Dinosaur Skin: The Truth About Dinosaur Colors

Many of us spend years assuming dinosaurs were boringly colorless, with the luckiest of the beasts having a few shades of green. But dinosaur skin wasn’t as dull as many believe it was. Some had vibrantly colored skin or feathers! So, begin your journey of learning the truth about dinosaur colors.

The Truth About Their Color

One of the many common myths about dinosaurs is that their scales had little to no color. This is because bright colors would make it difficult for dinosaurs to blend in, and while this was necessary for some, it may not have been necessary for all. Keep in mind that paleontologists don’t know what colors dinosaurs actually were, but many believe their skin had vibrant shades of purple, orange, yellow, and red!

One Theory: Colors To Attract Mates

Some scientists theorize that dinosaurs had beautiful skin to help them attract a mate. This is quite similar to many animals we see today, namely birds which are a close relative of the beast!

So, it’s highly probable and possible that some dinosaurs used their bright colors to woo a mate. Also, like many animals we see today, it’s quite possible that while males were colorful for mating purposes, females were colorless to better camouflage and protect their young.

How Do We Know They Had Color?

One fact that backs up this theory is discovering melanosomes on the feathers of a Sinosauropteryx back in 2010. Melanosomes lead to the generation of pigment. Due to this discovery, many scientists believe that at least some dinosaurs were colorful. Scientists can compare the melanosome from dinosaurs to animals we see today to determine their colors through this finding.

What Was the Sinosauropteryx?

No one can say for sure whether all dinosaurs had color or if it was only a select few. Something worth noting is the Sinosauropteryx was a feathered dinosaur, so discoveries around it could apply to fellow feathered dinosaurs. For example, the Velociraptor is another more well-known feathered Mesozoic beast, and it’s theorized that they were also vibrantly colorful!

Although we may not know what colors dinosaurs were just yet, scientists hope to find definite truth about dinosaur colors and determine what color these ancient creatures were.