“These findings indicate that colour variation in panther chameleons involves different genetic and physiological pathways. For example, while melanins, pteridines and structural colours are produced in the skin itself, carotenoids are obtained from the animal's diet (Fox 1976). Therefore, reduced yellow pigmentation can be attributed to scarcity of carotenoid‐rich food, but also to intrinsic physiological limitations in the animal's ability to absorb, metabolize and transport carotenoids to the skin (Parker 1996). Future work, investigating the physiology and genetic pathways involved in production of pigments and structural colours (Ziegler 2003; Higdon et al. 2013) is warranted in panther chameleons for a better understanding of the correlation between colour variation and the genealogical lineages (possibly species) we uncover here.”..
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4755148/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4755148/
