Fossils, now available in color

A closer look at fossilized feathers suggests pigment may have been preserved

Researchers have found what appear to be remnants of pigment in fossilized feathers, opening the possibility of reconstructing the colors of many long-extinct animals.

FOSSILIZED COLOR? The pigment of dinosaurs or early birds may have been preserved. Black stripes on a fossilized Cretaceous feather (left) from Brazil resemble marks on a modern woodpecker feather (right).