Smokey Locus
Non-wild alleles at this locus at this
locus:
Smokey (Sm)
Possible
phenotypes:
Smokey (Sm/+), Chocolate (Sm/Sm)
Smokey (Sm/+)







The Smokey
phenotype results from a single dose of the partially dominant Smokey
mutation (Sm/+) at the Smokey locus. Angelfish with Smokey show dark
pigmentation in the posterior usually starting in a vertical line around
the middle of the dorsal fin. The coverage of the dark pigment can vary,
in some cases being completely black while in other cases patches of
background color can still be seen (these patches are often not
symmetrical on each side of the angelfish). In the absence of gold
pigmentation mutations (g, and Gm) the anterior portion of a Smokey
angelfish
will also often take on a grayish coloration
In some cases
when the dark pigmentation shows almost complete coverage Smokey angelfish are sometimes mixed up with
Half-Black angelfish. One simple way to tell between the two phenotypes is
the pigmentation boarder, half-blacks will show a well defined straight
line while Smokeys show a more diffuse non straight line. When Smokey is
present in an angelfish that also shows Gold-Marble (Gm) the dark areas of
the Gm mutation can sometimes be darker than the Smokey areas. This is
particularly noticeable as the fish are exposed to light in the morning.
As the Smokey pigmentation will sometimes fade when the fish is sleeping
the Gold-Marble dark areas will not.
The Smokey phenotype is easily seen
in even young fry starting at about 1 month of age. As the angelfish gets
older the pigment will darken and coverage will increase. There is some
evidence that the amount of light under which the fry are reared can
effect the amount of coverage however at the time of this writeup there
has been no conclusive study done.
Chocolate (Sm/Sm)






The Chocolate phenotype results from a double dose of the partially
dominant Smokey mutation (Sm/Sm). Angelfish with Chocolate show dark
pigmentation on the majority of their body, usually starting at the
posterior edge of the gill plate. Similar to Smokey the overall coverage
of the body can vary and in the absence of other pigmentation mutations
the head of the angelfish can show a grayish coloration.
Chocolate angelfish can sometimes be confused with hybrid dark (D/g or Gm)
or marble angelfish (M/M), particularly when the fry are young.
Interacting Mutations
A
number of other mutations can interact with the Smoky allele
Probably the most popular is the leopard angel, in which two smokey
alleles and either one ore two zebra alleles are present. The table
below shows phenotypes that can be formed when combining smokey alleles
with and non-wild alleles at the zebra/stripeless locus.
*Although an angelfish with one allele for stripeless is called a
“ghost,” no change in appearance occurs to either Smokey, Smokey Leopard,
Chocolate, or Leopard with the addition of one stripeless allele. Thus
the phenotype for a Sm/+ - S/+ is in actuality still smokey.
This next table shows the phenotypes that can be formed from combining
smokey alleles and alleles from the dark locus.
PHENOTYPES resulting from Smokey Locus + Dark Locus |
Alleles
|
Sm/+ |
Sm/Sm |
D/+
|
Smokey Lace
 |
Chocolate Lace
|
D/D |
Smokey Black

|
Chocolate Black |
D/M, D/Gm, D/g
|
Smokey Hybrid
Black |
Chocolate
Hybrid Black |
M/+
|
Smokey Marble |
Chocolate
Marble |
M/M, M/Gm, M/g |
Smokey Marble
|
Smokey Marble |
Gm/+
|
Smokey Gold
Marble |
Chocolate Gold
Marble |
Gm/Gm, Gm/g |
Smokey Gold Marble
 |
Chocolate Gold Marble |
g/g
|
Gold |
Gold |
PHENOTYPES resulting from Smokey + Halfblack,
Albino, Pearlscale, or Veil |
Alleles
|
Sm/+ |
Sm/Sm |
h/h
|
Smokey
Halfblack |
Chocolate
Halfblack |
a/a |
Albino
Halfblack
|
Albino
Chocolate |
p/p |
Smokey
Pearlscale
 |
Chocolate
Pearlscale |
V/+ |
Smokey
Veiled |
Chocolate
Veiled |
V/V |
Smokey Superveil |
Chocolate Superveil |
Pearlscale
(p/p), and Veil (V/+) or Superveil (V/V) mutations to not effect the
expression of Smokey (Sm/+) or Chocolate (Sm/Sm) phenotypes
Links to more information about
the smokey
locus
Dr. Joanne Norton, FAMA: February 1985, Vol. 8, #2
Dr. Joanne Norton, FAMA: May 1989, Vol.12, #5
Approved by The Angelfish Society Standards Committee on February 11, 2007.