Despite the hypopigmentation disorders are considered rare, the information on pigmentation anomalies in Neotropical mammals has increased considerably (García et al. 2020). According to Olson (2019), after birds, mammals are the vertebrate class with the highest number of leucism records reported, within this class, the orders Eulipotyphla and Carnivora have the most reported cases. Among carnivores, most of the records come from the Mustelidae family and within this family, the tayra (Eira barbara) predominates with cases reported in Bolivia (Tarifa et al. 2001), Guyana (Presley 2000; Villafañe-Trujillo et al. 2018), and Brazil (Tortato and Althoff 2007; Aximoff and Rocha 2016; Sobroza et al. 2016; Talamoni et al. 2017; Scrich et al. 2019).
The tayra is a medium-sized mustelid with a weight ranging from 2.7 to 7 kg. It has an elongated and slender body of 559-712 mm with a long tail of 365-460 mm, strong claws, and small-rounded ears. Its coat is short and smooth, the back, limbs, and tail are brown or black contrasting with the light coloration of the head and neck which is grayish to yellow (Presley 2000). On the underside of the neck, it has a light-colored irregular spot (yellowish-whitish) that even has potential for identification of individuals (Villafañe-Trujillo et al. 2018). According to Presley (2000) the albinism and melanism in E. barbara is more common than in other mustelid species.
Chromatic diversity is mainly caused by pigments such as melanin, which, based on their body presence, quantity, and locations determine the color of structures such as the skin, coat, and eyes (Eizirik and Trindade 2021). Abnormalities in coloration occur when complex biological factors such as genetic mutations alter the production and availability of melanin, causing changes in the coloration of the individual. These abnormalities include melanism, albinism, piebaldism, xanthism, and leucism (Cotts et al. 2023; Tenorio-Rodríguez et al. 2024). Melanism is an excess of dark pigmentation, while albinism implies a reduction or total absence of pigment, including the skin and eyes. Piebaldism is an absence of melanocytes in one or more parts of the body that causes white spots on the skin and hair of the affected individual (Lucati and López-Baucells ٢٠١٧). On the other hand, xanthism or xanthochromism is a condition that causes yellow or orange-yellow colorations due to increased fixation of pigments such as xanthine and pheomelanin in tissues. Finally, leucism causes white or yellowish-white colorations in its carrier, except in its eyes, claws, and skin (Cotts et al. 2023; Hernández-Aguilar 2023). Reporting the presence of chromatic anomalies in wildlife species contributes to the understanding of this phenomenon, including possible causes that provoke it and its effects on the carrier individuals (Leandro-Silva et al. 2022; Hernández-Aguilar 2023). The objective of this study is to document the first cases of chromatic aberrations in tayras in Colombia.
During 2018, 2022, 2023, and 2024, we conducted 6 different camera trap surveys with a total sampling effort of 11,015 days/camera in 3 localities of the Orinoco region and 2 localities of the Andean region of Colombia. Cameras were primarily targeted at medium and large mammals, not only focused on E. barbara. The study area encompasses 5 departments, two of this at Andean region such as Antioquia (Buriticá) and Norte de Santander (Área Natural Única Los Estoraques), and other three in Orinoco region such as Meta (Puerto Gaitán), Casanare (Mani and Tauramena), and Vichada (Puerto Carreño). The places in the Orinoco region included productive lands such as cattle ranches, oil palm plantations, and commercial tree plantations. While, in the Andes region, one study site corresponded to a protected area and another to a gold mine area. Nevertheless, all areas have some degree of anthropic intervention (Figure 1).
The identification of the species was carried out following the external characteristics mentioned by the field guide of carnivores by Suárez-Castro and Ramírez-Chaves (2015). For record of individual with yellowish-white colorations in its carrier, except in its eyes, claws, and skin we follow the category leucism used by (Cotts et al. 2023), for the records of individuals with the predominance of beige and yellow color in the coat, we follow the category xanthochromism used by Cotts et al. (2023) and for the records of individuals with white spots in the fur we follow the category piebaldism based on Lamoreux et al. (2010).
A total of 97 records of E. barbara were obtained in all study sites, of this, 10 records/individuals with anomaly colorations. Of the total number of records, 3 presented colorations that correspond to leucism (i.e., predominantly white color throughout the body), 2 presented xanthochromism with a predominant yellow coloration, 4 presented piebaldism with white spots in the fur, and 1 showed atypical light gray colorations.
