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Project Noah Nature School
Sciurus carolinensis
Not sure if you can see it well :S As a melanistic of the Eastern Gray Squirrel, individual black squirrels can exist wherever grey squirrels live. Grey mating pairs can not produce black offspring. Grey squirrels have 2 copies of a normal pigment gene and black squirrels have either 1 or 2 copies of a mutant pigment gene. If a black squirrel has 2 copies of the mutant gene it will be jet black. If it has 1 copy of a mutant gene and 1 normal gene it will be brown-black (McRobie et al, 2009).
You should see our squirrels in the vaudreuil area, they're all black.
Spotted on Apr 8, 2012
Submitted on Apr 8, 2012
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