Have you ever seen this "colorful black" dinosaur?

At first glance, it looks completely black, but if you look closely, you can see various colors such as green, blue, and purple in the black, showing a metallic luster.

This "colorful black" appeared on a feathered carnivorous dinosaur called Microraptor 120 million years ago.

How did scientists know the color of Microraptor? Recently, the reporter met two researchers at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who revealed the answer to the question.

Color restoration of Microraptor. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

"The reason why Microraptor is called 'colorful black' is because its black color is a structural color," said Pei Rui, an associate researcher who participated in the study of Microraptor's color. "Structural color is related to the reflection and diffraction of light. In fact, Microraptor itself is only black, but it appears colorful at certain times due to light. If you observe crows up close, you will find that the crow's feathers are the same in the sun."

How did scientists determine that Microraptor had this fantastic color?

Associate Researcher Zhao Qi introduced that when researchers drew dinosaur restoration pictures, they imagined the colors of dinosaurs based on experience. In recent years, with the deepening of research on a substance called "melanosomes", they finally found a way to determine the color of dinosaurs.

"Melanosomes are pigment particles that come in different shapes, such as ellipsoidal and elongated. By observing the melanosomes in dinosaur fossils, we can basically determine the color of the dinosaur."

Pei Rui explained, "Under a scanning electron microscope, the melanosomes in the Microraptor fossils are long and regularly arranged. We compared them with the melanosomes of living birds and determined the color of the Microraptor feathers."

Determining the color of dinosaurs not only leads people into the colorful world of dinosaurs, but also provides evidence for scientists to solve other "mysteries."

Pei Rui explained that the color of an organism is related to its living habits. "For example, Microraptor has large eye sockets, which is a characteristic of nocturnal animals. But after we determined that it had 'colorful black', we found that birds with this color nowadays are basically active during the day and need sunlight to reflect the color of their feathers. Therefore, it is speculated that Microraptor may also be active during the day, rather than a nocturnal creature."

In addition, the researchers speculate that the "colorful black" of Microraptor may be used for intra-species communication, such as individual identification and attracting mates.

In addition to Microraptor, what other dinosaurs’ colors have scientists restored?

Zhao Qi introduced that Sinosauropteryx is the first dinosaur whose feather color has been restored. As early as 2010, a research team led by Chinese scientist Zhang Fucheng studied the size and distribution of melanosomes in the feather fossils of Sinosauropteryx and found that its tail was light and dark, while its body feathers were chestnut or reddish brown.

In addition, scientists have restored the Anchiornis huxleyi, which has a "red crown" on its head and black, white and gray feathers, and the giant-crowned Rainbow Dragon, which has dreamy rainbow-colored feathers on its neck.

Color restoration of Sinosauropteryx. (Photo provided by the interviewee)

"In addition to these feathered dinosaurs, pigment deposition can also be seen in the fossils of some other dinosaurs. For example, Psittacosaurus and Borealisaurus have dark backs and light bellies."

Pei Rui said that this dark-on-top and light-on-bottom color distribution is actually their protective color. "This color distribution is called 'counter-shading'. Just like the deer in the forest today, their backs may be brown and their bellies are whitish. The sunlight illuminates their backs, making them consistent with the light-colored bellies, making them less likely to be discovered by predators."

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Reporter: Zhang Xiaojie, Zhang Quan

Video: Zhang Xiaojie

Planning/Editing: Gemdale