In earlier analyses of S. jurassica fossils, researchers argued over whether the colors were truly authentic or produced by chemical processes during fossilization. Not even a trace of boron was found in surrounding sediments, however, so the specimens don’t appear to have picked it up from their environments. It’s all-natural.

“It is quite exciting to find anything colorful from organisms that existed at a time when dinosaurs ruled the world,” said Klaus Wolkenstein, a chemist at Austria’s Johannes Kepler University and co-author of the new analysis, published October 26 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Wolkenstein cautioned that fossilization may still have altered S. jurassica’s pigmentation, changing its hue to something less than exactly original. But it’s still close, and no other boron-containing biological pigments have ever been found, making S. jurassica’s color truly unique.

Asked whether such pigmentation might be engineered into a modern algae, Wolkenstein preferred to look for it in nature. Perhaps similar pigments still exist in modern red algae and have just been overlooked — a 150 million-year-old color hidden in front of our eyes.

Liliocrinus, a Jurassic-era sea lily that's also maintained some of its original pigmentation.

Images: 1) Solenopora jurassica./Klaus Wolkenstein. 2) A Jurassic-era sea lily, its pigmentation also preserved for 150 million years./Klaus Wolkenstein.

See Also:

• Green Sea Slug Is Part Animal, Part Plant
• Bizarre Sea Sponge Compound Finally Synthesized by Humans
• Perforated Blobs May Be Earliest Known Animals
• Newly Discovered Chlorophyll Catches Infrared Light
• Evidence of Modern Smarts in Stone Age Superglue

Citation: “Boron-containing organic pigments from a Jurassic red alga.” By Klaus Wolkenstein, Jürgen H. Gross, and Heinz Falk. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 107 No. 43, October 26, 2010.

Brandon’s Twitter stream, reportorial outtakes and citizen-funded White Nose Syndrome story; Wired Science on Twitter.

Authors: Brandon Keim

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