Although rare, hypopigmentary disorders have been observed in many vertebrate species. These disorders include albinism, leucism, and piebaldism, and can be differentiated based on the pattern and degree of lack of pigmentation. For many species, these disorders persist in nature, suggesting that affected animals can survive and potentially reproduce. Here we report a case of albinism in a Jamaican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis) captured from a cave dwelling in Cuba. In addition to describing this albino individual's morphological characteristics, we recorded acoustical parameters of echolocation calls during foraging in a flight chamber. We found that the albino individual emits high-frequency multi-harmonic calls with short durations, which are characteristic of this species and other phyllostomid bats. We discuss potential acoustical adaptations in albino bats that could facilitate their survival and suggest future approaches to studying these unique animals.

中文翻译：

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白化病和正常色素的牙买加果蝠（Artibeus jamaicensis）之间的声学​​和形态学比较

尽管罕见，但在许多脊椎动物中已观察到色素减退性疾病。这些疾病包括白化病，白血球病和花斑病，可以根据缺乏色素沉着的方式和程度加以区分。对于许多物种而言，这些疾病在自然界中仍然存在，这表明受影响的动物可以生存并可能繁殖。在这里，我们报告了从古巴一个洞穴住宅中捕获的牙买加果蝠（Artibeus jamaicensis）中的白化病病例。除了描述该白化病个体的形态特征外，我们还记录了在飞行室内觅食期间回声定位的声学参数。我们发现白化病个体发出短持续时间的高频多谐音，这是该物种和其他phyllostomid蝙蝠的特征。