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The cause of 50 million-year-old colour
Andrew R Parker1, David R McKenzie
1Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. andrew.parker@zoo.ox.ac.uk
Abstract:
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.
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