Latest news with #MiguelMarx
Time of India
3 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Shocking! 183-million-year-old Dinosaur-era sea creature found with skin and scales intact
In a discovery that's catching the attention of scientists, researchers have found a remarkably well-preserved fossil of a marine reptile that's challenging what we thought we knew about how these creatures lived. The fossil, identified as Plesiopterys wildi, is around 183 million years old and was uncovered in southern Germany. What makes it especially rare is the presence of preserved soft tissues, like skin, scales, and keratin, which are almost never found in marine reptiles from the Jurassic period. The findings, published in Current Biology, offer a rare and detailed look at the texture, colouring, and movement of plesiosaurs– long-necked marine reptiles that lived during the Mesozoic era. Until now, scientists had to rely mostly on bones to imagine what these animals looked like, but this discovery gives a much clearer picture. Fossil found in 1940, but only studied recently The fossil specimen, labelled MH 7, was originally discovered in 1940 near Holzmaden, a region known for its fossil-rich Posidonia Shale. However, the specimen remained unprepared for decades. It was only in 2020 that researchers began to remove the surrounding limestone carefully and realised the fossil contained patches of soft tissue. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo 'Fossilized soft tissue, such as skin and internal organs, is exceptionally rare. We used a broad range of techniques to identify smooth skin in the tail region as well as scales along the rear edge of the flippers. This provided us with unparalleled insights into the appearance and biology of these long-extinct reptiles,' says Miguel Marx, a PhD student at Lund University and the study's lead author, as quoted by Lund University. Flippers show signs of specialised movement When researchers examined the fossil under a microscope, they found that the flippers were covered with tiny, triangular scales made of beta-keratin—a tough protein found in reptiles. These sturdy flippers likely helped the animal move with precision and control underwater. On the other hand, the skin on the tail was smoother and made of alpha-keratin, suggesting it had a different function. This difference in texture shows that various parts of the body were specially adapted for different roles in swimming and steering. 'Apart from the mosaic of smooth skin and scales, it was an incredible moment to visualize the cells in thin sections of the fossilized plesiosaur's skin. I was shocked when I saw skin cells that had been preserved for 183 million years. It was almost like looking at modern skin,' says Marx, as quoted by Lund University. Traces of pigment suggest patterned colouring One of the more unexpected findings was the discovery of melanosomes– tiny structures that carry pigment– in the skin of the tail. This suggests that the animal may have had patterns or variations in skin colour, instead of the plain or pale look that scientists usually imagine for marine reptiles. The researchers noted that this pigmentation could have played a role in camouflage or communication, though further analysis would be needed to confirm such functions. Discovery of a tail fin adds new clues Along with the preserved skin and scales, researchers also found a soft-tissue tail fin– something rarely seen in plesiosaur fossils. This broad and flexible structure suggests the tail may have helped the animal steer more effectively or even boosted its speed while swimming. Exceptional preservation thanks to Posidonia Shale The exceptional condition of the fossil is thanks to the unique environment where it was preserved. The Posidonia Shale– an ancient seabed with very low oxygen levels– slows down the process of decay, sometimes allowing soft tissues to fossilise along with bones. This kind of preservation is extremely rare in marine reptiles, which makes MH 7 a remarkable find and an important discovery for paleontologists. Adding detail to the story of Plesiosaur evolution Most studies on plesiosaurs have focused only on their bones, but this fossil gives a much fuller picture of the animal's biology. The preserved soft tissues offer new insights into how different parts of its body worked and how these features may have evolved over time. According to the research team, these findings may also contribute to understanding how plesiosaurs adapted to specific environments over time. 'Our findings help us create more accurate life reconstructions of plesiosaurs, something that has been extremely difficult since they were first studied over 200 years ago. Also, the well-preserved German fossil really highlights the potential for soft tissue in providing valuable insights into the biology of these long-extinct animals,' explains Marx, as quoted by Lund University. After sitting untouched for nearly 80 years, this discovery is now offering one of the most detailed views yet into the biology of a creature that swam the Earth's oceans almost 200 million years ago. The MH 7 fossil not only deepens our understanding of plesiosaurs but also highlights how valuable it can be to revisit and study old, forgotten specimens. Thumb image credit: X/@JoschuaKnuppe (Illustration of "Skin, scales, and cells in a Jurassic plesiosaur")
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
