Upstream | February 04, 2010 | 25 comments

Evidence builds on color of Dinosaurs

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/science/05dino.html?hp

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Until last week, paleontologists could offer no clear-cut evidence for the color of dinosaurs. Then researchers provided evidence that a dinosaur called Sinosauropteryx had a white-and-ginger striped tail. And now a team of paleontologists has published a full-body portrait of another dinosaur, in striking plumage that would have delighted that great painter of birds John James Audubon.

“This is actual science, not ‘Avatar,’ ” said Richard O. Prum, an evolutionary biologist at Yale and co-author of the new study published in Science.

Dr. Prum and his colleagues took advantage of the fact that feathers contain pigment-loaded sacs called melanosomes. In 2009, they demonstrated that melanosomes survived for millions of years in fossil bird feathers. The shape and arrangement of melanosomes help produce the color of feathers, so the scientists were able to get clues about the color of fossil feathers from their melanosomes alone.

That discovery prompted British and Chinese scientists to examine some fossils of dinosaurs that are covered with featherlike structures. The 125-million-year-old species Sinosauropteryx, for example, has bristles on its skin. When the scientists examined a piece of its tail, they found melanosomes in the bristles. They concluded that the dinosaur had reddish-and-white rings along its tail.

The discovery, which the researchers reported last week in Nature, supports earlier research showing that birds are dinosaurs, having descended from group of bipedal dinosaurs called theropods.

Dr. Prum and his colleagues, meanwhile, had set out on a similar quest. “We had a dream: to put colors on a dinosaur,” said Jakob Vinther, a graduate student at Yale.

Working with paleontologists at the Beijing Museum of Natural History and Peking University, the researchers began to study a 150-million-year-old species called Anchiornis huxleyi. The chicken-sized theropod was festooned with long feathers on its arms and legs, which it may have used to glide from trees.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/science/05dino.html?hp
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    Community,   Upstream,   Science,   Weird Science,   3 more
  2. tags:
    Dinosaurs,  palentology
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25 comments // Evidence builds on color of Dinosaurs

  • Xion
  • royulery
    • 0
      royulery  

    • in the late 70's the dino-bird relationship caused fist fights among some geologists. it was a big deal as to how to mount the hips of dinosaurs; like a bird or like a reptile. now a days, it is obvious to see the connection.
      this is off track but in hindhu mythology, man will bring dinosaurs back at a time when energy sources are depleted and use them to do work. this will happen at the end of the iron age and will help bring the end of man as control of these powerful beasts is lost. this story i've heard from my guru and other hindhu pundits.

    • 2 years ago
  • Jessicats
    • +1
      Jessicats  

    • Crap. Instead of going to school for paleontology, I chose genetics. At least we both spend most of the day looking into microscopes, apparently.

      But when they snag some dino DNA, OH MAH GAH.

    • 2 years ago
  • hunzedog
  • Progresshiv
  • 24French
  • nursediesel
    • +2
      nursediesel  

    • This is so fantastic, I have always wanted to know if we could determine the true color of the ancient reptiles. I'm looking forward to seeing the new renditions of these "fowl".

    • 2 years ago
  • H3ADLINE
    • +2
      H3ADLINE  

    • Knowing the color and pattern of dinosaur feather is useful in determining trends. Were ancient feathers for flight/gliding or simply display? Both? Which reason drove their development? These findings help illuminate these questions.

    • 2 years ago
  • NuclearLullaby
    • 0
      NuclearLullaby  

    • They were reptile colors of course! This creature just happened to have feathers! Now the big question is weather there are any links between creatures like this & dragons!

    • 2 years ago
  • calm_incense
    • 0
      calm_incense  

    • Awesome. Dinosaurs are fascinating as fuck, and I really do believe that if the whole world (that is, the human world) were to become more interested in dinosaurs, it would make the world a better place.

      Why? Because the topic of dinosaurs reminds us of a time when none of our countries' borders existed. It reminds Islamic jihadists and right-wing Christians of a time when their religions were irrelevant. It reminds the Chinese and the Russians of a time when there was no Chinese culture or Mother Russia. It reminds neo-Nazis and black militants of a time when our common human species was absent from the earth. It reminds depressed people of a time with little implication for emotion, and it reminds those in mourning of a time when life was much cheaper.

      Dinosaurs unite us all.

      Fuck yeah.

    • 2 years ago
  • Saladin
  • calm_incense
  • ChunkyCheezes
  • CalPal
  • mindcruzer
    • 0
      mindcruzer  

    • I'm not bashing paleontology here or trying to be a smart ass, but does it really matter what the exact color of a creature was that lived millions of years ago?

    • 2 years ago
  • EthicalVegan
    • +3
      EthicalVegan  
    • mindcruzer:

      Well, I just think it's FUN!!!!

      And I've got a little dinosaur on my shoulder right now, and another little dinosaur sitting on top of my monitor, and nine dinosaurs in an aviary.

      Once I started hearing about dinosaurs being feathered, I began looking at my rescue birds in a whole new way, and so now I'm teasingly referring to them as dinosaurs.

      So I'm actually enjoying this refreshing bit of news, I really am. I know it has absolutely nothing to do with homelessness, earthquake disasters, starvation, economics, war, blah-blah-blah, but I am still appreciating this "different," harmless news.

    • 2 years ago
  • MizPiz
  • mindcruzer
  • CalPal
    • +2
      CalPal  

    • Awesome!

      I used to love dinosaurs growing up through elementary school... nearly was an expert in what little I knew. :P

      Childhood fantasy finished. :D

    • 2 years ago
  • current89
  • CalPal
  • MoonLoon
    • 0
      MoonLoon  
    • CalPal:

      Thanks Cal. I was also obsessed with Dino's when a child. I had a whole series of little plastic dinosaurs and read incessantly about them. My teachers thought that I was a genuis; until they saw my math scores!

    • 2 years ago
  • calm_incense
    • 0
      calm_incense  
    • MoonLoon:

      Heh, another child dinosaur enthusiast here. I remember going to the library regularly and checking out a full arm load's worth of books all about dinosaurs. I also drew them frequently (probably made over a hundred drawings of dinosaurs) and, less frequently, I assembled wooden skeletal models of them.

      My friends and I also pretended we were velociraptors on the school playground.

      Plus, I remember always watching dinosaur specials on the Discovery Channel, sometimes even taping them for later viewing.

      *sigh*

      I was so sure I wouldn't to become a paleontologist. If only people still gave a damn about dinosaurs, that might encourage more children like my former self to actually pursue this thing for the long-run.

    • 2 years ago
  • idealist
    • 0
      idealist  
    • CalPal:

      but there's so much more to know! like eye color or what they looked like 2 million years before that! or.... what they would do if they had there choice between many small meals or one big meal..
      is your child hood fantasy really finished?

    • 2 years ago
  • idealist
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