Varieties of Mice

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The Fun Mouse: Varieties Introduction: Varieties of Mice

** Click pictures to see them larger.

Body Type

	Show Type & Fancy Type These are descriptive terms only. Both are of the same species and both are in fact fancy mice. Show mice have very large ears, long-thick tail, large-streamline body, and a nicely arched back. Fancy type mice are generally smaller with smaller ears, thinner-shorter tail,and little body shape. They also tend to have a snippy nose.

There is no picture since they can have ANY body type.	English mice English mice are also fancy mice and can have the body type of fancy mice or show mice. All English means is that the mouse has English blood in it. It does not mean that the body type of the mouse is more like a fancy mouse or a show mouse.

	Lab name: Brachyury, Tailless, etc Fancier name: Tailless Genotype: There are far too many forms of genes which can cause tailless to mention here. Some are dominant and some recessive. The most common tail modifying gene in the US is believed to be Brachyury T/*. However, this is not meant to cause no tails, just short/half tails, though some people try to breed them beyond what the gene is meant to do. This is only successful a small fraction of the time. In other countries, such as AU, they have true tailless mice. It is a recessive gene, yet unknown in the mouse community. Chromosome: 17 Originated: Too many to specify. Show class: Tailless, where recognized. General description: Tailless mice should have little to no tail (no tail preferable). If tail is present, it should be free of kinks. Back should be free if abnormalities.

	Lab name: Unknown at the present time. Fancier name: Gremlin Genotype: Unknown at the present time. This was once thought to be ld/ld Gremlin/limb deformity, however, I haven't found any sufficient information to back this up. I do not believe this is ld. Chromosome: Unknown at the present time. Originated: Unknown at the present time. Show class: Gremlin are not recognized for showing as of now. General description: Gremlin mice should have one ear placed on the side of the head while the other ear is of normal placement.

Coat Varieties

	Lab name: Coat referred to as Wild Type Fancier name: Standard Genotype: Standard is the lack of other coat modifiers. Originated: Wild Show class: Standard General description: Coat should have a high shine, glossy, smooth, thick, short coat.

	Lab name: Satin Fancier name: Satin Genotype: sa/sa Chromosome: 13 Originated: Labs (radiation-induced) Show class: Satin General description: Satins have a very silky, soft, dense, and shiny coat. Satin can be harder to see on black mice with an already shiny coat. For black mice, look at the belly of the mouse, as this is where satin will be more apparent. [learn more] Pictured: Satin Broken Marked Fawn

	Lab name: Angora Fancier name: Angora Genotype: go/go Chromosome: 5 Originated: Labs (deletion) Show class: Angora or Long Hair, depending on which the club recognizes. Description: All coat types are longer than normal. Guard hairs are significantly longer. They look and feel wool-like because of the zigzag hairs. Angoras start showing their long coat around 18 days of age (females often show angora later). As they mature, the coat shortens some. Well bred angoras are easily identified at any adult age. Angora can show all other coat types as well (Angora Satin, Angora Rex (making a Texel), Angora Fuzzy, etc).

	Lab name: Long Hair Fancier name: Long Hair Genotype: lgh/lgh Chromosome: 8 Originated: Spontaneous mutation. Show class: Angora or Long Hair, depending on which the club recognizes. General description: Coat should be as long as possible, dense, silky, and smooth. Long haired mice have a standard undercoat, head, feet, and tail. [learn more]

	Lab name: Rex Fancier name: Rex Genotype: Re/* Chromosome: 11 Originated: Commercial breeder. Spontaneous mutation. Show class: Rex or Frizzie, depending on which the club recognizes. General description: Coat should be tightly woven over the entire body including curly whiskers. Curl should stay well though adulthood. Younger mice usually have better curl. [learn more]

	Lab name: Caracul Fancier name: Caracul Genotype: Ca/* Chromosome: 15 Originated: Labs. Spontaneous mutation (deletion). Show class: Rex or Frizzie, depending on which the club recognizes. General description: Caracul should have a wavy coat over the entire body including curly whiskers. Ideally, curl should stay well though adulthood. Younger mice have better curl. [learn more]

	Fancier name: Texel Genotype: Most commonly: Re/* go/go However, you can use any curly such as: Rex Re/, Frizzy fr/fr, or Caracul Ca/ in conjunction with anything that causes longer hair such as: Long hair lgh/lgh or Angora go/go. Chromosome: Too many to mention. Originated: Too many to mention. Show class: Texel or Frizzie, depending on which the club recognizes. General description: Coat should be long with nice tight curl over the entire body including curly whiskers. Guard hairs should be thickly dispersed over entire coat and curled. Curly hair should stay well through adulthood. Younger mice usually have better curl.

	Lab name: Frizzy Fancier name: Frizzy Genotype: fr/fr Chromosome: 7 Originated: Spontaneous mutation at Jackson Laboratory. Show class: Rex or Frizzie, depending on which the club recognizes. General description: Frizzy mice generally have little curl, but rather crimped and slightly course hairs. It is significantly harder to breed Frizzy for good curl because of this. However, using Frizzy with other curling genes can greatly enhance curl. Younger mice have better crimp/curl than older mice which may not be identifiable at all. In the picture shown, it is very hard to see the crimping. Crimping is hard to capture on camera, but can be seen and felt in person. Depending on your monitor, you may or may not see crimping on this mouse. "Frizzy" is not to be confused with "Frizzy-like" frzl/frzl*. Frizzy-like mice have actual curl, resembling rex. They are distinguished from rex due to frizzy-like being recessive. Additionally, rex tends to curl back up in adulthood (though not always) where as frizzy-like does not. Pictures of frizzy-like coats withheld due to the strong resemblance to rex.

	Lab name: Fuzzy Fancier name: Fuzzy (AKA Fuzzy Hairless) Genotype: fz/fz Chromosome: 1 Originated: Spontaneous mutation (at Carworth Farms) Show class: These are shown under Fuzzy, Fuzzy hairless, or hairless depending on how dense the coat is. General description: Fuzzy can range from no hair at all to very thick and curly coats. Whiskers are crimped or curled.

	Lab name: Hairless Fancier name: Hairless Genotype: hr/hr Chromosome: 14 Originated: Mutation caused by retroviral integration and provirus. (Retroviral: Any of a group of viruses, many of which produce tumors, that contain RNA and reverse transcriptase, including the virus that causes AIDS.) Show class: Hairless General description: As hairless as possible (including whiskers) with translucent, bright skin without abrasions or scars. Toe nails should be kept short. Ears should be large. Note: Hairless mice are NOT "Nude". "Nude" is found on chromosome 11, genotype is nu/nu, they never grow hair (unlike hairless), and usually always die around weaning age.

	Lab name: Rhino Hairless Fancier name: Rhino Hairless Genotype: hr^rh/hr^rh Chromosome: 14 Originated: Spontaneous allelic mutation Show class: At the present time, Rhino Hairless is not specifically recognized for showing. However, some clubs will allow them to be shown in Hairless (they do not penalize wrinkles). General description: As hairless as possible (including whiskers) with translucent, bright skin without abrasions or scars. Toe nails should be kept short. Ears should be large. Skin should be very wrinkled (their skin resembles a Shar Pei dog).

	Lab name: Rosette Fancier name: Rosette Genotype: rst/rst Chromosome: unknown at this time. Originated: Spontaneous mutation from English fancy stock. Show class: These mice are not recognized in the US. To the best of my knowledge, this variety is not even available in the US at this time... at least not out side of labs. General description: Rosette mice have a "rosette" on each hip. The rosette causes the fur to look like a whorl with the fur going in a spiral pattern, in the opposite direction as a standard mouses fur.

Self Colors

Lab name: Non-agouti
Fancier name: Black
Genotype: a/a
Chromosome: 2
Originated: Spontaneous mutation (however, it has since been made by chemical induction (ethylene oxide) and radiation)
Show class: Black
General description: Jet black with dark eyes. They have yellow hairs in their ears, around genitals, nipples, and base of the tail. A majority of the yellow hairs fall out when the adult coat comes in yet some remain.

Lab name: Extreme non-agouti
Fancier name: Extreme black
Genotype: a^e/a^e
Chromosome: 2
Originated: Spontaneous mutation (mutation was found among descendants of an irradiated mouse).
Show class: Black
General description: Jet black with dark eyes. Extreme black mice lack redness coat color that black mice tend to have. They also completely lack yellow hairs in their ears, around genitals, nipples, and base of the tail.

