UCC discover 125 million year old dinosaur dandruff

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.rte.ie/news/2018/0525/965934-dandruff-dinosaurs-ucc/

The flaky find was made in the preserved plumage of feathered dinosaurs Microraptor, Beipiaosaurus and Sinornithosaurus as well as early birds.

The palaeontologists say the discovery represents the first evidence of how dinosaurs shed their skin.

...

The research also provides the first evidence that the dinosaurs lost their skin in flakes, in the same way as modern birds and mammals, not in one or a number of large pieces like reptiles today do.

Capt'n Midnight

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-44252455

The new study also adds to the body of evidence that these ancient feathered creatures were very different in one key aspect - flying. The researchers say that modern birds have very fatty dandruff cells because this helps them shed heat when they are flying. The older creatures weren't able to fly at all or were only able to get off the ground for short periods.

"In these fossil birds, their cells are packed full of keratin and there's no evidence they had any fats in these cells at all," said Dr McNamara.

"So that suggests they had lower body temperatures than modern birds, almost like a transitional metabolism between a cold blooded reptile and a warm blooded bird."

Adam Khor

IIRC, the modern day roadrunner is known to be ectothermic to a certain degree; at night, its body temperature decreases, and then by morning it sunbathes like a reptile, exposing the black skin on its back to absorb heat and reach its normal body temperature. I wonder if these ancient birds were like this too.