Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Geoffrey AbbottORCiD
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
Brachiopods contain both proteins and lipids within the biocrystals of their shell. One intracrystalline chromoprotein causes red shell coloration, whereas the other molecules may be involved with biomineralization, may strengthen the biocrystal, or may simply have been inadvertently engulfed by calcite during shell growth. Evidence is presented which suggests that at least some of the breakdown products of indigeneous intracrystalline molecules can be recovered from the biocrystals of fossil brachiopod shells. Investigations of the remains of these intracrystalline molecules in fossils have geological application in fields such as environmental reconstruction, isotopic determinations, taxonomy and the interpretation of colour in extinct organisms.
Author(s): Curry GB, Cusack M, Walton D, Endo K, Clegg H, Abbott GD, Armstrong H
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Proceedings of The Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences
Year: 1991
Volume: 333
Issue: 1268
Pages: 359-366
Print publication date: 01/09/1991
ISSN (print): 0080-4649
ISSN (electronic): 1471-2954
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1991.0085
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.1991.0085
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
