VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL MEDIA: 3 million year old fossilised mouse reveals evolutionary secrets of colour

    Press/Media: Research

    Description

    The evolutionary use of colour for mammal’s survival in the wild is evident from, red foxes, to zebras. Today an international team, led by researchers from The University of Manchester, publish research revealing the evidence of colourful pigments from ancient mouse remains.

    https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/3-million-year-old-fossilised-mouse-reveals-evolutionary-secrets-of-colour/

     

    Period21 May 2019

    Media coverage

    3

    Media coverage

    • Title3 million-year-old 'mighty mouse' fossil still has red fur
      Media name/outletCNN
      Media typeWeb
      Country/TerritoryUnited States
      Date21/05/19
      DescriptionA few million years ago, a little red mouse with a tiny white belly ran through the fields of what's now a German village named Willershausen. Researchers know that because they found an incredibly well-preserved fossil of the now-extinct mouse, which they dubbed "mighty mouse." And the technology they used to study it could change the way scientists study the fossil record.
      URLhttps://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/21/world/three-million-year-old-mouse-fossil-scn/index.html
      PersonsPhillip Manning
    • TitleThree-million-year old 'Mighty Mouse' had RED fur: Extinct mouse with a ginger back and a tiny white tummy is the first fossil ever found with red pigment
      Media name/outletMail Online
      Media typeWeb
      Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
      Date21/05/19
      DescriptionX-rays from an extinct mouse fossil dating back three million years have revealed ancient red coloured pigment for the first time ever.

      Researchers found that the well-preserved animal was much like an everyday field mouse but had reddish fur on its back and sides, and a tiny white tummy.

      Not unlike a field mouse, the creature - nicknamed 'Mighty Mouse' by the research team - is thought to have lived in what is now the German village of Willershausen.
      URLhttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7052849/Mouse-lived-three-million-years-ago-oldest-animal-RED.html
      PersonsPhillip Manning, Roy Wogelius
    • TitleThis 3-million-year-old mouse just gave scientists the key to decoding ancient red pigments
      Media name/outletScience
      Media typeWeb
      Country/TerritoryUnited States
      Date21/05/19
      DescriptionFiguring out the colors of fossilized animals used to be complete guesswork—even in the rare finds containing bits of feathers, scales, or fur, the original hues in such soft tissues are usually long gone. Now, for the first time, researchers have been able to identify the chemical signature of the pigment that gives red hair its color in the fossil of an ancient mouse—using a new technique that leaves precious fossil specimens intact.
      URLhttps://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/05/3-million-year-old-mouse-just-gave-scientists-key-decoding-ancient-red-pigments
      PersonsRoy Wogelius

    Keywords

    • palaeontology
    • extinct animals