Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur
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 i...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x https://research.chalmers.se/en/publication/508178 |
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ftchalmersuniv:oai:research.chalmers.se:508178 2023-05-15T18:33:31+02:00 Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur Lindgren, Johan Sjövall, Peter Thiel, Volker Zheng, Wenxia Ito, Shosuke Wakamatsu, Kazumasa Hauff, Rolf Kear, Benjamin P. Engdahl, Anders Alwmark, Carl Eriksson, Mats E. Jarenmark, M. Sachs, Sven Ahlberg, Per E. Marone, Federica Kuriyama, Takeo Gustafsson, Ola Malmberg, Per Thomen, Aurélien Rodríguez-Meizoso, Irene Uvdal, P. Ojika, Makoto Schweitzer, Mary H. 2018 text https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x https://research.chalmers.se/en/publication/508178 unknown http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x https://research.chalmers.se/en/publication/508178 Evolutionary Biology Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences Zoology 2018 ftchalmersuniv https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x 2022-12-11T07:09:25Z 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. Other/Unknown Material toothed whales Chalmers University of Technology: Chalmers research Nature 564 7736 359 365 |
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Chalmers University of Technology: Chalmers research |
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ftchalmersuniv |
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unknown |
topic |
Evolutionary Biology Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences Zoology |
spellingShingle |
Evolutionary Biology Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences Zoology Lindgren, Johan Sjövall, Peter Thiel, Volker Zheng, Wenxia Ito, Shosuke Wakamatsu, Kazumasa Hauff, Rolf Kear, Benjamin P. Engdahl, Anders Alwmark, Carl Eriksson, Mats E. Jarenmark, M. Sachs, Sven Ahlberg, Per E. Marone, Federica Kuriyama, Takeo Gustafsson, Ola Malmberg, Per Thomen, Aurélien Rodríguez-Meizoso, Irene Uvdal, P. Ojika, Makoto Schweitzer, Mary H. Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur |
topic_facet |
Evolutionary Biology Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences Zoology |
description |
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. |
author |
Lindgren, Johan Sjövall, Peter Thiel, Volker Zheng, Wenxia Ito, Shosuke Wakamatsu, Kazumasa Hauff, Rolf Kear, Benjamin P. Engdahl, Anders Alwmark, Carl Eriksson, Mats E. Jarenmark, M. Sachs, Sven Ahlberg, Per E. Marone, Federica Kuriyama, Takeo Gustafsson, Ola Malmberg, Per Thomen, Aurélien Rodríguez-Meizoso, Irene Uvdal, P. Ojika, Makoto Schweitzer, Mary H. |
author_facet |
Lindgren, Johan Sjövall, Peter Thiel, Volker Zheng, Wenxia Ito, Shosuke Wakamatsu, Kazumasa Hauff, Rolf Kear, Benjamin P. Engdahl, Anders Alwmark, Carl Eriksson, Mats E. Jarenmark, M. Sachs, Sven Ahlberg, Per E. Marone, Federica Kuriyama, Takeo Gustafsson, Ola Malmberg, Per Thomen, Aurélien Rodríguez-Meizoso, Irene Uvdal, P. Ojika, Makoto Schweitzer, Mary H. |
author_sort |
Lindgren, Johan |
title |
Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur |
title_short |
Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur |
title_full |
Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur |
title_fullStr |
Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur |
title_full_unstemmed |
Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur |
title_sort |
soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a jurassic ichthyosaur |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x https://research.chalmers.se/en/publication/508178 |
genre |
toothed whales |
genre_facet |
toothed whales |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x https://research.chalmers.se/en/publication/508178 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x |
container_title |
Nature |
container_volume |
564 |
container_issue |
7736 |
container_start_page |
359 |
op_container_end_page |
365 |
_version_ |
1766218125751091200 |