Cretaceous amniote integuments recorded through a taphonomic process unique to resins.

ABSTRACT: Fossil records of vertebrate integuments are relatively common in both rocks, as compressions, and amber, as inclusions. The integument remains, mainly the Mesozoic ones, are of great interest due to the panoply of palaeobiological information they can provide. We describe two Spanish Cretaceous amber pieces that are of taphonomic importance, one bearing avian dinosaur feather remains and the other, mammalian hair. The preserved feather remains originated from an avian dinosaur resting in contact with a stalactite-shaped resin emission for the time it took for the fresh resin to harden. The second piece shows three hair strands recorded on a surface of desiccation, with the characteristic scale pattern exceptionally well preserved and the strands aligned together, which can be considered t

SUBMITTER: Alvarez-Parra S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7669849 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature