It's easy to say that there are some things about the dinosaurs we'll just never know like whether dinosaurs were camouflaged like modern animals or even what color they were, because all we have are their bones.

Many modern animals have protective coloration that makes them hard for predators to spot. Sometimes they are counter-shaded. They are dark on the top, and blend in with the ground when seen from above. They are light on the bottom, and blend in with the sky when seen from below.

But in 2017, an international team of paleontologists published evidence that a dinosaur, a kind of ankylosaur, did have protective coloration like modern animals. They were able to do this because they found a specimen that was much better preserved than the average fossil.

The specimen they found was quickly buried by fine marine sediments and due to environmental conditions was extremely well-preserved. What they found included much of the animal's horny skin as well as bone.

Organic Residue

Sophisticated chemical analyses showed the fossilized skin contained traces of organic residues of what had once been the animal's skin pigments.

The researchers found substantial amounts of benzothiazole, a breakdown product of the reddish pigment pheomelanin, and they think the dinosaur was reddish brown. Analysis of different parts of the body suggests counter-shading camouflage.

But like all findings surrounding the ancient past, if you'll forgive the pun, the findings aren't set in stone. There's the possibility that the breakdown product could be from something else, and the dinosaur also had other pigments in its skin that the analysis didn't detect.

Sources And Further Reading:

• Becker, Rachel. "This massive, spiky dinosaur might have used camouflage to fool predators." The Verge: Science. August 5, 2017. Accessed November 15, 2017.

• Bednar, Chuck. "Massive armored dinosaur relied on camouflage for safety." RedOrbit. August 4, 2017. Accessed November 15, 2017.

• Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113418549/massive-armored-dinosaur-relied-on-camouflage-for-safety/#tUGfiM7gLULKjsho.99

• Caleb M. Brown et al. 2017, An exceptionally well preserved three-dimensional armored dinosaur reveals insights into coloration and cretaceous predator-prey dynamics. Current Biology, 27: p. 1-8

• Hamers, Laurel. "Giant armored dinosaur may have cloaked itself in camouflage." ScienceNews. August 3, 2017. Accessed November 15, 2017.

• Woodward, Aylin. "Big, armoured dinosaur still had camouflage to evade predators." New Scientist. August 3, 2017. Accessed November 15, 2017.