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Non-integumentary melanosomes can bias reconstructions of the colours of fossil vertebrates.

ABSTRACT: The soft tissues of many fossil vertebrates preserve evidence of melanosomes-micron-scale organelles that inform on integumentary coloration and communication strategies. In extant vertebrates, however, melanosomes also occur in internal tissues. Hence, fossil melanosomes may not derive solely from the integument and its appendages. Here, by analyzing extant and fossil frogs, we show that non-integumentary melanosomes have high fossilization potential, vastly outnumber those from the skin, and potentially dominate the melanosome films preserved in some fossil vertebrates. Our decay experiments show that non-integumentary melanosomes usually remain in situ provided that carcasses are undisturbed. Micron-scale study of fossils, however, demonstrates that non-integumentary melanosomes can redistribute through parts of the body if carcasses are disturbed by currents. Collectively, these data indicate that fossil melanosomes do not always relate to integumentary coloration. Integumentary and non-integumentary melanosomes can be discriminated using melanosome geometry and distribution. This is essential to accurate reconstructions of the integumentary colours of fossil vertebrates.

SUBMITTER: McNamara ME

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6056411 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Non-integumentary melanosomes can bias reconstructions of the colours of fossil vertebrates.

McNamara Maria E ME Kaye Jonathan S JS Benton Michael J MJ Orr Patrick J PJ Rossi Valentina V Ito Shosuke S Wakamatsu Kazumasa K

Nature communications 20180723 1

The soft tissues of many fossil vertebrates preserve evidence of melanosomes-micron-scale organelles that inform on integumentary coloration and communication strategies. In extant vertebrates, however, melanosomes also occur in internal tissues. Hence, fossil melanosomes may not derive solely from the integument and its appendages. Here, by analyzing extant and fossil frogs, we show that non-integumentary melanosomes have high fossilization potential, vastly outnumber those from the skin, and p ...[more]

PMID: 30038333

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Non-integumentary melanosomes can bias reconstructions of the colours of fossil vertebrates.

Publications

Non-integumentary melanosomes can bias reconstructions of the colours of fossil vertebrates.

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