Weird: Venus, the two faced cat

[Palinurus]

Found this specimen while surfing around.

Full article here: _http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120831-venus-two-faced-cat-genetics-animals-science/

Video here: _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k38bfE3ubrs#

I'm stunned, especially because of the differently colored eyes.

 

[grini]

Thanks for sharing, Palinurus. It really is interesting looking cat.
From my experience, I can tell that a few times we had pigs with differently colored eyes. Usually brown and blue.
There was also one girl in elementary school, in my brother's grade, with brown and blue eye.

 

[Al Today]

We had an albino cat with one blue eye and one green eye. They were mesmerizing to see.

 

[whitecoast]

Yeah, that's awesome looking.

Thanks for sharing, Palinurus. It really is interesting looking cat.
From my experience, I can tell that a few times we had pigs with differently colored eyes. Usually brown and blue.
There was also one girl in elementary school, in my brother's grade, with brown and blue eye.

Female animals which have different color eyes and hair patches often have that due to what's called S-chromosome inactivation. Females (including human) need two X chromosomes active in the embryo for only the first two to three weeks of development, one of the X chromosomes inactivates, or shuts down after awhile. Since which chromosome will be shut down is random, you get a patchwork of tissues and cells that share the same X-inactivation pattern. So if half a face has one X and the other side has another, and each X codes for a different eye color, each eye would be a different color.

 

[grini]

Female animals which have different color eyes and hair patches often have that due to what's called S-chromosome inactivation. Females (including human) need two X chromosomes active in the embryo for only the first two to three weeks of development, one of the X chromosomes inactivates, or shuts down after awhile. Since which chromosome will be shut down is random, you get a patchwork of tissues and cells that share the same X-inactivation pattern. So if half a face has one X and the other side has another, and each X codes for a different eye color, each eye would be a different color.

Thank you for the explanation, whitecoast :)

 

[Palinurus]

Thank you for the explanation, whitecoast :)

I second that, of course. You just beat me to it, grini :P