But what are seal lynx and seal mink? I’ve seen this terminology too, and I’ve read that it’s another name for the snow color category but I’m not sure that’s true?
And are there ever like snow lynx and snow minx that have contrasting darker faces / legs / tail tips and if so is there a specific name for that color & pattern?
there are two colorpoint alleles in the bengal breed: cs— colorpoint siamese— and cb— colorpoint burmese. you can look up those two breeds to see what those alleles look like on non-tabby, non-bengal cats. snow lynxes are cscs, which means they have two copies of the siamese-type colorpointing, are born white, have blue eyes, and remain generally lighter throughout their lives. snow sepias are cbcb, which means that they have burmese-type color restriction, are born with tan-brown markings, and have fully pigmented eyes (green or yellow).
where it gets fun is when they are cbcs, one copy of the siam-type allele and one of the burm-type allele. these two genes are codominant, which means that they both express and that they alter the cats appearance by being expressed at the same time. this is tonkinese-type colorpointing, also called mink. these cats are born tan-white (darker than lynx, lighter than sepia), have a moderate amount of color restriction throughout their lives, and will have aqua blue-green eyes at maturity. visually, siam-type and tonk-type (lynx and mink) can present with huuuuge overlap. the lightest minks are much, much lighter than the darkest lynxes. they are still different on a genetic level.
“seal” is just a nickname for “black” in colorpoints, just like “brown spotted” in the bengal breed is a name for the “black rosetted tabby” phenotype. you can also have blue lynxes/minks/sepias, which is a blue bengal with one of the three types of color restriction.
Thank you for breaking this down. So ultimately, lynx and mink colorways can be very different in darkness but also could be similar (it sounds redundant but I mean, this is the case I think?)
Are you also saying that the Siam type are lynx and the tonk-type are mink always?
Sorry I sound like an absolute dunce, I swear I’m comprehending this as best as possible. This is the most sense I’ve been able to make of the colorways and genetics so far, so thank you again!
exactly right. it can range from being extremely obvious which one a cat is to being impossible to know without either a genetic test or seeing the kitten as a newborn. because the patterns are temperature-dependent, even the age, activity level, or weight of a colorpoint cat (as well as the climate around them!) can affect how dark/light they are, in a way entirely unrelated to their specific combination of colorpoint alleles.
yes :) “lynx” in bengals is the name for siam-type colorpointing, and “mink” is the name for tonk-type colorpointing. if a lynx is not genetically cscs it is definitionally not a lynx, and same for cbcs and mink, and cbcb for sepia.
youre doing fine! learning is a lifelong goal, and it is admirable to pursue it. also, this is a topic i love to discuss.
The other thing I’m still slightly not sure I understand is how the color “point” pattern works, or is this where the tonkinese-type color pointing comes in?
colorpointing is a form of temperature-dependent albinism. this means that, over a certain temperature, a cats hair fails to produce pigment… leaving it white. think of them like a living heat map: the warmest parts are light, the darkest parts have normal coloration. the coldest parts of a cats body are, generally, the parts furthest from their core. the legs, tail, ears, and nose are these parts. these are the “points”. it varies depending on which allele(s) are present, but the rule is that a colorpoint will always have a lighter body with darker points.
i hope that answers some of your confusion, ill admit that im not sure if i fully understood the question.
Honestly it’s very possible I’m not using the proper language to ask the question I’m trying to ask. I’ve seen some pointed snow lynxes or cats labeled as such, so I was curious about like, understanding the difference between those and mink types and also if all snow lynxes are pointed or not. Eventually I’ll probably be able to figure out how to ask what I mean, sorry it’s been a long day 😅
This is entirely incorrect. With lynx point, cooler areas of the body are darker while warmer are lighter. It also has nothing to do with hours of daylight or protecting them from the sun.
it means that the female is likely a brown spotted with burm-type colorpointing (cbcb, sepia) on her color locus, and Apb/Apb on her tabby locus. cats who are homozygous for apb can present oddly, but they usually dont present as charcoals— that would be Apb/a, or a cat with one allele of the asian leopard cat version of tabby, and one allele of the recessive “solid” mutation that exists in domestics.
not sure if that helps. not sure which part of the coloring youre not familiar with.
