Figure 1.—

Major coat pattern phenotypes of the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus). A “hierarchy” of pelage patterns is observed in this species, with the absence of markings seen in Abyssinian cats (A) dominating over a spotted coat (B), which dominates over a “mackerel” (striped) coat (C), itself dominant over the blotched pattern (D). The classical, single-locus model for this phenotypic variation proposed the allelic series T^a > T^s > T^M > t^b for these respective variants.