Editing Archaeopteryx (section)

==== Colouration ====
[[File:Archaeopteryx NT.jpg|thumb|right|Artist's restoration illustrating one interpretation of Carney's study<ref name="NatureComm">{{Cite journal |last1=Carney |first1=R. |last2=Vinther |first2=Jakob |last3=Shawkey |first3=Matthew D. |last4=d'Alba |first4=Liliana |last5=Ackermann |first5=Jörg |year=2012 |title=New evidence on the colour and nature of the isolated Archaeopteryx feather |journal=Nature Communications |volume=3 |page=637 |bibcode=2012NatCo...3..637C |doi=10.1038/ncomms1642 |pmid=22273675 |doi-access=free}}</ref>]]

In 2011, graduate student Ryan Carney and colleagues performed the first colour study on an ''Archaeopteryx'' specimen.<ref name="NatureComm"/> Using [[Scanning electron microscope|scanning electron microscopy]] technology and [[Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy|energy-dispersive X-ray]] analysis, the team was able to detect the structure of [[melanosome]]s in the isolated feather specimen described in 1861. The resultant measurements were then compared to those of 87{{nbsp}}modern bird species, and the original colour was calculated with a 95% likelihood to be black. The feather was determined to be black throughout, with heavier pigmentation in the distal tip. The feather studied was most probably a dorsal [[Covert (feather)|covert]], which would have partly covered the primary feathers on the wings. The study does not mean that ''Archaeopteryx'' was entirely black, but suggests that it had some black colouration which included the coverts. Carney pointed out that this is consistent with what is known of modern flight characteristics, in that black melanosomes have structural properties that strengthen feathers for flight.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Switek |first=Brian |date=9 November 2011 |title=Archaeopteryx was robed in black |work=New Scientist |location=Las Vegas |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21146-archaeopteryx-was-robed-in-black.html |archive-date=26 April 2015 |access-date=24 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426132408/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21146-archaeopteryx-was-robed-in-black.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In a 2013 study published in the ''Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry'', new analyses of ''Archaeopteryx''{{'}}s feathers revealed that the animal may have had complex light- and dark-coloured plumage, with heavier pigmentation in the distal tips and outer vanes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Manning, Phillip. L. |last2=Edwards |first2=Nicholas P. |last3=Wogelius |first3=Roy A. |last4=Bergmann |first4=Uwe |last5=Barden |first5=Holly E. |last6=Larson |first6=Peter L. |last7=Schwarz-Wings |first7=Daniela |last8=Egerton |first8=Victoria M. |last9=Sokaras |first9=Dimosthenis |display-authors=etal |year=2013 |title=Synchrotron-based chemical imaging reveals plumage patterns in a 150 million year old early bird |journal=Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry |volume=28 |issue=7 |page=1024 |doi=10.1039/c3ja50077b |doi-access=free}}</ref> This analysis of colour distribution was based primarily on the distribution of sulphate within the fossil. An author on the previous ''Archaeopteryx'' colour study argued against the interpretation of such biomarkers as an indicator of eumelanin in the full ''Archaeopteryx'' specimen.<ref name="Vinther2015">{{Cite journal |last=Vinther |first=J |year=2015 |title=A guide to the field of palaeo colour: melanin and other pigments can fossilise: reconstructing colour patterns from ancient organisms can give new insights to ecology and behaviour |journal=BioEssays |volume=6 |issue=37 |pages=643–656 |doi=10.1002/bies.201500018 |pmid=25854512 |s2cid=24966334}}</ref> Carney and other colleagues also argued against the 2013 study's interpretation of the sulphate and trace metals,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carney |first1=Ryan |last2=Molnar |first2=Julia |last3=Updike |first3=Earl |last4=Brown |first4=William |last5=Jackson |first5=Jessie |last6=Shawkey |first6=Matthew |last7=Lindgren |first7=Johan |last8=Sjövall |first8=Peter |last9=Falkingham |first9=Peter |last10=Gauthier |first10=Jacques |date=2014 |title=Archaeopteryx in 4D |url=http://vertpaleo.org/GlobalPDFS/SVP-2014-Program-and-Abstract-Book-9-18-2014.aspx |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |language=en |volume=103 |access-date=15 January 2018 |archive-date=25 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425135859/http://vertpaleo.org/GlobalPDFS/SVP-2014-Program-and-Abstract-Book-9-18-2014.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=SVP – Press Release – Taking a Deeper Look at "Ancient Wing" |url=http://vertpaleo.org/Society-News/SVP-Paleo-News/Society-News,-Press-Releases/Press-Release-Taking-a-Deeper-Look-at-Ancient-Wing.aspx |access-date=3 April 2016 |website=vertpaleo.org |archive-date=19 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419054434/http://vertpaleo.org/Society-News/SVP-Paleo-News/Society-News,-Press-Releases/Press-Release-Taking-a-Deeper-Look-at-Ancient-Wing.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in a 2020 study published in ''Scientific Reports'' demonstrated that the isolated covert feather was entirely matte black (as opposed to black and white, or iridescent) and that the remaining "plumage patterns of ''Archaeopteryx'' remain unknown".<ref name=Carney2020/>