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Oh My, No Feathers in Tyrannosaurids, Scaly Skin


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Interesting paper that supports reptilian looking tyrannosaurids :dinothumb:

 

From Abstract

 

Recent evidence for feathers in theropods has led to speculations that the largest tyrannosaurids, including Tyrannosaurus rex, were extensively feathered. We describe fossil integument from Tyrannosaurus and other tyrannosaurids (Albertosaurus, Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus and Tarbosaurus), confirming that these large-bodied forms possessed scaly, reptilian-like skin. Body size evolution in tyrannosauroids reveals two independent occurrences of gigantism; specifically, the large sizes in Yutyrannus and tyrannosaurids were independently derived. These new findings demonstrate that extensive feather coverings observed in some early tyrannosauroids were lost by the Albian, basal to Tyrannosauridae. This loss is unrelated to palaeoclimate but possibly tied to the evolution of gigantism, although other mechanisms exist.

 

 

 

http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/13/6/20170092

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Get rekt feathered dinosaur fans!The developers of ``Saurian`` video game need to change their T-rex now.

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Well now we have gone full circle, first scaly, then feathered, now back to scaly ( with possible patches of feathers or feathers in youth).

“...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin

Happy hunting,

Mason

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Makes perfect sense to me.  If the primary function of feathers was (arguably) to provide insulation, a larger-bodied organism wouldn't have as much need for them (due to slow rate of heat loss) as a smaller one would.  Besides...the thought of Tyrannosaurus rex as a gigantic, malevolent canary really bothered me!

 

-Joe

Illigitimati non carborundum

Fruitbat's PDF Library

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3 hours ago, Fruitbat said:

Makes perfect sense to me.  If the primary function of feathers was (arguably) to provide insulation, a larger-bodied organism wouldn't have as much need for them (due to slow rate of heat loss) as a smaller one would.  Besides...the thought of Tyrannosaurus rex as a gigantic, malevolent canary really bothered me!

 

-Joe

 

Indeed. There's a reason why the largest mammals today, such as the African elephant, rhinoceros and hippopotamus are relatively hairless.

Looking forward to meeting my fellow Singaporean collectors! Do PM me if you are a Singaporean, or an overseas fossil-collector coming here for a holiday!

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While I accept large bodied tyrannosaurs weren't completely covered in feathers, is it not possible that they may have had feathers on other spots of their body, for instance those teensy tiny arms? Does anyone know which part of the body this skin imprint is from?

 

And who's to say fluffy tyrannosaurs wouldn't be scary, have you seen the Antarctic Giant Petrel? I have nightmares about it!

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It is interesting that the paleontologist in that article is also doing work on eurypterids. One of the imprints was from the tail area

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(Disclaimer: This is all my opinion :))

Having just seen the imprints on the silhouette of a Tyrannosaurus rex, I don't think that these findings are too much of a game changer. The media certainly paints with a broad brush saying that the findings have proven Tyrannosaurus rex was completely scaly. The impressions themselves aren't too big when compared to a huge animal such as Tyrannosaurus rex. For the most part, the impressions also come from places on a Tyrannosaurus Rex's body that were already speculated to be scaly. As for the idea that larger animals would have less feathers due to body heat, I am pretty sure that feathers actually cool down the body. Only time will reveal the truth about Tyrannosaurus rex. My personal opinion is that tyrannosaurs were partially feathered and scaly.

 

Trey the explainer has a great video on this, most if not all of this information is from his video. Kudos to him!

 

Edit: Remember, science is all about interpreting clues from the natural world to answer questions, sometimes we all have different interpretations and that's ok!

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