Our paleontologists unveil special class skin fossils

Keywords: paleontology parascapular spines of stegosaur class skin fossils

Giant spike Dragon fight

Giant spike Dragon scales cross sectional diagram of the diffuse reflectance (drawing-Xie Meng)

[] 'S hearing: July 19, Chinese paleontologists details from zigong Sichuan late Jurassic a special type of skin impressions fossils, and pointed out that the rough scales can help reduce the overall brightness of its body, so as to achieve subtle effects. Fossils of researchers, the Institute of geology of young scholars XING Lida and zigong dinosaur museum curator Peng illumination, Research Department, Deputy Director of Shu pure Kang in the recently published geological situation "was seventh on the author describes the precious specimens.

Basic dinosaur skin similar to modern reptiles skin, their high degree of epidermal skin, the body was wrapped by horny scales. These horny scales in addition to the protective, but also help to prevent moisture loss in the body. Dinosaur fossils are very precious, the skin on the body surface characteristics of dinosaurs, physiological functions and dinosaurs have an important role. The world's first dinosaur skin fossils found in 1852, and since then have found around the world. To date, with the exception of China, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Mongolia and other places were found 20 cases of fossil dinosaur skin, with duck-billed Loon class.

At present, the Chinese discovered fossil dinosaur skin impressions only five cases, three of the cases found in Sichuan, two cases found in Liaoning. XING Lida, this description of the special kind of skin-prints from the original found in April 1985, from zigong Dinosaur Museum in yuantan district mining. In November, the specimen of repair process, in the left shoulder Spike (a piece of bone from the shoulder stretching ratchet) are found on the footprints of the skin and by academics from doing simple stroke diary. This is the first Chinese find the special class of fossil footprints of the skin.

In 2007, in zigong Dinosaur Museum dinosaur restoration project funded by XING Lida and others on giant spike Dragon for accurate recovery, observed the skin fossils, discover the footprints of the new features, and in-depth research.

Dinosaur skin save need tough conditions, this giant spike Dragon skin is imprint fossils are extremely rare. Sichuan zigong dinosaur museum curator, the famous dinosaur research expert penny light said: "this giant spike Dragon had should be an outlier or singleton state, when it is normal or abnormal death after being quickly buried not just after the body of little movement, most of the bones were also associated with its skin is saved back to the left shoulder Spike, integrated overall scale size, arrangement, and other elements, the skin is imprint fossils in the body may be forelimb elbow and adjacent to the upper arm and body skin. ”

The special type of skin from the earliest by the United States well-known paleontologists Marsh description in 1881. Shu chun Kang, Deputy Director, pointed out: "our special class of this description as giant spike Dragon, it is a distant relative of special United States. Stegosaurus had ever seen the throat, which is conducive to the protection of their throat, giant spike Dragon scales shape is very close to the throat of the special exhibition. And we found that the special class of Flake not monotonic uniform arrangement, but rather spread between small scale sporadic large scales, and this building has become an herbivorous dinosaur (such as lizard foot class, bird feet class, angular Dragon class) common skin style, in favor of Defense. ”