However, in the case of zebras, instead of being all black, some skin cells are instructed to not produce melanin; … What does zebra skin look like? For instance, zebra skin is black under their black-and-white striped coats. Their fur is varying degrees of brown, white, gray, and even black hair, and the "follicles seem to give the skin a slightly different contrast.". You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. San Diego Zoo. (Learn more about van der Merwe's work as a cheetah matchmaker.). The two systems are controlled by different genes, hormones, and other factors, says Barsh, who studies the genetics of animal color patterns. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Zebras are actually black on the surface with white stripes! The African zebra is one of the oldest animals in the horse family, but it seems to be much more exotic than donkeys and quarter horses. 2002. Grevy's zebras have narrower stripes and black stripes running down their spines. Weird Animal Question of the Week answers your questions every Saturday. Let's find out... Everyone knows that zebras are striped black and white. Male drills (pictured, a five-month-old captive drill) have blue and pink rumps that signal their social ranking. Melanocytes that live between follicles control skin color, says Greg Barsh, a geneticist at Hudson Alpha Biotechnology Institute in Huntsville, Alabama. When baboons are born, “their noses, hands, and ears are very, very pink, but darken with age,” Fred Bercovitch, a wildlife biologist at Japan's Kyoto University, says via email. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. "The Development of Zebra Striping Pattern." The pattern of each zebra’s coloring is determined during the embryonic phase, before the zebra is born. "Mathematical Biology." And as it turns out, zebras have black skin underneath their hair. That’s because if you look at most zebras, the stripes end on their belly and toward the inside of the legs, and the rest is all white. Information about the device's operating system, Information about other identifiers assigned to the device, The IP address from which the device accesses a client's website or mobile application, Information about the user's activity on that device, including web pages and mobile apps visited or used, Information about the geographic location of the device when it accesses a website or mobile application. How do a zebra's stripes act as camouflage? These cookies do not store any personal information. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.