Melanosome diversity and convergence in the evolution of iridescent avian feathers-Implications for paleocolor reconstruction.

ABSTRACT: Some of the most varied colors in the natural world are created by iridescent nanostructures in bird feathers, formed by layers of melanin-containing melanosomes. The morphology of melanosomes in iridescent feathers is known to vary, but the extent of this diversity, and when it evolved, is unknown. We use scanning electron microscopy to quantify the diversity of melanosome morphology in iridescent feathers from 97 extant bird species, covering 11 orders. In addition, we assess melanosome morphology in two Eocene birds, which are the stem lineages of groups that respectively exhibit hollow and flat melanosomes today. We find that iridescent feathers contain the most varied melanosome morphologies of all types of bird coloration sampled to date. Using our extended dataset, we predict irides

SUBMITTER: Norden KK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6587736 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature