In order to determine the colors of a 10 million year old snake, scientists have successfully discovered its true coloring using state of the art scanning technology, obtained from a colorless fossil of its skin. 

This prehistoric, ancient reptile's skin has been preserved in the most pristine condition, however it was missing its head. The colors would have been green and pockmarked with blackish brown blotches, possessing a pale underbelly. This coloration is observed in modern snakes today under the same family, according to scientists.

According to paleobiologist and lead author of the study, Maria McNamara from the University College Cork, Ireland, recovering this kind of fossil tissues with unprecedented detail, you just get truly amazed and surprised upon closer inspection under the microscope. The team was astounded, as you can not even believe what you are seeing in intense detail. 

In this new study, researchers believe that the snake's colors are crucial for camouflage and it is also possible that the snake is active during the day. Using a powerful, scanning electron microscope, the team was able to analyze the snake's chromatophores that zoomed in on the very cells that provide its coloring.

Combining this evidence with current data about modern snakes and its family, researchers were able to determine the exact colors from this scaly fossilized skin. Mcnamara adds, for the first time ever, we are seeing the mineralized tissues from an ancient animal that preserved crucial evidence for color.

This snake fossil was first discovered during the early 20th century in Spain which is housed under a collection in the Dinopolis Museum in Teruel, Spain. Following this new study, researchers hope that this new technique will be able to determine new species of animals living millions of years ago, especially specimens that are preserved in calcium phosphate, where the true colors of these ancient creatures can be analyzed and deciphered.

This new study is published in the journal Current Biology.