With its pale skin and light eyes, this IGUANA (above) stands out. Usually, iguanas are greenish brown. Those colors help the reptiles blend into the tropical forests in which they live.
So, why is this one white? It’s albino. Albinism is an inherited condition in which the body can’t properly produce colored chemical compounds called pigments. As a result, this albino iguana has white scales and yellow eyes.
Iguanas are not the only animals with albinism. People have spotted everything from lobsters to lemurs with skin, hair, fur, feathers, and scales that are mostly colorless. Without their typical coloration, these animals don’t usually fare well in the wild.
There’s something different about this iguana. The animals are usually greenish brown. Those colors help them blend into the forest. But this one’s pale skin and light eyes stand out. Why is this iguana white? It’s albino. Albinism is a condition where the body doesn’t produce colored chemical compounds called pigments.
As a result, this albino iguana has white scales and yellow eyes. Iguanas are not the only animals with albinism. People have spotted everything from lobsters to lemurs with albinism. Their skin, hair, fur, feathers, or scales are mostly colorless.