Only recently has the guessing game to determine the colour of feathered dinosaurs like those in Jurassic Park come to an end. Recent research has found that fossil feathers have preserved colour-pigment sacs (known as melanosomes), which are able to determine the colour of fossilised dinosaur or prehistoric bird specimens. In the past two decades, archaeologists have found dozens of well-preserved feathers, particularly in China. Now, scientists are able to determine the original colours and patterns of these creatures that roamed the earth up to 200 million years earlier.

Archaeopteryx