What are the main coat color types of pigs?

Pigs have many coat color types, mainly caused by differences in the type and distribution of melanin. There are two types of melanin: one is eumelanin, which exists in two forms, black and brown; the other is pheomelanin, which exists in two forms, yellow and red. Melanin is a conjugated protein, and all pigs contain it, only the amount and distribution differ. For example, the content in the coat of white Large Yorkshire pigs is about 0.07%, while black pigs contain 6.18%. The main coat color types of pigs are as follows.

1. White. The coat of this type of pig is entirely white, such as Yorkshire pigs, Landrace pigs, and so on.

2. Solid black. The coat is entirely black. Many local pig breeds in China, such as Min pigs, Bamei pigs, Huanghuaihai Black pigs, Neijiang pigs, Wei pigs, Huai pigs, and so on; the British Berkshire pig and the American Poland China pig all belong to this type.

3. White belt. This type of pig has white hair on the waist or neck and shoulders, with black at both ends of the body. China's local pig breeds such as Jinhua pigs, Huazhong Two-End Black pigs, Ningxiang pigs, as well as the American Hampshire pig, all belong to this type.

4. Brown-red. This type of pig is brown-red or golden yellow all over the body, such as the Yunnan Dahe pig among China's Wujin pig types, the Guizhou Kele pig, the American Duroc pig, Tamworth pig, and so on.

5. Spotted pigs. Pig breeds with this coat color are relatively numerous in China, such as Guangdong Big Spotted pigs, Ganzhongnan Spotted pigs, Wanzhe Spotted pigs, Minbei Spotted pigs, Fannong Spotted pigs, Beijing Spotted pigs, Taiyuan Spotted pigs, as well as the Belgian Pietrain pig. The proportion of black-and-white spots differs among different pig breeds.

6. Dirty white hair. The coat of this type of pig is white with a dirty gray tinge, such as Mongolian pigs, Hungarian Mangalitsa pigs, and so on.