Melanocytes, and the parallel melanophores found in fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, are derived from a strip of tissue in the embryo called the neural crest. Stem cells in the neural crest give rise to the cells of the autonomic nervous system, supportive elements of the skeleton such as chondrocytes, cells of the endocrine system, and melanocytes. This strip of tissue is found along the dorsal midline of the embryo, and multipotent cells migrate down along the sides of the embryo, or through germ layers, to their ultimate destinations. Melanocyte stem cells are called melanoblasts. Conditions associated with abnormalities in the migration of melanoblasts are known collectively as piebaldism. Pigment cells of the iris pigment epithelium have a separate embryological origin.Robins, Ashley H. (1991) pg. 75 Piebaldism and amelanism are distinct conditions.
