| I have taken up wood carving in my retirement, and am in the planning stages of a life-sized carving of a running Archaeopteryx. The creature will have its fully-feathered wings and tail portrayed in a way that suggests that they have a stabilization function while Archie is making a sharp running turn. The pose will be ambiguous, however, suggesting both a creature running in pursuit of a prey and a winged animal about to take flight at any time. This ambiguity would be consistent with the current debates about the flight capabilities of Archaeopteryx. I am taking detailed measurements off a life-sized resin replica of the Berlin specimen, to make sure that the physical dimensions of the carving are correct, but hereâs my question: What color should the finished carving be? I have read a number of recent articles about melanosome distribution in Archie feathers, and there still seems to be debate about whether the wing feathers were completely black or had some color variation along their length. A carving painted dark to resemble a raven, including some iridescence, would be dramatic enough, but I want to be as current and scientifically accurate as possible about what the actual coloration pattern might be. Did Archieâs coloration resemble that of a raven, a hawk, maybe even a partridge? The audience for this carving, when it is finished, will be highly experienced bird carvers, but still folks who probably donât have a lot of knowledge of paleontology or avian evolution. I really canât wait until the carving is done and I enter it in a carving competition in the category of ârealistic birds, life-sizedâ. The bony tail, the wing claws, and the teeth will certainly raise a few eyebrows! I am also preparing some sort of a booklet that would have educational value at whatever venue I might eventually display the carving. Any opinions about Archaeopteryx coloration would be welcome and helpful for this project, including the suggestion that I simply indulge my own creative fantasies about what this fascinating creature might have looked like. Thanks in advance, and wish me luck. James ____________________ Sent from my iPad |