[dinosaur] Pterosaur melanin challenges color inferences in extinct animals (free pdf)

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

A new paper with free pdf:

Felipe L. Pinheiro, Gustavo Prado, Shosuke Ito, John D. Simon, Kazumasa
Wakamatsu, Luiz E. Anelli, José A. F. Andrade & Keely Glass (2019)
Chemical characterization of pterosaur melanin challenges color inferences
in extinct animals
Scientific Reports 9, Article number: 15947
DOI: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1038_s41598-2D019-2D52318-2Dy&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=XszmnLTMI41luvrFQoU1cAfysF67v6KL3o8w4BH8LFw&s=03rvu5yTILt4vY7Z3TuQY_W0WSqiF2T6OjZiucc73f4&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nature.com_articles_s41598-2D019-2D52318-2Dy&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=XszmnLTMI41luvrFQoU1cAfysF67v6KL3o8w4BH8LFw&s=k3Ty76whyHGreibLHxkiqfgUWef5W3NqyMME-6Hn7Qg&e= 

Free pdf:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nature.com_articles_s41598-2D019-2D52318-2Dy.pdf&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=XszmnLTMI41luvrFQoU1cAfysF67v6KL3o8w4BH8LFw&s=Vb4hbzQKTvHaYm5Xr0rsYj8jqSv5LNSsN5NyqluyxGg&e= 



Melanosomes (melanin-bearing organelles) are common in the fossil record
occurring as dense packs of globular microbodies. The organic component
comprising the melanosome, melanin, is often preserved in fossils, allowing
identification of the chemical nature of the constituent pigment. In
present-day vertebrates, melanosome morphology correlates with their
pigment content in selected melanin-containing structures, and this
interdependency is employed in the color reconstruction of extinct animals.
The lack of analyses integrating the morphology of fossil melanosomes with
the chemical identification of pigments, however, makes these inferences
tentative. Here, we chemically characterize the melanin content of the soft
tissue headcrest of the pterosaur Tupandactylus imperator by alkaline
hydrogen peroxide oxidation followed by high-performance liquid
chromatography. Our results demonstrate the unequivocal presence of
eumelanin in T. imperator headcrest. Scanning electron microscopy followed
by statistical analyses, however, reveal that preserved melanosomes
containing eumelanin are undistinguishable to pheomelanin-bearing
organelles of extant vertebrates. Based on these new findings,
straightforward color inferences based on melanosome morphology may not be
valid for all fossil vertebrates, and color reconstructions based on
ultrastructure alone should be regarded with caution.


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