Clue to the Colour of Dinosaurs

We have got used to seeing dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals depicted in glorious technicolour on our television screens, in cinemas and books, but scientists actually know very little about the colouration and markings of dinosaurs and other ancient animals.  Illustrations of dinosaurs for example, are created using a basis of conjecture, supposition and comparisons with living organisms.  Most sauropods (the long-necked dinosaurs), are often depicted in dull battleship grey, or browns similar to the colour of elephants, but we have no real evidence to support this.  The assumption has almost always been when you are a 30 metre, 15 Tonne Diplodocus there would be little point in having camouflaged colouration, you would simply be too big to hide.

However, a paper published in the scientific journal “Biology Letters”, by a group of American researchers, sheds light on the colouration of long extinct creatures that one day may help palaeontologists understand the colours of dinosaurs.

A team of palaeobiologists and other researchers at Yale University have been studying the colour hues of 100 million year old fossilised bird feathers and their findings may permit scientists to interpret other fossil structures and to build up a colour image of long, dead animals.  If the team’s interpretations are correct; then those dinosaurs that have been preserved with a covering of down or feathers could be studied and their markings and colouration deduced.

The colour of dinosaurs has long been debated, we at Everything Dinosaur run exercises in schools where we get the students to interpret fossil evidence about the size and shape of dinosaurs and the environment in which they lived.  From this work we get them to draw the dinosaur and colour it in.  A sort of dinosaur detective story, where the guesswork of 8 year-olds can be regarded as almost as scientifically valid as the pronouncements of the most meritorious professor.

The was some excitement when an analysis of fossilised skin from the tail area of Dakota, the superbly preserved Edmontosaurus mummy (the subject of a recent TV documentary), indicated that the animal might have had coloured bands running down its tail.  Such well preserved dinosaur fossils are extremely rare and any actual colouration can only be speculated at this stage as colours will have been altered and affected by the fossilisation process.

To read more about the amazing Dinosaur Mummy Dakota: Dinosaur Mummy unlocks Duck-Billed Dinosaur Secrets.

To read the latest update on Dakota: Update on “Dakota” the recently discovered Hadrosaurine Mummy.

The Yale University team analysed fossil feathers from Brazil and Denmark and carried out comparisons with the feathers of modern birds (Neornithines).  Their findings indicate that some fossilised bird feathers preserve microscopic components that when analysed and interpreted can reveal feather colouration.

The fossil feathers had stripes, these could easily be seen but it had been thought that these markings were the result of bacterial processes or geological effects during the period of preservation and fossilisation.

Could the colour of feathered dinosaurs be deduced from this work?

Commenting on the markings, Jakob Vinther one of the research team members said:

“We are quite confident that they (the markings) aren’t bacteria”

The research team targeted electron beams onto a fossil bird feather to reveal strange, sausage shaped structures that are believed to be responsible for the colour of plumage.  The species of bird from which the fossil feather came from is not known, but similar microscopic structures have been found in modern feathers and their shape, composition and orientation create colours and patterns.  By analysing these little packets, scientists hope to be able to build up a picture of the colouration of extinct creatures.

These structures are termed melanosomes and their analysis could help palaeobiologists understand the colours of the feathers on fossil dinosaurs, plus the colour of mammalian fur.

“We might able to get a palette of colours that we could assign to the fossils,” Jakob Vinther added.

By testing fossilised dinosaur feathers (such as those associated with the Liaoning Province of north-eastern China dating back to around 125 million years ago), for the presence of melanosomes scientists may be able to deduce the colour of these feathered dinosaurs.  The likes of Caudipteryx, Sinornithosaurus and Microraptor may be revealed in glorious technicolour.

As both birds and crocodiles have colour vision, scientists have long thought that dinosaurs as close relatives of these two extant groups would also have colour vision.  Being able to interpret the colouration of certain fossils will enable palaeontologists to build up a more accurate picture of what some of these animals looked like.  It will also provide evidence of sexual dimorphism in species, even help to identify males and females within a species.

Having an understanding of the colours and markings of an animal will also provide clues to the animal’s behaviour.  Gaudy colours may indicate the importance of displaying, perhaps for breeding, courtship or other social purposes, whereas, tones such as greens and browns would help these animals hide from predators.

