ArticleScientific reports2015
Molecular composition and ultrastructure of Jurassic paravian feathers.
Article in Scientific reports, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Organic geochemical evidence for life in Archean rocks identified by pyrolysis-GC-MS and supervised machine learning.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Taphonomic variation in vascular remains from Mesozoic non-avian dinosaurs.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Age is just a number: Examining the preservation of cells and soft tissues in Bothriolepis and other Devonian fish.PloS one · 2025Article
- Article
- Transformation of β-sheets into disordered structures during the fossilization of feathers.Nature ecology & evolution · 2024Article
- Taphonomic experiments reveal authentic molecular signals for fossil melanins and verify preservation of phaeomelanin in fossils.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Biomolecular histology as a novel proxy for ancient DNA and protein sequence preservation.Ecology and evolution · 2022Article
- Environmental Factors Affecting Feather Taphonomy.Biology · 2022Article
- Review
- Evidence corroborates identity of isolated fossil feather as a wing covert of Archaeopteryx.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Hierarchical biota-level and taxonomic controls on the chemistry of fossil melanosomes revealed using synchrotron X-ray fluorescence.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Taphonomic experiments resolve controls on the preservation of melanosomes and keratinous tissues in feathers.Palaeontology · 2020Article
- Chemical characterization of pterosaur melanin challenges color inferences in extinct animals.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Body coloration and mechanisms of colour production in Archelosauria: the case of deirocheline turtles.Royal Society open science · 2019Article
- A bony-crested Jurassic dinosaur with evidence of iridescent plumage highlights complexity in early paravian evolution.Nature communications · 2018Article
- Intraskeletal histovariability, allometric growth patterns, and their functional implications in bird-like dinosaurs.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Preservation potential of keratin in deep time.PloS one · 2018Article
- Article
- Biochemistry and adaptive colouration of an exceptionally preserved juvenile fossil sea turtle.Scientific reports · 2017Article
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16 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Feathers are amongst the most complex epidermal structures known, and they have a well-documented evolutionary trajectory across non-avian dinosaurs and basal birds. Moreover, melanosome-like microbodies preserved in association with fossil plumage have been used to reconstruct original colour, behaviour and physiology. However, these putative ancient melanosomes might alternatively represent microorganismal residues, a conflicting interpretation compounded by a lack of unambiguous chemical data. We therefore used sensitive molecular imaging, supported by multiple independent analytical tests, to demonstrate that the filamentous epidermal appendages in a new specimen of the Jurassic paravian Anchiornis comprise remnant eumelanosomes and fibril-like microstructures, preserved as endogenous eumelanin and authigenic calcium phosphate. These results provide novel insights into the early evolution of feathers at the sub-cellular level, and unequivocally determine that melanosomes can be preserved in fossil feathers.
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