Ancient ‘wonder’ reptile with feather-like skin found in fossil that predates dinosaurs
SMRTR summary
A 247-million-year-old "wonder reptile" is rewriting the evolutionary story of complex body coverings. Discovered in fossils from the 1930s, Mirasaura grauvogeli sported a dorsal crest with feather-like structures, predating dinosaurs by millions of years.
"Mirasaura developed an alternative to feathers very early in Earth's history, long before the dinosaurs, which we did not expect," says Prof. Dr. Rainer Schoch of the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart.
This tree-dwelling creature, part of the bizarre drepanosauromorph group, had a bird-like skull and grasping limbs perfect for an arboreal lifestyle. Its unique crest, containing melanosomes similar to those in modern feathers, suggests an independent evolutionary path for complex skin appendages.
The find challenges long-held beliefs about the origins of features like hair and feathers, pushing their potential emergence back over 300 million years. It's a reminder that evolution's surprises can lurk in the most unexpected places.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Interesting Engineering.
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