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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jesus_marley" data-source="post: 2193535" data-attributes="member: 24730">Polar bears are actually black. Their fur is transparent. They look white because of the way the fur reflects visible light.As for albino dragons, I remember reading a short story once (in a D&D novel) about a knight or paladin who is charged with caring for a young wyrmling by its mother after mistakenly slaying an albino silver dragon thinking it to be an evil white dragon.Most dragons I imagine who display albinism would not be true white IMO unless they had leucism. Using alligators as the closest known "relative" to a dragon, I have taken the liberty of swiping some info detailing the differences in colour between albino and leucistic alligators. You can see the entire thing <a href="http://www.louisvillezoo.org/news/press/MR-walligator.htm" target="_blank">Here.</a> [swipe]...Of the 67 known white alligators, 40 of them are albino and the other 27 are leucistic. This rare genetic mutation causes an animal to be paper-white in color with a complete lack of pattern. White alligators do not have a good survival rate and seldom reach maturity in the wild (and therefore are unable to pass on their genetic makeup.)Albinos have a lack of black pigment cells, known as melanophores, which produce the body chemical known as melanin. Since melanin causes the color variations in an animal's skin, retinas and hair, the lack of this chemical results in the yellowish or off-white skin color and pinkish eyes often associated with an albino. (The irises are colorless and therefore the blood flowing through them is visible.)Leucism is a less common form of albinism. Leucistic animals do not have pigment cells with the exception of their eyes, which are usually blue or black. There are albino specimens from nearly every animal group: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.[/swipe]</blockquote>

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