Abstract
Diverse epidermal appendages including grouped filaments closely resembling primitive feathers in non-avian theropods, are associated with skeletal elements in the primitive ornithischian dinosaur Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus from the Kulinda locality in south-eastern Siberia. This discovery suggests that ‘‘feather-like’’ structures did not evolve exclusively in theropod dinosaurs, but were instead potentially widespread in the whole dinosaur clade. The dating of the Kulinda locality is therefore particularly important for reconstructing the evolution of ‘‘feather-like’’ structures in dinosaurs within a chronostratigraphic framework. Here we present the first dating of the Kulinda locality, combining U-Pb analyses (LA-ICP-MS) on detrital zircons and monazites from sedimentary rocks of volcaniclastic origin and palynological observations. Concordia ages constrain the maximum age of the volcaniclastic deposits at 172.8 ± 1.6 Ma, corresponding to the Aalenian (Middle Jurassic). The palynological assemblage includes taxa that are correlated to Bathonian palynozones from western Siberia, and therefore constrains the minimum age of the deposits. The new U-Pb ages, together with the palynological data, provide evidence of a Bathonian age—between 168.3 ± 1.3 Ma and 166.1 ± 1.2 Ma—for Kulindadromeus. This is older than the previous Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous ages tentatively based on local stratigraphic correlations. A Bathonian age is highly consistent with the phylogenetic position of Kulindadromeus at the base of the neornithischian clade and suggests that cerapodan dinosaurs originated in Asia during the Middle Jurassic, from a common ancestor that closely looked like Kulindadromeus. Our results consequently show that Kulindadromeus is the oldest known dinosaur with ‘‘feather-like’’ structures discovered so far.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 6239 |
| Pages (from-to) | e6239 |
| Journal | PeerJ |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2019 |
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Keywords
- Feathered dinosaurs
- Jurassic of siberia
- Palynology
- U-pb dating
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The rise of feathered dinosaurs : Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus, the oldest dinosaur with ‘feather-like’ structures. / Cincotta, Aude; Pestchevitskaya, Ekaterina B.; Sinitsa, Sofia M.; Markevich, Valentina S.; Debaille, Vinciane; Reshetova, Svetlana A.; Mashchuk, Irina M.; Frolov, Andrei O.; Gerdes, Axel; Yans, Johan; Godefroit, Pascal.
In: PeerJ, Vol. 7, No. 2, 6239, 01.01.2019, p. e6239.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - The rise of feathered dinosaurs
T2 - Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus, the oldest dinosaur with ‘feather-like’ structures
AU - Cincotta, Aude
AU - Pestchevitskaya, Ekaterina B.
AU - Sinitsa, Sofia M.
AU - Markevich, Valentina S.
AU - Debaille, Vinciane
AU - Reshetova, Svetlana A.
AU - Mashchuk, Irina M.
AU - Frolov, Andrei O.
AU - Gerdes, Axel
AU - Yans, Johan
AU - Godefroit, Pascal
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Diverse epidermal appendages including grouped filaments closely resembling primitive feathers in non-avian theropods, are associated with skeletal elements in the primitive ornithischian dinosaur Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus from the Kulinda locality in south-eastern Siberia. This discovery suggests that ‘‘feather-like’’ structures did not evolve exclusively in theropod dinosaurs, but were instead potentially widespread in the whole dinosaur clade. The dating of the Kulinda locality is therefore particularly important for reconstructing the evolution of ‘‘feather-like’’ structures in dinosaurs within a chronostratigraphic framework. Here we present the first dating of the Kulinda locality, combining U-Pb analyses (LA-ICP-MS) on detrital zircons and monazites from sedimentary rocks of volcaniclastic origin and palynological observations. Concordia ages constrain the maximum age of the volcaniclastic deposits at 172.8 ± 1.6 Ma, corresponding to the Aalenian (Middle Jurassic). The palynological assemblage includes taxa that are correlated to Bathonian palynozones from western Siberia, and therefore constrains the minimum age of the deposits. The new U-Pb ages, together with the palynological data, provide evidence of a Bathonian age—between 168.3 ± 1.3 Ma and 166.1 ± 1.2 Ma—for Kulindadromeus. This is older than the previous Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous ages tentatively based on local stratigraphic correlations. A Bathonian age is highly consistent with the phylogenetic position of Kulindadromeus at the base of the neornithischian clade and suggests that cerapodan dinosaurs originated in Asia during the Middle Jurassic, from a common ancestor that closely looked like Kulindadromeus. Our results consequently show that Kulindadromeus is the oldest known dinosaur with ‘‘feather-like’’ structures discovered so far.
AB - Diverse epidermal appendages including grouped filaments closely resembling primitive feathers in non-avian theropods, are associated with skeletal elements in the primitive ornithischian dinosaur Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus from the Kulinda locality in south-eastern Siberia. This discovery suggests that ‘‘feather-like’’ structures did not evolve exclusively in theropod dinosaurs, but were instead potentially widespread in the whole dinosaur clade. The dating of the Kulinda locality is therefore particularly important for reconstructing the evolution of ‘‘feather-like’’ structures in dinosaurs within a chronostratigraphic framework. Here we present the first dating of the Kulinda locality, combining U-Pb analyses (LA-ICP-MS) on detrital zircons and monazites from sedimentary rocks of volcaniclastic origin and palynological observations. Concordia ages constrain the maximum age of the volcaniclastic deposits at 172.8 ± 1.6 Ma, corresponding to the Aalenian (Middle Jurassic). The palynological assemblage includes taxa that are correlated to Bathonian palynozones from western Siberia, and therefore constrains the minimum age of the deposits. The new U-Pb ages, together with the palynological data, provide evidence of a Bathonian age—between 168.3 ± 1.3 Ma and 166.1 ± 1.2 Ma—for Kulindadromeus. This is older than the previous Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous ages tentatively based on local stratigraphic correlations. A Bathonian age is highly consistent with the phylogenetic position of Kulindadromeus at the base of the neornithischian clade and suggests that cerapodan dinosaurs originated in Asia during the Middle Jurassic, from a common ancestor that closely looked like Kulindadromeus. Our results consequently show that Kulindadromeus is the oldest known dinosaur with ‘‘feather-like’’ structures discovered so far.
KW - Feathered dinosaurs
KW - Jurassic of siberia
KW - Palynology
KW - U-pb dating
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85063613936&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.7717/peerj.6239
DO - 10.7717/peerj.6239
M3 - Article
VL - 7
SP - e6239
JO - PeerJ
JF - PeerJ
SN - 2167-8359
IS - 2
M1 - 6239
ER -