UCC scientists make new discovery on colours of dinosaurs

Scientists will be forced to rethink their theories on what colours dinosaurs were following a discovery made by an Irish university-led team.

The research, led by University College Cork palaeontologist Maria McNamara, discovered new sources of the pigment melanin that will see scientists reexamine how they reconstruct the colour of fossil birds, reptiles, and dinosaurs.

“It’s absolutely critical that we understand the origins of melanosomes in fossils if we want to produce accurate reconstructions of the colours of ancient animals,” Dr McNamara said.