The cause of 50 million-year-old colour.
Multilayer reflectors cause structural, 'metallic' colours in a diversity of animals today, yet are unknown in extinct species. We identify a multilayer reflector, causing structural colour, in a 50-million-year-old beetle from Messel, Germany. It is proposed that the original material of this reflector has been preserved, although this is not a precondition for determining original colours from ancient multilayer reflectors. Therefore, the potential exists to reveal the original colours of other (particularly arthropod) extinct species.
Parker
Andrew R
AR
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. andrew.parker@zoo.ox.ac.uk
McKenzie
David R
DR
D000818:Animals; D001517:Coleoptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D003116:Color; D005580:Fossils; D005858:Germany; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000648:ultrastructure*