Multiple colors in anteaters: review and description of chromatic disorders in Tamandua (Xenarthra: Pilosa) with reports of new and rare coat colorations

Tamandua Gray, 1825 contains two species of anteaters: Tamandua mexicana (Saussure, 1860), which occurs in southern Mexico, throughout Central America and south to the west of the Andes in South America, and Tamandua tetradactyla (Linnaeus, 1758), widely distributed in South America, from Venezuela...

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Published inZoologia (Curitiba, Brazil) Vol. 40; pp. 1 - 17
Main Authors Cotts, Leonardo, Slifkin, Jonathan P., Moratelli, Ricardo, Gonçalves, Lucas, Rocha-Barbosa, Oscar
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Portuguese
Published Curitiba Sociedade Brasileira de Zoologia 2023
Subjects
Albinism
Animals
Anomalies
Color
Coloration
Colour
Disorders
Genes
Geographical distribution
Melanism
Morphology
Mutation
Pigments
Reptiles & amphibians
Skin
Tamandua
Xanthism
ZOOLOGY
South America
Trinidad & Tobago
Venezuela
Central America
Mexico
Argentina
hyperpigmentation
hypopigmentation
Mammalia
Vermilingua
Coat color variation
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Summary:Tamandua Gray, 1825 contains two species of anteaters: Tamandua mexicana (Saussure, 1860), which occurs in southern Mexico, throughout Central America and south to the west of the Andes in South America, and Tamandua tetradactyla (Linnaeus, 1758), widely distributed in South America, from Venezuela to northern Argentina, as well as Trinidad and Tobago. Historically, different coloration patterns have been attributed to the coat of Tamandua, with T. mexicana typically showing a partial or complete dark "vest" on the dorsal portion of the body, whereas T. tetradactyla can show a complete, partial, or absent vest and a coat varying from golden, pale yellow and pale gray to brown or black. These different coat colors are sometimes treated as inherent characteristics of subspecies of Tamandua. Here, we review color variation in Tamandua and describe six chromatic disorders for the genus: albinism, leucism,"brown" variation, melanism (partial and total), xanthochromism (partial and total) and,forthe first time for anteate rs,erythrism. In addition, we detail the morphological expression and geographic distribution of these anomalies in populations of Tamandua from Central and South America.
ISSN:1984-4670
1984-4689
1984-4689
DOI:10.1590/s1984-4689.v40.e22034