A leopard pattern is a spotted color pattern, particularly in the hair coat or skin of
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
s, but can also describe spotting patterns in
plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
s and a distinctive print appearing on clothing and other
fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...
s.
In animals
In animal world, leopard pattern refers to the black and gold spotted coat of the
leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...
,
but is used to describe many color combinations that result in spots scattered randomly across the skin or hair coat of other animals.
Examples of animals with coloring patterns termed ''leopard'' include many great cats in the genus ''
Panthera
''Panthera'' is a genus within the family (biology), family Felidae, and one of two extant genera in the subfamily Pantherinae. It contains the largest living members of the cat family. There are five living species: the jaguar, leopard, lion, ...
'', the
leopard frog, the "leopard" spotting pattern in the
Appaloosa
The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's co ...
and
Knabstrupper breeds of
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
s, the
leopard seal
The leopard seal (''Hydrurga leptonyx''), also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic (after the southern elephant seal). It is a top order predator, feeding on a wide range of prey including cep ...
, insects such as the
giant leopard moth
The giant leopard moth (''Hypercompe scribonia'') is a moth of the family Erebidae. They are distributed through North America from southern Ontario, and southern and eastern United States through New England, Mexico, and south to Colombia. The ...
, and fish species such as the
leopard darter,
leopard shark
The leopard shark (''Triakis semifasciata'') is a species of houndshark, in the family (biology), family Houndshark, Triakidae. It is found along the Pacific coast of North America, from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico. Typically ...
, and the
leopard eel.
Examples of plants that use the term include the
leopard lily, and the
leopard flower.
Other animals with leopard patterns include the
leopard cat
The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a Felinae, small wild cat native to continental South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely di ...
,
snow leopard
The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...
,
clouded leopard
The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through Northeast India and Bhutan to mainland Southeast Asia into South China. It w ...
,
leopard gecko
The leopard gecko or common leopard gecko (''Eublepharis macularius'') is a ground-dwelling gecko native to the rocky dry grassland and desert regions of Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. The leopard gecko is a popular pet, and due ...
and the
leopard tortoise
The leopard tortoise (''Stigmochelys pardalis'') is a large and attractively marked tortoise found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape Province. It is the only extant member of the genus ''Stigmochelys' ...
among some others.
The ''Lp'' (
leopard complex
The leopard complex is a group of genetically related Equine coat color, coat patterns in horses. These patterns range from progressive increases in interspersed white hair similar to Gray (horse), graying or Roan (horse), roan to distinctive, Da ...
) gene is responsible for the leopard color pattern in
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
s,
[ which not only produces a spotted coat color but also causes mottling of the skin, a white ]sclera
The sclera, also known as the white of the eye or, in older literature, as the tunica albuginea oculi, is the opaque, fibrous, protective outer layer of the eye containing mainly collagen and some crucial elastic fiber.
In the development of t ...
around the eye, and striped hooves
The hoof (: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits; the ruminants with ...
. Horses with the ''Lp'' gene may be spotted all over, or may have concentrations of spots in various patterns.
Some other animal breeds like dogs, such as Dalmatians, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and American Leopard Hounds also have similar leopard color patterns.
References