By use of chlorambucil, we have generated a mouse mutation called scraggly (sgl) that exhibits skin and hair defects. Homozygous mutant mice exhibit hair loss, skin defects, and abnormalities in sebaceous lipid composition. We have constructed a high-resolution genetic map of mouse Chromosome (Chr) 19 that links this mutation to the anonymous DNA marker D19Umi1. An additional cross, (BALB/c x CAST/Ei) F(1) x BALB/c, was used to map markers around this mutation as well as to map the potential candidate genes, Fgf8 and Cyp17. Allelism tests between sgl and asebia (ab), another hair loss mutation on mouse Chr 19, showed that these genes were separate and distinct.