Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/2440/67056
Citations | ||
Scopus | Web of Science® | Altmetric |
---|---|---|
?
|
?
|
Type: | Journal article |
Title: | Detecting pigments from colourful eggshells of extinct birds |
Author: | Igic, B. Greenwood, D. Palmer, D. Cassey, P. Gill, B. Grim, T. Brennan, P. Bassett, S. Battley, P. Hauber, M. |
Citation: | Chemoecology: evolutionary, mechanistic and environmental approaches to chemically-mediated interaction, 2010; 20(1):43-48 |
Publisher: | Birkhauser Verlag Ag |
Issue Date: | 2010 |
ISSN: | 0937-7409 1423-0445 |
Statement of Responsibility: | Branislav Igic, David R. Greenwood, David J. Palmer, Phillip Cassey, Brian J. Gill, Tomas Grim, Patricia L. R. Brennan, Suzanne M. Bassett, Phil F. Battley and Mark E. Hauber |
Abstract: | The known chemical basis of diverse avian eggshell coloration is generated by the same two classes of tetrapyrrole pigments in most living birds. We aimed to extend the evolutionary scope of these patterns by detecting pigments from extinct birds’ eggs. In our samples biliverdin was successfully extracted from subfossil shell fragments of the blue-green egg-laying upland moa Megalapteryx didinus, while protoporphyrin was extracted from the beige eggs of two other extinct moa species. Our data on pigment detection from eggshells of other extant paleognath birds, together with published information on other modern lineages, confirm tetrapyrroles as ubiquitous and conserved pigments contributing to diverse eggshell colours throughout avian evolution. |
Keywords: | Egg matrix Pigmentation Radiation Ratite |
Rights: | Copyright Birkhauser Verlag, Basel/Switzerland 2009 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s00049-009-0038-2 |
Published version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00049-009-0038-2 |
Appears in Collections: | Aurora harvest Earth and Environmental Sciences publications Environment Institute Leaders publications |
Files in This Item:
There are no files associated with this item.
Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.