Photos: This Dinosaur's Feathers Shimmered with Iridescence

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Rainbow dinosaur

Dinosaur feathers

(Image credit: Velizar Simeonovski/The Field Museum, for the University of Texas at Austin)

Amazing fossil

Dinosaur feathers

(Image credit: Yu et al., 2018)

After analyzing the fossil (shown here), researchers named the dinosaur Caihong juji. The genus name comes from the Mandarin word "caihong," which means rainbow. The species name is made up of two Mandarin words: "ju" and "ji," which translate to "big" and crest."

In all, the dinosaur's scientific name translates to "rainbow with the big crest."

Fierce skull

Dinosaur feathers

(Image credit: Yu et al., 2018)

The skull of C. juji looks similar to that of Velociraptor.

Melanosomes

Dinosaur feathers

(Image credit: Yu et al., 2018)

Researchers figured out that C. juji had iridescent feathers by looking at the shape and structure of its melanosomes, the parts of cells that contain pigment.

Iridescent hunter

Rainbow dinosaur illustration

(Image credit: Zhao Chuang)

C. juji prepares to snatch its prey.

Sketching dinosaurs

Dinosaur feathers

(Image credit: Yu et al., 2018)

Photos and drawings of the incredibly detailed C. juji fossil.

Back bones

Dinosaur feathers

(Image credit: Yu et al., 2018)

These close-ups show the vertebral column of C. juji.

[Read more about the iridescent dinosaur]

Limb bones

Dinosaur feathers

(Image credit: Yu et al., 2018)

A magnified view of the dinosaur's pectoral girdle and limbs.

Feather collage

Dinosaur feathers

(Image credit: Yu et al., 2018)

The different feathers found on the dinosaur's body. Because C. juji couldn't fly, it likely used its feathers to keep warm and to attract mates.

Melanosome comparison

Dinosaur feathers

(Image credit: Yu et al., 2018)

A comparison of melanosomes in modern iridescent birds.

Iridescent hummingbird

Dinosaur feathers

(Image credit: Heather Skeen/the Field Museum)

The dinosaur's melanosomes looked most like those of a modern hummingbird.

Laura Geggel
Laura Geggel
Managing Editor

Laura is the managing editor at Live Science. She also runs the archaeology section and the Life's Little Mysteries series. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Scholastic, Popular Science and Spectrum, a site on autism research. She has won multiple awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association for her reporting at a weekly newspaper near Seattle. Laura holds a bachelor's degree in English literature and psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in science writing from NYU.