Ultraviolet Light Reveals Colorful Patterns in Ancient Seashells
Posted on April 4, 2015
Ancient seashells thought to be dull and white have been revealed to be very colorful thanks to ultraviolet light. Jonathan Hendricks from San Jose State University, CA placed the 4.8 million to 6.6 million year old fossil cone shells under ultraviolet light and the colorful patterns on the shells were revealed.
The top row of the above photograph shows the shells when photographed under regular light. Three new cone species are also described by Hendricks: Conus carlottae (left column), Conus garrisoni (middle column), and Conus bellacoensis (right column).
Hendricks says the organic matter remaining in the shells fluoresces when the fossils are placed under UV light. This reveals the original colors and coloration patterns in the shells. He says it remains unclear which compounds in the shell matrix are emitting light when exposed to UV rays.
Hendricks used the technique to study 28 different cone shell species from the northern Domican Republic. 13 of them appear to be new species. One of the newly described species, Conus carlottae, had a polka dot pattern that appears to be extinct among modern cone snails.
A research paper on the colorful cone shell patterns can be found in PLoS One.
Photo: Jonathan Hendricks