When a black rabbit and white rabbit produce a SPOTTED offspring it is called _______
When a black rabbit and white rabbit produce a spotted offspring, it is called "Harlequin" or "Magpie." These terms are often used to describe rabbits with a unique coat pattern featuring spots or patches of black and white fur.
When a black rabbit and a white rabbit produce a spotted offspring, it is called a "calico" rabbit.
To arrive at this answer, we can consider the principles of genetic inheritance. The color of rabbits' fur is determined by genes passed down from their parents. Let's assume that black fur is determined by a dominant gene (B) and white fur is determined by a recessive gene (b). When a black rabbit (BB or Bb) mates with a white rabbit (bb), their offspring can inherit one gene from each parent.
If the black rabbit is homozygous (BB) for the black fur gene, meaning it only has the dominant gene, and the white rabbit is homozygous (bb) for the white fur gene, meaning it only has the recessive gene, their offspring will inherit one gene from each parent, resulting in a heterozygous (Bb) genotype. In this case, the offspring will exhibit a mixture of the two colors, usually in a spotted or mottled pattern, yielding a calico rabbit.
It's important to note that this explanation is based on simplified genetics principles and assumes that only one gene is responsible for fur color. In reality, fur color in rabbits can be influenced by various factors, including multiple genes and genetic modifiers.