A variety of animal species carry permanent markings on their coats, be that for the purpose of survival-boosting camouflage or signalling. In many cases, these prominently visible surface patterns are composed of spots and stripes, which are suspected to originate from reactiondiffusion (RD) systems first described by Turing. As a consequence of this deterministic, yet chaotic formation process, resulting markings often differ significantly from individual to individual while following a wider theme typical for a species. In this paper we describe minutiae detection in Turing patterns based on the detection of phase curls. The technique compactly captures individuality of RD patterns by robustly localising and typing sparse phase singularities. It is discussed in detail and we give theoretical and experimental evidence for a generic applicability for individual animal identification. Finally, we point to real-world applications that have utilised the technique and can provide extended evaluations.