Limits RegistryPUBLIC RECORD
Limits RegistryThe peppered moth's rise in dark ('melanic') morph frequency during the Industrial Revolution — from under 2% in 1848 to over 95% by around 1895 in polluted Manchester, England — is one of the most rapid and well-documented cases of observed natural selection in the wild, driven by soot-darkened tree bark making light moths more visible to predators; frequencies reversed again after clean-air legislation reduced pollution in the mid-20th century.
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The peppered moth's rise in dark ('melanic') morph frequency during the Industrial Revolution — from under 2% in 1848 to over 95% by around 1895 in polluted Manchester, England — is one of the most rapid and well-documented cases of observed natural selection in the wild, driven by soot-darkened tree bark making light moths more visible to predators; frequencies reversed again after clean-air legislation reduced pollution in the mid-20th century.
The number of years documented for the peppered moth (Biston betularia) population in industrial England to shift from predominantly light-colored to predominantly melanic (dark) morphs, and later reverse, as tracked by field surveys.
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Permanent ID limitsregistry.com/limits/LR-FASTEST-DOCUMENTED-EVOLUTIONARY-COLOR-CHANGE-PEPPERED-MOTH
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Limits Registry. LR-FASTEST-DOCUMENTED-EVOLUTIONARY-COLOR-CHANGE-PEPPERED-MOTH. Fastest documented shift in wild population coloration driven by natural selection. 2026.