melanism
noun
the condition in human beings of having a high amount of melanin granules in the skin, hair, and eyes.
melanistic
-
a word derived from
melanism.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Paul says he and a friend were travelling by train near Glenfinnan when they spotted what he describes as a melanistic leopard, also known as a black panther.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2024
Of the 40 cat species worldwide, nearly half have melanistic or black color morphs.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 17, 2022
There’s even a tiny area in Sikkim, which is a small mountainous state in the Eastern Himalayan region, where melanistic Asiatic golden cats are far more common than any other morph.
From Scientific American ● May 28, 2013
There is also a spotted, ocelot-like morph that is more common in China than the usual colouring, and numerous melanistic, or black, individuals have been found, particularly in Nepal.
From Scientific American ● May 28, 2013
Among various gatherings studied he found a black variety, a melanistic phase, so to say, and was able to follow the evolution of the sporangia from the yellow plasmodium.
From The North American Slime-Moulds A Descriptive List of All Species of Myxomycetes Hitherto Reported from the Continent of North America, with Notes on Some Extra-Limital Species by Thomas H. (Thomas Huston) MacBride
