# African Albinos?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-albinos/145753>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 30, 2002, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-albinos/145753 "2002-12-30T21:27:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![MadScientistMatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@MadScientistMatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadScientistMatt)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-albinos/145753/21 "2002-12-31T01:30:41Z")

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**Mighty\_Girl** , the condition is possible (although rare in humans, but common in some animals). The usual term for having abnormally high levels of pigmentation is melanistic, although I may have misspelled it.

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**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-albinos/145753/22 "2002-12-31T01:51:50Z")

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My question was about hiper-pigmentation.

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**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-albinos/145753/23 "2002-12-31T02:35:03Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by MadScientistMatt \*  
> \*\ ***Mighty\_Girl** , the condition is possible (although rare in humans, but common in some animals). The usual term for having abnormally high levels of pigmentation is melanistic, although I may have misspelled it. \*\*

Nope, spelled correctly. I’ve got several cornsnakes. Two of them are amelanistic, bright orange and yellow and white without the melanin that normally drabs the colors out. There are not to my knowledge true melanistic cornsnakes, though there are anerythristics- ones that only express the melanin pigmentation. I’ve got one of those too, she’s bright silver and black. A friend of mine has a melanistic death adder which is one creepy looking bastard. The snake that is, not my friend.

Peace,  
~mixie

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**Author:** ![david630](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@david630](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/david630)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-albinos/145753/24 "2002-12-31T03:04:06Z")

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[http://www.wits.ac.za/fac/med/gen/disease.htm](http://www.wits.ac.za/fac/med/gen/disease.htm)

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