Until not long ago our kwnowlede, about the skin color of dinosaurs, was very limited. And for that reason we have always represented the ancient reptiles with a single gradient, usually from grey to green-brown.

In many cases by fossil casts one can guess if the skin had details like streaks or roughness. But how do you understand the range of colors and shades of these prehistoric animals? Early last year, thanks to studies conducted by Michael Benton, Bristol University, by the aid of a scanning electron microscope, it was possible to analyze the bristles of a fossil Soinosauropterix, dating back to about 125 million years ago. Thanks to high magnification and resolution of the microscope, Benton was able to distinguish a few melanosomes, microscopic structures that contain special pigments. The melanosomes are also at the origin of different colours in human hairs and the color is typically associated with their different form. It was possible, therefore, for the first time back to the colour of feathers. It seems that these were also colored in bright shades. We must, therefore, re-imagining the prehistoric animal world and take them into account for the next movie!