![]() ![]() In other words, for zebras, the animals' default state is to produce black hair, making them black with white stripes, according to Brittanica. For instance, Larison said, theres evidence that heavily striped zebras have 5. ![]() The production of melanin from melanocytes is "prevented during the development of a white hair, but not of a black hair," Caro told Live Science in an email. Is a zebra still a zebra if it has no stripes Zebras, together with horses and asses, are members of the Equus genus. Giraffe skin is a uniform light tan that's similar in color to that of its coat, and its patterns are not visible, Mads. ![]() Zebras' black fur is chock-full of melanin, but melanin is absent from white fur, in essence, because the follicles that make up the stripes of white hair have "turned off" melanocytes, meaning they don't churn out pigment. For instance, zebra skin is black under their black-and-white striped coats. This pigment is known as melanin a lot of melanin leads to darker colors, like dark brown or black, while less melanin leads to lighter colors, such as hazel or blond, Live Science previously reported. Zebras stripes are an important tool of defense: Zebras colors are one of their most important defense mechanisms. These cells produce a pigment that determines the color of hair and skin. Here's why: Every piece of hair - both light and dark - grows from a follicle filled with melanocyte cells, according to a 2005 review in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. In fact, zebras actually have more light-colored hair than dark - their bellies are usually light - so it may seem that zebras are white with black stripes.īut that's not the case. Although zebras have black skin, different developmental processes determine their fur color, just like a light-skinned person can have dark hair, Caro said. zebra, any of three species of strikingly black-and-white striped mammals of the horse family Equidae (genus Equus): the plains zebra (E. ![]()
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