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Dinosaur colour is one of the mysteries surrounding the dinosaurs. However, recent studies of feathered dinosaurs were able to infer the colour of some of these long extinct animals.
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Anchiornis
In 2010, palaeontologists studied a well-preserved skeleton of Anchiornis, an averaptoran from the Yixian Formation in China, and found melanosomes - color-determining pigments - in its well-preserved fossilized feathers. Different-shaped melanosomes determine different colours; by analyzing the shape of the melanosomes, they inferred that Anchiornis had black, white and grey feathers all over its body, with only the crest of feathers on its head being red.
Sinosauropteryx, Confuciusornis, Caudipteryx and Sinornithosaurus
Dr. Mike Benton from University of Bristol, in 2010, analyzed remains of Sinosauropteryx, Confuciusornis, Caudipteryx, and Sinornithosaurus from the Yixian, and also found melanosomes there.
He found that Sinosauropteryx was covered in orange feathers, and that its tail was striped. It was hypothesized that feathered dinosaurs which could not fly used their feathers for display, because they were brightly coloured.
Archaeopteryx
Graduate student, Ryan Carney, and colleagues, in 2011, produced the first colour study on an Archaeopteryx specimen, finding melanosomes that suggested a primarily black colouration in the feathers of the specimen. The feather studied was probably a covert, which would have partly covered the primary feathers on the wings. Carney pointed out that this is consistent with the flight feathers of modern birds, in which black melanosomes have structural properties that strengthen feathers for flight.
In 2013, in a study published in the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, new analyses revealed that the Archaeopteryx's feathers may have had more complex colouration, in the form of light and dark coloured plumage, with the tips of its flight feathers being primarily black as opposed to the entire feather being dark in colour. Whether or not this colouration was integral for display and/or flight is as yet unknown.
Microraptor
The colouration of the feathers of a typical Microraptor, according to a 2012 study by Quanguo Li and team was iridescent black. The new specimen - BMNHC PH881 was used to determine the colouration of Microraptor for the first time in history. The melanosomes were narrow and arranged in stacked layers, reminiscent of the blackbird.
The fact that the feathers were iridescent conflicts with the hypothesis that Microraptor were nocturnal, and hunted at night due to the fact that no known modern birds with iridescent colouring are nocturnal. The belief that Microraptor were nocturnal is a conclusion drawn due to size of the scleral ring of the eye of Microraptor.
Inkayacu
The melanosomes within the feathers of the Eocene penguin Inkayacu are long and narrow, similar to most other birds. Their shape suggests that Inkayacu had grey and reddish-brown feathering across its body. Most modern penguins have melanosomes that are about the same length as those of Inkayacu, but are much wider. There is also a greater number of them within living penguins' cells. The shape of these melanosomes gives them a dark brown or black color, and is the reason why modern penguins are mostly black and white. Despite not having the distinctive melanosomes of modern penguins, the feathers of Inkayacu were similar in many other ways. The feathers that made up the body contour of the bird have large shafts, and the primaries along the edge of the wings are short and undifferentiated.
Psittacosaurus
In a 2016 study, examination of melanosomes preserved in the specimen of Psittacosaurus sp. preserved with integument indicated that the animal was countershaded, likely due to preferring a habitat in dense forests with little light, much like many modern species of forest-dwelling deer and antelope; stripes and spots on the limbs may represent disruptive coloration. The specimen also had dense clusters of pigment on its shoulders, face (possibly for display), and cloaca (which may have had an antimicrobial function), as well as large patagia on its hind legs that connected to the base of the tail. Its large eyes indicate that it also likely had good vision, which would have been useful in finding food and/or avoiding predators.