Similarly, the classic tabby pattern may be broken by the spotted tabby gene into large spots. It's thought that the spotted tabby results from a modifier gene that breaks up the mackerel tabby pattern and causes the stripes to appear as spots. These types of cats come in many forms and colors. Residual ghost striping and/or barring can often be seen on the lower legs, face, and belly and sometimes at the tail tip, as well as the standard 'M' and a long dark line running along the spine, primarily in ticked tabbies that also carry a mackerel or classic tabby allele. The ticked tabby pattern is due to even fields of agouti hairs, each with distinct bands of color, which break up the tabby patterning into a salt-and-pepper appearance that makes them look sand-like-thus there are few to no stripes or bands. Many American shorthair cats demonstrate this pattern. The gene responsible for the coloring of a classic tabby is recessive. The legs, tail, and cheeks of a classic tabby have thick stripes, bands, and/or bars. Classic tabbies each have a light-colored "butterfly" pattern on the shoulders and three thin stripes (the center stripe being the darkest) running along the spine. Black tabbies generally have dark browns, olives, and ochres that stand out more against their black colors. 80% of modern-day cats have the recessive allele responsible for the classic pattern. The classic tabby, also known as blotched tabby, has the 'M' pattern on the forehead but, rather than primarily thin stripes or spots, the body markings are thick curving bands in whorls or a swirled pattern, with a distinctive mark on each side of the body resembling a bullseye. Mackerels are the most common among tabbies. Mackerel tabbies are also called 'fishbone tabbies,' probably doubly named after the mackerel fish. Three or five vertical lines in an "M" shape almost always appear on the forehead, along with dark lines from the corners of the eyes, one or more crossing each cheek, and of course many stripes and lines at various angles on the neck and shoulder area, on the flanks, and around the legs and tail, marks which are more or less perpendicular to the length of the body part. These stripes can be continuous or broken into bars and short segments/spots, especially on the flanks and stomach. The mackerel, or striped, tabby pattern is made up of thin vertical, gently curving stripes on the sides of the body.
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