Changzuiornis ahgmi

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Time: Early Cretaceous (~122 million years ago)

Region: Liaoning Province, China

Formation: Jiufotang Formation, Jehol Biota

Coloration Data

Analysis of melanosome impressions revealed elongated structures within the wing and tail plumage, indicating that these feather tracts were black or dark brown in life. The coloration of the rest of the body remains unknown, as morphological and geochemical analyses have not been performed on other parts of the fossil.

Method: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to evaluate the morphology of melanosome impressions.

Publications

• Jiandong Huang, Xia Wang​, Yuanchao Hu, Jia Liu, Jennifer A. Peteya, Julia A. Clarke​ (2016)
  An article with the first description of the species Changzuiornis ahgmi. The paper provides information about the discovery of melanosome imprints in the feathers of the tail and wings, which formed the basis for reconstructing their black color.
• Arindam Roy, Michael Pittman, Evan T. Saitta, Thomas G. Kaye, Xing Xu (2020)
  An overview article on the paleo‑coloration of amniotes.

Documents and files

• Huang_et_al_2016.pdf (PDF)
  Study of Changzuiornis ahgmi and description of its coloration.
• Roy_et_al_2020.pdf (PDF)
  Review article on amniote paleocolor in Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Reconstructions

Fossils