FIVE THINGS ABOUT MASKED DINOSAUR

1 FORERUNNER OF BIRDS

The first feathered dinosaur ever found is still spilling its secrets. Sinosauropteryx was uncovered two decades ago, when a farmer in northeastern China unearthed a remarkable fossil while digging a well. The dinosaur’s ancient feathery fluff stunned experts and helped cement the idea that birds are living, avian dinosaurs.

2 IT HAD A RACCOON MASK

Paleontologists continue to wring new and unusual details from Sinosauropteryx remains — like the brown mark streaked over its snout, much like the bandit mask on a raccoon. Bandit masks in mammals tend to be warnings, said University of Bristol paleobiologist Jakob Vinther, author of a paper published Thursday in the journal Current Biology. “But we don’t think that’s the main function in Sinosauropteryx.” Instead, its face stripes could have served to cut glare from the sun.

3 IT WAS CAMOUFLAGED

The scientists also determined that the animal was camouflaged: Its belly was light and its back was dark, a pattern to disguise the 1.2-metre-long creature from carnivores.

4 IT PROBABLY LIVED IN OPEN AREAS

Its colours would have been most effective in open prairies and less in wooded regions, researchers concluded. In that regard, Sinosauropteryx resembled a pronghorn antelope, a prairie animal, rather than a forest creature.

5 IT WAS SMALL

At just under six pounds, about the weight of a chihuahua, the dinosaur would not have been a major threat. If its camouflage and face mask didn’t help, the only other option for Sinosauropteryx was to run.