“For years paleontologists have actually argued about whether pterosaurs had plumes. The plumes in our specimen close off that debate for excellent as they are very plainly branched all the way along their length, just like birds today.”
” In birds today, plume color is highly linked to melanosome shape,” stated Prof. McNamara. “Since the pterosaur feather types had various melanosome shapes, these animals must have had the hereditary equipment to manage the colors of their feathers.
Artists reconstruction of the feathered pterosaur Tupandactylus, revealing the feather types along the bottom of the headcrest: dark monofilaments and lighter-colored branched plumes. Credit: © Nicholls 2022 Copyright Bob Nicholls
Impressive brand-new proof that pterosaurs, the flying relatives of dinosaurs, were able to control the color of their feathers utilizing melanin pigments has actually been discovered by a worldwide group of paleontologists.
The research study, published today (April 20, 2022) in the journal Nature, was led by University College Cork (UCC) paleontologists Dr. Aude Cincotta and Prof. Maria McNamara, and Dr. Pascal Godefroit from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, with a global group of scientists from Brazil and Belgium.
Artists reconstruction of the feathered pterosaur Tupandactylus, showing the feather types along the bottom of the head crest: dark monofilaments and lighter-colored branched plumes. Credit: Copyright Julio Lacerda
The new research study is based upon analyses of a brand-new 115 million-year-old fossilized head crest of the pterosaur Tupandactylus imperator from north-eastern Brazil. Pterosaurs lived side by side with dinosaurs, from 230 to 66 million years ago.
This types of pterosaur is popular for its strange big head crest. The team discovered that the bottom of the crest had a fuzzy rim of feathers, with short wiry hair-like feathers and fluffy branched plumes.
University College Cork (UCC) Professor Maria McNamara holding tiny samples of the pterosaur feathers. Credit: UCC
” We didnt expect to see this at all,” stated Dr. Cincotta. “For years paleontologists have argued about whether pterosaurs had feathers. The feathers in our specimen block that debate for good as they are very plainly branched all the way along their length, similar to birds today.”
The group then studied the plumes with high-powered electron microscopic lens and found maintained melanosomes– granules of the pigment melanin. All of a sudden, the new study reveals that the melanosomes in different feather types have various shapes.
University College Cork (UCC) Professor Maria McNamara. Credit: UCC
” In birds today, feather color is highly linked to melanosome shape,” stated Prof. McNamara. “Since the pterosaur plume types had various melanosome shapes, these animals should have had the hereditary equipment to manage the colors of their plumes. This feature is essential for color patterning and shows that pigmentation was a crucial function of even the extremely earliest feathers.”
Thanks to the cumulative efforts of the Brazilian and belgian researchers and authorities dealing with a private donor, the amazing specimen has been repatriated to Brazil. “It is so crucial that clinically essential fossils such as this are returned to their countries of origin and securely conserved for posterity,” stated Dr. Godefroit. “These fossils can then be provided to scientists for more research study and can motivate future generations of researchers through public exhibitions that commemorate our natural heritage.”
Referral: “Pterosaur melanosomes support signalling functions for early plumes” by Aude Cincotta, Michaël Nicolaï, Hebert Bruno Nascimento Campos, Maria McNamara, Liliana DAlba, Matthew D. Shawkey, Edio-Ernst Kischlat, Johan Yans, Robert Carleer, François Escuillié and Pascal Godefroit, 20 April 2022, Nature.DOI: 10.1038/ s41586-022-04622-3.