New Discovery In Dinosaur Colors
What's big, green and was around millions of years ago? Actually, I might not be right about the color. Perhaps I should revise the question.
A new discovery in paleontology is making scientists wonder whether or not dinosaurs actually looked like we might have thought -- color-wise.
It comes down to melanosomes: color-forming cell components that create pigments in biological creatures. And it turns out that we can analyze these melanosomes when we look at the fossils of long-gone dinosaurs.
What role did these colors play for our favorite ancient creatures? (Well, my favorite ancient creatures.) Some have suggested that certain color schemes could be related to attracting a mate, while others have proposed that various patterns could help with camouflage.
As we discover more and more about history, there are always new questions for scientists to answer. That's part of the fun of living here on Earth, isn't it?
Outside of science, however, one question has yet to be answered, and…for that matter...asked. How will this discovery affect makers of dinosaur-themed color-by-number picture books? Who's going to put in the time and money required to fix page after page of off-tone reptiles? I don't know…but I wish them the best of luck.
A new discovery in paleontology is making scientists wonder whether or not dinosaurs actually looked like we might have thought -- color-wise.
It comes down to melanosomes: color-forming cell components that create pigments in biological creatures. And it turns out that we can analyze these melanosomes when we look at the fossils of long-gone dinosaurs.
What role did these colors play for our favorite ancient creatures? (Well, my favorite ancient creatures.) Some have suggested that certain color schemes could be related to attracting a mate, while others have proposed that various patterns could help with camouflage.
As we discover more and more about history, there are always new questions for scientists to answer. That's part of the fun of living here on Earth, isn't it?
Outside of science, however, one question has yet to be answered, and…for that matter...asked. How will this discovery affect makers of dinosaur-themed color-by-number picture books? Who's going to put in the time and money required to fix page after page of off-tone reptiles? I don't know…but I wish them the best of luck.
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