#piebald merfolk would prolly have patches of pink inside their mouth like a dog

[rxttenfish]

decided to finally draw out some more merfolk color mutations - while amanda also has a color mutation, it’s a much less common one than your typical albinism/melanism/piebaldism. the skull/physical traits are less accurate, being as miranda is an abyssal and i didn’t feel like drawing any specific other species right now, but nonetheless i needed something to fill the space.

i imagine albinism is a little more common in merfolk than in humans or other animals, because while they still have issues with weak eyesight/sun protection and have overall weaker scales and claws than other merfolk, these are all helped by living lower down in the water column, merfolk not being very sight-focused to begin with, and being a social animal + healthcare. since the low royals are so closely connected with the abyssal species of merfolk, and thus has a special connection to the color red, this could also influence how albino individuals are treated in certain contexts, both for the better and for the worse. i might make it so that albino individuals look very similar to newborn/young abyssals, since abyssal merfolk start out very light pink and darken to a crimson as they age.

being piebald is probably seen as rather attractive in certain cultures, and overall merfolk wouldn’t treat melanistic individuals as any different, since it’s not uncommon to just see normal dark brown or grey coloration. though i imagine cultures based in more shallow waters or around reefs, where the difference is a lot more obvious and coloration is more important, would have more of a stigma around these both.