Dinosaur True Colors Revealed for First Time

"Dino fuzz" pigment discovery in feathers may strengthen dinosaur-bird link.

Sinosauropteryx is the first fossil dinosaur to have its color scientifically established.

Illustration courtesy James Robins

Chris Sloan


Pigments have been found in fossil dinosaurs for the first time, a new study says.

The discovery may prove once and for all that dinosaurs' hairlike filaments—sometimes called dino fuzz—are related to bird feathers, paleontologists announced today.

The finding may also open up a new world of prehistoric color, illuminating the role of color in dinosaur behavior and allowing the first accurately colored dinosaur re-creations, according to the study team, led by Fucheng Zhang of China's Institute for Vertebrate Paleontology.

The team identified fossilized melanosomes—pigment-bearing organelles—in the feathers and filament-like "protofeathers" of fossil birds and dinosaurs from northeastern China.

Found in the feathers of living birds, the nano-size packets of pigment—a hundred melanosomes can fit across a human hair—were first reported in fossil bird feathers in 2008.


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Fossils of the Cretaceous

Dinosaur with proto-feathers - Sinosauropteryx


Roughly 130 million years ago, in what is now northeastern China, volcanoes repeatedly showered down fine-grained ash, capturing remarkable details of ancient animals and plants. The fossils have allowed scientists to reconstruct a vivid picture of the ecosystem and gain insights into how modern organisms evolved. Here, glimpse the creatures—some familiar, others entirely alien—that inhabited the region long ago. 

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The full name of this animal, Sinosauropteryx prima, means "first Chinese winged lizard." Its discovery in the mid-1990s delighted many paleontologists who suspected that birds are close kin to dinosaurs. This fossil offered evidence in the form of downy, short feathers all along the animal's head, back, and tail. A carnivorous dinosaur about the size of a greyhound, Sinosauropteryx likely ran swiftly on its two hind legs. With fuzzy feathers just a few millimeters long, it is unlikely that it ever flew. The feathers could, however, help keep the dinosaur warm through cool nights in the temperate forest.

Feathered Dinosaurs: Sinosauropteryx

Sinosauropteryx was the first dinosaur to have its life colouration described by scientists based on physical evidence. Some fossils of Sinosauropteryx show an alternation of lighter and darker bands preserved on the tail.

Digital illustration of the coelurosaurian dinosaur Sinosauropteryx prima, based on the holotype specimen. Coloration and pattern follows Zhang et al 2010.

All described specimens of Sinosauropteryx preserve integumentary structures (filaments arising from the skin) which most palaeontologists interpret as very primitive feathers. These short, down-like filaments are preserved along the back half of the skull, arms, neck, back, and top and bottom of the tail. Additional patches of feathers have been identified on the sides of the body, and palaeontologists Chen, Dong and Zheng proposed that the density of the feathers on the back and the randomness of the patches elsewhere on the body indicated the animals would have been fully feathered in life, with the ventral feathers having been removed by decomposition.

Fossils That Made History: Sinosauropteryx (1997)

The first of a spectacular series of "dino-bird" discoveries in China's Liaoning quarry, the well-preserved fossil of Sinosauropteryx betrays the unmistakable impression of primitive, hair-like feathers.

Fossil of Sinosauropteryx prima, the first “feathered” dinosaur. Its primitive feathers could be seen clearly on the head, back, and tail. The length of the fossil is about 130 cm.

The first genus of dinosaur outside of Avialae (birds and their immediate relatives) to be found with evidence of feathers. They were covered with "furry" coats of very simple filament-like feathers. Structures that indicate colouration have been preserved for some of the feathers, which also makes Sinosauropteryx the first non-avialian dinosaurs where colouration has been determined. Colouration includes a banded tail with reddish and light bands.