Archaeopteryx – Fossilised Pigment Structures Suggest First Bird was Black
A team of international scientists studying a single fossilised feather ascribed to the Jurassic “missing link” Archaeopteryx have found prehistoric pigment structures. These structures, known as melanosomes suggest the colour of this Jurassic creature and also provide an insight into whether or not this bird from the time of the dinosaurs was a strong flier.
Using a powerful, scanning electron microscope located at the Carl Zeiss laboratory (Germany), the researchers were able to identify hundreds of tube-shaped structures towards the tip of the single, fossil feather they studied. The shape and density of the melanosomes gives an indication of the colour of the creature when it was flying around a Jurassic lagoon, approximately 150 million years ago.
Melanosomes Indicate Archaeopteryx had Black Feathers
Archaeopteryx was formally named and described in 1861. This crow-sized creature shows bird-like as well as reptilian characteristics. Fossils of Archaeopteryx (A. lithographica) show feathers, but also reveal teeth in the jaws and a long tail, anatomical features associated with dinosaurs. Just ten specimens of this creature have been found, all from the Solnhofen sediments located in southern Germany. The Solnhofen strata consist of deposits of finely layered, fine-grained limestone. These limestones were laid down at the bottom of a shallow lagoon cut off from the Tethys Ocean which covered much of Europe during the Late Jurassic, by a large reef. The bed of the lagoon could not support life. Animal and plant remains that fell into the lagoon and settled on the bottom were not scavenged by organisms and so they had a chance of being preserved almost intact. Thanks to the exceptional quality of the Archaeopteryx fossils, and this single feather, scientists have determined that the tips of the wings were coloured black.
Scans Reveal Structure of Archaeopteryx Wing
Scientists had discovered that the layout of the feathers on the wings and body of Archaeopteryx were arranged in the same pattern as feathers on the wings of modern birds. In addition, it was known that these feathers were asymmetrical in shape, the same shape as the feathers on modern birds. Asymmetrical feathers are essential to permit powered flight, in the same way that an aircraft’s wing is shaped to create lift.
This new study, adds weight to the “powered flight theory”. An examination of the tiny, hook-like structures known as barbules on the wing feather show that the microscopic structure of the Archaeopteryx feather was identical to that seen in examinations of the feathers of modern birds.
Archaeopteryx may have been a Strong Flier
This new evidence suggests that this primitive bird, a creature that lived during the time of the dinosaurs, may have been quite a strong flier. Being a powerful flier may have been a very useful survival strategy with lots of agile, Theropod dinosaurs around keen to make Archaeopteryx their dinner.
