[Adam Khor]

Originally Posted by Galvasean

Hmmm, still can't imagine sauropods with feathers at any stage in life.
Prove me wring science, prove me wrong....

Well, all skin impressions of sauropods thus far show scales, and we know some of them had plenty of osteoderms. Maybe the most significant find is the fossilized skin in the titanosaur embryos found in Auca Mahuevo, showing that unlike Sciurumimus (and presumably, most if not all baby theropods), baby sauropods were born scaly.

But who knows? If the common ancestor of all dinosaurs had some sort of proto-feather covering, it may be possible that some prosauropods had them too, maybe even the odd sauropod here and there- perhaps not extensively, but maybe like the sparse hair of an elephant or rhino. I know it sounds crazy and unlikely, but consider baurusuchids, a group of land-dwelling Cretaceous crocs; they have a series of pits in their snouts that suggest the presence of complex facial tissues, most likely sensory structures. Crocodiles today have a series of pits too that allow them detect prey in murky water, but this only works when submerged, apparently, so it is possible that land-dwelling baurusuchids developed more complex structures, perhaps analogous to mammalian whiskers. Sounds bizarre but let's remember many of these land crocs developed very similar traits to mammals, including differenciated, cusped teeth, and even perhaps fleshy snouts and noses, as well as an erect posture; some of them, like Pakasuchus, have been said to be cat-like in both shape and presumed lifestyle. If this idea is correct and crocodylomorphs developed whiskers at one point, giant dinosaurs with fuzz may not be so far fetched after all.

[Rubecula]

Originally Posted by Galvasean

Oh yes, there was a thread about him here.

Thanks for that. I knew it was in here somewhere.

I used to hate the idea of T.rex possibly having feathers as it just didn't seem right. Nowadays however I sort of think of them with feathers, well sometimes I do, and it doesn't irritate me that they are depicted that way. It is what you get used to. So although I really don't think there were feathered sauropods flitting in and out of the scenery I am more than happy to keep an open mind that maybe, just maybe one or more species had possibly a merest glimmer of a feather. Just do not expect me to think of one having a giant version of a peacock on it's backside, that would just be a bit too much even for my weird imagination.