Palaeontology
Archaeopteryx had black feathers
By
T.K. RandallJanuary 25, 2012 ·
19 comments
Image Credit: Joseph Smit
Scientists have been able to determine that the feathered dinosaur archaeopteryx had black feathers.
The discovery of archaeopteryx was one of the most important finds in palaeontology and has long been considered a 'missing-link' between dinosaurs and modern birds. Up until now it wasn't clear what colour feathers these creatures would have had, but new research involving the use of a powerful microscope has revealed that they were likely to have been black like today's ravens and crows.
The Archaeopteryx feather was discovered in a limestone deposit in Germany in 1861, a few years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species - and paleontologists have debated about it ever since.
Source:
Daily Mail |
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