Black/Extreme Black Comparison

Front view comparison of Extreme black and black. Click pic to see it larger.	Rear view comparison of Extreme black and black. Click pic to see it larger.

Lab name: (non-agouti) Brown and/or Cordovan
Fancier name: Chocolate
Genotype: a/a b/b, a/a b^c/b^c, and a/a b^c/b.
Chromosome: b^c Cordovan and b Brown are on chromosome 4.
Originated: Brown was a Point mutation. Depending on strain, this mutation was due to radiation, chemical induction, or spontaneous mutation. Cordovan was a spontaneous mutation.
Show class: Chocolate
General description: Dark, rich brown with brown eyes.

It is easier to make a deep rich chocolate using Cordovan than Brown. However, Brown can still give a beautifully deep brown color.

Fancier name: Mock Chocolate
Genotype: a/a c^ch/c^e
Show class: Chocolate
General Description: Dark brown with brown eyes. It can be hard, if not impossible, to visually tell the difference between Mock Chocolate and Chocolate.

Fancier name: Light Mock Chocolate
Genotype: a/a c^ch/c
Show class: Chocolate (however, these mice generally will not do good in show as their color is too light).
General description: Light brown with dark eyes.

Fancier name: Champagne
Genotype: a/a b/b p/p
Show class: Champagne
General description: Light brown with a pink tint. Pink eyes

Lab name: (non-agouti) Extreme Dilution
Fancier name: Coffee
Genotype: a/a c^e/c^e
Chromosome: Extreme Dilution c^e is on chromosome 7.
Originated: Extreme Dilution was found in the wild. (Spontaneous mutation)
Show class: Chocolate (however, these mice generally will not do good in show as their color is too light).
(yes, this mouse has the same genotype as Beige. The variety depends on the intensity- how light or dark the mouse is)
General description: Soft brown with dark eyes.

Lab name: (non-agouti) Extreme Dilution
Fancier name: Beige
Genotype: a/a c^e/c^e
Chromosome: Extreme Dilution c^e is on chromosome 7.
Originated: Extreme Dilution was found in the wild. (Spontaneous mutation)
Show class:
(yes, this mouse has the same genotype as Coffee. The variety depends on the intensity- how light or dark the mouse is)
General description: Off white, tan-ish with dark eyes.

Fancier name: Lilac (US) (UK Dove)
Genotype: a/a p/p
Show class: Lilac (US)
General description:Light blue with a pink tint to the coat. Pink eyes. Lilac's can vary in shade from the mouse you see here to very Silver looking.

*Note: this description is a combination of 2 different genes, fitting the same variety.
Lab name: (non-agouti) Dilute | Leaden
Fancier name: Blue
Genotype: a/a d/d (Dilute) | a/a ln/ln (Leaden)
Chromosome: Dilute: chromosome 9. Leaden: chromosome 1.
Originated: Dilute: Very old mutation first caused by insertion of an ecotropic murine leukemia virus. All other mutations lack the virus. Leaden: Spontaneous mutation (Point mutation)
Show class: Blue
General description: Dark slate blue with dark eyes.

There are several ways to tell the difference between Leaden and Dilute. The most obvious of ways is that Leaden is epistatic to recessive yellow e/e, whereas Dilute is not. Additionally, when Leaden is present with other modifying genes on different loci, they often have a lighter phenotype than Dilute does when combined with the same modifying genes.

Fancier name: Silver
Genotype: a/a d/d p/p
Show class: Silver
General description: Light silver-gray, much like chrome, with pink eyes.

Fancier name: Dove (US) (UK Lilac)
Genotype: a/a b/b d/d
Show class: Dove (US)
General description: An even mix of blue and chocolate with dark eyes.

Fancier name: Lavender
Genotype: a/a b/b d/d p/p
Show class: Lavender
General description: Lavender is a mix between Champagne and Silver. Pink eyes.

Note: The mouse pictured here should ideally have more silver tones to her. Non-satins don't show silver tones as well as satins. Roan also bleaches the color a little, making her a bit light. She is lavender though, but to the light end of the variety. She's from a litter consisting of black, blue, chocolate, champagne, lilac, dove (such as the dove roan above), and lavender (litter of 12).

