Scientists are shedding light on a newly discovered species of dinosaur from 161 million years ago that had rainbow coloring.
An international team of scientists has determined that a rainbow-colored, iridescent dinosaur roamed the earth about 160 million years ago. The remains of the luminous, feathered prehistoric creature were discovered in northeastern China and said to be remarkably well-preserved. In what's described as a rare occurrence, the fossil even included remnants of feathers. "When the scientists examined the feathers under powerful microscopes, they could see the imprints of melanosomes, the parts of cells that contain pigment," according to a release from the Field Museum. "For the most part, the pigment that was once present was long gone, but the physical structure of the melanosomes remained. As it turns out, that was enough for scientists to be able to tell what color the feathers were." The closest modern-day feather match was determined to be a hummingbird, and the team suggests the dinosaur's plumage could have been an early version of the peacock's tail. The creature is also described as being small and having "a velociraptor-type skull on the body of [a] very avian, fully feathered, fluffy kind of form."
