Modern birds are typified by the presence of feathers, complex evolutionary innovations that
were already widespread in the group of theropod dinosaurs (Maniraptoriformes) that …

Deep-time protein preservation has attracted increasing interest and rapid research activity
within the palaeobiological community in recent years, but there are several different …

Fossils were thought to lack original organic molecules, but chemical analyses show that
some can survive. Dinosaur bone has been proposed to preserve collagen, osteocytes, and …

Molecular studies have contributed greatly to our understanding of evolutionary processes
that act upon virtually every aspect of living organisms. However, these studies are limited …

Melanin and other pigments are now well known to be important in exceptional preservation
of soft tissues in vertebrates and other animals. Because pigments confer coloration and …

Preserved melanin pigments have been discovered in fossilised integumentary appendages
of several amniote lineages (fishes, frogs, snakes, marine reptiles, non‐avialan dinosaurs …

Jianianhualong tengi is a key taxon for understanding the evolution of pennaceous feathers
as well as troodontid theropods, and it is known by only the holotype, which was recovered …

The mechanism of protein degradation has remained a topic of debate (specifically
concerning their preservation in deep time), which has recently been invigorated due to …

Raman spectroscopic analyses of thermally altered organic materials can be used to assess
the paleothermometry of the sedimentary deposits. Although this technique has been widely …

Despite reports of sexual dimorphism in extinct taxa, such claims in non-avian dinosaurs
have been rare over the last decade and have often been criticized. Since dimorphism is …