Fossils have been around for millions of years, but only
recently have scientists actually been able to determine the true colors of
dinosaurs. Previous depictions of
dinosaurs have been guesses as to what they might have looked like. But now, pigment has been found in dinosaur
fossils in China
– making it possible to create more accurate renderings of the creatures.
Dino Fuzz – Feathers?
Past fossils have shown a fuzz-like material on dinosaurs. Evolution seemed to follow a track from
hollow filaments to true feathers. The
recent study showed fossilized melanosomes, or pigment-bearing organelles, in
feathers on bird fossils and protofeathers on dinosaur fossils. Scientists argue that the melanosome-packed
filaments were precursors to modern feathers.
Twenty-five dinosaurs have been found with feathers so
far. Here are two that were part of the
recent China
discovery and thus rendered based on the pigment found:
- Anchiornis
huxleyi, a turkey-sized dinosaur that lived about 150 million years
ago, is one of the first to appear from the discovery of the pigment-packed
fossils.
- Sinosauropteryx was a carnivore about three feet in length (see fossil above). It appeared to have a lot of pigment –
especially its striped tail and colorful head.
Color and Dino
Relationships
Did color play a role in dinosaur relationships? Perhaps it helped with visual
communication. Color and texture open up
many more doors to a variety of studies about dinosaur behavior. At the very least, they hope it will help
them classify more species of dinosaurs and birds.
Resources:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaur-feathers-colors-nature/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feathered_dinosaurs
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/28/science/28dino.html
http://news.discovery.com/dinosaurs/mohawk-dinosaur-colors.html
http://opa.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=7249
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/dinosaurs/diorama/feathers.php
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