A striped racer, also known as the California whipsnake, is a species of non-venomous snake native to the coast and foothills of California. It is a long, slender, and fast-moving snake, identified by its distinctive stripes running down the length of its body. They primarily feed on lizards and small rodents. The scientific name for this species is Masticophis lateralis.
Overview of skin pigment
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Melanin is the pigment that produces the various shades and colors of human skin, hair, and eyes. Coloration (pigmentation) is determined by the amount of melanin in the skin. Without melanin, the skin would be pale white with shades of pink caused by blood flow through the skin. Fair-skinned people produce very little melanin, darker-skinned people produce moderate amounts, and very dark-skinned people produce the most. People with albinism have little or no melanin and thus their skin appears white or pale pink. Usually, melanin is fairly evenly distributed in the skin, but sometimes people have spots or patches of skin with more melanin. Examples of such spots include freckles, age spots (lentigines), and melasma.
Melanin is produced by specialized cells (melanocytes) that are scattered among the other cells in the deepest layer of the outer layer of the skin called the basal layer. After melanin is produced, it spreads into other nearby skin cells.
Overview of skin pigment meaning & definition 1 of Overview of skin pigment.