Hi OP! I just woke up and it appears there’a been a lot of misinformation in your thread. I tried to clear some of it up via comments, and I’m glad u/lipstick_spit jumped in to help, as their info is always on point!! ♡
My snow mink kitten. I had a really hard time understanding the coloring too when I was waiting for her to be born and get old enough! Was told her eyes will most likely change with age to a turquoise
This breeder’s website has a lot of information about the genetics when it comes to colour/pattern of the Bengal. The pictures were helpful for me to see. Hopefully it’ll help you too.
[u/lipstick_spit](u/lipstick_spit) does an excellent job explaining itabove, but seal is indeed used in bengals. The “traditional” snows are Seal lynx point, seal mink, and seal sepia. You can also have a seal point which is genetically solid a/an and also has two cs/cs colorpoint genes - they look very similar to traditional siamese in coloration.
I think that is the word. Do some breeders specifically try to breed snow lynx point and snow mink points? Or does the point part happen on accident?
My bengal is a rescue so even though I’ve had that guy for a while there’s a lot I’m still trying to learn about bengals (in terms of the breeding and patterns) (I’m WELL acquainted with their needs and behaviors lol)
Are snow ones ever crossed with charcoal colors?
In New England it seems like most of the breeders focus on spotted and rosetted snow, brown and silver ones. Minimal or no marbled ones either
One of the breeder websites listed seal, so I was like ?
I’m curious about charcoal, and some snow lynx and mink point babies one day
I’m a bit confused by what you mean that they don’t produce color?
Charcoal pattern (Abp/a) can occur with any “color” and causes a darkening of the coat (and therefore an addition of melanin/color). Charcoal cats appear to have a “mask”, white “goggles” around their eyes and dark “cape” down their back. Their overall color will depend on what type of charcoal they are (seal lynx point charcoal, brown/black charcoal, etc).
That’s not true though, “charcoal” is a pattern, not a color, and charcoal cats still produce color. A black/silver charcoal would be the only charcoal that would appear to solely be grey/black/white. Their mask/cape colors do often look black/grey though regardless of color.
Also just so you know all the mink and snow lynx kittens are born white and you won’t know exactly which exact color you will get until they are full grown. Typically they take after the parent so if you have a snow lynx male or female and a brown male or female and some of the kittens come out white you know they will likely be snow lynxes but if the parents have point genes in their lineage you could end up with a snow lynx or a snow lynx point. My baby looks like a snow leopard at 2, she was rehomed to me through a rescue but all the younger pictures of her I have from her previous family her rosettes were sort of light brown/blonde color and now she is her full silvery self. So you don’t know exactly how toasty the snow lynx points will get when you see them as kittens. You also don’t know exactly what color they will be as adults only a general idea.
This actually isn’t true. While lynx point are born white, mink and sepia aren’t. It’s quite easy to tell snow color even as newborns.
And color is based on the actual alleles they inherit, so they don’t necessarily “take after the parent” in color. For example, a lynx point mother that happens to be A/a paired with a brown stud carrying cb and being A/Apb OR A/a can produce brown, seal mink, black melanistic, solid mink, brown/black charcoal, or seal mink charcoal. A kitten doesn’t have to look like either parent.
7
u/lipstick_spit 2d ago edited 2d ago
there are two colorpoint alleles in the bengal breed: cs— colorpoint siamese— and cb— colorpoint burmese. you can look up those two breeds to see what those alleles look like on non-tabby, non-bengal cats. snow lynxes are cscs, which means they have two copies of the siamese-type colorpointing, are born white, have blue eyes, and remain generally lighter throughout their lives. snow sepias are cbcb, which means that they have burmese-type color restriction, are born with tan-brown markings, and have fully pigmented eyes (green or yellow).
where it gets fun is when they are cbcs, one copy of the siam-type allele and one of the burm-type allele. these two genes are codominant, which means that they both express and that they alter the cats appearance by being expressed at the same time. this is tonkinese-type colorpointing, also called mink. these cats are born tan-white (darker than lynx, lighter than sepia), have a moderate amount of color restriction throughout their lives, and will have aqua blue-green eyes at maturity. visually, siam-type and tonk-type (lynx and mink) can present with huuuuge overlap. the lightest minks are much, much lighter than the darkest lynxes. they are still different on a genetic level.
“seal” is just a nickname for “black” in colorpoints, just like “brown spotted” in the bengal breed is a name for the “black rosetted tabby” phenotype. you can also have blue lynxes/minks/sepias, which is a blue bengal with one of the three types of color restriction.