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Abstract:
The astonishing complexity of animal color patterns has fascinated scientists for a long time. The melanocytes of mammals and birds can either produce black and brownish eumelanin or yellowish pheomelanin. Different fur and plumage color patterns are generated by spatial and temporal variations in the synthesis of these two melanin types (see (Hoekstra, 2006; Ito and Wakamatsu, 2003; Mills and Patterson, 2009) and references therein). Structural colors as well as reddish carotenoids additionally contribute to the colors of many birds (Mills and Patterson, 2009). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
