Mosaics are mutations in body cells, and therefore not inheritable when it comes to coat colour. But a strain of rats that produces mosaic rats (odd-eyes) can be maintained. How can this be, if mosaics are not inheritable? The tendency to produce mosaics may be inheritable, even though the mosaic itself is not... This is called germline mutations.
Several random mutations have been reported, sometimes an animal has a ptch of fur in a colour that should not normally be possible, or a patch of fur that should not normally be possible. Like a patch of long hair in an otherwise shorthaired animal, maybe on the back or in the face. These are just random mutations.
Copyright Eva Johansson.
Last update: 11th of February 2006.