Expert: Walter Hintz - 9/8/2009

Question
I am a african american and hispanic who is married to a pure hispanic man. He has other children from a previous relationship and they resemble him. We had our first child a yr ago. But he doesn't resemble him. My child has a white complexion with greenish gray eyes and light brown hair and my husband is fair skin but has brown eyes like myself. We now have another child who resembles my husband a lot but who has a darker skin tone than the both of us and also dark eyes. Why is it that my son looks different?

Answer
 Hi Stephanie
Heredity involving skin, eye and hair color is complicated because these traits have more then a single pair of genes for each trait.  Therefore rather then the skin and being either dark or light there are shades in between. Dark pigments dominate over lighter pigments and you and your husband are carrying genes for lighter pigments People in Spain have lighter skin and many Hispanics carry genes for lighter skin hair and eyes. whether these traits appear is merely a matter of chance. That is which sperm fertilizes which egg.