A Black Panther Is Just a Leopard: The Science of Melanism and Why the Rosettes Never Disappear

That ink-black cat photographed in the Kabini forest isn't a separate species. It's a melanistic leopard, and if you look closely at its coat in the right light, the rosettes are still there. Melanism is a single gene variant that floods the feline's skin and fur with excess pigment. This is what that actually means, biologically.