TEXTO:
Despite its fearsome, Velociraptor-like skull, a
161-million-year-old dinosaur the size of a duck would
have been a shining, shimmering and splendid sight to
behold — mostly because it sported gleaming,
[5] iridescent feathers that were rainbow-colored, a new
study finds. Iridescent feathers glistened on the
dinosaur’s head, wings and tail, according to an analysis
of the shape and structure of the creature’s
melanosomes, the parts of cells that contain pigment.
[10] “The preservation of this dinosaur is incredible — we
were really excited when we realized the level of detail
we were able to see on the feathers,” study co-
researcher Chad Eliason, said.
After discovering its iridescence and noting the
[15] unique bony crest on top of the dinosaur’s head,
researchers gave it a colorful name — Caihong juji —
which is Mandarin for “rainbow with the big crest.” C.
juji isn’t the first dinosaur on record to have iridescent
feathers; Microraptor, a four-winged dinosaur also
[20] sported gleaming feathers. But that dinosaur lived about
40 million years after C. juji, so the newly identified
dinosaur is by far the oldest dinosaur on record to flaunt
iridescent plumage, the researchers said.
C. juji is also the oldest animal on record to
[25] have asymmetrical feathers, which help modern birds
steer while flying. However, unlike modern birds, whose
asymmetrical feathers are on their wing tips, C.
juji sported these lopsided feathers on its tail. That,
combined with the fact that C. juji likely couldn’t fly, led
[30] ’the researchers to conclude the dinosaur likely used its
feathers to attract mates and keep warm. This “bizarre”
feature has never been seen before ∈ either dinosaurs
or birds, which evolved from dinosaurs, said study co-
researcher Xing Xu.
GEGGEL, Laura. https://www.livescience.com/61429-little-rainbowdinosaur-discovered-by-farmer-in-china.html. Acesso em: 13 maio 2018. Adaptado.
The fossil dinosaur was given the name Caihong juji because of the feathers on its
