Scientists used ultraviolet light to bring ancient fossilized seashells back to colorful life after lying bleached from sun, sand, water and wind for millions of years.

The seashells, which are between 6.6 and 4.8 million years old, look white in regular light. When viewed in UV light, however, the shells' true colors appeared. Researchers are still not sure which specific compounds in the shells are emitting the light when exposed to UV rays.

Like Us on Facebook

"The biology of modern Conidae (cone snails) - -which includes the hyperdiverse genus Conus --has been intensively studied, but the fossil record of the clade remains poorly understood, particularly within an evolutionary framework," researchers said in their study abstract.

The team then compared the coloration patterns of the ancient species with those of animals alive today, and found many displayed similarities. This finding suggests some modern species come from lineages that started in the Caribbean millions of years ago.

The groundbreaking technique allowed researchers to document the coloration patterns of 28 different cone shell species found in the Dominican Republic. Thirteen of these shells proved to be species that were previously unknown to science, and could help provide new insights into the relationship between modern species.

The one exception in this study was the newly distinguished species, Conus carlottae, which has a striking polka-dotted shell that doesn't exist in modern cone snails today.

Hendricks said exposing the shells to the UV light made it easier to classify them by species based on the different patterns of stripes, spots and colors on the shells.

The results are a possible 13 new cone snail species based solely on his work with UV identification. The geologist said the technique he pioneered can be fine-tuned even more by investigating what compounds in the cone snail shells are picking up the UV light and fluorescing.

The findings appeared in the journal PLOS One.

TagsUltraviolet Lights Uncover the True Colors and Patterns of Ancient Seashells, seashells, ancient seashells. UV Lights, Ultraviolet Lights, true colors of seashells, marine creatures, Ocean, cone snail species