Feather-like development of Triassic diapsid skin appendages
Feather-like development of Triassic diapsid skin appendages
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DOI：
10.1007/s00114-008-0453-1
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发表时间：
2008
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
S. Voigt;M. Buchwitz;Jan Fischer;D. Krause;R. Georgi
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文献类型：
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作者：
S. Voigt;M. Buchwitz;Jan Fischer;D. Krause;R. Georgi
Of the recent sauropsid skin appendage types, only feathers develop from a cylindrical epidermal invagination, the follicle, and show hierarchical branching. Fossilized integuments of Mesozoic diapsids have been interpreted as follicular and potential feather homologues, an idea particularly controversially discussed for the elongate dorsal skin projections of the small diapsidLongisquama insignisfrom the Triassic of Kyrgyzstan. Based on new finds and their comparison with the type material, we show thatLongisquama’s appendages consist of a single-branched internal frame enclosed by a flexible outer membrane. Not supporting a categorization either as feathers or as scales, our analysis demonstrates that theLongisquamaappendages formed in a two-stage, feather-like developmental process, representing an unusual early example for the evolutionary plasticity of sauropsid integument.
