"T. rex had scales, not feathers" Topic

Looks like you don't have to throw out your scaly T. rex minis after all. A new study has concluded that T. rex and its close relatives were covered in scales, not feathers. From National Geographic:

"Persons and his colleagues examined new skin impressions taken from T. rex fossils discovered near Baker, Montana, and compared them with fossils of other tyrannosaurs, including Albertosaurus, Daspletosaurus, Gorgosaurus, and Tarbosaurus. The team found a pattern among the tyrannosaur kin: they all had skin textured with small, pebbly scales and not fuzzy plumage."

Still, not all tyrannosaurs were scaly. We know that a rather large tyrannosaur called Yutyrannus which almost certainly was covered in feathers. But it may be that large dinosaurs lost their feathers because they lived in warm climates and didn't need them for insulation. That's the same reason elephants in Africa and India are mostly hairless.

The funny thing is we are just now seeing feathered T. rex toys hit the market, They may already be out of date, depending on if this study holds.

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Could be an age thing, too. Maybe youngsters had feathers, adults had scales.

Tyrannosaurus is featherless and Brontosaurus is back.

Life is good.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

+! Bunkermeister

Well, I hate to crush your celebrations, but several paleontologists I follow on Twitter are disputing the study. They note the fossilized skin patches come from areas of the body known to have scales. After all, birds have both feathers and scales. You may want to keep putting feathers on your T. rexes for now.

Chicken feet do look a bit scale-y.

Dan

Well, according to this recreation, it sure appears they have both:

Planet of the Terrible Chickens in Multicolored Dreamcoats.

Yep. Science has ruined dinosaurs.

Dan

There's a decent explanation for what's off about the reports already out.

YouTube link