Snowy-white, Furry Pterodactyls
Finally, in the late 1970's and 1980's, perceptions of pterodactyls began to change. In the mind of fossil experts, pterodactyl hide was transformed from dark and leathery to snowy-white and furry. Part of this revolution in thinking came from rediscoveries of scientific work from the 1920's. At that time, German paleontologists found pterodactyl remains in Jurassic rocks that seemed to preserve an image of the fine structure of its skin. Using a microscope, scientists could see tiny hair-shaped structures that covered the body like fine fur. Few paleontologists believed the notion that pterodactyls had fur until 1970, when Russian experts announced their discovery of fossil specimens that indisputably showed the entire body covered with hair.
Once we accept the idea of pterodactyls as furry fliers, the next question to ask is, "What color was the fur?" We can find no clues from fossil bones or even fossil skin, but we can make a good guess based on nature's hard and fast rules of color. The rules are that an animal's coloration must do two things-provide camouflage in the native environment and help attract mates.
Under those rules, the 200-year-old tradition of showing pterodactyls with dark, batlike skin made no ecological sense. Nearly all of our pterodactyl specimens have been dug up from sediments formed in shallow oceans, and pterodactyl teeth and muzzles appear adapted to catching fish and squid. In other words, those pterodactyls were the Mesozoic equivalent of today's oceanic birds, like gulls, terns, and albatrosses. And what color are most sea birds? White-the best camouflage for birds that swoop down on fish swimming near the surface. A snowy underside makes the bird's body invisible against the bright sky. Therefore, most pterodactyls are likely to have had white fur on their bellies, throats, and thighs.
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