Archaeopteryx, The First Dinobird, Had Colored Feathers, X-rays Show

A detailed X-ray analysis of Archaeopteryx, an important dinosaur-bird hybrid linking the two, shows that the dinobird actually sported a varied plumage, and wasn't simply all black as previously thought.

The 150-million-year-old Archaeopteryx, it turns out, had lightly colored feathers with dark tips.

"This is a big leap forward in our understanding of the evolution of plumage and also the preservation of feathers," said Dr. Phil Manning, a paleontologist at the University of Manchester and lead author of the study published in the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry.

The study, carried out by researchers from the University of Manchester and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, utilized X-rays to locate traces of pigments that could be traced to feather coloration. Using a Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource X-ray beam, the team pored over the first entire fossil of an Archaeopteryx feather and found some key organic sulphur compounds that could have only originated from the feathers.

"The fact that these compounds have been preserved in-place for 150 million years is extraordinary," Dr. Manning stated. "Scans of a second fossilized Archaeopteryx, known as the Berlin counterpart, also show that the trace-metal inventory supported the same plumage pigmentation pattern."

A Brown University study last year showed that that the Archaeopteryx feathers would have been black, and that the pigmentation helped the dinobird be stealthier and its feathers to withstand the rigors of flight better. The only problem, however, is that the team only looked at a portion of the feather. Manning and his team examined the entire fossilized feather.

"It is remarkable that X-rays brighter than a million suns can shed new light on our understanding of the processes that have locked elements in place for such vast periods of time," Dr. Manning said. "Ultimately, this research might help inform scientists on the mechanisms acting during long-term burial, from animal remains to hazardous waste. The fossil record has potential to provide the experimental hindsight required in such studies."

The published study can be found in the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry.