What Color Were Dinosaurs? Fossil Pigments May Reveal Feather Colors

A few fossil feathers are showing their true colors. Scientists have found new evidence that pigments and the microbodies that produce them can remain evident even in something as old as a dinosaur fossil.

The idea that melanosomes, which produce melanin pigment, are preserved in fossils has been hotly debated among scientists during the last several years. Microscopic traces that to some scientists seem to resemble melanosomes appear to skeptics to instead be similar-looking bacteria. The new study resolves the debate.

"We have integrated structural and molecular evidence that demonstrates that melanosomes do persist in the fossil record," said Ryan Carney, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This evidence of animal-specific melanin in fossil feathers is the final nail in the coffin that shows that tehse microbodies are indeed melanosomes and not microbes."

In the latest study, the researchers used electron microscopes to observe what appeared to be rod-like melanosome structures and imprints within the barbules of feathers all over the body. In addition, the researchers performed two types of chemical analyses to see if they could detect animal eumelanin pigment. They used both time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and infrared reflectance spectrometry.

"This is animal melanin, not microbial melanin, and it is associated with these melanosome-like structures in the fossil feathers," said Carney.

In other words, the researchers found that it's possible to determine the color of feathers in the fossil record by analyzing them a bit more closely. This means that scientists could potentially determine the color of some dinosaurs, which may reveal a bit more about this era.

The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports.

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