Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The Color of Dinosaurs


I have always had a fascination of dinosaurs - much like any kid, but I never grew out of it. It is also a goal of mine to hone my drawing skills to the point where I can draw extinct animals, which obviously have no reference photos. So I was ecstatic when I was pointed to this article from National Geographic (dated Feb. 4) which showed the first scientifically colored dinosaur. A feathered dino, Anchiornis was preserved so impeccably that scientists were able to extract pigment samples and compare them to modern birds. From this data, they modeled the dinosaur with its actual colors. How cool is that?

2 comments:

Glendon Mellow said...

I know it's just projection on my part, but it feel so much more...real and amazing.

I wish I could go back in time to 12-year old me and show him this stuff.

Heather Ward said...

This is an exciting time we live in. I am continually amazed by the things we can learn by old bones and rocks.