Glowing fossils: fluorescence reveals colour patterns of earliest scallops

Scallop Pleuronectites from the Triassic period with fluorescent colour pattern; left under normal light, right under UV light. Photo: Klaus Wolkenstein Göttingen University geobiologist discovers diversity of patterns in 240 million-year-old seashells UV light makes it possible to see intricate structures of fossils that are barely visible in normal daylight. This method has often been used on the fossilised seashells from the Earth's current geological era to reveal patterns of colour that had long since faded away. Now, research by a scientist from the University of Göttingen shows that fluorescent colour patterns can even be found in shells that are around 240 million years old, from the Earth's Mesozoic Era. This makes them the oldest fluorescent colour patterns found so far. The results of this study have been published in the journal Palaeontology. Colour pattern variations in the fossil scallop Pleuronectites.