HauberetalDryadDataJAB2018Final

Data used to generate the analyses and figures in our paper

Nature’s Palette: Characterization of Shared Pigments in Colorful Avian and Mollusk Shells

<div><p>Pigment-based coloration is a common trait found in a variety of organisms across the tree of life. For example, calcareous avian eggs are natural structures that vary greatly in color, yet just a handful of tetrapyrrole pigment compounds are responsible for generating this myriad of colors. To fully understand the diversity and constraints shaping nature’s palette, it is imperative to characterize the similarities and differences in the types of compounds involved in color production across diverse lineages. Pigment composition was investigated in eggshells of eleven paleognath bird taxa, covering several extinct and extant lineages, and shells of four extant species of mollusks. Birds and mollusks are two distantly related, calcareous shell-building groups, thus characterization of pigments in their calcareous structures would provide insights to whether similar compounds are found in different phyla (Chordata and Mollusca). An ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) extraction protocol was used to analyze the presence and concentration of biliverdin and protoporphyrin, two known and ubiquitous tetrapyrrole avian eggshell pigments, in all avian and molluscan samples. Biliverdin was solely detected in birds, including the colorful eggshells of four tinamou species. In contrast, protoporphyrin was detected in both the eggshells of several avian species and in the shells of all mollusks. These findings support previous hypotheses about the ubiquitous deposition of tetrapyrroles in the eggshells of various bird lineages and provide evidence for its presence also across distantly related animal taxa.</p></div

Relative concentration of biliverdin and protoporphyrin in avian eggshells in which pigment was detected.

<p>^aPaleognaths appear on the first half of the table and neognaths on the second half.</p><p>^bBiliverdin absorbance measured at 377 nm; protoporphyrin absorbance measured at 405 nm.</p><p>Relative concentration of biliverdin and protoporphyrin in avian eggshells in which pigment was detected.</p

Avian eggshell fragments and molluscan shells analyzed.

<p><b>(a)</b><i>Nothoprocta perdicaria</i><b>(b)</b><i>Eudromia elegans</i><b>(c)</b><i>Tinamus major</i><b>(d)</b><i>Nothura maculosa</i><b>(e)</b><i>Dromaius novaehollandiae</i><b>(f)</b><i>Casuarius casuarius</i><b>(g)</b><i>Struthio camelus</i><b>(h)</b><i>Rhea americana</i><b>(i)</b><i>Apteryx mantelli</i><b>(j)</b><i>Euryapteryx curtus</i><b>(k)</b><i>Aepyornis</i> sp. <b>(l)</b><i>Alligator mississippiensis</i><b>(m)</b><i>Hastula hectica</i><b>(n)</b><i>Conus purpurascens</i><b>(o)</b><i>Conus ebraeus</i><b>(p)</b><i>Argopecten</i> sp. Color sample card shown as color standard, sourced from Home Depot, Reno, NV (USA). Black scale bar 1 cm.</p