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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Dinosaur dandruff reveals first evidence of skin shedding [bbc.com]

An analysis of fossilised dandruff fragments has given scientists their first evidence of how dinosaurs and early birds shed their skin.

Found among the plumage of these ancient creatures, the 125-million-year-old flakes are almost identical to those found in modern birds.

It shows that these dinosaurs shed their skins in small pieces, and not all at once like many modern reptiles.

It's more evidence that early birds had limited flying skills, the authors say.

Also at The Guardian [theguardian.com].

Fossilized skin reveals coevolution with feathers and metabolism in feathered dinosaurs and early birds [nature.com] (open, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04443-x) (DX [doi.org])

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