Melanin is a ubiquitous biological pigment found in bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals. It
has a diverse range of ecological and biochemical functions, including display, evasion …

In living organisms, color patterns, behavior, and ecology are closely linked. Thus, detection
of fossil pigments may permit inferences about important aspects of ancient animal ecology …

Melanins are polymeric phenolic pigments classified into two groups based on their
chemical structures and molecular precursors: eumelanin (brown–black) and pheomelanin …

Colour, derived primarily from melanin and/or carotenoid pigments, is integral to many
aspects of behaviour in living vertebrates, including social signalling, sexual display and …

Fossil feathers, hairs and eyes are regularly preserved as carbonized traces comprised of
masses of micrometre-sized bodies that are spherical, oblate or elongate in shape. For a …

Melanins are widespread pigments in vertebrates, with important roles in visual signaling,
UV protection, and homeostasis. Fossil evidence of melanin and melanin-bearing …

Melanin, and other pigments have recently been shown to preserve over geologic time
scales, and are found in several different organisms. This opens up the possibility of …

Well-preserved fossils of pivotal early bird and nonavian theropod species have provided
unequivocal evidence for feathers and/or downlike integuments. Recent studies have …

Throughout the animal kingdom, adaptive colouration serves critical functions ranging from
inconspicuous camouflage to ostentatious sexual display, and can provide important …

Recent discoveries of nonintegumentary melanosomes in extant and fossil amphibians offer
potential insights into the physiological functions of melanin not directly related to color …