Kat took this picture of the albino alligator at the new California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, CA. Let this post be a plug for the new museum, and for albino alligators everywhere.

The word 'albino' comes from the Latin word albus, which means 'white' (you Harry Potter fans are excited now, aren't you?). The word alligator comes from a corruption of the Spanish word for lizard, which is el lagarto (all of you Florida Gator football fans are excited now, too--maybe not).

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Albinism isn't terribly uncommon in the animal kingdom (among humans, about 1 in 17,000 will be albino), but survival into adulthood for those who inherited these recessive genes is. It's hard to go unnoticed in the wild with white flesh/hair/scales. Typically, going unnoticed equals becoming food.

Trivia for the day: albinism is defined by a lack of melanin. Leucism is defined by a reduction of all skin pigments, not just melanin. Leucism is often bred into pets, like cockatiels and snakes. I once had a leucistic cockatiel who had night frights. Mothra (my cockatiel) found a better home than I could offer her.