A unique hollow melanosome morphology in the hairs of the platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus
- Author
- Jessica Leigh Dobson (UGent) , Frane Babarović (UGent) , Wanjie Xie (UGent) , Michaël Nicolaï (UGent) , Gerben Debruyn (UGent) , Karen De Clerck (UGent) , Matthew Shawkey (UGent) and Liliana D'Alba Altamirano (UGent)
- Organization
- Project
-
- Optimising Acoustic Camouflage through Characterisation and Biomimicry of Moth Scales
- Mechanisms and evolution of mammalian hair color
- Genesis: GENomics and Evolution of Structural Iridescent Signals.
- Structurally coloured melanin-based thermal management textiles
- Elucidating the development of biological optical nanostructures
- The molecular and developmental bases of iridescent feathers
- Abstract
- Melanin pigments are ubiquitous and serve diverse functions, including UV protection and colour production. In vertebrates, they are housed in organelles called melanosomes that typically vary in shape from spherical to rod-like, but can also adopt unusual morphologies, such as flatness or hollowness. For over 50 years, it was thought that melanosome hollowness occurred only in birds and always alongside elongation, where hollow rods or platelets form organized nanostructures that produce brilliant iridescent colours. Here, we present the first description of hollow, spherical melanosomes in mammals, from the hairs of the platypus (Monotremata: Ornithorhynchus anatinus). By contrast, we found no evidence of hollow melanosomes in the other two monotreme genera or in any other mammal so far examined (from a combined dataset of 126 species encompassing 103 genera). These spherical, hollow platypus melanosomes are unique among vertebrates and, surprisingly, only produce brown coloration, suggesting a potential function unrelated to colour or a non-adaptive origin. This finding provides exciting new avenues of research into mammal melanogenesis and the evolution of melanosomes.
- Keywords
- melanin, hollow melanosomes, mammal coloration, platypus, hair nanostructure, EVOLUTION, MELANIN, PATTERNS
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01KMZG561X37GQ17AX82D5SX3H
- MLA
- Dobson, Jessica Leigh, et al. “A Unique Hollow Melanosome Morphology in the Hairs of the Platypus Ornithorhynchus Anatinus.” BIOLOGY LETTERS, vol. 22, no. 3, 2026, doi:10.1098/rsbl.2025.0721.
- APA
- Dobson, J. L., Babarović, F., Xie, W., Nicolaï, M., Debruyn, G., De Clerck, K., … D’Alba Altamirano, L. (2026). A unique hollow melanosome morphology in the hairs of the platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus. BIOLOGY LETTERS, 22(3). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0721
- Chicago author-date
- Dobson, Jessica Leigh, Frane Babarović, Wanjie Xie, Michaël Nicolaï, Gerben Debruyn, Karen De Clerck, Matthew Shawkey, and Liliana D’Alba Altamirano. 2026. “A Unique Hollow Melanosome Morphology in the Hairs of the Platypus Ornithorhynchus Anatinus.” BIOLOGY LETTERS 22 (3). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0721.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Dobson, Jessica Leigh, Frane Babarović, Wanjie Xie, Michaël Nicolaï, Gerben Debruyn, Karen De Clerck, Matthew Shawkey, and Liliana D’Alba Altamirano. 2026. “A Unique Hollow Melanosome Morphology in the Hairs of the Platypus Ornithorhynchus Anatinus.” BIOLOGY LETTERS 22 (3). doi:10.1098/rsbl.2025.0721.
- Vancouver
- 1.Dobson JL, Babarović F, Xie W, Nicolaï M, Debruyn G, De Clerck K, et al. A unique hollow melanosome morphology in the hairs of the platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus. BIOLOGY LETTERS. 2026;22(3).
- IEEE
- [1]J. L. Dobson et al., “A unique hollow melanosome morphology in the hairs of the platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus,” BIOLOGY LETTERS, vol. 22, no. 3, 2026.
@article{01KMZG561X37GQ17AX82D5SX3H,
abstract = {{Melanin pigments are ubiquitous and serve diverse functions, including UV protection and colour production. In vertebrates, they are housed in organelles called melanosomes that typically vary in shape from spherical to rod-like, but can also adopt unusual morphologies, such as flatness or hollowness. For over 50 years, it was thought that melanosome hollowness occurred only in birds and always alongside elongation, where hollow rods or platelets form organized nanostructures that produce brilliant iridescent colours. Here, we present the first description of hollow, spherical melanosomes in mammals, from the hairs of the platypus (Monotremata: Ornithorhynchus anatinus). By contrast, we found no evidence of hollow melanosomes in the other two monotreme genera or in any other mammal so far examined (from a combined dataset of 126 species encompassing 103 genera). These spherical, hollow platypus melanosomes are unique among vertebrates and, surprisingly, only produce brown coloration, suggesting a potential function unrelated to colour or a non-adaptive origin. This finding provides exciting new avenues of research into mammal melanogenesis and the evolution of melanosomes.}},
articleno = {{20250721}},
author = {{Dobson, Jessica Leigh and Babarović, Frane and Xie, Wanjie and Nicolaï, Michaël and Debruyn, Gerben and De Clerck, Karen and Shawkey, Matthew and D'Alba Altamirano, Liliana}},
issn = {{1744-9561}},
journal = {{BIOLOGY LETTERS}},
keywords = {{melanin,hollow melanosomes,mammal coloration,platypus,hair nanostructure,EVOLUTION,MELANIN,PATTERNS}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{7}},
title = {{A unique hollow melanosome morphology in the hairs of the platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0721}},
volume = {{22}},
year = {{2026}},
}
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