Ringtail

Digipainting of Sinosauropteryx prima, the first dinosaur found with feather impressions.

Several specimens show a distinct banding pattern in the preservation of the tail feathers. Initial studies dismissed these as an artifact of the way the two slabs making up the holotype fossil were split, but examination of both slabs show that the gaps on one side are not filled by feather bands on the other--in fact the dark bands seem to correspond directly to their mates across both slabs. Studies of feather fossilization (as well an SVP presentation by Nick Longrich, involving studies under UV light) suggest that the dark banding represents the preservation of melanin, indicating dark-colored feathers, while areas where feathers were not preserved may imply the presence of white or light colored feathers, showing that Sinosauropteryx was counter-shaded (white on bottom, dark on top) with a banded tail.

The painting above reflects the preserved coloration, but also takes a bit of artistic license in restoring scales to some apparently featherless areas: this is based on the presence of a partially scaly underside and legs in otherwise feathered dinosaurs like Scansoriopteryx and Juravenator.

The scenery surrounding Sinosauropteryx includes plant life found in the same middle Yixian Formation deposits. Dominant plants in this lakeside forest included large conifer and ginkgo trees (background and right), numerous horsetails (far left, with white buds), and one of the earliest known flowering plants and earliest carnivorous plant, the pitcher plant Archaeamphora (center left). The Sinosauropteryx in the painting is investigating another common Yixian animal, Ephemeropsis trisetalis, a mayfly species similar to those alive today.