Black Squirrels: And Other Melanized Animals

Having learned that black squirrels are a melanized morph of gray squirrels, I remembered that reptiles and amphibians have extensive color variations - to the point that individuals from the same species may appear to be from a different species. That got me to wondering what other animals, besides squirrels, have black morphs (melanized individuals).

What I learned is that melanized animals might not be entirely black. They may still have green, gray, or other colors, but overall they are darker than the non-melanized morphs.

Here are a few melanized animals I found interesting.

Barn owls in Britain have a black (melanized) morph.

Black pheasants can have shimmery green, blue, and purple feathers, as well as the expected red faces and black and brown-striped tail feathers of non-melanized pheasants.

Panthers are melanized leopards or jaguars. Leopards and jaguars are different species, but the black morphs of each species are commonly called a “panther.”

Peppered moths formed a black morph in sooty industrialized areas in Britain. This is thought to be because the darker color is better camouflage. 

Poison dart frogs can be black instead of the more common bright warning colors.
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Silver foxes are melanized red foxes. This one is interesting because this melanized form features white or grey markings, leading to a silvery appearance.

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