Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur.
- Lindgren J Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. johan.lindgren@geol.lu.se.
- Sjövall P RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Chemistry and Materials, Borås, Sweden.
- Thiel V Geobiology, Geoscience Centre, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
- Zheng W Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
- Ito S Department of Chemistry, Fujita Health University School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan.
- Wakamatsu K Department of Chemistry, Fujita Health University School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan.
- Hauff R Urweltmuseum Hauff, Holzmaden, Germany.
- Kear BP Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Engdahl A MAX-IV laboratory, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
- Alwmark C Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
- Eriksson ME Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
- Jarenmark M Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
- Sachs S Naturkunde-Museum Bielefeld, Abteilung Geowissenschaften, Bielefeld, Germany.
- Ahlberg PE Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Marone F Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland.
- Kuriyama T Institute of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Hyogo, Hyogo, Japan.
- Gustafsson O Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
- Malmberg P Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
- Thomen A Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
- Rodríguez-Meizoso I Centre for Analysis and Synthesis, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
- Uvdal P Chemical Physics, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
- Ojika M Department of Applied Biosciences, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
- Schweitzer MH Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
- 2018-12-07
Published in:
- Nature. - 2018
Adaptation, Physiological
Adipose Tissue
Animals
Biological Evolution
Body Temperature Regulation
Dermis
Dinosaurs
Dolphins
Epidermis
Female
Fossils
Homeostasis
Keratinocytes
Lipids
Male
Melanins
Melanophores
Porpoises
Proteins
English
Ichthyosaurs are extinct marine reptiles that display a notable external similarity to modern toothed whales. Here we show that this resemblance is more than skin deep. We apply a multidisciplinary experimental approach to characterize the cellular and molecular composition of integumental tissues in an exceptionally preserved specimen of the Early Jurassic ichthyosaur Stenopterygius. Our analyses recovered still-flexible remnants of the original scaleless skin, which comprises morphologically distinct epidermal and dermal layers. These are underlain by insulating blubber that would have augmented streamlining, buoyancy and homeothermy. Additionally, we identify endogenous proteinaceous and lipid constituents, together with keratinocytes and branched melanophores that contain eumelanin pigment. Distributional variation of melanophores across the body suggests countershading, possibly enhanced by physiological adjustments of colour to enable photoprotection, concealment and/or thermoregulation. Convergence of ichthyosaurs with extant marine amniotes thus extends to the ultrastructural and molecular levels, reflecting the omnipresent constraints of their shared adaptation to pelagic life.
- Language
-
- English
- Open access status
- green
- Identifiers
-
- DOI 10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x
- PMID 30518862
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/159288
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