Pittman, Michael;
Enriquez, Nathan J;
Bell, Phil R;
Kaye, Thomas G;
Upchurch, Paul;
(2022)
Newly detected data from Haestasaurus and review of sauropod skin morphology suggests Early Jurassic origin of skin papillae.
Communications Biology
, 5
, Article 122. 10.1038/s42003-022-03062-z.
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Abstract
Discovered in 1852, the scaly skin belonging to Haestasaurus becklesii was the first to be described in any non-avian dinosaur. Accordingly, it has played a crucial role in the reconstruction of sauropod integument and dinosaurs more broadly. Here, we reassess this historic specimen using Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence (LSF), revealing extensive, previously unknown regions of skin that augment prior interpretations of its integumentary morphology and taphonomy. Under white light, polygonal–subrounded, convex scales are visible on one side of the block (‘side A’), but LSF reveals extensive smaller and more flattened scales, which are diagenetically fragmented, on the reverse block surface (‘side B’). Contrary to the prior interpretation that the visible scales are the epidermal undersides, the presence of convex, intrascale papilliform textures on side A suggests that the external skin surface is exposed. We define intrascale papillae and provide a review of sauropod skin morphology, which clarifies that intrascale papillae are unique to and widespread across stem Neosauropoda, and likely have an evolutionary origin in the Early Jurassic. Intrascale papillae may ultimately have been integral to the evolution of gigantism in this charismatic clade.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Newly detected data from Haestasaurus and review of sauropod skin morphology suggests Early Jurassic origin of skin papillae |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s42003-022-03062-z |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03062-z |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10143954 |
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