Melanin concentration gradients in modern and fossil feathers.

In birds and feathered non-avian dinosaurs, within-feather pigmentation patterns range from discrete spots and stripes to more subtle patterns, but the latter remain largely unstudied. A ∼55 million year old fossil contour feather with a dark distal tip grading into a lighter base was recovered from...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Daniel J Field, Liliana D'Alba, Jakob Vinther, Samuel M Webb, William Gearty, Matthew D Shawkey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3608712?pdf=render