Lab name: (non-agouti) Recessive Yellow
Fancier name: Recessive Yellow (RY)
Genotype: a/a e/e
Chromosome: recessive yellow is on chromosome 8
Originated: Spontaneous mutation. This mutation is a frameshift caused by a deletion of one nucleotide.
Show class: Gold, Fawn, Orange, or Red depending on shade of coat and eye color.
General description: These mice can come in any number of yellow shades ranging from flame red, light blond, and even dark sable-looking. Their appearance can be hard to tell apart from Lethal Yellow. However, recessive yellow mice are very different genetically. In youth, recessive yellow mice are usually sooty, having uneven color, often with dark ticking (often being more prevalent over the rump). This usually goes away with their adult coat.

Recessive Yellow mice can have any color eyes. Pink eyed recessive yellow mice tend to be more flame red while dark eyed recessive yellow mice tend to be more blond or "sable" in appearance.

Recessive Yellow is often referred to as "The safe Yellow" (as opposed to Lethal Yellow). Recessive Yellow is capable of giving you the same varieties (and more, actually) that Lethal yellow can, yet Recessive Yellow doesn't have any of the problems Lethal Yellow is notoriously susceptible to.

Recessive Yellow, when combind with spotting genes, causes reduced white spotting.

Lab name: Yellow
Fancier name: Lethal Yellow, Fawn, Red, Orange.
Genotype: A^Y/* Note that A^Y/A^Y is lethal.
Chromosome: 2
Originated: Old mutation originating from non-commercial fanciers.
Show class: Red, Fawn, Orange depending on shade.
General description: Much like Recessie yellow, Lethal yellow cna come in a wide range of colors, therefor they can be shown in a wide range of classes. Always refer to your local club for show standards.

Lethal Yellow, when combind with spotting genes, causes reduced white spotting.

Health: Lethal Yellow mice are more susceptible to an array of health abnormalities. They are models for Diabetes because of their abnormal insulin levels. They have a higher instance of food allergies than most other varieties. They are also prone to obesity, which leads to many other health problems. Weight gain generally starts after 10 weeks of age. Even with an adjusted diet and increased exercise it's hard, if not impossible in many cases, to control their weight. Weight gain causes low fertility, therefore breeders tend to breed females younger than they may breed other varieties (but still not before acceptable breeding age). These mice are also far more susceptible to tumors. Note that this does NOT mean that all Lethal Yellow mice will have these problems. These mice just need to be thoroughly screened for health problems. Careful breeding needs to be done. It is not recommended to obtain a Lethal Yellow mouse from anywhere other than a *good* breeder, even if you don't intend to breed.

Fancier name: Cream
Genotype: A^Y/* c^ch/c^ch OR A^y/* b/b d/d OR a/a c^e/c, among other genotypes.
Show class: Cream
(yes, c^e/c is also BEW/Bone. The variety depends on the shade )
General description: Cream mice are very light creamy-yellow color. Dark eyes

Lab name: Albino (if c/c)
Fancier name:PEW (Pink Eye White) or Albino (depending on genotype)
Genotype: c/c (note: There are *several* ways to make PEW! but albino is always c/c)
Chromosome: 7
Originated: Very old spontaneous mutation dating back to Greek and Roman times. (Point mutation)
Show class: PEW
General description: pure white with pink eyes

Fancier name: BEW
Genotype: There are *many* ways to make a BEW.
1) c^e/c with any dark eyed mouse.
2) A Yellow mouse (be it Recessive Yellow e/e, Lethal Yellow A^y, or under marked viable yellow A^vy) combined with many different c-dilutes.
3) A combination of spotting genes used together (such as pied and variegated s/s W/*, among many others) will sometimes make a mouse with one big white spot consuming the entire body, causing BEW. Sometimes a single spotting gene will cause BEW, though rare.
Show class: BEW
General description: Pure white coat with dark eyes.

Contrary to popular belief, BEW mice do NOT have black eyes, no matter the color of the mouse. Most mice actually have brown eyes. Do not shine bright light into your mouses eye to see their eye color. Doing so is not good for their eyes. The picture on the left just happened to come up in a standard picture taken of a BEW mouse. The picture is zoomed in drastically (as you can tell from the graininess), so you can see the color. The camera wasn't very close to the mouse. The light in the room that this picture was taken was a standard lit room.

Lab name: Ruby-eyed (this is Ruby Eyes only, not coat color)
Fancier name: REW
Genotype: ru/ru is one of the many genotypes for ruby eyes. This has little to do with the white coat, however. Ruby eyes will dilute the coat, but not to an extreme. The white coat is likely due to c-dilutes (with ruby eyes diluting the coat further to white) or excessive spotting.
Chromosome: There are many ruby eye alleles on several different chromosomes. Additional explanation (other than the note below) to come in the future.
Originated: Spontaneous mutation found in silver piebald stock.
Show class: REW (Ruby Eye White)
General description: Pure white coat with deep ruby eyes. Not to be confused with BEW. Eye color is best seen in good lighting.

Note: There are many theories about ruby eyes. Some feel it is ru/ru while others feel it is a pink eye modifier p^r/p^r), on the c-locus (c^r/c^r) or something completely unknown in the mouse community.

AOC

(any Other Color)

	Lab name: Agouti (often referred to as "Wild type") Fancier name: Agouti Genotype: A/* Chromosome: 2 Originated: wild. Show class: Agouti General description: The coat is golden tan with a slate blue under color. The top of the mouse tends to be much darker than the sides and belly. Eye color is dark.

	Fancier name: Cinnamon Genotype: A/* b/b Show class: Cinnamon General description: Similar to the agouti but with more chocolate coloring. The black in an agouti is replaced with Chocolate on a cinnamon mouse. Dark eyes.

	Fancier name: Blue Agouti (among many other names) Genotype: A/* d/d Show class: Blue Agouti General description: Coat is blue and Agouti with dark eyes. Base of hairs are dark blue, the middle of the hair is blue, and the tips are a white color. *Blue agouti's can range in color and take very selective breeding to eliminate brown tones. Sometimes the agouti in the coat shows through more than the blue, making a blue agouti look very similar to Dove (US Dove). Pictured: Blue Agouti Angora (click top image for larger view)

	Fancier name: Silver Argenté (among many other names) Genotype: A/* d/d p/p Show class: Silver Argente is not recognized at this time. General description: Each hair should have bands of: slate blue undercoat, silver middle, and white tips. *Silver Argente's can range in color and take very selective breeding to eliminate brown tones. Pictured: Silver Argente Angora (click top picture to see it larger)

	Fancier name: Argenté Genotype: A/* p/p Show class: Argente General description: Yellow in color with a lilac under color. Pink eyes. Pictured: Argente (click bottom picture to see it larger)

	Lab name: Chinchilla Fancier name: Chinchilla Genotype: A/* c^ch/c^ch Chromosome: c^ch Chinchilla is on chromosome 7. Originated: c^ch Chinchilla was originally from non-commercial fancier stock (point mutation) Show class: Chinchilla General description: Each hair should have a blue base, gray middle, and black tips. Belly to be fox. Dark eyes. Note: Some clubs only allow chinchilla to be shown if the mouse is Fox A/a^t, not just homozygous chinchilla. The genetics information above is only based on the Chinchilla allele c^ch/c^ch as specified. Refer to agouti and tan (chinchilla dilutes tan to "fox") for genetics information on those.

	Lab name: (non-agouti) Silver Fancier name: Silvered Genotype: a/a si/si Chromosome: The Silver gene is located on chromosome 10 Originated: Spontaneous mutation originally found in English fancier stock. Show class: Silvered General description: Coat has hairs consisting of; all white (completely lacking pigmentation), full colored (such as black), colored hairs with white tips, and hairs with several white and colored bands (some colored bands diluted in color). Well bred Silvered mice will have pure silver hairs (no color from base to tip) spread thick and evenly throughout the coat. Colored hairs should hold rich color through the individual hair. Silvered mice can come in any color. However, some clubs only recognize some colors and the interaction with other markings can be undesirable. Males often show more silvering than females. Silvered is not to be confused with roan or chinchilla, although they can look very similar.

