Rufus classical Latin for red, does as you would expect and increases red pigmentation in the rabbits coat

 

The rufus modifier (or polygene) is a stand alone gene if you like, not reliant on a particular allele, it merely influences a genotype. However it is speculated that rufus modifiers more commonly go hand in hand with chocolate/ brown.

The inheritance of rufus follows a normal continuous variation distribution pattern, meaning that if you mated two high rufus rabbits together there is no certainty that the resulting offspring would be high rufus, but the chances are obviously increased. In short a variation of shades would be expected, as seen in the photograph of litter above.

What is the difference between a high rufus orange and a red? A high rufus orange has a white belly and tail. A red has a red/ orange belly and tail (belly colour changed by the wide band gene).