Pterosaur integumentary structures with complex feather-like branching

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dc.contributor.authorYang, Zixiao
dc.contributor.authorJiang, Baoyu
dc.contributor.authorMcNamara, Maria E.
dc.contributor.authorKearns, Stuart L.
dc.contributor.authorPittman, Michael
dc.contributor.authorKaye, Thomas G.
dc.contributor.authorOrr, Patrick J.
dc.contributor.authorXu, Xing
dc.contributor.authorBenton, Michael J.
dc.contributor.funderNational Natural Science Foundation of Chinaen
dc.contributor.funderChinese Academy of Sciencesen
dc.contributor.funderResearch Grants Council, University Grants Committeeen
dc.contributor.funderNatural Environment Research Councilen
dc.contributor.funderEuropean Research Councilen
dc.date.accessioned2019-08-13T13:55:13Z
dc.date.available2019-08-13T13:55:13Z
dc.date.issued2018-12-17
dc.date.updated2019-08-13T13:35:56Z
dc.description.abstractPterosaurs were the first vertebrates to achieve true flapping flight, but in the absence of living representatives, many questions concerning their biology and lifestyle remain unresolved. Pycnofibres—the integumentary coverings of pterosaurs—are particularly enigmatic: although many reconstructions depict fur-like coverings composed of pycnofibres, their affinities and function are not fully understood. Here, we report the preservation in two anurognathid pterosaur specimens of morphologically diverse pycnofibres that show diagnostic features of feathers, including non-vaned grouped filaments and bilaterally branched filaments, hitherto considered unique to maniraptoran dinosaurs, and preserved melanosomes with diverse geometries. These findings could imply that feathers had deep evolutionary origins in ancestral archosaurs, or that these structures arose independently in pterosaurs. The presence of feather-like structures suggests that anurognathids, and potentially other pterosaurs, possessed a dense filamentous covering that probably functioned in thermoregulation, tactile sensing, signalling and aerodynamics.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Natural Science Foundation of China (41672010; 41688103); Chinese Academy of Sciences (Strategic Priority Research 461 Program (B) (XDB26000000)); Research Grant Council of Hong Kong-General Research Fund (17103315); Natural Environment Research Council (Standard Grant NE/1027630/1);en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationYang, Z., Jiang, B., McNamara, M. E., Kearns, S. L., Pittman, M., Kaye, T. G., Orr, P. J., Xu, X. and Benton, M. J. (2019) 'Pterosaur integumentary structures with complex feather-like branching', Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3(1), pp. 24-30. doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0728-7en
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/s41559-018-0728-7en
dc.identifier.endpage30en
dc.identifier.issn2397-334X
dc.identifier.journaltitleNature Ecology & Evolutionen
dc.identifier.startpage24en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/8311
dc.identifier.volume3en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherSpringer Natureen
dc.relation.projectinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020::ERC::ERC-STG/637691/EU/Animal coloration through deep time: evolutionary novelty, homology and taphonomy/ANICOLEVOen
dc.relation.urihttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0728-7
dc.rights© 2019 Springer Nature Publishing AG. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0728-7en
dc.subjectAnimalsen
dc.subjectDinosaursen
dc.subjectFeathersen
dc.subjectFossilsen
dc.subjectIntegumentary systemen
dc.subjectMelanosomesen
dc.subjectR packageen
dc.subjectEvolutionen
dc.subjectDinosauren
dc.subjectKeratinen
dc.subjectFossilsen
dc.subjectPelageen
dc.subjectBirdsen
dc.subjectBetaen
dc.subjectPalaeontologyen
dc.titlePterosaur integumentary structures with complex feather-like branchingen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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