Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff Lauren Volga bam here. Some of us are lucky and showed up on this planet with a certain amount of fashion Genessa Qua, but one particular reef mantarey living off the coast of Queensland, Australia, has enough personal flare for all of us. The Mantarey's human given name is Inspector Clusseau, after the bumbling French detective in the Pink
Panther movie franchise. Because he's cruising around the reefs of eastern Australia flashing shocking pink flippers at marine life and humans alike, he might be the only neon pink mantarey in the world. The reef mantarey is one of the largest species of ray in the world, but although their beefy, their color palette is typically pretty subdued, normally white with a few black splotches. Inspector Clusseau has been spotted about
ten times since he was first discovered. In In February, a photographer named Christian Lane snapped some photos of a group of male man to raise following a female's pheromone trail. One ray in particular, made him think he was doing something wrong with his camera the color didn't look right. After consulting some locals, he discovered that the animal had seen was somewhat of a local celebrity. Why Inspector Clusau
is pink is a question that has puzzled scientists. In sixteen one, researcher Amelia Armstrong took a skin biopsy to see if it might be a result of his diet or maybe an infection. Since those hypotheses have been ruled out, the current one is that Inspector Cluso's rosy coloring is
the product of a rare genetic mutation. Some gene mutations can cause commonly known conditions, such as albinism, which is the result of a lack of color pigments called melanin in the skin, hair, or eyes of an animal, or melanism, which is the result of a super production of melanin. But Cluzo likely has a genetic mutation known as ari thrism, which causes the skin to take on a red or pink hue. This condition is not unheard of in fish, but Clouseau is the first documented case of a manta
ray with air a thrism. Of course, air a thrism isn't the only way animals can achieve a pinkish hue. Some get it from their diet, which is why researchers
checked that out first. Animals from flamingos to cardinals to salmon get their orange pink red colors from foods that are high in compounds called carotenoids, which yes, we're named for carrots, but lots of plants from apples to algae produce these compounds, and animals can pick up those pigments and wind up storing them in their skin, feathers, or flesh.
Male cardinals are pale unless they eat red dogwood berries, and flamingos and salmon get their colors from eating various aquatic animals that themselves eat algae, and even humans can pick up an orange yellow skin tint from eating high quantities of orange vegetables, white carrots, or pumpkin. Today's episode was written by Jesseline Shields and produced by Tyler Clang. For more in this lots of other colorful topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of
iHeart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeart radio, app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.