A leopard pattern is a spotted color pattern, particularly in the hair coat or skin of

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

s, but can also describe spotting patterns in

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

s and

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

s. When used as spotting patterns in fabrics, leopard pattern or print makes a great fashion statement in bold, unique and funny ways.

Leopard pattern in animals

In animal world, leopard pattern refers to the black and gold spotted coat of the

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia ...

cat, but is used to describe many color combinations that result in spots scattered randomly across the skin or hair coat of other animals. Examples of animals with coloring patterns termed ''leopard'' include many great cats in the genus ''

Panthera ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae that was named and described by Lorenz Oken in 1816 who placed all the spotted cats in this group. Reginald Innes Pocock revised the classification of this genus in 1916 as comprising the tiger ...

'', the

leopard frog Leopard frog is a generic name used to refer to various species in the true frog genus Lithobates. They all have similar coloration: brown or green with spots that form a leopard pattern. They are distinguished by their distribution and behaviora ...

, the "leopard" spotting pattern in the

Appaloosa The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's colo ...

and

Knabstrupper The Knabstrupper or Knabstrup is a Danish list of horse breeds, breed of warmblood horse. It is principally a riding horse, but is also used as a harness horse and as a circus animal. It is broadly similar to the Frederiksborger, but often has ...

breeds of

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

s, the

leopard seal The leopard seal (''Hydrurga leptonyx''), also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of Pinniped, seal in the Antarctic (after the southern elephant seal). Its only natural predator is the orca. It feeds on a wide range of ...

, insects such as the giant leopard moth, and fish species such as the

leopard darter The leopard darter (''Percina pantherina'') is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is native to the U ...

leopard shark The leopard shark (''Triakis semifasciata'') is a species of houndshark, in the family Triakidae. It is found along the Pacific coast of North America, from the U.S. state of Oregon to Mazatlán in Mexico. Typically measuring 1.2–1.5 m (3.9� ...

, and the

leopard eel The leopard eel (''Myrichthys pardalis'') is an eel in the worm or snake eels family, Ophichthidae. Examples of plants that use the term include the

leopard lily Leopard lily is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * '' Dieffenbachia'', a genus containing species cultivated as ornamental houseplants * ''Fritillaria atropurpurea'', native to the Western US * ''Ledebouria socialis'', a species n ...

, and the leopard flower. Other animals with leopard patterns include the

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by ha ...

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus '' Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is es ...

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a ...

leopard gecko The leopard gecko or common leopard gecko (''Eublepharis macularius'') is a ground-dwelling lizard native to the rocky dry grassland and desert regions of Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. The leopard gecko has become a popular pet, ...

and the

leopard tortoise The leopard tortoise (''Stigmochelys pardalis'') is a large and attractively marked tortoise found in the savannas of eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to the southern Cape. It is the only extant member of the genus ''Stigmochelys'', althoug ...

among some others. The ''Lp'' (

leopard complex The leopard complex is a group of genetically related coat patterns in horses. These patterns range from progressive increases in interspersed white hair similar to graying or roan to distinctive, Dalmatian-like leopard spots on a white coat. ...

) gene is responsible for the leopard color pattern in

s, which not only produces a spotted coat color but also causes

mottling Mottle is a pattern of irregular marks, spots, streaks, blotches or patches of different shades or colours. It is commonly used to describe the surface of plants or the skin of animals. In plants, mottling usually consists of yellowish spots ...

of the skin, a white

sclera The sclera, also known as the white of the eye or, in older literature, as the tunica albuginea oculi, is the opaque, fibrous, protective, outer layer of the human eye containing mainly collagen and some crucial elastic fiber. In humans, and s ...

around the eye, and striped

hooves The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the rum ...

. Horses with the ''Lp'' gene may be spotted all over, or may have concentrations of spots in various patterns. Some other animal breeds like dogs, such as Dalmatians, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and

American Leopard Hound The American Leopard Hound is an American breed of hunting dog. It is recognized by the United Kennel Club (UKC) as a scenthound and is in the American Kennel Club's Foundation Stock Service. Characteristics The American Leopard Hound is 21 to ...

s also have similar leopard color patterns.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopard (Pattern) Horse coat colors Animal coat colors