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Genes are short sections of DNA that determine an animal’s traits—everything from coat color and claw strength to body shape and health. But sometimes, these genes mutate. And while the word itself sounds alarming, most mutations are harmless and invisible.
The more noticeable ones, however, can produce features that are quite rare for the species.
To give you a sense of how these fascinating genetic quirks show up in nature, we’ve put together a gallery of animals — from cats and mice to crabs, penguins, and beyond — each displaying traits that make them stand out from their peers.
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#1
Olive The Cat With Sectoral Heterochromia
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#2
Shiny Blue Curl Mouse!
#3
This Raven’s Striking Pale Plumage Is The Result Of The Genetic Mutations Leucism Or Albinism
To understand mutations, we need to know more about DNA. DNA is a long molecule composed of building blocks called nucleotides. Each nucleotide is built around one of four different subunits, called bases.
These bases are known as guanine, cytosine, adenine, and thymine. A gene carries information in the sequence of its nucleotides, similar to how a sentence carries information in the sequence of its letters.
#4
Rare Orange Snowy Owl
Roman Arendt 13 hours ago
Looks like a japanese artist of the 19th century had no canvas or paper but got his hands on a snow owl. Gorgeous!
#5
The Clompers Demand Respect
#6
This Entirely Black Penguin, A Very Rare Occurance
One type of mutation is a change to a base. This is called a point mutation, and it is like changing a letter in a word.
Genes carry instructions for making proteins, and when a base is changed in a gene, different results are possible depending on which base is altered and what it is changed into.
The gene may produce an altered protein, it may produce no protein, or it may even produce the usual protein.
#7
A Cat With 2 Pairs Of Ears
#9
Rare Royal Purple Princess Crabs Were Spotted In Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand
Another type of mutation is a chromosomal mutation. Chromosomes, located in the cell nucleus, are tiny threadlike structures that carry genes. A chromosome consists of a molecule of DNA and proteins. During these mutations, a long segment of DNA may be inserted into a chromosome, deleted from a chromosome, flipped around within a chromosome, duplicated, or moved from one chromosome to another. Such changes are usually very harmful.
#10
Do You See Fortune Cookies, Raviolis, Or Something Else? These Are Actually Albino Razorback Musk Turtle Babies
#12
This Gorgeous Fella Foraging In Our Back Forest
Mutations can be inherited or acquired later in life. Those that an individual inherits from their parents are called hereditary mutations. They are present in all body cells and can be passed down to the next generation.
Some mutations are beneficial and increase the likelihood that an organism will thrive and, therefore, pass them on to its descendants. When mutations improve survival or reproduction, the process of natural selection causes them to become more common over time. When mutations are harmful, they become less common over time. In this way, mutations contribute to driving evolution.
#13
My Parents Got A Maine Coon Kitten With A Million Toes! His Name Is Chino
I don't even know how to describe it, his front paws have almost another paw on it, like where a human would have a thumb he has this 3 toed paw. His feet are little paddles with 8-9 toe beans. I've never seen a cat with so many fingers. My boyfriend and I have a poly cat with one extra little thumb on his front paws but Chino is the most toed cat I've ever met!
#14
These Zebras Have Pseudomelanism (AKA Abundism), A Mutation That Causes An Abundance Of Melanin
#15
Two Headed Python, Only One Every 100,000 Is Born With Two Heads
martymcmatrix 10 hours ago
Well, despite our close bond, I really don't appreciate when you're speaking with a forked tongue...🐍 🤭 🐍
#16
A Tortoiseshell Cat With An Extraordinary Orange Pattern On Its Paws
martymcmatrix 10 hours ago
When grandma gifts you a hand-knitted sweater and your mother insists that you put it on at the next family gathering...🧶 🪡 🧦 🧣
#17
This Is A Cinnamon Raccoon. This Coloration Is Typically Due To A Genetic Condition Called Leucism, Which Reduces Pigmentation
#18
Yellow Coloured Penguin
#19
Lemon Dalmatian
LakotaWolf (she/her) 12 hours ago
Leucistic Dalmatian! It's not a breed standard color in the AKC so it would be show-disqualified, but how gorgeous! <3
#20
Liquorice Has A Question
#21
Extremely Rare Spotless Giraffe Born In US Zoo
#22
Albino Fur Seal Is Rare Event. This Is A Clear Albino Without Any Pigmentation Even In Its Eyes
#23
Cat's Seperated Pupils. She Can See Perfectly Fine
#24
Rare Orange Shark, Costa Rica. Its Unusual Colour Is Caused By Something Called Xanthism, A Condition Which Researchers Say Is Extremely Rare In Fishes Like Sharks
#25
1 In Every 100,000 Seals Are Born Albino Which Makes Them Super Rare
#26
Waffles Was Born Without Eyes Due To A Genetic Mutation And Is A Very Good Boy
#28
Sleepy Qizai. He Is A Very Rare Brown Panda And The Only One Living In Captivity
He was found abandoned in the wild and now lives in the Louguantai wild animal breeding and protection center. There are only 9 known brown pandas!
