Abstract Fossils are a key source of data on the evolution of feather structure and function through deep time, but their ability to resolve macroevolutionary questions is compromised by an incomplete understanding of their taphonomy. Critically, the relative preservation potential of two key feather components, melanosomes and keratinous tissue, is not fully resolved. Recent studies suggesting that melanosomes are preferentially preserved conflict with observations that melanosomes preserve in fossil feathers as external moulds in an organic matrix. To date, there is no model to explain the latter mode of melanosome preservation. We addressed these issues by degrading feathers in systematic taphonomic experiments incorporating decay, maturation and oxidation in isolation and combination. Our results reveal that the production of mouldic melanosomes requires interactions with an oxidant and is most likely to occur prior to substantial maturation. This constrains the taphonomic conditions under which melanosomes are likely to be fossilized. Critically, our experiments also confirm that keratinous feather structures have a higher preservation potential than melanosomes under a range of diagenetic conditions, supporting hitherto controversial hypotheses that fossil feathers can retain degraded keratinous structures.

中文翻译：

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Taphonomic 实验解决了对羽毛中黑色素体和角质组织保存的控制

摘要 化石是深入研究羽毛结构和功能进化的重要数据来源，但对其埋藏学的不完整理解会损害它们解决宏观进化问题的能力。至关重要的是，两个关键羽毛成分、黑色素体和角质组织的相对保存潜力尚未完全解决。最近的研究表明，黑素体优先保存，这与黑素体作为有机基质中的外部霉菌保存在化石羽毛中的观察结果相冲突。迄今为止，还没有模型可以解释后一种黑素体保存模式。我们通过在系统的埋植学实验中降解羽毛来解决这些问题，这些实验包括单独和组合的腐烂、成熟和氧化。我们的结果表明霉菌黑素体的产生需要与氧化剂相互作用，并且最有可能发生在实质性成熟之前。这限制了黑素体可能化石化的埋藏条件。至关重要的是，我们的实验还证实，在一系列成岩条件下，角质羽毛结构比黑素体具有更高的保存潜力，支持迄今为止有争议的假设，即化石羽毛可以保留退化的角质结构。