How the melanosomes have survived the fossilisation process is not quite understood, most organic material, including DNA, decomposes quickly and does not survive the preservation process.  However, as our understanding of genetics improves and new techniques to analyse fossils are introduced we may be able to produce accurate illustrations of long extinct animals.

Future model makers depicting feathered dinosaurs, such as those produced in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History may be able to get close to the real colours and markings of the animals they are depicting.

Some of the Dinosaurs Featured in the Dinosaur Tube Set

Feathered dinosaurs.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Feathered dinosaurs such as Dilong, Microraptor and Caudipteryx are included along with non-feathered dinosaurs (at least as far as we know), such as Protoceratops and a sauropod.

The latest model from the Bullyland range of Germany, continues the trend to interpret many theropod dinosaurs as feathered.  Although no fossils of Velociraptor mongoliensis have been found with evidence of feathers, a number of dromaeosaurs are known to have been covered in simple down or proto-feathers so Velociraptor is often depicted in this way too.

The large orbits in the skull of Velociraptor indicate that its sense of vision was exceptionally important to it, with an ability to discern colour, perhaps these animals were quite brightly coloured.  Helpful for an animal living in a social group where hierarchy and status would have been important.

The Velociraptor from Bullyland

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To view the Bullyland model range: Bullyland Prehistoric Animal Figures.

Clever Tadpoles – Keeping Hidden for all this Time

Cryptozoologists claim to have evidence for the existence of mythical creatures or for animals long thought to be extinct.  The word cryptozoologist comes from the Greek (translated it means hidden life).  There are many tales of dinosaurs in the darkest depths of the Congo, or apes as big as chimpanzees in the South American rain-forests.

The staff at Everything Dinosaur, tend to be a little sceptical of such claims but we have witnessed for ourselves how Mother Nature can play tricks, although very much on a smaller scale.

In the pond outside our offices we were delighted to discover back in March (16/03/08) that for the first time that anyone could remember frogs had spawned in it.  This was very exciting for our team members (we don’t get out very much), and anyway in the UK all amphibians and reptiles are protected species.

To read more about our frogspawn discovery:  Frog Blog part 1 – We have Frog Spawn in the Pond.

It was then decided that we would take a photograph every seven days and write about the development of the tadpoles as a weekly blog feature.  Everything seemed to be going fine, the tadpoles developed quickly in their jelly and in a couple of weeks or so they hatched.  Then to our surprise the tadpoles disappeared.  By 8 weeks into the project we had to abandon the weekly web log feature, no tadpoles could be seen.  The last reported sighting we had was on April 29th when a single tadpole was spotted.

To read the last frog blog entry:  Frog Blog (week 8) and then there were none.

We were most upset at this turn of events.  Naturally, we expected some predation and we knew that most of our tadpoles would not make it to the froglet stage, but to have them disappear in just a few days was quite distressing.  That was that, or so we thought…

At last week’s team meeting preserving any future frog spawn was actually on our meeting agenda.  We are a fairly unconventional company at the best of times, but there must be very few businesses in the world who give up time to consider how best to protect any future tadpoles should any more frog spawn be laid in subsequent years.  A number of ideas were put forward, the one we agreed on was the proposal to utilise a more isolated and separate pond to create a sort of mini lagoon.  We could circulate water between the two sites using a small pump and to net this area off (to protect the tadpoles from bird attack).  Quite a convoluted plan, but we thought it would probably offer any future tadpoles the best protection.

However, this afternoon, to our surprise, a colleague reported seeing a large, well-developed tadpole in the pond.  He described the tadpole as having a large head but with no discernible limbs, he got a quick glimpse of it before it disappeared into a clump of algae.  Not that we wish to doubt our colleague, but no sign of any tadpoles had been seen over the previous 69 days.  What is more, the pond is approximately 8 feet by 5 feet wide and shallow enough to see the bottom.  It is hard to believe, but despite us all taking regular breaks and sitting by the pond (mainly to watch the frogs and to observe the water-boatmen), the tadpoles seem to have avoided detection.

We are going to start regular observations once again and a reward of first choice of biscuits for a week has been offered to the first member of staff who can produce proof that tadpoles still exist in the pond.  It seems that even, tiny ponds can hide one or two secrets and keep us on our toes, not surprising therefore that stories of bizarre monsters and living dinosaurs seep out of some of the remotest corners of our planet.