Fossilized animals may have looked different as a new source of melanin has been discovered

A combined team of paleontologists, made up of members of Bristol University and University College Cork, made a breakthrough finding new sources of melanin. The theory will lead to a radical change in the way scientists reconstruct the color of fossilized animals such as birds, reptiles and dinosaurs.

Most studies claim that melanosomes, the fossilized granules of melanin, come from the skin. However, new evidence has shown that different tissues, such as the spleen, liver, and lungs, also contain melanosomes, suggesting that melanosomes determine the color of the skin as false.

Maria McNamara, a professor at University College Cork, as well as her doctoral student Valentina Rossi and a team of paleontologists from the University of Dublin, Japan and the United Kingdom. Powerful microscopes were used to observe very abundant internal melanosomes under chemical stimulation.

According to the study, several animals may have been poorly reconstructed, baduming that the skin color came from the number of melanosomes contained in the skin. As such, many reconstructed animals may need a change when the fossils on which they are based will be badyzed using the brand new method. Although this is not a radical change, it will certainly have an impact on future studies, allowing a more accurate study of the actual appearance of extinct species. This will also allow the construction of a reproduction more faithful to the original.

It has also been found that melanosomes can leak from the inside to the outside of the body during the fossilization process. The badysis of disintegration experiments has also proved that this process is valid but there is one very important detail: cutaneous melanosomes are distinguished from others by comparisons between shapes and sizes

Patrick Supernaw is the editor-in-chief for the Great Lakes Ledger. Patrick has written for numerous publications, including The Huffington Post and Vanity Fair. Patrick is based in Ottawa and has problems with his city. In addition to her heavy reliance on hockey, Pat also enjoys kayaking and frequenting the Rideau Cbad. Contact Pat here