UV light reveals hidden colors in ancient shells

Excerpt from perfscience.com

Using ultra-violet (UV) light, scientists have revealed astonishing

colors of about 30 ancient seashells. According to PLOS, the seashells,

which are estimated to be between 6.6 and 4.8 million years old, were

looking white in regular white light. The true colors of the shells

appeared in UV light.

 

According to the researchers, “The biology of modern Conidae (cone

snails)-which includes the hyperdiverse genus Conus-has been intensively

studied, but the fossil record of the clade remains poorly understood,

particularly within an evolutionary framework”.

In the presence of UV light, the organic matter remaining in the

shells fluoresces. With this, the shells appeared similar to what they

looked when living creatures used to live in them. It is yet unclear

which particular compounds in the shells are releasing the light when

exposed to UV rays. With the help of the technique, the researchers were able to document

the coloration patterns of 28 different cone shell species found in the

Dominican Republic. Out of these 28 shells, 13 were found to be the

species, which were not known earlier. And this could help know about

the relationship between modern species.

San Jose State University geologist Jonathan Hendricks exposed over 350 fossil specimens to ultraviolet light. 

The coloration patterns of the ancient species were compared with

existing animals and doing this, researchers found many displayed

similarities. According to this finding, some modern species emerge from

lineages. These lineages began in the Caribbean millions of years ago.

The newly distinguished species, Conus carlottae, was also among the

newly distinguished species and it has a polka-dotted shell, which is

not found in modern cone snails today. Researchers are now using UV

light to emit color from porcelain white seashell fossils.

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UV light reveals hidden colors in ancient shells