Reconstructions of extinct species often attribute garish colours to animals on the basis of nothing more than artistic licence. Now Derek Briggs of Yale University and his colleagues have discovered evidence of preserved colour in fossil feathers.rnUsing a scanning electron microscope, they found neatly organized pigment structures called melanosomes in fossils such as the one pictured below from the Messel Shale in Germany. Owing to the loss of surrounding keratin, which is involved in optical scattering, they could not determine the feathers' exact hue.rnBut comparison with the melanosomes of modern birds suggest black feathers with a iridescent blue, green or copper sheen.
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