News Finding: It used its short tail as a rudder, and may have used its long neck to direct its swims.
Paper Finding: FLB is only found in mammals and birds among extant amniotes, leading to the most basic inference from bone tissue type, that is, that FLB is an indicator of mammalian or avian growth rates .
News Context: Rhaetocosaurus featured strong muscles around its flippers, so that all four of them could propel it forward for speedy underwater pursuits of ancient fish. It used its short tail as a rudder, and may have used its long neck to direct its swims. And, despite their success, living in waters all over the world, they all died out after the meteor impact at the end of the Cretaceous.
Paper Context: Growth rate can be inferred from bone histology primarily in two ways: by bone tissue type, such as FLB versus lamellar zonal bone , and by a cyclical growth mark record . FLB is only found in mammals and birds among extant amniotes, leading to the most basic inference from bone tissue type, that is, that FLB is an indicator of mammalian or avian growth rates . The ability to lay down limited amounts of woven bone in early ontogenetic stages (fetus and neonate) cannot be equated with FLB and thus cannot serve as evidence against the hypothesis that under natural conditions, FLB requires a high basal metabolic rates for its formation.