Justyn, N.M., Nallapaneni, A., Parnell, A.J. orcid.org/0000-0001-8606-8644 et al. (2 more authors) (2022) A synergistic combination of structural and pigmentary colour produces non-spectral colour in the purple-breasted cotinga, Cotinga cotinga (Passeriformes: Cotingidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 135 (1). pp. 62-70. ISSN 0024-4066
Abstract
Most studies of animal coloration focus on spectral colours, which are colours evoked by single peaks within the wavelengths of visible light. It is poorly understood how non-spectral colours (those produced by a combination of reflectance peaks) are produced, despite their potential significance to both animal communication and biomimicry. Moreover, although both pigmentary and structural colour production mechanisms have been well characterized in feathers independently, their interactions have received considerably less attention, despite their potential to broaden the available colour spectrum. Here, we investigate the colour production mechanisms of the purple feathers of the purple-breasted cotinga (Cotinga cotinga). The purple feather colour results from both the coherent scattering of light by a sphere-type nanomatrix of β-keratin and air (spongy layer) in the barbs, which produces a blue–green colour, and the selective absorption of light in the centre of the bird-visible spectrum by the methoxy-carotenoid, cotingin. This unusual combination of carotenoid and nanostructure with a central air vacuole, in the absence of melanin, is a blueprint of a synergistic way to produce a non-spectral colour that would be difficult to achieve with only a single colour production mechanism.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Linnean Society of London. |
Keywords: | carotenoids; cotinga; electron microscopy; nanostructures; small-angle X-ray scattering; structurally coloured feathers |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 25 Mar 2022 08:36 |
Last Modified: | 25 Mar 2022 08:36 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press (OUP) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/biolinnean/blab144 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:184885 |