Integumentary blues

[Larry Dunn <majestic_cheese@yahoo.com>]

So they're not yet properly termed "feathers."  They're not
necessarily "protofeathers" either.  

How, then, can one simply and pithily describe the integumentary
structures observed on the two specimens of tiny Yixian dinosaur
_Sinosauropteryx prima_?

They're definitely "scales," if highly specialized ones, right?  What
else could they be?

Would it be misleading to refer to them as "hairlike scales?" 
Howsabout "Specialized scales?"

(Don't even suggest "plumule-esque integuments," please.)

==
Larry
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