A bite wound reveals the secrets of the dinosaurs
A fossil recently unearthed in China has provided scientists with a rare glimpse into the dinosaurs' internal form. The Pithacosaurus, a plant-eating dinosaur had shark-like skin hidden under layers of feathers.
Paleontologists believe that this type of covering supported the dinosaurs' internal organs and protected them from predators.
Tooth marks indicate that the dinosaur was eaten by a scavenger, and this gave us a unique glimpse into their biology, a hundred million years after the death of the prey. The researchers published the study in the Journal of the British Royal Society.
Soft tissues such as skin are rarely preserved in the fossil record, and this has led to heated debate about what the dinosaurs looked like and whether they covered themselves with primitive feathers or perhaps scales.
The vegetarian dinosaur that walked on two legs, and whose size was the size of a leatherback deer contained over 25 layers of collagen (a type of protein) similar to today's reptiles, sharks and dolphins. As it appears "from studies in animals living today, this structure plays an important role in the pressures and stresses that the skin has encountered and they are ideally suited to provide support and protection", explains Prof. Taghertan Lingham Soldier from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. The Pithacosaurus gave us a deep insight into the skin of a dinosaur." said.
The fossil was discovered in an area in China where many unique fossils have been preserved in good condition. "A discovery like this in China is sensational and brings new surprises," said Mark Wheaton from the School of Environment and Earth Sciences at the University of Portsmouth in the UK to the BBC.
According to the researchers, teeth marks and cuts on the skin indicate that the animal was attacked by another dinosaur and then quickly covered by investors immediately after its fall, which allowed the soft tissues to be preserved in amazing detail.
A dinosaur was discovered in which soft tissues were preserved
A dinosaur with four wings
One response
I would like to see a picture