Saturday, November 07, 2015
Update on "Beebesaurus"
... also known as Microraptor gui. I painted it a sort of irridescent black, to conform with what is known about its feathers. Can't believe how much it looks like Beebe's bookplate in his pre- WW I (1910) book Our Search for a Wilderness. Microraptor was dug up in China in 2003.
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3 comments:
OH MAN, I'd never paint over MY microraptor (same plastic model)--I love the original detailed, brightly colored feathers on it!....L. B.
Only trouble is, Lane, they are WRONG. The Microraptors (actually probably not gui, which has been folded into another species) were among the animals we KNOW the color of, and it is corvid- iridescent black-- see restorations in post below. As Beebe also had a black Dino- bird on his bookplate, this seems particularly apropos.
Have you seen the restorations of Archaeornis huxleyi? This little fourwing dino had a gray body, red Woody woodpecker crest, and boldly patterned black and white wings. It is amazing that with good feathers we can now recreate pigments and structures in feathers.
Some pterosaurs also show markings.They are the most alien beings of all terrestrial vertebrates. See Mark Wittton's blog and book.
Maybe they ain't WRONG! Maybe they just ain't found MY Microraptor subspecies yet! But I hadn't heard/read that about the COLORS of the feathers discovered--fascinating! And it looks like the "Woody Woodpecker" color scheme goes back a lot further than we ever knew before!....L.B.
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