chris, is this simply wrong? And re: iridescence....

Posted by terry, albino tricolors on July 24, 2002 at 12:07:21:

In Reply to: Melanin is not black, it is brown.... posted by Chris H. on July 24, 2002 at 09:04:52:

i have the highest regard for your knowledge chris, and have always respected the Bechtel book, so I'm compelled to ask the following!

from Reptile and Amphibian Variants: Colors, Patterns & Scales, by H. Bernard Bechtel...

"Melanophores are dendritic cells that synthesize black and brown pigments known as melanin...Melanin is an insoluble black or brown complex copolymer of tyrosine derivatives and proteins..." (p. 27-29)

This is not a question, but just more information from the same book, re: iridescence, which you mentioned. It also relates directly to the points i made in an earlier post about how non-pigment factors (feather structure) in birds also contributes to the overall appearance of an animal...

"Iridophores do not synthesize pigments, but participate in color production by virtue of their physical properties. They contain crystalline deposits of purines, notably guanine, hypoxanthine, and adenine, in organelles called reflecting plaetlets. The platelets are usually arranged in oriented stacks. reflection and scatter of incident light results in green, blue, red and khaki hues. the form, size, and orientation of the reflecting platelets determine the reflected colors. reflecting platelets vary in appearance between and within species." (page 30)

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• No. Of course Bechtel is right, but we don't disagree.............. Chris H. 07/24/02 (0)

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: i have the highest regard for your knowledge chris, and have always respected the Bechtel book, so I'm compelled to ask the following! : from Reptile and Amphibian Variants: Colors, Patterns & Scales, by H. Bernard Bechtel... : "Melanophores are dendritic cells that synthesize black and brown pigments known as melanin...Melanin is an insoluble black or brown complex copolymer of tyrosine derivatives and proteins..." (p. 27-29) : This is not a question, but just more information from the same book, re: iridescence, which you mentioned. It also relates directly to the points i made in an earlier post about how non-pigment factors (feather structure) in birds also contributes to the overall appearance of an animal... : "Iridophores do not synthesize pigments, but participate in color production by virtue of their physical properties. They contain crystalline deposits of purines, notably guanine, hypoxanthine, and adenine, in organelles called reflecting plaetlets. The platelets are usually arranged in oriented stacks. reflection and scatter of incident light results in green, blue, red and khaki hues. the form, size, and orientation of the reflecting platelets determine the reflected colors. reflecting platelets vary in appearance between and within species." (page 30)

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