'Rainbow dinosaur' had iridescent feathers like a hummingbird
Microscopic structures in feathers provide evidence of Caihong's shimmery colours
Thomson Reuters Posted: Jan 15, 2018 11:11 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 15, 2018 11:31 AM ET
There's not a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. There's an iridescent dinosaur.
Scientists on Monday announced the discovery of a crow-sized, bird-like dinosaur with colourful feathers from northeastern China that lived 161 million years ago during the Jurassic Period.
They named it Caihong, the Mandarin word for rainbow. Microscopic structures in the exquisitely preserved, nearly complete fossil unearthed in Hebei Province indicated that it boasted iridescent feathers, particularly on its head, neck and chest, with colours that shimmered and shifted in the light, like those of hummingbirds.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/rainbow-dinosaur-1.4487692
