Anchiornis
In 2010, a team examined numerous points among the feathers of an extremely well-preserved Anchiornis specimen to survey the distribution of melanosomes, the pigment cells that give feathers their colour. By studying the melanosomes and comparing them with those of modern birds, the scientists were able to map the colours and patterning present on Anchiornis when it was alive. Though this technique had been used before, Anchiornis became the first Mesozoic dinosaur for which almost the entire life colouration was known.