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New evidence on the colour and nature of the isolated Archaeopteryx feather

Overview of attention for article published in Nature Communications, January 2012
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (99th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (98th percentile)

Mentioned by

news
15 news outlets
blogs
9 blogs
twitter
49 X users
facebook
5 Facebook pages
wikipedia
12 Wikipedia pages
googleplus
4 Google+ users
reddit
1 Redditor
video
4 YouTube creators

Citations

dimensions_citation
73 Dimensions

Readers on

mendeley
140 Mendeley
Title
New evidence on the colour and nature of the isolated Archaeopteryx feather
Published in
Nature Communications, January 2012
DOI 10.1038/ncomms1642
Pubmed ID
Authors

Ryan M. Carney, Jakob Vinther, Matthew D. Shawkey, Liliana D'Alba, Jörg Ackermann

Abstract

Archaeopteryx has been regarded as an icon of evolution ever since its discovery from the Late Jurassic limestone deposits of Solnhofen, Germany in 1861. Here we report the first evidence of colour from Archaeopteryx based on fossilized colour-imparting melanosomes discovered in this isolated feather specimen. Using a phylogenetically diverse database of extant bird feathers, statistical analysis of melanosome morphology predicts that the original colour of this Archaeopteryx feather was black, with 95% probability. Furthermore, reexamination of the feather's morphology leads us to interpret it as an upper major primary covert, contrary to previous interpretations. Additional findings reveal that the specimen is preserved as an organosulphur residue, and that barbule microstructure identical to that of modern bird feathers had evolved as early as the Jurassic. As in extant birds, the extensive melanization would have provided structural advantages to the Archaeopteryx wing feather during this early evolutionary stage of dinosaur flight.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 49 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 140 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United Kingdom 5 4%
United States 4 3%
New Zealand 2 1%
France 1 <1%
Argentina 1 <1%
Taiwan 1 <1%
Unknown 126 90%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 30 21%
Student > Bachelor 28 20%
Researcher 23 16%
Student > Master 10 7%
Professor 8 6%
Other 16 11%
Unknown 25 18%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 51 36%
Earth and Planetary Sciences 40 29%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 4 3%
Environmental Science 4 3%
Physics and Astronomy 3 2%
Other 10 7%
Unknown 28 20%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 235. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 21 October 2023.
All research outputs
#156,094
of 24,940,046 outputs
Outputs from Nature Communications
#2,206
of 54,625 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#739
of 257,427 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Nature Communications
#3
of 133 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 24,940,046 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 54,625 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 55.8. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 95% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 257,427 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 133 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 98% of its contemporaries.