De melanistic, smoke & solid bengaal
The Melanistic, Smoke and Solid Bengal
The melanistic, smoke and solid are some of the "non-standard colors". You will therefore not often encounter these Bengals. However, they are very beautiful and special to see. These colors are not recognized at the moment, so they will be listed with a different color on the pedigree that they do possess. The color they are genetically (brown, silver or snow) is used for this.
The Melanistic Like their great nephews and nieces; the black panther, leopard and jaguar exist in bengal melanistic variants. These true little panthers have the build and pranks that a "standard Bengal" also has. The coat is special and consists of a shiny coat with "ghostmarkings". The print is present but due to the melanistic it is best visible in the sunlight.
The silver smoker The silver smoker is genetically a melanistic Bengal with the inhibitor gene. This is the gene responsible for the silver color. The silver smoker has a white undercoat and a black covering coat/print. Combined, this gives a smoky look. There is a layer of smoke over the silver fur. Because the smoke is lighter in color, the pattern will remain/be more clearly present than with the melanistic.
The Solid We call the snow variant solid. This is therefore available in 3 shades, just like we classify the standard snow bengal in 3 shades. These are the seal lynx solid, seal mink solid and seal sepia solid. So genetically they are just like the melanistic and the smoke only in a different color. Unfortunately I don't have any example pictures of seal lynx solid yet
The genetics The gene that is responsible for the smooth coat is the Agouti gene. Agouti is responsible for the distribution of the pigment. The Agouti gene is indicated by the capital A. The solid colored coat is caused by the ressesive form of the gene. This is called non-agouti. Ressesive means that 2 of them are needed before it will actually give a visibly smooth coat. The non-agouti is indicated with a small letter a. The solid coat is therefore a/a (solid/solid). A cat that only carries 1 non agouti gene will itself have normal pigment and color distribution. These cats can have kittens with solid coats when combined with another carrier. The color of the coat is determined by the color of the pigment present. If this is black/brown the solid coat will become melanistic. If this is silver, it is called silver smoke and the snow variants are called solid lynx point, solid mink point or solid sepia point depending on which snow variant the cat is. The diagram below makes it easy to see from which combinations melanistic/smoke or solid can be expected. Of course depending on the color of the animals. Only the green combinations are "solid" and will have a melanistic, smoke or solid coat.
A/A = Agouti/Agouti A normal distribution of pigment and color. This cat is not melanistic, smoke or solid. A melanistic, smoke or solid cannot be expected with any combination. A/a = Agouti/non-agouti A normal coat distribution of pigment and color. This cat is a carrier of the non-agouti gene but is not itself. Combined with another carrier, melanistic, smoke or solid can be expected here depending on the colors of the animals.a/a = non-agouti/non-agouti A solid coat, this animal is melanistic, smoke or solid depending on the color of the animal. Combined with another carrier, melanistic, smoke or solid can be expected again. Or if this is not desired, this can be prevented by combining it with an A/A.