Post by spinosaurusthefisher on Oct 29, 2015 1:16:49 GMT
Here's the corresponding NFTWON post!
A new specimen of Ornithomimus has been found with extensively preserved feathers.
The fossil shows filamentous integument covering the back, tail, and torso, and its arms possess attachment marks for long, pennaceous feathers. Interestingly, feathers are not present at the extremities of the ulnae and radii; in addition, the underside of the torso and tail are bare, and the neck is also only lightly feathered.
Skin impressions are present on the foot, and some of the preserved skin resembles the skin webs of modern birds, which increase the flexibility of the leg at joints and may be indicative of high leg-folding ability in resting poses.
Overall, this feather distribution is very similar to that of ratites, and this allows us to conclude that ornithomimosaur feathers were probably thermoregulatory in nature.
The study is published in Cretaceous Research.
And also another ornithomimid as well:
Tototlmimus is the second ornithomimosaur found in Mexico (after last year’s Saltillomimus, which has some uncertainty about its taxonomic placement). The partial skeleton is primarily composed of bones of the foot and hands, which were sufficient to identify Tototlmimus as a separate genus.
Tototlmimus seems to be most closely related to Ornithomimus in a clade of derived North American ornithomimosaurs, and represents one of the southernmost ornithomimosaurs known to date.
This paper is also published in Cretaceous Research.
Links to original art on my dA page here and here.
