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...
Published in: | Nature |
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2018
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Online Access: | https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/ed703cf2-d742-4186-b3f4-6f3ddf2269ab https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x https://portal.research.lu.se/files/75571595/Lindgren_et_al_2018_Nature.pdf |
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ftulundlup:oai:lup.lub.lu.se:ed703cf2-d742-4186-b3f4-6f3ddf2269ab 2024-04-28T08:40:39+00:00 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, Martin Sachs, Sven Ahlberg, Per E. Marone, Federica Kuriyama, Takeo Gustafsson, Ola Malmberg, Per Thomen, Aurélien Rodríguez-Meizoso, Irene Uvdal, Per Ojika, Makoto Schweitzer, Mary H. 2018 application/pdf https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/ed703cf2-d742-4186-b3f4-6f3ddf2269ab https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x https://portal.research.lu.se/files/75571595/Lindgren_et_al_2018_Nature.pdf eng eng Nature Publishing Group https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/ed703cf2-d742-4186-b3f4-6f3ddf2269ab http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x https://portal.research.lu.se/files/75571595/Lindgren_et_al_2018_Nature.pdf scopus:85058887475 pmid:30518862 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Nature; 564(7736), pp 359-365 (2018) ISSN: 0028-0836 Geology contributiontojournal/article info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2018 ftulundlup https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x 2024-04-03T14:03:10Z 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper toothed whales Lund University Publications (LUP) Nature 564 7736 359 365 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Lund University Publications (LUP) |
op_collection_id |
ftulundlup |
language |
English |
topic |
Geology |
spellingShingle |
Geology 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, Martin Sachs, Sven Ahlberg, Per E. Marone, Federica Kuriyama, Takeo Gustafsson, Ola Malmberg, Per Thomen, Aurélien Rodríguez-Meizoso, Irene Uvdal, Per Ojika, Makoto Schweitzer, Mary H. Soft-tissue evidence for homeothermy and crypsis in a Jurassic ichthyosaur |
topic_facet |
Geology |
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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
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, Martin Sachs, Sven Ahlberg, Per E. Marone, Federica Kuriyama, Takeo Gustafsson, Ola Malmberg, Per Thomen, Aurélien Rodríguez-Meizoso, Irene Uvdal, Per 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, Martin Sachs, Sven Ahlberg, Per E. Marone, Federica Kuriyama, Takeo Gustafsson, Ola Malmberg, Per Thomen, Aurélien Rodríguez-Meizoso, Irene Uvdal, Per 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 |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/ed703cf2-d742-4186-b3f4-6f3ddf2269ab https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x https://portal.research.lu.se/files/75571595/Lindgren_et_al_2018_Nature.pdf |
genre |
toothed whales |
genre_facet |
toothed whales |
op_source |
Nature; 564(7736), pp 359-365 (2018) ISSN: 0028-0836 |
op_relation |
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/ed703cf2-d742-4186-b3f4-6f3ddf2269ab http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0775-x https://portal.research.lu.se/files/75571595/Lindgren_et_al_2018_Nature.pdf scopus:85058887475 pmid:30518862 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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_ |
1797571223892262912 |