Why did the T Rex not have feathers? This is the reason why the dinosaur was not fluffy
- 7 years ago
Why did the T Rex not have feathers? This is the reason why the dinosaur was not fluffy
THE TYRANNOSAURUS Rex was not fluffy or fuzzy because feathers would have made it too hot, according to new research. Dr Phil Bell, of the University of New England, New South Wales, said recent evidence for feathers in theropods has led to speculation the largest, including T Rex, were extensively feathered.He said: "We describe fossil skin from Tyrannosaurus and other tyrannosaurids Albertosaurus, Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus and Tarbosaurus confirming these large-bodied forms possessed scaly, reptilian like skin."Dr Bell said gigantism, or increased body mass, would have caused T Rex to overheat, the reason today's big mammals have shed any hair.
He said: "Gigantism has been offered as an explanation for the absence of feathers in large herbivorous dinosaurs."Therefore, the greater ability of larger tyrannosaurids to maintain a constant body temperature may have outweighed the advantages of insulation by a more pressing need to shed heat."The idea T Rex was feathered was fuelled by the discovery of Yutyrannus Huali five years ago in China.Despite weighing 1.5 tons, the fearsome predator had feathers which added weight to the theory its famous cousin must also have had them. Another dinosaur Dilong, an early member of the tyrannosauroids that includes T Rex, although much smaller, is known to have feathers.Dr Bell said: "Filamentous feathers have been described in two tyrannosauroids, both from the Early Cretaceous of China: Dilong paradoxus and Yutyrannus huali, which, at around nine metres in length, approached the size of some Late Cretaceous tyrannosaurids."Extensive plumage on Yutyrannus led those authors to reason large body size did not lead inevitably to a reduction of feathers and their presence was a necessary adaptation to the cold palaeoclimate in western Liaoning. "Here, we provide the first detailed descriptions of Tyrannosaurus skin, which, augmented by other integumentary fossils from Late Cretaceous Laurasian tyrannosaurids, provide new context for the evolution of skin and body size in Tyrannosauroidea."Dr Bell said big animals like elephants and rhinos typically have relatively little hair because they risk overheating - and T Rex could weigh more than 10 tons.His team analysed a partial skull and skeleton of T Rex dug up in Montana along with other fossilised skin from Late Cretaceous tyrannosaurids including Daspletosaurus, Tarbosaurus and, for the first time, Albertosaurus and Gorgosaurus. Dr Bell said: "Filamentous feathers on some large tyrannosauroids from China have raised the intriguing possibility that similar structures were widespread throughout the group, even among the largest, Late Cretaceous tyrannosaurids."This hypothesis has yet to be tested although it has serious implications for feather evolution."He said the Montana fossil preserves numerous patches of skin on the neck, pelvis and tail, and generally comprises smooth, unornamented scales unlike those seen in birds.The skin of several other tyrannosaurids, including the first definitive evidence ofAlbertosaurus and Gorgosaurus, reveal much of the abdomen, tail and throat regions were scaly. Dr Bell said combined with evidence from other tyrannosaurids, the Montana fossil "provides compelling evidence of an entirely scaly covering in Tyrannosaurus.He added: "Skin in Albertosaurus, Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus, Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus collectively cover parts of the neck, abdomen, hips and tail suggesting most, if not all, large bodied tyrannosaurids were scaly."Tyrannosaurids do not, therefore, exhibit the widely distributed filamentous feathers present in Dilong and Yutyrannus, where scales are unknown."The study is published in the Royal Society journal Biology letters.. 00FastNews. New source of news.
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THE TYRANNOSAURUS Rex was not fluffy or fuzzy because feathers would have made it too hot, according to new research. Dr Phil Bell, of the University of New England, New South Wales, said recent evidence for feathers in theropods has led to speculation the largest, including T Rex, were extensively feathered.He said: "We describe fossil skin from Tyrannosaurus and other tyrannosaurids Albertosaurus, Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus and Tarbosaurus confirming these large-bodied forms possessed scaly, reptilian like skin."Dr Bell said gigantism, or increased body mass, would have caused T Rex to overheat, the reason today's big mammals have shed any hair.
He said: "Gigantism has been offered as an explanation for the absence of feathers in large herbivorous dinosaurs."Therefore, the greater ability of larger tyrannosaurids to maintain a constant body temperature may have outweighed the advantages of insulation by a more pressing need to shed heat."The idea T Rex was feathered was fuelled by the discovery of Yutyrannus Huali five years ago in China.Despite weighing 1.5 tons, the fearsome predator had feathers which added weight to the theory its famous cousin must also have had them. Another dinosaur Dilong, an early member of the tyrannosauroids that includes T Rex, although much smaller, is known to have feathers.Dr Bell said: "Filamentous feathers have been described in two tyrannosauroids, both from the Early Cretaceous of China: Dilong paradoxus and Yutyrannus huali, which, at around nine metres in length, approached the size of some Late Cretaceous tyrannosaurids."Extensive plumage on Yutyrannus led those authors to reason large body size did not lead inevitably to a reduction of feathers and their presence was a necessary adaptation to the cold palaeoclimate in western Liaoning. "Here, we provide the first detailed descriptions of Tyrannosaurus skin, which, augmented by other integumentary fossils from Late Cretaceous Laurasian tyrannosaurids, provide new context for the evolution of skin and body size in Tyrannosauroidea."Dr Bell said big animals like elephants and rhinos typically have relatively little hair because they risk overheating - and T Rex could weigh more than 10 tons.His team analysed a partial skull and skeleton of T Rex dug up in Montana along with other fossilised skin from Late Cretaceous tyrannosaurids including Daspletosaurus, Tarbosaurus and, for the first time, Albertosaurus and Gorgosaurus. Dr Bell said: "Filamentous feathers on some large tyrannosauroids from China have raised the intriguing possibility that similar structures were widespread throughout the group, even among the largest, Late Cretaceous tyrannosaurids."This hypothesis has yet to be tested although it has serious implications for feather evolution."He said the Montana fossil preserves numerous patches of skin on the neck, pelvis and tail, and generally comprises smooth, unornamented scales unlike those seen in birds.The skin of several other tyrannosaurids, including the first definitive evidence ofAlbertosaurus and Gorgosaurus, reveal much of the abdomen, tail and throat regions were scaly. Dr Bell said combined with evidence from other tyrannosaurids, the Montana fossil "provides compelling evidence of an entirely scaly covering in Tyrannosaurus.He added: "Skin in Albertosaurus, Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus, Tarbosaurus and Tyrannosaurus collectively cover parts of the neck, abdomen, hips and tail suggesting most, if not all, large bodied tyrannosaurids were scaly."Tyrannosaurids do not, therefore, exhibit the widely distributed filamentous feathers present in Dilong and Yutyrannus, where scales are unknown."The study is published in the Royal Society journal Biology letters.. 00FastNews. New source of news.
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Created By 00Fast News
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Tags: Why,did,the,Rex,not,have,feathers?,This,is,reason