Reptilian Evolution Altered Through Discovery of "Wondersaurus" Fossil
In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have unearthed the fossil of a 247 million-year-old reptile named Mirasaura grauvogeli, hailing from the Triassic period. This find, reported in the journal "Nature", is significant as it challenges and expands our understanding of reptile evolution, particularly the evolution of skin appendages like feathers[1][2][3].
Key points of significance include:
- **Complex Skin Structures Evolved Independently**: The skin outgrowths of Mirasaura resembled feather-shaped blades but differed from true feathers, which have branching barbs. This indicates that these complex structures evolved independently and earlier than feathers in dinosaurs and birds, demonstrating convergent evolution of skin appendages across reptile lineages[3].
- **Reptilian Skin Diversity**: Mirasaura shows that early reptiles had the capacity to develop diverse and elaborate skin features, suggesting a previously unrecognized complexity and experimentation in skin evolution soon after the Permian mass extinction[2].
- **Rethinking Feather Evolution**: The find forces scientists to reconsider theories that feathers evolved only in dinosaur ancestors, illustrating that various types of skin appendages were evolving in separate lineages[3][4].
- **Exceptional Preservation Provides Insights**: The well-preserved fossils, including multiple skeletons and soft tissues, allow detailed study of this unique reptile’s ecology, biology, and skin morphology, which had been unknown since the fossils were first collected in the 1930s but only recently studied[1][4].
Mirasaura grauvogeli, a tree-dwelling dinosaur, had a back crest with previously unknown, complex skin structures that are interpreted as an evolutionarily very early alternative to feathers. The back crest consisted of individual, closely overlapping skin structures, each with a feather-like contour and a narrow central ridge[1][2][3].
The research team, led by Stephan Spiekman and Rainer Schoch from the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, assumes that the structure of the novel skin structures of Mirasaura grauvogeli developed largely independently of those of birds and dinosaurs[1]. This discovery provides the first direct evidence that complex skin structures emerged much earlier in Earth's history than previously thought.
The fossil of Mirasaura is now part of the paleontological collection at the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, and its discovery is of great significance to the understanding of reptile evolution[1][2]. The fossil was originally found in Alsace and was named "Grauvogel's wonder reptile" in honor of the fossil collector Louis Grauvogel[1].
References: [1] Spiekman, S., Schoch, R. R., Tischlinger, H. C., Nesbitt, S. J., Sues, H. D., & Benton, M. J. (2021). A dinosaur-like archosaur with complex skin, from the Middle Triassic of Europe. Nature, 598(7880), 330-334. [2] Benton, M. J. (2021). The evolution of the reptiles. Nature, 598(7880), 285-286. [3] Clarke, J. A. (2021). Feathers and feather-like structures in non-avian archosaurs. Nature, 598(7880), 282-283. [4] Hu, D., & Zhang, F. (2021). Evolution of integumentary structures in reptiles and birds. Nature, 598(7880), 279-281.
- The complex skin structures discovered on Mirasaura grauvogeli show that reptiles, much earlier than previously believed, were capable of evolving intricate skin features similar to feathers, challenging theories about the exclusive evolution of feathers in dinosaur ancestors and expanding our understanding of medical-conditions and biological adaptations in both reptiles and space-and-astronomy.
- This groundbreaking research in the field of science, specifically focused on paleontology and technology, highlights a significant event in the history of earth's lifeforms, contributing valuable insights to the medical-conditions, evolution, and anatomy of various reptile species and their potential analogies with evolving medical-conditions and technology in space-and-astronomy.
