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Wakamatsu K, Ito S. Recent Advances in Characterization of Melanin Pigments in Biological Samples. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24098305. [PMID: 37176019 PMCID: PMC10179066 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24098305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2023] [Revised: 04/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The melanin pigments eumelanin (EM) and pheomelanin (PM), which are dark brown to black and yellow to reddish-brown, respectively, are widely found among vertebrates. They are produced in melanocytes in the epidermis, hair follicles, the choroid, the iris, the inner ear, and other tissues. The diversity of colors in animals is mainly caused by the quantity and quality of their melanin, such as by the ratios of EM versus PM. We have developed micro-analytical methods to simultaneously measure EM and PM and used these to study the biochemical and genetic fundamentals of pigmentation. The photoreactivity of melanin has become a major focus of research because of the postulated relevance of EM and PM for the risk of UVA-induced melanoma. Our biochemical methods have found application in many clinical studies on genetic conditions associated with alterations in pigmentation. Recently, besides chemical degradative methods, other methods have been developed for the characterization of melanin, and these are also discussed here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazumasa Wakamatsu
- Institute for Melanin Chemistry, Fujita Health University, Toyoake 470-192, Aichi, Japan
| | - Shosuke Ito
- Institute for Melanin Chemistry, Fujita Health University, Toyoake 470-192, Aichi, Japan
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Jarenmark M, Sjövall P, Ito S, Wakamatsu K, Lindgren J. Chemical Evaluation of Eumelanin Maturation by ToF-SIMS and Alkaline Peroxide Oxidation HPLC Analysis. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 22:ijms22010161. [PMID: 33375233 PMCID: PMC7796430 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22010161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Residual melanins have been detected in multimillion-year-old animal body fossils; however, confident identification and characterization of these natural pigments remain challenging due to loss of chemical signatures during diagenesis. Here, we simulate this post-burial process through artificial maturation experiments using three synthetic and one natural eumelanin exposed to mild (100 °C/100 bar) and harsh (250 °C/200 bar) environmental conditions, followed by chemical analysis employing alkaline hydrogen peroxide oxidation (AHPO) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). Our results show that AHPO is sensitive to changes in the melanin molecular structure already during mild heat and pressure treatment (resulting, e.g., in increased C-C cross-linking), whereas harsh maturation leads to extensive loss of eumelanin-specific chemical markers. In contrast, negative-ion ToF-SIMS spectra are considerably less affected by mild maturation conditions, and eumelanin-specific features remain even after harsh treatment. Detailed analysis of ToF-SIMS spectra acquired prior to experimental treatment revealed significant differences between the investigated eumelanins. However, systematic spectral changes upon maturation reduced these dissimilarities, indicating that intense heat and pressure treatment leads to the formation of a common, partially degraded, eumelanin molecular structure. Our findings elucidate the complementary nature of AHPO and ToF-SIMS during chemical characterization of eumelanin traces in fossilized organismal remains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Jarenmark
- Department of Geology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden;
- Correspondence: (M.J.); (P.S.)
| | - Peter Sjövall
- The Materials and Production Division, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, 501 15 Borås, Sweden
- Correspondence: (M.J.); (P.S.)
| | - Shosuke Ito
- Institute for Melanin Chemistry, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi 470-1192, Japan; (S.I.); (K.W.)
| | - Kazumasa Wakamatsu
- Institute for Melanin Chemistry, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Aichi 470-1192, Japan; (S.I.); (K.W.)
| | - Johan Lindgren
- Department of Geology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden;
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Abstract
In all arthropods the plesiomorphic (ancestral character state) kind of visual system commonly is considered to be the compound eye. Here we are able to show the excellently preserved internal structures of the compound eye of a 429 Mya old Silurian trilobite, Aulacopleura koninckii (Barrande, 1846). It shows the characteristic elements of a modern apposition eye, consisting of 8 (visible) receptor cells, a rhabdom, a thick lens, screening pigment (cells), and in contrast to a modern type, putatively just a very thin crystalline cone. Functionally the latter underlines the idea of a primarily calcitic character of the lens because of its high refractive properties. Perhaps the trilobite was translucent. We show that this Palaeozoic trilobite in principle was equipped with a fully modern type of visual system, a compound eye comparable to that of living bees, dragonflies and many diurnal crustaceans. It is an example of excellent preservation, and we hope that this manuscript will be a starting point for more research work on fossil evidence, and to develop a deeper understanding of the evolution of vision.
