Triassic diapsid shows early diversification of skin appendages in reptiles.

ABSTRACT: Complex integumentary appendages such as avian feathers and mammalian hair play a principal role in tetrapod evolution, with critical functions in insulation, sensation, display and flight. Although feathers and hair originated in the stem-lineages of birds and mammals, respectively^1,2, their underlying gene regulatory network has much deeper amniote roots³. The early evolution of amniote integumentary appendages, however, remains poorly understood because of the absence of fossil evidence. Here we present Mirasaura grauvogeli, a small-sized diapsid from the Middle Triassic epoch (about 247 million years ago) with a distinctive crest formed by elongate integumentary appendages extending serially along its back, similar to those of the poorly understood Triassic reptil

SUBMITTER: Spiekman SNF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12310547 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature