[dinosaur] Hadrosaurid scaly skin from Late Cretaceous of Alberta (free pdf)

Ben Creisler
[email protected]


A new paper in open access:

Mauricio Barbi, Phil R. Bell, Federico Fanti, James J. Dynes, Anezka
Kolaceke, Josef Buttigieg, Ian M. Coulson & Philip J. Currie (2019)
Integumentary structure and composition in an exceptionally well-preserved
hadrosaur (Dinosauria: Ornithischia).
PeerJ 7:e7875
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.7717_peerj.7875&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=L4IEC8336riiFlCgLZb9gNIgWsk4Fl87P8EIaDtucqI&s=eXcSUsi0bdRjro-wBPk0l4hp7CiTeGIaNZ_YsQCqYBg&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__peerj.com_articles_7875_&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=L4IEC8336riiFlCgLZb9gNIgWsk4Fl87P8EIaDtucqI&s=udBgfOs14Xs87z29-jjeEbLFnl1JfGRW6X-2nH7yKPs&e= 
Free pdf:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__peerj.com_articles_7875.pdf&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=L4IEC8336riiFlCgLZb9gNIgWsk4Fl87P8EIaDtucqI&s=qNNKL-kHmEpOQyFDzgiJSy_q_2K4gNVmMDtaviwL_l8&e= 


Preserved labile tissues (e.g., skin, muscle) in the fossil record of
terrestrial vertebrates are increasingly becoming recognized as an
important source of biological and taphonomic information. Here, we combine
a variety of synchrotron radiation techniques with scanning electron and
optical microscopy to elucidate the structure of 72 million-year-old
squamous (scaly) skin from a hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous
of Alberta, Canada. Scanning electron and optical microscopy independently
reveal that the three-dimensionally preserved scales are associated with a
band of carbon-rich layers up to a total thickness of ∼75 microns, which is
topographically and morphologically congruent with the stratum corneum in
modern reptiles. Compositionally, this band deviates from that of the
surrounding sedimentary matrix; Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and
soft X-ray spectromicroscopy analyses indicate that carbon appears
predominantly as carbonyl in the skin. The regions corresponding to the
integumentary layers are distinctively enriched in iron compared to the
sedimentary matrix and appear with kaolinite-rich laminae. These hosting
carbonyl-rich layers are apparently composed of subcircular bodies
resembling preserved cell structures. Each of these structures is
encapsulated by calcite/vaterite, with iron predominantly concentrated at
its center. The presence of iron, calcite/vaterite and kaolinite may,
independently or collectively, have played important roles in the
preservation of the layered structures.


<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.avg.com_email-2Dsignature-3Futm-5Fmedium-3Demail-26utm-5Fsource-3Dlink-26utm-5Fcampaign-3Dsig-2Demail-26utm-5Fcontent-3Dwebmail&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=L4IEC8336riiFlCgLZb9gNIgWsk4Fl87P8EIaDtucqI&s=btKBinSxwYVhHVK4U0zxolArC4wNLBmLcqm_RMd9MAU&e= >
Virus-free.
www.avg.com
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.avg.com_email-2Dsignature-3Futm-5Fmedium-3Demail-26utm-5Fsource-3Dlink-26utm-5Fcampaign-3Dsig-2Demail-26utm-5Fcontent-3Dwebmail&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=L4IEC8336riiFlCgLZb9gNIgWsk4Fl87P8EIaDtucqI&s=btKBinSxwYVhHVK4U0zxolArC4wNLBmLcqm_RMd9MAU&e= >
<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>