AOCP

(Any Other Color Pattern)

	Lab name: Viable Yellow Fancier name: Brindle, American Brindle, Tiger Brindle, etc. Genotype: Avy/* Chromosome: 2 Originated: Spontaneous mutation (transposon insertion) Show class: Brindle General description: Stripped similar to a tiger from head to tail. Less define stripes on the belly. Pictured: American Brindle

	Lab name: (non-agouti) Brindled Fancier name: Brindled, Sex Linked Brindle, X-Brindle, English Brindle, etc. Genotype: a/a Mo^br/* Note that Brindled is Sex linked. Homozygous Brindled is lethal as well as brindled bucks. Chromosome: Brindled is on the X chromosome. Originated: Spontaneous mutation (point mutation) Show class: Brindle General description: Stripped similar to a tiger from head to tail. Less define stripes on the belly. They can be any color with eyes to match. Stripes on English brindles usually get wider with age. Pictured: Broken Brindled Click picture to see it larger.

	Lab name: (non-agouti) Roan or Roan Freckled Fancier name: Roan Genotype: a/a Rn/* and/OR a/a Rn^fkl/* Chromosome: 14 Originated: Both were Spontaneous mutations in lab stock. Roan was first found in gremlin stock while Freckled was first found in stock carrying t-alleles. Show class: Roan General description: Coat is a mixture of white and any other color which is evenly distributed throughout the body. Eyes should match the body color. Pictured: Roan

	Lab name: unknown at the present time Fancier name: Merle Genotype: unknown at the present time. However, it is believed to be a modifier of roan or another gene which is stopping the roaning in areas, leaving solid patches (much like how the splashed gene stops c-dilute in areas). Chromosome: - Originated: - Show class: Merle General description: Coat is marble-like in color. Lighter roan body with evenly distributed patterns of a solid color. Eyes to match the base color Pictured: Black Merle

	Fancier name: Himalayan Genotype: a/a c^h/c Show class: Himalayan General description: white body with define dark points on the nose, ears, feet, and tail. Pink eyes. Click here to see an illustration of this variety. Pictured: Himalayan Texel

	Fancier name: Color Point Beige Genotype: a/a c^e/c^h Show class: Color Point beige General description: Color Point beige can look just like Himalayan but with dark eyes or they can have an off white (creamy) appearance along with the points and dark eyes. Pictured: CP Beige Texel

	Lab name: (non-agouti) Himalayan Fancier name: Siamese (homozygous "Himalayan" makes what a fanciers call Siamese) Genotype: a/a c^h/c^h Chromosome: The Himalayan allele is on chromosome 7. Originated: Spontaneous mutation (Point mutation) Show class: Siamese General description: Similar to the Himalayan but with larger points and creamy body shading. Ruby eyes. Pictured: Siamese

	Lab name: Unknown Fancier name: Reverse Siamese Genotype: Unknown Chromosome: Unknown (likely having to do with extreme dilute c^e) Originated: Unknown Show class: Reverse Siamese General description: Any color mouse with bright white points at the nose, ears, feet, and tail. Reverse siamese are usually (possibly always) coffee with white points. Pictured: Reverse Siamese Texel (she is not fox. That's bad coloration in combination of white reflection)

	Fancier name: Burmese Genotype: a/a c^ch/c^h Show class: Burmese, Siamese Sable General description: Burmese can come in almost any color with dark points at the mouses nose, feet, and tail. Points are the same color as the body, just darker. Burmese can vary in shade from dark chocolate (making the points indefinable) to light brown with very dark points. Pictured: Burmese a/a c^ch/c^h

	Lab name: Yellow, Tan, Umbrous-Patterned Fancier name: Sable Genotype: A^y/a^t Up/* Chromosome: At the present time, the chromosome Umbrous-Patterned is located on is unknown. Originated: Spontaneous mutation (First discovered in a Peru stock mouse with high frequency of non-pairing of the sex chromosomes, after introduction of the yellow allele A^y) Show class: Sable General description: Mouse should have a dark back fading into a red-ish-tan underside. Pictured: The Sable pictured here is not a "true" sable, genetically. She does, however, possess an amazing likeness to a true sable. She is recessive yellow genetically.

	Lab name: Unknown at the present time. Fancier name: Splashed Genotype: Unknown at the present time. However, speculation is that splashed is transgenic. More about Splashed in the Tri Color section. Chromosome: Unknown at the present time. Originated: Unknown at the present time. Show class: Splashed General description: Coat has darker splashes of color on a colored mouse. Splashed can come in any color with eyes to match. Splashed is not to be confused with Variegated. Pictured: Top: Cream splashed, Bottom: burmese splashed. Click picture for larger image.

