Eoconfuciusornis

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Time: Early Cretaceous (~131 million years ago)

Region: Hebei Province, China

Formation: Huajiying Formation

Coloration Data

To evaluate the coloration of Eoconfuciusornis specimen STM7-144, 24 plumage samples were collected from various body regions: the wings, tail, neck, head, and legs. Scanning electron microscopy revealed multiple distinct melanosome populations. The majority of the plumage — including wing coverts, remiges (flight feathers), and feathers along the neck, tail, and legs — contained elongated eumelanosomes, indicating that these areas were black or deeply dark. On the secondary remiges and wing coverts, researchers detected subtle patterning: dark spots and dark feather tips contrasting against a lighter ground. Crown feathers and feathers on the lower legs yielded larger, ovoid eumelanosomes that likely imparted a greyish hue. Feathers from the chin bore small, spherical melanosomes indicative of pheomelanin, pointing to reddish or brownish coloration.

Method: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Publications

• Xiaoting Zheng, Jingmai K. O’Connor, Xiaoli Wang, Yanhong Pan, Yan Wang, Min Wang, Zhonghe Zhou (2017)
  A study of the coloration of Eoconfuciusornis.
• 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

• Zheng_et_al_2017.pdf (PDF)
  Article investigating the coloration of Eoconfuciusornis.
• Roy_et_al_2020.pdf (PDF)
  Review article on amniote paleocolor in Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Reconstructions

Fossils