Scientists have recreated the colour patterns of a dinosaur, revealing a camouflage used by animals today.
A study of a well-preserved Chinese Psittacosaurus fossil shows it had a light underside and was darker on top - an arrangement called counter-shading.
This suggests the species lived in an environment with diffuse light, such as a forest.
As part of their research, the scientists teamed up with an artist to produce a 3-D model of the creature.
The findings by an international team of researchers have been published in Current Biology journal.
Co-author Jakob Vinther, from the University of Bristol, UK, said the camouflage pattern sported by this particular dinosaur "has been shown to function by counter-illuminating shadows on a body, thus making an animal appear optically flat to the eye of the beholder".read more
No comments:
Post a Comment