Re: Archaeopteryx had black feathers

[Matthew Martyniuk <martyniuk@gmail.com>]

I believe the holotype was re-assigned due to the fact that anchoring
a name on an isolated feather is a recipe for a numen dubium, so it is
a valid issue. However, as there are no other generally recognized
aviremigian species in the Solnhoffen deposits (we've got 11 specimens
of A. lithographica and nothing else) it's a reasonable guess that the
feather belongs to A. lithographica.

Would be interesting to see someone examine the melanosomes from a
skeletal specimen and verify or falsify the presence of black coverts
(of course there could be sexual dimorphism, subspecific variation,
ontogenetic variation, seasonal variation, etc. to consider, but a
positive match would be something).

Matt

On Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 4:50 PM, Mike Taylor <mike@indexdata.com> wrote:
> Yes ... but since a new holotype has been designated by a recent
> decision of the ICZN Executive (the London specimen), the question is
> still valid.  What's to say that the original feather belongs to [what
> we now know to be] Archaeopteryx?
>
> -- Mike.
>
>
> On 24 January 2012 21:46, Michael Lange <Michael.Lange@gmx.ch> wrote:
>> Because the name was given, by the German Palaeontologist Hermann von Meyer, 
>> to the feather, which was found first!
>>
>> Michael
>> -------- Original-Nachricht --------
>>> Datum: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:37:41 -0700
>>> Von: "Tiffany Miller" <MissRaptor@deadraccoon.com>
>>> An: dinosaur@usc.edu
>>> Betreff: RE: Archaeopteryx had black feathers
>>
>>> How do they know the isolated feather belongs to Archaeopteryx?
>>>
>>> ~Tiffany Miller
>>>
>>>
>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>        {"Science is not belief, but the will to find out"}
>>>                                          O
>>>                                              o    .     _______ ~~~~~
>>>                                                       /@ _____  <O>   \
>>>                                                      /___       __/    )
>>>                (http://www.deadraccoon.com)                ~~~         /
>>>                                                                \
>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu] On Behalf Of
>>> Ben Creisler
>>> Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 10:58 AM
>>> To: dinosaur@usc.edu
>>> Subject: Archaeopteryx had black feathers
>>>
>>> From: Ben Creisler
>>> bcreisler@gmail.com
>>>
>>>
>>> A new online article in Nature Communications:
>>>
>>>
>>> Ryan M. Carney, Jakob Vinther, Matthew D. Shawkey, Liliana D'Alba &
>>> Jörg Ackermann (2012)
>>> New evidence on the colour and nature of the isolated Archaeopteryx
>>> feather.
>>> Nature Communications 3 (637)
>>> doi:10.1038/ncomms1642  <a href="javascript:" 
>>> cref="CitaviPicker10.1038/ncomms1642"><img style="border: 0px none;" 
>>> src="data:image/png;base64,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!
>> QW4SzUHHIK9hdFdF/6P74h190EUl2ZTcr6MwqiOo+BUIxMospx4jCIk1JKpJFckMKVhIb/1RgQ5jBw65UfWgVoY+2vAY6HTDOvv+h4cRuZzF1rezNTYQn9v3DhyVCsjYxXt6t9ZV4f1vgzgZDJIDPcwB2JUjFUU71pU1GUrqvX02FJ2nDU/QkTznP1fHXHBQ4OLfwUYALhaDRT0WgkEAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC"
>>  title='Titel anhand dieser DOI in Citavi-Projekt übernehmen'/></a>
>>> http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v3/n1/full/ncomms1642.html
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Archaeopteryx has been regarded as an icon of evolution ever since its
>>> discovery from the Late Jurassic limestone deposits of Solnhofen,
>>> Germany in 1861. Here we report the first evidence of colour from
>>> Archaeopteryx based on fossilized colour-imparting melanosomes
>>> discovered in this isolated feather specimen. Using a phylogenetically
>>> diverse database of extant bird feathers, statistical analysis of
>>> melanosome morphology predicts that the original colour of this
>>> Archaeopteryx feather was black, with 95% probability. Furthermore,
>>> reexamination of the feather's morphology leads us to interpret it as
>>> an upper major primary covert, contrary to previous interpretations.
>>> Additional findings reveal that the specimen is preserved as an
>>> organosulphur residue, and that barbule microstructure identical to
>>> that of modern bird feathers had evolved as early as the Jurassic. As
>>> in extant birds, the extensive melanization would have provided
>>> structural advantages to the Archaeopteryx wing feather during this
>>> early evolutionary stage of dinosaur flight.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> News stories:
>>>
>>> http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-winged-dinosaur-archaeopteryx-flight.html
>>>
>>>
>>> http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2012/01/archaeopteryx
>>>
>>
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