Fossilized Skin Pigments Reveal Colors Of Ancient Sea Monsters
Fossilized Skin Pigments Reveal Colors Of Ancient Sea Monsters
January 9, 2014
Newly discovered fossilized skin pigments from a trio of multi-million-year-old marine reptiles reveal that these real-life sea monsters were at least partially dark colored when they were alive, according to research appearing in the latest edition of the journal Nature.
The fact that creatures such as mosasaurs and ichthyosaurs were dark-colored is likely to have contributed to more efficient thermoregulation, while also serving as camouflage and protecting the reptiles from harmful UV radiation, Lund University geologist Johan Lindgren and an international team of colleagues explained in the report.
Previously, experts could only guess what color these massive marine creatures were. Now, however, pigment preserved in the fossilized skin of a 55 million-year-old leatherback turtle, an 85 million-year-old mosasaur and a 196 million-year-old ichthyosaur has, for the first time, revealed the color scheme of an extinct marine animal.
“This is fantastic! When I started studying at Lund University in 1993, the film Jurassic Park had just been released, and that was one of the main reasons why I got interested in biology and palaeontology,” said Lindgren. “Then, 20 years ago, it was unthinkable that we would ever find biological remains from animals that have been extinct for many millions of years, but now we are there and I am proud to be a part of it.”
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