HOW CONFIDENT ARE WE IN INTERPRETING THE FOSSIL RECORD OF MELANIN? (Invited Presentation)

Over the last twelve years, the palaeontological landscape has been transformed by the recognition that evidence of melanin can persist in fossils. Early research in the field focussed strongly on the applications of fossil melanin to inferences of integumentary colour, but today fossil melanin studies are more diverse and routinely incorporate aspects of melanin evolution, chemistry and taphonomy. Despite this expanded scope, however, melanin preservation remains incompletely resolved and our understanding of melanin evolution is limited by the discrete nature of, and minimal overlap between, many studies to date. More fundamentally, few studies on fossil melanin are underpinned by a robust taphonomic analysis and a clear evolutionary hypothesis. In this talk I will present a synopsis of current understanding of melanin preservation and I will outline how a more strategic approach to resolving the taphonomy and fossil record of melanin may shed light on key questions relating to the evolution of melanin and its functions.