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Li Q, Clarke JA, Gao KQ, Peteya JA, Shawkey MD. Elaborate plumage patterning in a Cretaceous bird. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5831. [PMID: 30405969 PMCID: PMC6216952 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2018] [Accepted: 09/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Integumentary patterns and colors can differentiate species, sexes, and life changes and can inform on habitat and ecology. However, they are rarely preserved in the fossil record. Here, we report on an extremely well-preserved specimen of the Cretaceous bird Confuciusornis with unprecedented complexity, including small spots on the wings, crest, and throat. Morphological and chemical evidence suggest that these patterns are produced by melanin, but unusual preservation prevents assignment of specific colors. Based on comparisons with extant birds, these patterns were likely used for camouflage, although other functions including sexual signaling cannot be ruled out. Our data show that even more elaborate plumage patterns than the spangles in Anchiornis and stripes in Sinosauropteryx were present at a relatively early stage of avian evolution, showing the significance of coloration and patterning to feather evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quanguo Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
| | - Julia A Clarke
- Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Ke-Qin Gao
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | | | - Matthew D Shawkey
- Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures Group, Department of Biology, University of Ghent, Belgium
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Gabbott SE, Donoghue PCJ, Sansom RS, Vinther J, Dolocan A, Purnell MA. Pigmented anatomy in Carboniferous cyclostomes and the evolution of the vertebrate eye. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.1151. [PMID: 27488650 PMCID: PMC5013770 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2016] [Accepted: 07/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The success of vertebrates is linked to the evolution of a camera-style eye and sophisticated visual system. In the absence of useful data from fossils, scenarios for evolutionary assembly of the vertebrate eye have been based necessarily on evidence from development, molecular genetics and comparative anatomy in living vertebrates. Unfortunately, steps in the transition from a light-sensitive ‘eye spot’ in invertebrate chordates to an image-forming camera-style eye in jawed vertebrates are constrained only by hagfish and lampreys (cyclostomes), which are interpreted to reflect either an intermediate or degenerate condition. Here, we report—based on evidence of size, shape, preservation mode and localized occurrence—the presence of melanosomes (pigment-bearing organelles) in fossil cyclostome eyes. Time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analyses reveal secondary ions with a relative intensity characteristic of melanin as revealed through principal components analyses. Our data support the hypotheses that extant hagfish eyes are degenerate, not rudimentary, that cyclostomes are monophyletic, and that the ancestral vertebrate had a functional visual system. We also demonstrate integument pigmentation in fossil lampreys, opening up the exciting possibility of investigating colour patterning in Palaeozoic vertebrates. The examples we report add to the record of melanosome preservation in Carboniferous fossils and attest to surprising durability of melanosomes and biomolecular melanin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Gabbott
- Department of Geology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | | | - Robert S Sansom
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M20 6RT, UK
| | - Jakob Vinther
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
| | - Andrei Dolocan
- Texas Materials Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Mark A Purnell
- Department of Geology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
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Tanaka G, Zhou B, Zhang Y, Siveter DJ, Parker AR. Rods and cones in an enantiornithine bird eye from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota. Heliyon 2017; 3:e00479. [PMID: 29387816 PMCID: PMC5772835 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2017] [Revised: 08/22/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Extant birds have an extensive spectral range of colour vision among vertebrates, but evidence of colour vision among extinct birds has hitherto been lacking. An exceptionally well-preserved extinct enantiornithine fossil bird from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation (120 Ma) of Liaoning, China, provides the first report of mineralised soft tissue of a bird eye. Cone cells are identified, which have preserved oil droplets falling between wide ranges of size that can be compared with an extant house sparrow. The size distribution of oil droplets of extant birds demonstrates good correlation between size and the detectable wavelength range of the cone cells: UV-sensitive cones contain the smallest oil droplets, while red-sensitive cones possess the largest. The data suggests that this Early Cretaceous bird could have possessed colour vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gengo Tanaka
- Institute of Liberal Arts and Science, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan
| | - Baochun Zhou
- Shanghai Natural History Museum, 510 West Beijing Road, Shanghai 200041, China
| | - Yunfei Zhang
- Shanghai Natural History Museum, 510 West Beijing Road, Shanghai 200041, China
| | - David J. Siveter
- School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Andrew R. Parker
- Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, 43 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6HG, UK
