Reconstructing carotenoid-based and structural coloration in fossil skin

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dc.contributor.authorMcNamara, Maria E.
dc.contributor.authorOrr, Patrick J.
dc.contributor.authorKearns, Stuart L.
dc.contributor.authorAlcalá, Luis
dc.contributor.authorAnadón, Pere
dc.contributor.authorPeñalver, Enrique
dc.contributor.funderEnterprise Irelanden
dc.contributor.funderSeventh Framework Programmeen
dc.contributor.funderFP7 People: Marie-Curie Actionsen
dc.contributor.funderIrish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technologyen
dc.date.accessioned2021-09-10T12:57:24Z
dc.date.available2021-09-10T12:57:24Z
dc.date.issued2016-03-31
dc.date.updated2021-09-10T12:46:16Z
dc.description.abstractEvidence of original coloration in fossils provides insights into the visual communication strategies used by ancient animals and the functional evolution of coloration over time [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Hitherto, all reconstructions of the colors of reptile integument and the plumage of fossil birds and feathered dinosaurs have been of melanin-based coloration [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Extant animals also use other mechanisms for producing color [8], but these have not been identified in fossils. Here we report the first examples of carotenoid-based coloration in the fossil record, and of structural coloration in fossil integument. The fossil skin, from a 10 million-year-old colubrid snake from the Late Miocene Libros Lagerstätte (Teruel, Spain) [9, 10], preserves dermal pigment cells (chromatophores)—xanthophores, iridophores, and melanophores—in calcium phosphate. Comparison with chromatophore abundance and position in extant reptiles [11, 12, 13, 14, 15] indicates that the fossil snake was pale-colored in ventral regions; dorsal and lateral regions were green with brown-black and yellow-green transverse blotches. Such coloration most likely functioned in substrate matching and intraspecific signaling. Skin replicated in authigenic minerals is not uncommon in exceptionally preserved fossils [16, 17], and dermal pigment cells generate coloration in numerous reptile, amphibian, and fish taxa today [18]. Our discovery thus represents a new means by which to reconstruct the original coloration of exceptionally preserved fossil vertebrates.en
dc.description.sponsorshipEnterprise Ireland (Basic Research Grant C/2002/138); Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology, European Commission (IRCSET-Marie Curie International Mobility Fellowship and Marie Curie Career Integration Grant 618598)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationMcNamara, M.E., Orr, P.J., Kearns, S.L., Alcalá, L., Anadón, P. and Peñalver, E. (2016) ‘Reconstructing carotenoid-based and structural coloration in fossil skin’, Current Biology, 26(8), pp. 1075–1082. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.02.038.en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.02.038.en
dc.identifier.endpage1082en
dc.identifier.issn0960-9822
dc.identifier.journaltitleCurrent Biologyen
dc.identifier.startpage1075en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/11873
dc.identifier.volume26en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherElsevieren
dc.relation.projectinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7::SP3::PEOPLE/618598/EU/THE TAPHONOMY OF COLOUR IN FOSSIL INSECTS AND FEATHERS/FOSSIL COLOURen
dc.rights© 2016 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/en
dc.subjectDermal chromatophoresen
dc.subjectAnolis-carolinensisen
dc.subjectMarine reptilesen
dc.subjectPreservationen
dc.subjectLizarden
dc.subjectPigmentationen
dc.subjectMelanosomesen
dc.subjectChemistryen
dc.subjectDinosaursen
dc.subjectPatternen
dc.titleReconstructing carotenoid-based and structural coloration in fossil skinen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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