Feathers are amongst the most complex epidermal structures known, and they have a well-documented evolutionary trajectory across non-avian dinosaurs and basal birds. Moreover, melanosome-like microbodies preserved in association with fossil plumage have been used to reconstruct original colour, behaviour and physiology. However, these putative ancient melanosomes might alternatively represent microorganismal residues, a conflicting interpretation compounded by a lack of unambiguous chemical data. We therefore used sensitive molecular imaging, supported by multiple independent analytical tests, to demonstrate that the filamentous epidermal appendages in a new specimen of the Jurassic paravian Anchiornis comprise remnant eumelanosomes and fibril-like microstructures, preserved as endogenous eumelanin and authigenic calcium phosphate. These results provide novel insights into the early evolution of feathers at the sub-cellular level, and unequivocally determine that melanosomes can be preserved in fossil feathers.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4550916 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep13520 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
The evolution of the air sac system in theropod dinosaurs: Evidence from the Upper Cretaceous of Madagascar.
J Anat
July 2024
Laboratory of Zoology, Department of Biological Chemistry, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Diversidade Biológica e Recursos Naturais, Regional University of Cariri (URCA), Crato, Brazil.
Recent evidence suggests that the invasive air sac system evolved at least three times independently in avemetatarsalians: in pterosaurs, sauropodomorphs and theropods. Data from sauropodomorphs showed that the pneumatic architecture in vertebrae first developed in camellate-like trabeculae in the Triassic, later in camerate systems in Jurassic neosauropods, and finally camellate tissue in Cretaceous titanosaurs. This evolutionary trajectory has support from a considerable sampling of sauropodomorph taxa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAerodynamics Show Membrane-Winged Theropods Were a Poor Gliding Dead-end.
iScience
December 2020
Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi City, Shandong, China.
Article Synopsis
- The scansoriopterygid theropods had elongated fingers with skin that could form a potential wing, hypothesized for flying, but this idea had not been tested.
- Using advanced imaging techniques, the study found that these creatures were likely tree-dwellers with limited ability for powered flight and gliding.
- The research indicates that scansoriopterygids do not represent the early evolution of bird flight and highlight a complex evolutionary process for flight in the Jurassic period.
A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight.
PeerJ
July 2019
University of Wisconsin Geology Museum, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
The last two decades have seen a remarkable increase in the known diversity of basal avialans and their paravian relatives. The lack of resolution in the relationships of these groups combined with attributing the behavior of specialized taxa to the base of Paraves has clouded interpretations of the origin of avialan flight. Here, we describe gen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe iconic primeval bird was so far mainly known from the Altmühltal Formation (early Tithonian) of Bavaria, southern Germany, with one specimen having been found in the overlying Mörnsheim Formation. A new specimen (the 12th skeletal specimen) from the earliest Tithonian Painten Formation of Schamhaupten (Bavaria) represents the so far oldest representative of the genus. The new specimen shows several interesting anatomical details, including the presence of a postorbital in contact with the jugal, the presence of a separate prefrontal and coronoid, and opisthocoelous mid-cervical vertebrae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA bony-crested Jurassic dinosaur with evidence of iridescent plumage highlights complexity in early paravian evolution.
Nat Commun
January 2018
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 142 Xiwai Street, 100044, Beijing, China.
The Jurassic Yanliao theropods have offered rare glimpses of the early paravian evolution and particularly of bird origins, but, with the exception of the bizarre scansoriopterygids, they have shown similar skeletal and integumentary morphologies. Here we report a distinctive new Yanliao theropod species bearing prominent lacrimal crests, bony ornaments previously known from more basal theropods. It shows longer arm and leg feathers than Anchiornis and tail feathers with asymmetrical vanes forming a tail surface area even larger than that in Archaeopteryx.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!