Tan and fox

	Lab name: Black and Tan Fancier name: Tan Genotype: a^t/* Chromosome: 2 Originated: Spontaneous mutation (first found in English fancy stock) Show class: Tan General description: Tan have a dark golden-red tan on the underside. Tan should have a distinct line where the top color meets the bottom (tan) color. The line should run as straight as possible down its sides, chest, and jaw. Tan hairs behind ears or straying up from the mouses underside is a fault in show standards. Tans can be shown in any color with eyes to match. Pictured: Chocolate Tan Click here to see an illustration of this variety.

	Fancier name: Fox Genotype: Fox can be made in a number of ways. It can also be combined with most colors and patterns. Here is a basic highlight (starting point) of these. Note that there will always be more than I can possibly outline here. Agouti Fox: Aw/* (often referred to as White Bellied agouti) Black fox: a^t/* c^ch/c^ch (this is the only way to make black fox) You can also use most combinations of c-dilutes, such as: Mock chocolate fox: a^t/a c^ch/c^e Burmese fox: a^t/a c^ch/c^h Light Mock chocolate fox: a^t/a c^ch/c Mock Chocolate fox: a^t/a c^e/c^h a^t/a c^e/c (BEW/Bone fox) and a^t/a c^h/c (Himalayan fox) are often hard to see as these c-dilutes have a very strong effect on coat color, making it almost impossible to see the difference between top color and fox line. Show class: Fox General description: Fox is similar to Tan, except the tan belly is white in color. A creamy belly is not desirable. Fox can also come in most other colors and patterns, noting that shades will very depending on what c-dilutes you use. Pictured: Mock Chocolate Fox

Marked Varieties

	Lab name: Belted Fancier name: Belted (sometimes described as banded) Genotype: bt/bt Chromosome: 15 Originated: Spontaneous mutation (Point mutation) Show class: Belted mice are usually shown in the Banded class. Genetically belted mice often make the best examples of Banded in show. General description: Belted mice resemble banded mice with a band around their mid-section. Opposite to Banded, the white band on a Belted mouse starts on the back and is usually thicker on the back. The white band then goes down the sides of the mouse and around the belly. Belted mice generally have a thinner stripe on the belly, in comparison to the back. However, they can be bred to have the most perfect, even, band.

Banded Double Banded (below)	Lab name: Banded Fancier name: Banded Genotype: W^bd/* (note that other genotypes can look banded and be shown in a Banded class. Some of these genotypes include: Belted: bt/bt. Sash: W^sh/* Chromosome 5. (however, Sash usually makes BEW visually) Sometimes Piebald s/s. Chromosome: Banded is found on chromosome 5. Originated: Spontaneous mutation Show class: Banded General description: Solid mouse with a white band completely around the midsection. White band if usually wider and starts on the belly. The white band then goes up the back. Good banded mice will have an clean, even band all the way around. However, some will have broken bands, not connecting at the spine or only going half way around the mouse. The band is often covering the mouses' belly entirely or close to it (considered a fault). Band can also be extremely wide, consuming 1/2 of the mouse. Banded can also cause 2 white bands around the mouse, often referred to as Double Banded. Double banded often occurs in homozygous banded mice (W^bd/W^bd) Pictured: Top: Banded Black Tan (head and nose spot on this one is a fault). Bottom: Double Banded Black (colored bands "should" span all the way around mouse, unlike this one) Click to see an illustration of Banded. Click to see an illustration of Double Banded.

Below: Piebald "Broken marked" Below: Piebald "Even marked"	Lab name: Piebald Fancier name: Piebald (also "Broken") Genotype: s/s Chromosome: 14 Originated: Spontaneous mutation (very old mutation, dating back to around the 1920's) Show class: Piebald can look like many show classes depending on spotting pattern; Broken: The mouse should have clean cut, even spots. Both white spots and colored markings should cover 50% of the mouse. Even Marked: Spots should be clean-cut and spread evenly throughout the coat. Spots should mirror each other on both sides of the mouse. Dutch: For description, see Dutch below. Banded: For description, see Banded above. General description: Piebald is often referred to as "cow marked" (slang) because of its tenancy to distribute cow-like markings. However, they can mimic a lot of different spotting genes. Pictured: Top: Broken Black. Bottom: Even Marked Black (this isn't the best example of Even Marked but close. Spots should completely mirror each other. This mouse has very small faults) Click to see an illustration of Broken Marked. Click to see an illustration of Even Marked.