What scientists learned from a well-preserved fossil of this iconic Jurassic-era dinosaur
The discovery of a well-preserved fossil is helping researchers learn more about an iconic Jurassic-period dinosaur. The plesiosaur, considered a successful marine predatory dinosaur, may have been aided in its underwater hunting endeavors by turtle-like scales that covered its body -- which scientists have now discovered due to the presence of soft tissue in a newly unearthed fossil, according to a paper published earlier this month in Current Biology. MORE: Well-preserved remains of saber-toothed kitten found frozen in Russian tundra, researchers say Researchers from Lund University in Sweden have been analyzing the soft tissue from a 183 million-year-old plesiosaur for the first time in history after the fossil was found intact near Holzmaden, Germany. Fossilized soft tissue, such as skin and internal organs, is "exceptionally rare" in dinosaur fossils, Miguel Marx, a Ph.D. student in geology at Lund University and the lead author of the study, said in a video published on the university's website. The preserved skeleton of the plesiosaur is articulated with fossilized soft tissue from the tail and one of the flippers, he said. "I was shocked when I saw skin cells that had been preserved for 183 million years," Marx said. "It was almost like looking at modern skin." MORE: How the process of de-extinction will be used to restore this fabled species The specimen reveals that the plesiosaur had both smooth and scaly skin, which likely helped it swim rapidly and move along rough seabeds, according to the researchers. "This mosaic of scales and scaly skin has never been reported before in a plesiosaur, and thanks for this amazing find, we now have a much better appreciation of what these animals might have looked like while alive," Johan Lindgren, an associate professor of geology at Lund University, said in a statement. Plesiosaurs were considered among the most successful marine hunters of their time. The long-necked dinosaurs grew to nearly 40 feet long and had four paddle-like flippers that allowed them to swim like sea turtles. The species was first studied 200 years ago, but little was known about the external anatomy of the plesiosaur until the newest fossil was discovered. Plesiosaur fossils can be found all over the world, Marx said. The combination of both smooth and scaly skin is unusual, and it had different functions, the researchers said. The plesiosaur's smooth and hydrodynamic skin allowed it to swim efficiently to catch fish and other squid-like animals, but its scaly flippers likely helped them move across rough sea floors by providing protection and traction. Without the presence of the soft tissue, Marx would have assumed the plesiosaur would be scaleless, like other marine dinosaurs of the time, he said. "We used a broad range of techniques to identify smooth skin in the tail region as well as scales along the rear edge of the flippers," Marx said. "This provided us with unparalleled insights into the appearance and biology of these long-extinct reptiles." MORE: New dinosaur discovery may be the closest relative to Tyrannosaurus rex, scientists say The findings will also help researchers enhance the understanding of macroevolution and how species adapted to specific environments over time, according to the paper. "The discovery of scales was surprising and changes our perceptions of how these animals would have adapted to their pelagic environment," Marx said. What scientists learned from a well-preserved fossil of this iconic Jurassic-era dinosaur originally appeared on
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
What scientists learned from a well-preserved fossil of this iconic Jurassic-era dinosaur
The discovery of a well-preserved fossil is helping researchers learn more about an iconic Jurassic-period dinosaur. The plesiosaur, considered a successful marine predatory dinosaur, may have been aided in its underwater hunting endeavors by turtle-like scales that covered its body -- which scientists have now discovered due to the presence of soft tissue in a newly unearthed fossil, according to a paper published earlier this month in Current Biology. MORE: Well-preserved remains of saber-toothed kitten found frozen in Russian tundra, researchers say Researchers from Lund University in Sweden have been analyzing the soft tissue from a 183 million-year-old plesiosaur for the first time in history after the fossil was found intact near Holzmaden, Germany. Fossilized soft tissue, such as skin and internal organs, is "exceptionally rare" in dinosaur fossils, Miguel Marx, a Ph.D. student in geology at Lund University and the lead author of the study, said in a video published on the university's website. The preserved skeleton of the plesiosaur is articulated with fossilized soft tissue from the tail and one of the flippers, he said. "I was shocked when I saw skin cells that had been preserved for 183 million years," Marx said. "It was almost like looking at modern skin." MORE: How the process of de-extinction will be used to restore this fabled species The specimen reveals that the plesiosaur had both smooth and scaly skin, which likely helped it swim rapidly and move along rough seabeds, according to the researchers. "This mosaic of scales and scaly skin has never been reported before in a plesiosaur, and thanks for this