— · Public domain
— · Public domain
Overview
A rare case anywhere in the world of albino Japanese rat snakes establishing a population.
About this place
The white snake of Iwakuni is a white snake living in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The whiteness of this snake is passed on to the next generations by heredity. It is a Natural Monument designated by the Japanese government (designated 1972). It is an albino of the Japanese rat snake. An albino is an organism that cannot synthesise melanin pigment because of a mutation; as this is a recessive trait, the next generation (heterozygous individuals) produced with ordinary individuals has the normal body colour. Also, because the body is white and conspicuous, it is easily preyed upon by natural enemies.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source ja.wikipedia.org ↗Key facts
Designation：Natural Monument
Source ja.wikipedia.org ↗Before you go
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