Type I oculocutaneous albinism (OCA1a) is the form most commonly recognised as albino as this results in a complete absence of melanin in the skin, hair/fur/feathers, and pink pupils, however this has led many to assume that all albinos are pure white with pink pupils, which is not the case.In plants, albinism is characterised by partial or complete loss of chlorophyll pigments and incomplete differentiation of chloroplast membranes. Albinism in plants interferes with photosynthesis, which can reduce survivability. Some plant variations may have white flowers or other parts. However, these plants are not totally devoid of chlorophyll. Terms associated with this phenomenon are "hypochromia" and "albiflora". Biological colouration
Biological pigments are substances produced by living organisms that have a colour resulting from selective colour absorption. What is perceived as a plant or animals "colour" is the wavelengths of light that are not absorbed by the pigment, but instead are reflected. Biological pigments include plant pigments and flower pigments. Animal colouration
Animals can appear coloured due to two mechanisms, pigments and structural colours. Animals may have both biological pigments and structural colours, for example, some butterflies with white wings. Pigments
Many animal body-parts, such as skin, eyes, feathers, fur, hair, scales and cuticles, contain pigments in specialized cells called chromatophores. These cells are found in a wide range of animals including amphibians, fish, reptiles, crustaceans and cephalopods. Mammals and birds, in contrast, have a class of cells called melanocytes for colouration. The term chromatophore can also refer to coloured, membrane-associated vesicles found in some forms of photosynthetic bacteria.
However, the albino strain shows more solitarious behaviour.The yellow mutation in fruit flies is a mutation causing a congenital lack of normal pigment; it is a similar phenomenon to albinism in other organisms. In echinoderms
The Japanese sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) is an echinoderm that is caught in the wild or cultivated for food. Normal Japanese sea cucumbers start to develop pigmentation when they are about 1 cm long. The upperside becomes a dull, yellowish -brown to maroon and the underside a light brown. The body walls of adult, albino Japanese sea cucumbers contain only 0.24% melanin compared to 3.12% in normal adults. The difference in melanin content becomes visually apparent at 60 days of age. The epidermis is thinner in the albinos and contains fewer melanocytes. Albino individuals are similar to normal individuals in growth rate, digestion rate and fertility.Astaxanthin is the main carotenoid in marine crustaceans (and fish). It has been shown that adding astaxanthin to the feed can improve the skin and muscle colour of marine organisms and thereby increase their commercial and ornamental value. In arachnids
"Depigmented" arthropods have been found, usually in cave populations. "Albino" individuals of normally red citrus red mites (Panonychus citri) occasionally appear in laboratory colonies, however, these still contain green and yellow pigments. This albinism does not affect mortality. Related pigment disorders
In some animals, albinism-like conditions may affect other pigments or pigment-production mechanisms:

"Whiteface," a condition that affects some parrot species, is caused by a lack of psittacins.