Re: Ichthyosaurus (was Feathering in coelurosaurs)

[AM Yates <Adam.Yates@bristol.ac.uk>]

On Wed, 5 Apr 2000, dbensen wrote:

> I'd like to use this opportunity to bring up something that's been puzzling 
> me.
> Wasn't there something a while back about actualy knowing the coloration of
> Ichthyosaurus.  In the book Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals (primarily by
> Dougal Dixon) it says, "The remains of pigment cells have also been preserved
> and the analysis of these suggests that the smooth, thick skin of 
> Ichthyosaurus
> was a dark reddish-brown color in life."  What ever became of that theory?  Is
> it still valid?

I doubt it very much. I recall that taphonomic work has shown that the
so called soft-tissue preservation was actually an algal mat that grew
at the interface between the carcass and the sediment it was lying on.
If this was true I would think that ther preservation of pigment would
be extremely unlikely.

cheers

Adam Yates >