türkozan and Durmus 2001, Ibarra and Gasca 2009, Sönmez and Özdilek 2011).

With leucism, the eyes may be normally pigmented, but the overall white color of the body still has negative effects. Like albinos, leucistic animals are more likely to be eaten by predators, and they have a reduced ability to block harmful solar radiation. In addition, abnormally light reptiles have a harder time warming up their bodies by basking (see attached: Krecsák 2008). Albino and leucistic mammals also have other co-occurring morphological, immunological, neurological, and sensory disorders (not attached: Reissmanna and Ludwig 2013*).

So, albinism and leucism are not simply neat-looking color sports, but rather birth defects that diminish the health of the animals afflicted with them.

*Reissmann, M. and A. Ludwig. 2013. Pleiotropic effects of coat colour-associated mutations in humans, mice and other mammals. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.semcdb.2013.03.014
 

Attachments

  • Glazebrook and Campbell 1990 - Albinism birth defect sea turtle.pdf
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  • Ibarra and Gasca 2009 - Albinism birth defect sea turtle.pdf
    1.8 MB · Views: 7
  • Kaska and Downie 1999 - Albinism birth defect sea turtle.pdf
    241.6 KB · Views: 258
  • Krecsák 2008 - Albinism leucism vipers.pdf
    68.4 KB · Views: 24
  • Sönmez and Özdilek 2011 - Albinism birth defect sea turtle.pdf
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  • Türkozan and Durmus 2001 - Albinism birth defect sea turtle.pdf
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