-via Sara Strassman & Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee

This is an example of a combination of unusual genetic conditions expressed in fishes and other organisms.  Xanthochroism is a condition where all pigments other than yellow and orange are absent or minimally expressed.  Melanism is an excess of dark pigmentation.  This fish is a combination of the two conditions; it has previously been observed in gars, and the combination of colors seems to be most apparent during spawning season.