Article
Cryptic patterning of avian skin confers a developmental facility for loss of neck feathering.
PLoS biology - 1 Mar 2011
Mou Chunyan, Pitel Frederique, Gourichon David, Vignoles Florence, Tzika Athanasia, Tato Patricia, Yu Le, Burt Dave W, Bed'hom Bertrand, Tixier-Boichard Michele, Painter Kevin J, Headon Denis J
Abstract excerpt
Vertebrate skin is characterized by its patterned array of appendages, whether feathers, hairs, or scales. In avian skin the distribution of feathers occurs on two distinct spatial levels. Grouping of feathers within discrete tracts, with bare skin lying between the tracts, is termed the macropattern, while the smaller scale periodic spacing between individual feathers is referred to as the micropattern. The...
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