Melanin and other pigments are now well known to be important in exceptional preservation of soft tissues in vertebrates and other animals. Because pigments confer coloration and even structural colors, they have opened a new field of paleocolor reconstruction. Since its inception about a decade ago, reconstruction of color patterns has been performed on several vertebrates, including feathered and scale-clad dinosaurs. Iridescence and other types of structural color can also be identified through melanosome shape and arrangement. How pigments and melanosomes fossilize and are altered has become an important research subject. Ancient color patterns that may range from crypsis to brilliant displays have revealed insights into the evolution and escalation of visual systems, the nature of ancient animal interactions, and how several unique characteristics of birds already arose among dinosaurs.

现在众所周知，黑色素和其他色素对于在脊椎动物和其他动物中软组织的异常保存非常重要。由于颜料赋予颜色甚至结构色，它们为古色重建开辟了新领域。自从大约十年前问世以来，已经在包括羽毛和鳞片恐龙在内的多个脊椎动物上进行了彩色图案的重建。虹彩和其他类型的结构颜色也可以通过黑素体的形状和排列来识别。色素和黑素体如何化石和改变已成为重要的研究课题。古老的色彩模式（从冷山雀到绚烂的显示），揭示了对视觉系统的演变和升级，古老的动物互动的本质，