Dinosaur Dandruff Discovered

The finding is evidence that this feature of modern skin may have evolved in the late Middle Jurassic period.

“There was a burst of evolution of feathered dinosaurs and birds at this time, and it’s exciting to see evidence that the skin of early birds and dinosaurs was evolving rapidly in response to bearing feathers,” said Dr Maria McNamara who led the research.

The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, also found remarkable similarities between the skin of the dinosaurs and those of modern birds.

“What’s remarkable is that the fossil dandruff is almost identical to that in modern birds, even the spiral twisting of individual fibres is still visible.”

The research also provides the first evidence that the dinosaurs lost their skin in flakes, in the same way as modern birds and mammals, not in one or a number of large pieces like reptiles today do.

Contacts and sources:
Will Goodbody
University College Cork

Citation: Fossilized skin reveals coevolution with feathers and metabolism in feathered dinosaurs and early birds.
Maria E. McNamara, Fucheng Zhang, Stuart L. Kearns, Patrick J. Orr, André Toulouse, Tara Foley, David W. E. Hone, Chris S. Rogers, Michael J. Benton, Diane Johnson, Xing Xu, Zhonghe Zhou. Nature Communications, 2018; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04443-x