amazing find, we now have a much better appreciation of what these animals might have looked like while alive," Johan Lindgren, an associate professor of geology at Lund University, said in a statement. Plesiosaurs were considered among the most successful marine hunters of their time. The long-necked dinosaurs grew to nearly 40 feet long and had four paddle-like flippers that allowed them to swim like sea turtles. The species was first studied 200 years ago, but little was known about the external anatomy of the plesiosaur until the newest fossil was discovered. Plesiosaur fossils can be found all over the world, Marx said. The combination of both smooth and scaly skin is unusual, and it had different functions, the researchers said. The plesiosaur's smooth and hydrodynamic skin allowed it to swim efficiently to catch fish and other squid-like animals, but its scaly flippers likely helped them move across rough sea floors by providing protection and traction. Without the presence of the soft tissue, Marx would have assumed the plesiosaur would be scaleless, like other marine dinosaurs of the time, he said. "We used a broad range of techniques to identify smooth skin in the tail region as well as scales along the rear edge of the flippers," Marx said. "This provided us with unparalleled insights into the appearance and biology of these long-extinct reptiles." MORE: New dinosaur discovery may be the closest relative to Tyrannosaurus rex, scientists say The findings will also help researchers enhance the understanding of macroevolution and how species adapted to specific environments over time, according to the paper. "The discovery of scales was surprising and changes our perceptions of how these animals would have adapted to their pelagic environment," Marx said. What scientists learned from a well-preserved fossil of this iconic Jurassic-era dinosaur originally appeared on
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Amazing Fossil Reveals Turtle-Like Scales on Jurassic Plesiosaur
Serpentine-necked, four-flippered plesiosaurs were among the most successful marine predators in the time of dinosaurs. A remarkably complete and well-preserved fossil has revealed that at least some of these mighty hunters had flipper scales similar to today's sea turtles, which may have aided in either swimming or dragging themselves along the seafloor. While plesiosaur fossils have been found worldwide, only about eight samples of their soft tissues have been recorded so far. Lund University paleontologist Miguel Marx and colleagues' new analysis uses microscopy and spectroscopy to provide never-before-known details of what these animals looked like. These fossilized bones belonged to a roughly 4.5-meter-long plesiosaur that swam Earth's oceans 183 million years ago, during the Jurassic, when plesiosaurs were especially common, the team confirmed. Designated MH 7, they were excavated from Holzmaden in Germany back in 1940, then spent some time buried in a museum garden for protection during WWII, followed by long-term storage. Plesiosaurs bore live babies and breathed air, traits that suggest they may have been warm-blooded. And while the skin from this fossil's tail was smooth like today's warm-blooded marine animals, a sample from the right fore flipper revealed small irregular triangular structures. The researchers compared the fossilized skin samples to animals still living today. "[The flippers] clearly differ from the soft, scale-less skin occurring around the tail of MH 7 and instead compare closely with carapace scutes of fossil and living turtles, as well as mosasauroid marine lizard scales," they write in their paper. As well as the scales, the thickness of their skin was also comparable to living sea turtles. These anatomical features may have evolutionarily converged towards similar shapes thanks to shared hydrodynamic pressures, the team suspects, or to help provide traction on the seafloor substrate. "Another purpose of the flipper scales in MH 7 may have been to provide a protective covering for traction on the seafloor during benthic grazing," add the researchers. "This is consistent with plesiosaur 'bottom-walking' and feeding traces as well as preserved gastric contents which comprise coarse sediment masses." Several species have been found with fossilized gut contents full of bottom-dwelling snails and crustaceans. Pigment cells were also found close to the outer surface of MH 7's tail skin, but not on the surface of the flipper, which is much tougher. "These cells are characterized by corneous beta-proteins that make living reptile scales hard and immobile," Marx and team explain. So it seems plesiosaurs retained their reptilian scales after transitioning from land into their marine form, unlike other marine reptiles at the time, such as the more fish-shaped ichthyosaurs, that instead lost their scales to reduce drag in water. The scales "along the trailing edges of the flippers undoubtedly fulfilled some functional role and presumably conferred a selective advantage for plesiosaurs during their protracted evolution as one of the most successful pelagic tetrapod clades," the researchers conclude. This research was published in Current Biology. Earthquake Swarm Mystifies Scientists as Greek Island Tremors Continue Most Birds-of-Paradise Are Secretly Biofluorescent, Study Finds Scientists Just Found The Perfect Disguise to Sneak Into a Termite Colony
