White opossum - Probably leucistic
29/11/2009 16:25:56
White opossum, photographed in
Leucistic Opossum baby.
November 2009. This weeks leucistic animal is an opossum, sent in by reader Cliff Ball, from Janesville in Wisconsin, USA. The white opossum is part of a family of at least three young ones and one older female (the mother) that all travel together frequently. The white opossum and its two siblings are about half grown judging from the size difference between them and the mother.
Leucism (or Leukism)
Leucism is a very unusual condition whereby the pigmentation cells in an animal or bird fail to develop properly. This can result in unusual white patches appearing on the animal, or, more rarely, completely white creatures.
Click here to see our gallery of albino and leucistic animals and birds.
two of the baby opossums with normal colouring
| the leucistic opossum with a normally coloured sibling
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All photos are copyright Cliff Ball
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