The Andean region, presented the total records of piebaldism (4). The Orinoco region presented the total records of leucism (3), xantism (2) and the only one record of light gray coloration. Each case of non-albinism hypopigmentation in tayras is described below in chronological order and grouped in two biogeographical regions.
Andes region cases. Case 1: 3 different individuals were recorded on August 1, 2018 (14:15 hr), February 2, 2018 (13:25 hr), and April 19, 2018, (13:54 hr) in the forest of Los Estoraques Unique Natural Area ( ٨º ١٢’٤١.٠٧٢” N, 73º.16’ 38.15” W), with a sampling effort of 2,770 camera/days, all with white spots or piebaldism represented by a small white portion of the hair in the upper neck and dorsum, this part has an irregular form (Figure 2h).
Case 2: On July 25, 2024 (13:54 hr) in the gold mine of Buriticá, Antioquia (6º 42’ 5.544” N, 75º 53’ 9.852” W) and with a sampling effort of 2,176 camera/days, one adult individual with white spots or piebaldism was recorded, represented by a small white portion of the hair in the upper neck and dorsum, this part has an irregular form (Figure 2i).
Orinoco region cases. Case 3: On October 6, 2022 (11:45 hr) inside the oil palm plantation cover of Palmera Sillatava S. A., located in the Alto Manacacías, Puerto Gaitán, Meta (4º 6’ 19.415” N, O71º.53’ 43.216” W), an adult male was observed with leucism, with a predominantly white coloration on the body except in the distal third of the tail, with a light yellow tone, this individual was being chased by a domestic dog that had already caused wounds on his neck, limiting his mobility (Figure 2a).
Case 4: On March 12, 2023 (15:12 hr), in a native forest of the commercial tree plantation Forest First Colombia in department of Vichada (6º 4’ 37.366” N, 68º.10’ 58.191” W), with a sampling effort of 809 camera/days, an adult female with leucism was recorded, with white coloration throughout her fur (Figure 2b).
Case 5: On October 3, 2023 (09:17 hr) at Hato Ganadero Barley, Tauramena, Casanare (4º 52’ 5.04” N, 72º.35’ 20.089” W), with a sampling effort of 40 camera/days, an adult female with xanthism was recorded (Figure 2c).
Case 6: On October 07 and 08, 2023 at 17:49 and 8:34 hours respectively, in a native forest of the oil palm plantation and cattle producing property El Corozito, Maní, Casanare (4º 39’ 19.19” N, 72º.5’ 59.999” W), with a sampling effort of 180 camera/days, a female with leucism was recorded (Figure 2d).
Case 7: On October 29, 2023, at 9:07 and 16:47 hr at the same sampling station and with the same sampling effort as case 6, an adult male with xanthism was recorded, in addition to a reduced tail, which is atypical for the species (Figure 2e and f).
Case 8: On November 21, 2023 (7:08 hr), in a native forest of the commercial tree plantation Forest First Colombia in Puerto Carreño, Vichada (6º 8’ 42.9” N, O68º.16’ 58.439” W), with a sampling effort of 5040 camera/days, an adult with a clear coloration was recorded, with light gray coloration in the dorsal part of the body from the neck to tail base. The legs and tail with black coloration. This individual was recorded in a social group with another two individuals of the normal coloration (Figure 2g).
Currently, chromatic anomalies reported in tayras include leucism (Mendes-Pontes et al. 2020) in the Guyana Shield, and albinism (Aximoff and da Rocha 2016) in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. In this study, we report new cases of hypopigmentation for the first time in the Orinoco and Andes regions of Colombia, including leucism and the first known records of xanthism and piebaldism. Although recent records of chromatic anomalies are published in different species and regions of the world, there are still gaps in information about this phenomenon. For instance, the implications it has on its carriers, and even its classification, since most of the records lack biological material that can be analyzed to determine the possible causes of this phenomenon. For these reasons, the classification of chromatic aberrations reported in this study was based only on the external morphological aspects of each individual. Since all the records were obtained by direct and indirect observations, this issue hinders the possibility of establishing a more accurate classification of chromatic aberrations.
