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We could, I dunno, look at reptile skins of creatures that are alive today, that might give us some clues.

I think there is, right? We have skin impressions, and pigment can in fact be preserved, like in feather fossils we have. It's rare for sure, because it requires excellent preservation, but there are absolutely ways we can know

See also: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_coloration

Valid but still. It could be anything

Tried to Google it. Says that skin is rarely intact all the more the color.

Yea, true. As I say, very rare. But possible. It's also not beyond the realm of possibility that better techniques for analysing fossils we already have will grant us a better idea in the future.

No, not anything - there’s a set number of real-world, current examples we can base our ideas on.

Ya but the dinosaurs are different from our current reptiles in a lot of ways. Why can't skin color be one of them.

Edit: chameleons are reptiles. So dinosaurs can have chameleon skins too?

Additionally, dinosaurs actually seem to be much closer to birds than reptiles now.

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So then by that argument of "closer" it only makes more sense that dinosaur skin may be more colorful than we thought?

Skin is rarely intact but we have examples, so we can tell what the texture of those examples was.

However you are right that currently we cannot determine the pigmentation.

How about a chameleon 🦖 T-Rrex

I believe we can backtrack the fossil record to get reasonable ideas, but yes, unless we clone a perfect sample or invent a time machine, certainty seems quite difficult.

I was actually thinking if we develop a warp drive and go to a place a million light years away and then look at earth using a telescope then we can see.

That's a kick ass time telescope. 😁

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But seriously check out the Dino mummy. It’s an extremely fascinating paleontological discovery.

No, it means that dinosaurs most likely have soft skin and had feathers.

In the UK's National Science Museum they have mummified/fossilized Dinosaur Skin, which shows us texture.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2022/october/mummified-dinosaur-could-show-evidence-scavenging-ancient-crocodiles.html

Ah the nuance of a brain developed by the first page of google

Stupid ass

Everything was black n white until my parents were 30 idk what you’re talking about

I think of it more by environment. It’s unlikely that a bright orange dinosaur would be living in a rainforest, where it needs to use camouflage, for either hunting or hiding.

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That’s not quite the way it works.

How so?

The telescope itself would have to be light years wide, and you wouldn’t see images. The light from 65 million years ago, but no, it wouldn’t be like watching a video.

We can, in fact, determine the coloration of dinosaurs , given well-preserved specimens. Most of these have been pigmentation of feathers. Microraptor had iridescent black feathers like modern crows, Anchiornis had black, white and grey feathers all over its body and a crest of dark red or ochre feathers on its head, and Sinosauropteryx had rusty orange feathers over its body and white rings on its tail. However, we have been able to discern the pigmentation of a couple of non-feathered dinosaurs. Psittacosaurus was counter-shaded (dark back, pale belly) and had stripes and spots resembling camouflage patterns seen in some modern animals such as certain deer. Borealopelta was also counter-shaded in shades of brown.

I love it when I learn something new.

Thank you!