2010. Fucheng Zhang and colleagues examined the fossilized feathers of several dinosaurs and early birds, and found evidence that they preserved melanosomes, the cell components that give the feathers of modern birds their colour. Among the specimens studied was a previously undescribed specimen of Sinosauropteryx, IVPP V14202. By examining melanosome structure and distribution, Zhang and colleagues were able to confirm the presence of light and dark bands of colour in the tail feathers of Sinosauropteryx. Furthermore, the team was able to compare melanosome types to those of modern birds to determine a general range of colour. From the presence of phaeomelanosomes, spherical melanosomes that make and store red pigment, they concluded that the darker feathers of Sinosauropteryx were chestnut or reddish brown in colour. More research on the coloration of Sinosauropteryx reveals that it had a raccoon-like bandit mask and countershading patterns most likely associated with an open habitat, indicating that the Jehol likely had a range of habitat types. History of discovery The first fossil specimen of the dinosaur later named Sinosauropteryx prima was uncovered in August 1996 by Li Yumin. Yumin was a farmer and part-time fossil hunter who often prospected around Liaoning Province to acquire fossils to sell to individuals and museums. Yumin recognized the unique quality of the specimen, which was separated into two slabs, and sold the slabs to two separate museums in China: the National Geological Museum in Beijing, and the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology. The director of the Beijing museum, Ji Qiang, recognized the importance of the find, as did visiting Canadian palaeontologist Phil Currie and artist Michael Skrepnick, who became aware of the fossil by chance as they explored the Beijing museum's collections after leading a fossil tour of the area during the first week of October, 1996. Currie recognized the significance of the fossil immediately. As The New York Times quoted him, "When I saw this slab of siltstone mixed with volcanic ash in which the creature is embedded, I was bowled over." When originally described, the authors named Sinosauropteryx, meaning "Chinese Reptilian Wing. Chinese authorities initially barred photographs of the specimen from publication. However, Currie brought a photograph to the 1996 meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, causing crowds of palaeontologists to gather and discuss the new discovery. The news reportedly left palaeontologist John Ostrom, who in