Rare soft tissue preservation showing fibrous structures in an ichthyosaur from the Lower Lias (Jurassic) of England

Lingham‐Soliar, Theagarten

doi:10.1098/rspb.1999.0933

Cited by 39 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…10!) shows a beaded structure of the collagen fibres (figure 3a) that is strikingly similar to that of Psittacosaurus (figures 1c,d and 2c) and other fossilized animals (Lingham-Soliar 1999, 2001Feduccia et al 2005;Lingham-Soliar & Plodowski 2007). At highpower SEM, the fibres comprising the bundles are found to form regular waves (figure 3b, arrows); this shows the onset of dehydration of the dermal tissue.…”

Section: Results and Descriptionsmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Rather inextensible dermal collagen fibres are central to these functions. Application of this knowledge has been possible in only one fossil vertebrate group, to the author's knowledge, the ichthyosaur (Lingham-Soliar & Reif 1998;Lingham-Soliar 1999, 2001Lingham-Soliar & Plodowski 2007), largely owing to the excellence of soft tissue preservations from the Posidonia Shale of Baden Wü rttemberg (Toarcian), southern Germany. On the other hand, dinosaur integumental preservations were rather sparse, that is, until the explosion of finds from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation in Liaoning Province, China in the mid-1990s.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A unique cross section through the skin of the dinosaurPsittacosaurusfrom China showing a complex fibre architecture

Lingham‐Soliar

2008

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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This paper reports on a unique preservation of soft tissues in the ventrolateral region of the plant-eating dinosaur Psittacosaurus from the Jehol biota of China. The preservation is of a deep cross section through the dermis, which includes multiple layers of collagenous fibres in excess of 25, among the highest recorded in vertebrates, with a further 15 more layers (poorly preserved) estimated for the entire height of the section. Also, for the first time in a dinosaur two fibre layers parallel to the skin surface are preserved deep within the dermis at the base of the cross section. These fibre layers comprise regularly disposed fibres arranged in left-and right-handed geodesic helices, matching the pattern at the surface and reasonably inferred for the entire section. As noted from the studies on modern-day animals, this fibre structure plays a critical part in the stresses and strains the skin may be subjected to and is ideally suited to providing support and protection. Psittacosaurus gives a remarkable, unprecedented understanding of the dinosaur skin.

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Section: Results and Descriptionsmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A unique cross section through the skin of the dinosaurPsittacosaurusfrom China showing a complex fibre architecture

Lingham‐Soliar

2008

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…Feduccia (2013) interprets the integumentary structures of Sinosauropteryx as degraded collagen fibers inside the tail based on the works of one scientist, T. Lingham-Soliar, who has argued that collagen fibers are widespread in the fossil record (Lingham-Soliar 1999, 2008. The discovery of the widespread preservation of melanosomes (which can be identified through scanning electron microscopy) in feathers and integument more broadly, that do not co-occur with collagenous structures (Vinther et al 2008), provides a tractable, repeatable way to test the protofeather versus collagen nature of integumentary structures.…”

Section: Anatomical and Evolutionary Misinterpretationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rhetoric vs. reality: A commentary on “Bird Origins Anew” by A. Feduccia

Smith

Chiappe

Clarke

et al. 2015

The Auk

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Birds are maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs. The evidence supporting the systematic position of Avialae as a derived clade within Dinosauria is voluminous and derived from multiple independent lines of evidence. In contrast, a paucity of selectively chosen data weakly support, at best, alternative proposals regarding the origin of birds and feathers. Opponents of the theory that birds are dinosaurs have frequently based their criticisms on unorthodox interpretations of paleontological data and misrepresentation of phylogenetic systematic methods. Moreover, arguments against the nested position of Avialae in Dinosauria have often conflated the logically distinct questions of avian origins, the evolution of flight, and the phylogenetic distribution of feathers. Motivated by a Perspectives article with numerous factual inaccuracies that recently appeared in The Auk, we provide a review of the full complement of facts pertaining to the avian origins debate and address the misplaced criticisms raised in that opinion paper. Keywords: evolution of flight, evolution of feathers, evolution of birds, Avialae, maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs, phylogenetic systematics Retórica vs. Realidad: Un comentario sobre ''Bird Origins Anew'' por A. Feduccia, Auk 130:1-12 RESUMEN Las aves son dinosaurios terópodos maniraptores. La evidencia que sustenta la posición sistemática de Avialae como un clado derivado dentro de Dinosauria es voluminosa y se deriva de múltiples líneas independientes de evidencia. En contraste, sólo escasos datos elegidos selectivamente sustentan débilmente propuestas alternativas sobre el origen de las aves y las plumas. Los opositores de la teoría de que las aves son dinosaurios frecuentemente han basado sus críticas en interpretaciones no ortodoxas de los datos paleontológicos y en la tergiversación de los métodos de la sistemática filogenética. Además, los argumentos en contra de la posición anidada de Avialae dentro de Dinosauria han confundido la distinción lógica de las preguntas sobre los orígenes de las aves, la evolución del vuelo y la distribución filogenética de las plumas. Motivados por un artículo de Perspectivas que apareció recientemente en The Auk con numerosas imprecisiones fácticas, presentamos una revisión del conjunto completo de hechos relacionados con el debate sobre el origen de la aves y abordamos las críticas equivocadas que se presentan en dicho artículo de opinión. Palabras clave: Avialae, dinosaurios terópodos maniraptores, evolución de las aves, evolución de las plumas, evolución del vuelo, sistemática filogenética Q 2015 American Ornithologists' Union.

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“…Ichthyosaurus GLAHM V1180a came from the 200-Myrold Lower Lias beds of the Severn Valley in Gloucestershire, England (Delair 1966;Lingham-Soliar 1999). The Lias sediments were deposited in three principal marine basins, the Cleveland, Midlands-Severn and Wessex Basins ( Floyd et al 2003), separated by shallow shelf seas or islands ( Floyd et al 2003).…”

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They were included along with the extant dolphins, lamnid sharks and tuna in the small exclusive group of fast thunniform swimmers (Lighthill 1975;McGowan 1992). Subsequent studies revealed a complex architecture of dermal fibres, arranged in multiple layers (Lingham-Soliar 1999, 2001LinghamSoliar & Plodowski 2007), ostensibly similar to high tensile collagenous dermal fibre structures found in tuna, dolphins and sharks in which they are considered to play a significant role in high-speed swimming hydrodynamics ( Wainwright et al 1978;Hebrank & Hebrank 1986;Pabst 1996;Lingham-Soliar 2005a,b). However, owing to the rarity of the soft tissue material in ichthyosaurs, it was impractical to confirm by chemistry or ultrastructure the molecular nature of even a single dermal fibre in ichthyosaurs to date.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First investigation of the collagen D -band ultrastructure in fossilized vertebrate integument

Lingham‐Soliar

Wesley-Smith

2008

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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The ultrastructure of dermal fibres of a 200 Myr thunniform ichthyosaur, Ichthyosaurus, specifically the 67 nm axial repeat D-banding of the fibrils, which characterizes collagen, is presented for the first time by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The fragment of material investigated is part of previously described fossilized skin comprising an architecture of layers of oppositely oriented fibre bundles. The wider implication, as indicated by the extraordinary quality of preservation, is the robustness of the collagen molecule at the ultrastructural level, which presumably contributed to its survival during the initial processes of decomposition prior to mineralization. Investigation of the elemental composition of the sample by SEM-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicates that calcite and phosphate played important roles in the rapid mineralization and fine replication of the collagen fibres and fibrils. The exceedingly small sample used in the investigation and high level of information achieved indicate the potential for minimal damage to prized museum specimens; for example, ultrastructural investigations by SEM may be used to help resolve highly contentious questions, for example, 'protofeathers' in the Chinese dinosaurs.

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Rare soft tissue preservation showing fibrous structures in an ichthyosaur from the Lower Lias (Jurassic) of England

Cited by 39 publications

References 18 publications

A unique cross section through the skin of the dinosaurPsittacosaurusfrom China showing a complex fibre architecture

A unique cross section through the skin of the dinosaurPsittacosaurusfrom China showing a complex fibre architecture

Rhetoric vs. reality: A commentary on “Bird Origins Anew” by A. Feduccia

First investigation of the collagen D -band ultrastructure in fossilized vertebrate integument

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