The gene that causes the shadow, mock-agouti and tortishell effects is a dominant gene that is thought to be the previously extinct melanistic trait. This trait only affects non-agouti colors such as black, mink, Russian blue, American blue and Midnight blue. It also affects other non-agouti colors, but isnt' easily seen on lighter colors. The shadow line is comprised of several different sections. The shadow effect are non-agouti rats with silver bellies. The mock-agouti effect causes banding on some of the hairs along the side and sometimes on the back of rats. This is not the same type of banding found in agouti rats, though from a distance, it can look similar, hence the name 'mock-agouti'. Tortishells go through molts that cause swirls of color throughout the coat that often stays for extended amounts of time. It can cause very drastic color changes in the coat. There have even been tortishell rats who's coats are completely changed from one color to another. You can see more examples on the Shadows page. Click here to see examples...
The Black Shadow line contains all black and black shadow rats with no other dilutes. The black shadows in this line may exhibit the shadow effect, mock-agouti effect or the tortishell effect.
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