	Lab name: Unknown (if there is a gene for dutch at all) Fancier name: Dutch Genotype: Unknown. Some fanciers believe there is a gene which causes the dutch pattern while others believe that it's one or a combination of: piebald, banded, sashed, and/or belted. Chromosome: Unknown (if there is a gene for dutch at all) Show class: Dutch General description: Markings include: oval shaped patch starting at the front of the eye and going to the back of the ear on both sides of the face. This marking should not touch the whiskers. A white stripe should be apparent, yet very narrow, between the dark face markings starting at the nose and going around the ears. They should also be marked from the hips back, leaving the front half of the mouse white. Spots should be clean cut. Dutch can come in any color. Top picture: Ideally, the saddle (black rump marking) should consume more of the body and be cleaner cut. The face marking should be rounded better and go around the back of the ear aswell. Click here to see an illustration of this variety.

	Fancier name: Broken Merle Genotype: See Merle and all white spotting genes. Show class: Broken Merle General description: Broken merle is a combination of white spots, Roan, and Merle in patches throughout the coat. Any spotting gene can be used to make the white spots of a Broken Merle. The amount of white spotting should coincide with the spotting gene used. Solid merle and roan patches should be split evenly, each consuming half of the body and distributed nicely throughout the coat. Broken Merle can come in any color with eyes to match. Pictured: Broken Black Merle Angora

	Fancier name: Broken Tan Genotype: See Tan and all spotting genes. Show class: Broken Tan General description: Spotted tans can consist of any type of white spotting with a tan belly. The amount of white spots should coincide with the spotting gene used. Spotted tans can come in any color with eyes to match. Spotted tans should not be confused with Tri-colored. Pictured: Banded Black Tan Texel Click here to see an illustration of this variety.

	Lab name: Dominant Spotting Fancier name: Variegated Genotype: W/w Note that W/W is lethal. Chromosome: 5 Originated: Very old spontaneous mutation (point mutation) Show class: Variegated General description: White spots should be very jagged and spread throughout the coat. Variegated can come in any color with eyes to match. Variegated should not be confused with Splashed. Splashed is color on color where as variegated is a spotting pattern, white spots on a colored mouse. Pictured: Both are Variegated Black. The mouse pictured on the top is a better example of the variety. Click here to see an illustration of this variety.

	Lab name: Rump White Fancier name: Rump White Genotype: Rw/* Note that Rw/Rw is lethal. Chromosome: 5 Originated: Radiation induced (Inversion) Show class: Rump White General description: Colored mouse with white rump. White spotting covers the front of the hips, all the way back including the tail. The line breaking the spotting and colored part of the mouse should be well defined and even all the way around mouse including the belly. Pictured: Rumpwhite owned by Annemarie van Dam, Mousery Kennedy and bred by Mousery Narbo-Huan Click here to see an illustration of this variety.

	Lab name: n/a Fancier name: Rump Black or Colored Rump Genotype: These mice are highly likely a result of "bad" distribution of other spotting genes (likely resulting when combining more than one spotting gene which sometimes causes PEW, BEW, and highly over spotted mice of varying patterns such as this). Chromosome: see other spotting genes. Show class: None at the present time. Good examples of these mice are hard to find and reproduce. General description: Rump Black/Colored Rump is the exact opposite of Rump White. Colored Rump mice should have a colored rump, from hips to tail, with the entire top of the body white. Line should be well defined and even all the way around mouse.

	Lab name: See Splashed and spotting genes as well as the [learn more] link below. Fancier name: Tri Color Genotype: See Splashed and spotting genes as well as the [learn more] link below. Show class: Tri Color General description: Tri colors consist of 3 "visual" colors, patched evenly throughout the mouse. Each "visual" color should cover 1/3 of the mouse in even patches. Tri colors should look as if the patches are over lapping and be well defined. Tricolors can come in many different colors with eyes to match. Tri colors are not to be confused with Spotted Tans. [ learn more ] Pictured: Tri-Color

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