Protopteryx fengningensis

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Time: Early Cretaceous (~131 million years ago)

Region: Hebei Province, China

Formation: Huajiying Formation, Jehol Biota

Coloration Data

During the examination of specimen STM7-143, a plumage sample was taken from the distal tip of an outer primary flight feather of the right wing. Abundant eumelanosomes — associated with black and dark pigmentation in modern birds — were identified. Their high density and disordered, non-periodic spatial arrangement indicate a matte black coloration devoid of structural iridescence. No other plumage tracts have been analyzed, leaving the coloration across the rest of the body unknown.

Method: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Publications

• O'Connor, Jingmai K.; Zheng, Xiaoting; Pan, Yanhong; Wang, Xiaoli; Wang, Yan; Zhang, Xiaomei; Zhou, Zhonghe (2020)
  The article by O'Connor et al. (2020) about the new specimen of Protopteryx fengningensis.

Reconstructions

Fossils

Size comparison