#29
Leptopoma Perlucidum, Commonly Known As A Terrestrial Land Snail , But People Think He's A Cutie Patootie Blushing
#30
I Was Very Fortunate To Spot This White Eastern Gray Squirrel In Highlands North Carolina
The white squirrel is actually a genetic anomaly due to a mutated gene from the common Eastern gray squirrel. It is called leucism, which is a condition characterized by reduced pigmentation in animals caused by a recessive allele. Unlike albinism, it is a reduction of all types of skin pigment, not just melanin.
#31
This Zebra Has Unusual Pattern That Makes It Almost Look Like Partially Transparent Against The Plains
Multa Nocte (she/her/86 47) 11 hours ago
I've never seen a photo of one like that before. I wonder how rare they are.
#32
A Labrador Born Green Because Of A Pigment Called Biliverdin
His name is Pistacchio and he's doing fine! He was born in Pattada, a little village in Sardinia. The green color, which will progressively fade away, is a consequence of biliverdin, a pigment that he ingested while in the womb.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 8 hours ago
Can you imagine when he's all grown up and normal Labrador-cream-colored and someone asks "Oh, what a cutie, what's the origin of his name?" and you go "Well, he was bright green when he was born, so..." XD
#33
Cat Has A Rare Genetic Disorder That Makes Her Teeth Red And Glow Pink Under Black Light
#34
Yellow-Throated Toucan With A Genetic Condition Called Leucism. Spotted In Costa Rica
Erm Actually… 1 hour ago
Absolutely stunning. Almost makes me hungry with how much he looks like fruit!
#35
My Yard Has A Mole Problem, But I Never Thought I'd Find An Albino! Chance Of 1:100,000
Chocolate llama 13 hours ago
Awwwwwwwwww!! I love moles and I think they have an unfair bad reputation. The mole hills can be a bit annoying but they snack on mosquito larvae and snail eggs, so I'm always happy if I have one in the garden
#36
An Albino Katydid With A Rare Genetic Disease Just Chilling On A Hibiscus
WindySwede 13 hours ago
" There are albino animals and erythristic animals. Both caused by recessive genetics, but albino is a lack of pigmentation, where erythrism is production of pink/red pigments." User in reddit.
#37
Adelie Penguin With Isabellinism, A Genetic Mutation That Dilutes The Pigment In Feathers
#38
Blue Mutated Phelsuma Laticauda
LakotaWolf (she/her) 12 hours ago
A day gecko! I wanted one of these so badly as a child XD I had a green iguana and a small tribe of green anoles in my childhood, but always wanted a day gecko, a skink, and a snake someday XD
#39
This Small Stack Of A Mutant Bumble Bee I Found Early One Morning. I'm Assured This Is A Genetic Mutation And Very Rare To Witness
#40
Would You Say He Has Brown Or Blue Eyes? (Both Of His Eyes Have The Mutation)
martymcmatrix 9 hours ago
You'll better reach out for the office where you initally applied for his passport...🐰 🆔
#41
My Horse’s Two-Toned Mustache
#42
My Wild Axolotl Showing The Default Color. There Are About 18 Variants Of Axolotl Color Because Of Mutation Of Their Pigmentation Genes Due To Crossbreeding
sturmwesen 13 hours ago (edited)
fun fact: if you have different colors of shrimps in a tank they might crossbreed and next generations become transparent. once in a while a different color will pop up. mine were transparent, red and orange. now most are transparent but 2 are brownish/redish
#43
Macromutation That Causes The Frog To Grow Eyes Inside The Mouth
#44
Shiny Kangaroo Taking A Bath
#45
Anyone Else Have A Five Toe Chicken? I’ve Personally Never Seen One, Or Even Knew These Existed
#46
Caught The Lucky Trout This Morning
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