Re: [Re: [Re: Feathered/scaly theropods: trying to make the point.]]

["T. Mike Keesey" <tmk@dinosauricon.com>]

On 24 Jun 2001 archosaur@usa.net wrote:

> It is shown that a small group of dinosaurs had feathers, or possibly some
> other proto-feathery stuff, but the majority of dino finds still show them to
> be scaled.

Of course all dinosaurs are scaled -- many just have feathery integument
as well -- just like today's dinosaurs (neornithean birds). Of course, I
suppose you meant "scaly all over".

As I mentioned in another post, that "small group" is at LEAST
Clade(_Sinosauropteryx_ + _Passer_), which is hardly small. And the group
may be as large as _Tetanurae_, or even larger if certain all-scaled large
forms are secondarily so. Impressions showing scales all over the body are
known only from certain large cerapods (ceratopsids and hadrosaurids), a
few sauropods (_Tehuelchesaurus_, ?_Camarasaurus_, embryonic titanosaurs),
and two carnotaurine abelisaurs (_Aucasaurus_ and _Carnotaurus_). (Someone
please let me know if I missed anything.) For the vaaast majority of
fossil dinosaurs, we have no data about the skin.
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