New research from an international team of scientists reveals more than they could ever have hoped for.

Paleontologists examined the remains of a pterosaur belonging to the genus Tupandactylus imperator† The flying reptile lived – in the time of the dinosaurs – in northeast Brazil and is best known for the bizarrely large ‘crest’ that adorned its head. For the study, scientists focused on exactly that characteristic part: such a fossilized main crest. And that results in some startling discoveries.

feathers

The scientists discovered that the underside of the main crest must have been covered by both short hair-like and fluffy feathers with a branched structure. And that is special, says researcher Aude Cincotta. “We didn’t expect to see this at all. For decades, paleontologists have debated whether pterosaurs had feathers. The feathers in our specimen put an end to that debate for good, as they are clearly branched along their entire length, much like the feathers of birds today.” This is the first time such branched feathers have been found in pterosaurs. “We just knew before that certain carnivorous dinosaurs — the theropods, ancestors of the birds — had them,” Cincotta said.

Melanosomes

But it doesn’t stop there. Because an analysis of those feathers results in another startling discovery. Using an electron microscope, the researchers found fairly well-preserved melanosomes (pigment cells) in those feathers. And what immediately struck me was that the shape of these melanosomes differed in both types of feathers and in the main crest itself. Researchers have never seen that in pterosaurs either; they do know it from some theropod dinosaurs.

Several colors

The fact that pterosaurs also have melanosomes in different shapes has an interesting implication. “In birds alive today, the color of the feathers is strongly related to the shape of the melanosomes (in those feathers, ed.).” The fact that melanosomes of different shapes have now been found in the feathers of pterosaurs strongly suggests that their plumage – like that of many birds today – was multi-colored.

On the right you see the two types of feathers that researchers have found. Each type therefore had melanosomes with a slightly different shape. And that hints that they each had a different color too. Possibly the hair-like feathers were dark in color, while the fluffy, bird-like feathers were a bit lighter. Images: Bob Nicholls (left) and Julio Lacerda (right).

Function

Of course, this immediately raises the question of what function that multicolored plumage could have had. The researchers suspect that the color variations were mainly intended to impress others and, for example, came in handy when the pterosaur had to court a congener.

The research not only provides more insight into the appearance of pterosaurs, but also reveals more about the still rather mysterious evolution of (colored) feathers. For example, the fact that both dinosaurs and pterosaurs had feathers of different colors indicates that the colored feather has been around for a while. For example, the common ancestor of the dinosaur and pterosaur — which lived somewhere between 250 and 200 million years ago — may have already flaunted colored feathers.