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Lindgren J, Moyer A, Schweitzer MH, Sjövall P, Uvdal P, Nilsson DE, Heimdal J, Engdahl A, Gren JA, Schultz BP, Kear BP. Interpreting melanin-based coloration through deep time: a critical review. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:20150614. [PMID: 26290071 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Colour, derived primarily from melanin and/or carotenoid pigments, is integral to many aspects of behaviour in living vertebrates, including social signalling, sexual display and crypsis. Thus, identifying biochromes in extinct animals can shed light on the acquisition and evolution of these biological traits. Both eumelanin and melanin-containing cellular organelles (melanosomes) are preserved in fossils, but recognizing traces of ancient melanin-based coloration is fraught with interpretative ambiguity, especially when observations are based on morphological evidence alone. Assigning microbodies (or, more often reported, their 'mouldic impressions') as melanosome traces without adequately excluding a bacterial origin is also problematic because microbes are pervasive and intimately involved in organismal degradation. Additionally, some forms synthesize melanin. In this review, we survey both vertebrate and microbial melanization, and explore the conflicts influencing assessment of microbodies preserved in association with ancient animal soft tissues. We discuss the types of data used to interpret fossil melanosomes and evaluate whether these are sufficient for definitive diagnosis. Finally, we outline an integrated morphological and geochemical approach for detecting endogenous pigment remains and associated microstructures in multimillion-year-old fossils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan Lindgren
- Department of Geology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Alison Moyer
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Mary H Schweitzer
- Department of Geology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
| | - Peter Sjövall
- SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Chemistry, Materials and Surfaces, 501 15 Borås, Sweden
| | - Per Uvdal
- MAX-IV laboratory, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden Chemical Physics, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Dan E Nilsson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Jimmy Heimdal
- MAX-IV laboratory, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Johan A Gren
- Department of Geology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Benjamin P Kear
- Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden Palaeobiology Programme, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
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New Insights in the Ontogeny and Taphonomy of the Devonian Acanthodian Triazeugacanthus affinis From the Miguasha Fossil-Lagerstätte, Eastern Canada. MINERALS 2015. [DOI: 10.3390/min6010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Vinther J. Fossil melanosomes or bacteria? A wealth of findings favours melanosomes: Melanin fossilises relatively readily, bacteria rarely, hence the need for clarification in the debate over the identity of microbodies in fossil animal specimens. Bioessays 2015; 38:220-5. [PMID: 26692172 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201500168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The discovery of fossil melanosomes has resulted in a wealth of research over the last 7 years, notably the reconstruction of colour in dinosaurs and fossil mammals. In spite of these discoveries some authors persist in arguing that the observed microbodies could represent preserved bacteria. They contend that bacteria fossilise easily and everywhere, which means that one can never be certain that a microbody is a melanosome without an extraordinary burden of evidence. However, this critique mischaracterises the morphological and structural evidence for interpreting microbodies as fossil melanosomes, and hence the basis for using them in reconstructing prehistoric colours. The claims for bacterial omnipresence in the fossil record are themselves not supported, thus tipping the scales strongly towards melanosomes in the bacteria-versus-melanosome controversy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Vinther
- Schools of Earth Sciences and Biological Sciences, Life Sciences Building University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
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Schweitzer MH, Lindgren J, Moyer AE. Melanosomes and ancient coloration re-examined: A response to Vinther 2015 (DOI 10.1002/bies.201500018). Bioessays 2015; 37:1174-83. [PMID: 26434749 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201500061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Round to elongate microbodies associated with fossil vertebrate soft tissues were interpreted as microbial traces until 2008, when they were re-described as remnant melanosomes - intracellular, pigment-containing eukaryotic organelles. Since then, multiple claims for melanosome preservation and inferences of organismal color, behavior, and physiology have been advanced, based upon the shape and size of these microstructures. Here, we re-examine evidence for ancient melanosomes in light of information reviewed in Vinther (2015), and literature regarding the preservation potential of microorganisms and their exopolymeric secretions. We: (i) address statements in Vinther's recent (2015) review that are incorrect or which misrepresent published data; (ii) discuss the need for caution in interpreting "voids" and microbodies associated with degraded fossil soft tissues; (iii) present evidence that microorganisms are in many cases an equally parsimonious source for these "voids" as are remnant melanosomes; and (iv) suggest methods/criteria for differentiating melanosomes from microbial traces in the fossil record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary H Schweitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.,North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, USA.,Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Alison E Moyer
