Gabriel Burgi
New member
Does anyone know if there are any out there? A friend of mine claims to have seen one in his yard, and I could use a pic for comparison if anyone has one. Thanks!!
Gabriel Burgi
Gabriel Burgi

Gabriel Burgi said:You want the GPS coordinates???![]()
Van from a different forum said:Just a comment on the genetics/physiology of this morph. White-sidedness is technically a form of leucism. Leucism is a mutation in the genes controlling pigment cell differentiation and/or migration from the neural crest during development. All pigment cells, except those in the retina (which is why the eyes are still pigmented in leucistic forms), originate from a cell layer called the neural crest. The neural crest is ectoderm that originates from either side of the neural tube in development (which becomes the spinal cord).
Cells from the neural crest may become all kinds of tissues, but during differentiation they migrate through the body to the final location. Here's an unofficial list of all the different tissues that arise from neural crest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_crest). I apologize for citing wikipedia here, but their list reflects what I remember from developmental biology...
Complete leucism is probably a mutation in genes controlling pigment cell differentiation since no pigment is formed, even dorsally. White-sided leucism is a mutation in genes controlling the migration of pigment cells from the neural crest region to the rest of the body. Hence, all the pigment is located along the spinal column. The only exception is that the eyes are still pigmented because they gain their pigment from the retina, which is a very early outpocketing of neural tube tissue, rather than neural crest tissue.