Definition

Noun: 1. A biological condition characterized by an unusually high concentration or abnormal deposition of melanin pigment, especially in the skin, fur, feathers, or scales of an organism. This results in a darkening of the individual's coloration compared to the typical appearance of its species.

Usage and Examples

• Noun:
  • The black panther is a well-known example of melanism in leopards.
  • Scientists studied the melanism in the moth population, noting its increase in industrial areas.
  • The condition is caused by a genetic mutation that leads to excessive melanism.

Advanced Usage

• Industrial melanism: A specific evolutionary phenomenon where dark-colored variants of a species become more common in soot-polluted environments because they are better camouflaged.
  • The classic case of industrial melanism is seen in the peppered moth during the Industrial Revolution.

Variants and Related Words

• Melanistic (adjective): Describing an organism affected by melanism.
  • We observed a melanistic squirrel in the park.
• Melanin (noun): The dark pigment responsible for skin, hair, and eye color, whose overproduction causes melanism.

Synonyms

• Hyperpigmentation (though this is a broader medical term often for localized skin areas).
• Dark morph (a term used in zoology for a melanistic variant of a species).

Antonyms

• Albinism: A condition characterized by the absence of melanin.
• Leucism: A condition causing reduced pigmentation, resulting in pale or patchy coloration.

Noun

1. a condition characterized by abnormal deposits of melanin (especially in the skin)