For the first time, researchers have mapped the evolution of eye color in cats, discovering that a peculiar ancestor is responsible for the diversity of eyes in the feline family, including yellow-eyed tigers and blue-eyed snow leopards.
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Using a computational model, scientists identified that the ancestor of all cats had gray and brown eyes, with gray being a facilitator for the emergence of other colors.
The research, conducted by Julius Tabin from Harvard University, revealed that the explosion of diversity occurred with the arrival of the cat family millions of years ago. The variation in eye color in cats, determined by pigments such as eumelanin and pheomelanin, raises questions about sexual selection and possible side effects on the evolution of eye colors.
Scientists documented over 40 species of cats, excluding selectively bred domestic cats, and identified five main eye colors in the Felidae family: brown, gray, yellow, green, and blue. The presence of the pigments eumelanin and pheomelanin was crucial in determining eye color, with the random mutation that reduced eumelanin resulting in the emergence of gray eyes.
Despite not finding clear correlations between eye color and other traits, researchers suspect that sexual selection may be an influential factor. Other explanations, such as a connection to fur color, have also been suggested by experts not involved in the study.
