Melanosomes are granules that produce melanin (a type of pigment)

­Melanosomes are granules that produce melanin (a type of pigment) in animals and can be found in bird feathers. An ancient fossilized feather contains dark stripes made from preserved carbon structures similar in size and shape to melanosomes in modern feathers. Although skeptics have pointed out that ancient bacteria could leave carbon remains of the same size and shape, a prominent paleontologist argues that the structures in the feather are almost certainly melonosomes. 

Which of the following, if true, would most help justify the prominent paleontologist's judgment that the structures are almost certainly melanosomes? 

A. Modern bird feathers rarely if ever contain the carbon remains of bacteria.

B. If the structures in the fossilized feather are melanosomes, they originally created stripes of pigmentation in the feather before it was fossilized.

C. Many other fossilized feathers also contain preserved carbon structures similar in size and shape to melanosomes.

D. Ancient bacteria of the size and shape of those carbon structures were commonly found in biological structures other than feathers.

E. Bacteria in a feather are almost always distributed fairly evenly throughout the feather, rather than in discrete stripes. 



 ­