Characterization of melanosomes involved in the production of non-iridescent structural feather colours and their detection in the fossil record.

ABSTRACT: Non-iridescent structural colour in avian feathers is produced by coherent light scattering through quasi-ordered nanocavities in the keratin cortex of the barbs. To absorb unscattered light, melanosomes form a basal layer underneath the nanocavities. It has been shown that throughout Aves, melanosome morphology reflects broad categories of melanin-based coloration, as well as iridescence, allowing identification of palaeocolours in exceptionally preserved fossils. However, no studies have yet investigated the morphology of melanosomes in non-iridescent structural colour. Here, we analyse a wide sample of melanosomes from feathers that express non-iridescent structural colour from a phylogenetically broad range of extant avians to describe their morphology and compare them with other avian

SUBMITTER: Babarovic F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6597762 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature