Abstract
The chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) is bred in a few laboratories, but at this time it is mostly bred on commercial ranches. The animal is a small to medium-sized rodent and is famous for its soft, dense, and highly valued pelt. Genetically, the chinchilla is remarkable in that its fur is devoid of phaeomelanin. The coat is typically agouti but is light gray in color instead of the brown-gray of most rodents. The agouti band, upon parting of hair, can be seen to be light gray, ivory-white, or white. Since domestication, a number of color mutants have been reported in articles published in various fur magazines. These mutations are interesting enough to be brought to the notice of a wider audience. Already, a few homologs with mutant genes in other mammalian species can be discerned. A brief description of the main color genes have been given by Lauriden and Caraway (1970).
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© 1975 Plenum Press, New York
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Robinson, R. (1975). The Chinchilla, Chinchilla lanigera . In: King, R.C. (eds) Handbook of Genetics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-4470-4_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-4470-4_15
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