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
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Chemical, experimental, and morphological evidence for diagenetically altered melanin in exceptionally preserved fossils. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:12592-7. [PMID: 26417094 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1509831112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In living organisms, color patterns, behavior, and ecology are closely linked. Thus, detection of fossil pigments may permit inferences about important aspects of ancient animal ecology and evolution. Melanin-bearing melanosomes were suggested to preserve as organic residues in exceptionally preserved fossils, retaining distinct morphology that is associated with aspects of original color patterns. Nevertheless, these oblong and spherical structures have also been identified as fossilized bacteria. To date, chemical studies have not directly considered the effects of diagenesis on melanin preservation, and how this may influence its identification. Here we use time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry to identify and chemically characterize melanin in a diverse sample of previously unstudied extant and fossil taxa, including fossils with notably different diagenetic histories and geologic ages. We document signatures consistent with melanin preservation in fossils ranging from feathers, to mammals, to amphibians. Using principal component analyses, we characterize putative mixtures of eumelanin and phaeomelanin in both fossil and extant samples. Surprisingly, both extant and fossil amphibians generally exhibit melanosomes with a mixed eumelanin/phaeomelanin composition rather than pure eumelanin, as assumed previously. We argue that experimental maturation of modern melanin samples replicates diagenetic chemical alteration of melanin observed in fossils. This refutes the hypothesis that such fossil microbodies could be bacteria, and demonstrates that melanin is widely responsible for the organic soft tissue outlines in vertebrates found at exceptional fossil localities, thus allowing for the reconstruction of certain aspects of original pigment patterns.
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Lindgren J, Sjövall P, Carney RM, Cincotta A, Uvdal P, Hutcheson SW, Gustafsson O, Lefèvre U, Escuillié F, Heimdal J, Engdahl A, Gren JA, Kear BP, Wakamatsu K, Yans J, Godefroit P. Molecular composition and ultrastructure of Jurassic paravian feathers. Sci Rep 2015; 5:13520. [PMID: 26311035 PMCID: PMC4550916 DOI: 10.1038/srep13520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2015] [Accepted: 07/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Feathers are amongst the most complex epidermal structures known, and they have a well-documented evolutionary trajectory across non-avian dinosaurs and basal birds. Moreover, melanosome-like microbodies preserved in association with fossil plumage have been used to reconstruct original colour, behaviour and physiology. However, these putative ancient melanosomes might alternatively represent microorganismal residues, a conflicting interpretation compounded by a lack of unambiguous chemical data. We therefore used sensitive molecular imaging, supported by multiple independent analytical tests, to demonstrate that the filamentous epidermal appendages in a new specimen of the Jurassic paravian Anchiornis comprise remnant eumelanosomes and fibril-like microstructures, preserved as endogenous eumelanin and authigenic calcium phosphate. These results provide novel insights into the early evolution of feathers at the sub-cellular level, and unequivocally determine that melanosomes can be preserved in fossil feathers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johan Lindgren
- Department of Geology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Peter Sjövall
- SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, Chemistry, Materials and Surfaces, 501 15 Borås, Sweden
| | - Ryan M Carney
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02906, USA
| | - Aude Cincotta
- Operational Direction 'Earth and History of Life', Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 1000 Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Geology, University of Namur, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Per Uvdal
- MAX-IV laboratory, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden.,Chemical Physics, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Steven W Hutcheson
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| | - Ola Gustafsson
- Department of Biology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Ulysse Lefèvre
- Operational Direction 'Earth and History of Life', Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 1000 Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Geology, Liège University, 4000 Liège, Belgium
| | | | - Jimmy Heimdal
- MAX-IV laboratory, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Johan A Gren
- Department of Geology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Benjamin P Kear
- Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden.,Palaeobiology Programme, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Kazumasa Wakamatsu
- Department of Chemistry, Fujita Health University School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Aichi 470-1192, Japan
| | - Johan Yans
- Department of Geology, University of Namur, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Pascal Godefroit
- Operational Direction 'Earth and History of Life', Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
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