Although the implications of leucism and other atypical colorations on the ecology of Tayras are still unknown, some authors suggest that chromatic aberrations such as leucism may promote changes in intraspecific relationships, as well as predation risk, increased difficulty in hunting, anemia, poor eyesight, low fertility, immune deficiency, and sensory or nerve defects (Miller 2005; Acevedo and Aguayo 2008; Sobroza et al. 2016; Ortiz-Hoyos et al. 2020; Gallo et al. 2023; Tenorio-Rodríguez et al. 2024). This might be related to the fact that lighter coloration makes camouflage more difficult, making carriers of conditions such as leucism more easily perceived by their prey or predators (e.g., case 3), and consequently less favored by natural selection. This could explain why the records of chromatic aberrations such as leucism are considered unusual (Caro and Mallarino 2020; Hernández-Aguilar 2023). Therefore, intraspecific and interspecific interactions as well as the survival of leucistic tayras may be compromised, since they are not always solitary, and their diet includes other animals. In addition, their distribution overlaps with that of potential predators such as ocelots, pumas, and jaguars (de Oliveira and Pereira 2014), but it is unclear whether a leucistic condition alters that predator-prey relationship (Scrich et al. 2019). In our case, we observed domestic dogs attacking a leucistic tayra, and we hypothesize that was caused by its greater exposure compared to normally colored tayras. The impact of dogs as potential competitors of tayras has been suggested before (Lessa et al. 2016; Bianchi et al. 2021), and recent evidence points to dogs killing tayras in agricultural landscapes (Pereira et al. 2019). However, groups of tayras with leucistic members have been recorded performing positive intraspecific interactions, suggesting that leucism does not negatively affect its carriers, which may also benefit from the absence of large carnivores in the area (Sobroza et al. 2016; Mendes-Pontes et al. 2020). Despite this, the effects of leucism on the ecology of the tayra are still unclear and require more studies that corroborate whether leucism has positive, negative, or no impacts on its carriers (Sobroza et al. 2016; Talamoni et al. 2017; Scrich et al. 2019; Mendes-Pontes et al. 2020).
The frequency of hypopigmentation has been related to inbreeding (Olson 2019), but also to environmental factors such as nuclear pollution that may increase mutation rates (Møller and Mousseau 2001). According to Melo-Dias et al. (2022) in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil, a high number of cases of hypopigmentation has been reported and it is considered that it could be associated to historical processes of landscape fragmentation. This could also apply to the Llanos in Colombia which has experienced an accelerated growth of different types of agricultural activities (e.g., rice, oil palm, soybean, corn, tree plantations, extensive cattle ranching, among others). The atypical coloration is not the only characteristic found in the phenotype of individuals that live in landscapes with certain anthropogenic interventions. In fact, individuals with congenital short tails and leucism are examples of other conditions. We do not consider the reductions of the tail in the individual of case 7 was caused by mechanical forces and hypothesize that it could be related to the Manx gen, according to Robinson (1993) taillessness is one of the vertebral column mutations occasioned by this gene in domestic cats. Nevertheless, genetic analysis is necessary to confirm this hypothesis. Other explanations for this phenomenon can be related to the development of anthropogenic activities that depend of the intensive and indiscriminate use of pesticides and genetically modified species, which if not properly managed can affect non-target species (Eslava-Mocha 2015), for instance, E. barbara. Tayras are known to ingest large amounts of pesticides from various food sources, their omnivorous diet, and this could generate changes in the typical coloration of individuals, since most pesticides are compounds created based on sulfur (Griffith et al. 2015), an element that can favor pheomelanogenesis (Galván et al. 2019) and therefore, the production of lighter colorations than usual in species such as E. barbara.
Finally, given that all the records of tayras with abnormal colorations corresponded to adult individuals, it is possible that these conditions do not affect intraspecific relationships or the survival of their carriers. According to Acevedo and Aguayo (2008) and Piaguaje et al. (2021), publishing records of chromatic aberrations in wildlife species is fundamental to understanding the frequency, genetic, physiological, and ecological implications of hypopigmentation and other coloration phenomena in their carriers. We recommend advancing in the analysis of the genetic variability of the populations mentioned in the study areas. In turn, the occurrence of a polymorphic color phenotype in tayras, its suggested to study the fixation of recessive characteristics and the evaluation of the possible adaptive advantages/disadvantages of these phenotypes at the population level.
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Associated editor: José Fernando Moreira Ramírez.
Submitted: October 30, 2024; Reviewed: March 21, 2025.
Accepted: April 21, 2025; Published on line: June 3, 2025.
