What Colors Were Dinosaur Feathers?

Dinosaur books have become more colorful affairs of late, with the dull greens, browns and grays of yesteryear replaced by vivid hues, stripes and patterns. While fossils, up until now, haven't provided any information about color, that is starting to change.

The fossils of some small meat-eating dinosaurs were covered in filaments that are widely thought to be the precursors of feathers. And among these filaments, a team of Chinese and British scientists have found the distinctive signs of melanosomes, small structures that are partly responsible for the colors of modern bird feathers.