Scientists rethink how they reconstruct the color of fossils after UCC's discovery

A discovery by UCC of new sources of melanin pigments will force scientists to rethink how they reconstruct the color of fossils of birds, reptiles and dinosaurs

. Fossilized granules of melanin – melanosomes – come from the skin. But new evidence shows that other tissues – such as the liver, lungs and spleen – may also contain melanosomes, suggesting that fossil melanosomes do not provide information on fossil color.

The study is published in the journal Nature Communications by Dr. Maria McNamara of the UCC in collaboration with her PhD student Valentina Rossi, Dr. Patrick Orr of UCD and an international team of paleontologists from the United Kingdom and Japan

"It is absolutely essential to understand the origins of melanosomes in fossils, and I want to produce accurate reconstructions of the colors of ancient animals," said Dr. McNamara.

The team studied the internal tissues of modern frogs with powerful microscopes and chemical techniques to show that internal melanosomes are very abundant, and these internal melanosomes may be the majority of melanosomes preserved in some fossils, "said Professor Mike Benton. collaborator of the University of Bristol

The team also used decay experiments and badyzed fossils for show that internal melanosomes can infiltrate into other parts of the body during the process of fossilization, "like snowflakes in a snow globe". However, to differentiate between melanosomes of the internal organs and the skin.

"The size and shape of cutaneous melanosomes are usually distinct from those of internal organs," said Dr. McNamara. "The team used a unique chemical test for the detection of melanin in modern and fossil materials developed by collaborators Prof. Kazumasa Wakamatsu and Shosuke Ito from Fujita Health. University in Japan