An international collaboration led by researchers at The University of Manchester has for the first time revealed chemical traces of pigments in bird, fish and squid fossils, some over 100 million ...

Though skin cancer is deadly to male fish, it also has one perk: The black melanoma splotches arise from attractive natural markings that lure female mates. A new study shows that the melanoma gene ...

The genetic underpinnings of pigmentation and colour patterning in fish encompass a complex interplay of gene regulation, cell fate determination and evolutionary innovation. Neural crest cells, which ...

Scientists have long puzzled over how animals’ stripes, spots, dots, blazes and other color patterns arise. One of the most popular theories was proposed in 1952 by British mathematician Alan Turing, ...

Researchers report in Science Express that they have taken a big step in determining what the first birds looked like more than 100 million years ago, when their relatives, the dinosaurs, still ruled ...

The chromatophore pattern on oval squid Left, a picture of a six-week old squid, with (right) a zoom in on the chromatophore pattern, with chromatophores highlighted by green dotted circles. The ...

I found this leaf (pictured, right) in a park in Oslo a few weeks ago. What is the explanation for this pattern of green pigmentation? Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox! We'll also keep ...

New research shows fossil skin can reveal color patterns in young Diplodocus, changing old ideas about sauropod appearance.

How the leopard got its spots and the zebra its stripes might not be just-so stories much longer. Biologists are beginning to pinpoint the molecular mechanisms animals use to deck themselves out with ...

ATHENS, Ohio (Aug. 18, 2008) — Though skin cancer is deadly to male fish, it also has one perk: The black melanoma splotches arise from attractive natural markings that lure female mates. A new study ...

Publishing their findings in Science, the researchers have been able to show a remarkable relationship between copper and pigment within exceptionally preserved feathers and other soft tissues.