Ricostruzione di giovane e adulto di Tarbosaurus: le impronte di pelle con scaglie potrebbero indicare una minore presenza di piume almeno negli adulti
Two specimens of Tarbosaurus bataar with a human for Scale. • The smaller of the two is subadult. It is based proportionally on a skeletal reconstruction of specimen PIN 511-3 by Gregory Paul. [1] The larger specimen is based on a reconstruction of the holoype (PIN 551-1) skull, Shown here: [1] and reconstruction. [2] • The muscles are based on a Tyrannosaurus diagram by Scott Hartman [2] with some details from .[3]. • It's not clear whether derived tyrannosaurs would have been covered in scales or feathers or a combanation of both. A few small skin impressions have been described for Tarbosaruus; some patches from the feet which show lightly Pebbled skin, with scales averaging 2.4mm, and two small patches from the abdomin, with scales ranging from 1.3-2.9mm.[4] [5] Skin impressions from the closley related Gorgosaurus are reported to show both smooth, naked skin and scales.[6] [7] A 2017 study looked at a variety of tyranosaurid skin impressions and came to the conclusion that derived tyrannosaurs were probably scaly over most their body. [5] Another study in 2017 suggests that there may have been large, flat Crocodile-like skin cracks/scales on the front of the snout of tyrannosaurs. [8] What complicates the issue is that most coelurosaur fossils show feathers covering thier bodies and inference would suggest the same for tyrannosaurs. The smaller basal tyrannosauriod Dilong and the larger tyrannosauroid Yutyrannus also preserve feather impressions. This raises the probability that, derived tyrannosaurs had a mix of feathers and scales on different parts of the body or that feathers were lost as individuals reach maturity [9] [10] NOTE: I often update my images. If you want to have any of my images on a website, please (if possible) don’t host/save it to the website server. I’d prefer it if the image's Wikimedia URL is used. This means that if I update an image, it will be updated on the site as well. Thanks. References ↑ Paul, Gregory S. (2008) "The extreme lifestyles and habits of the gigantic tyrannosaurid superpredators of the Late Cretaceous of North America and Asia" in Tyrannosaurus rex, the Tyrant King (Life of the Past), Bloomington:  Indiana University Press, p. 316 ISBN: 0-253-35087-5.  ↑ Paul, G.S. (2010). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, Princeton University Press. ↑ Persons, Scott; Currie, Philip. (2010). "'The Tail of Tyrannosaurus: Reassessing the Size and Locomotive Importance of the M. caudofemoralis in Non-Avian Theropods'". The Anatomical Record 294: 119-131. ↑ Currie, Philip; Badamgarav, Demchig; Koppelhus, Eva. (2003). "'The First Late Cretaceous Footprints from the Nemegt Locality in the Gobi of Mongolia'" (PDF). Ichnos 10 (1): 1-13. ↑ a b Bell, P R., et al (2017). "Tyrannosauroid integument reveals conflicting patterns of gigantism and feather evolution". Biology Letters. DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2017.0092. ↑ Currie, P. (2001). 2001 A. Watson Armour Symposium: The Paleobiology and Phylogenetics of Large Theropods. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. ↑ Carpenter, Kenneth (1997) "Tyrannosauridae" in Currie, Philip J. & Padian, Kevin (eds.). , ed. Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs, San Diego:  Academic Press, pp. 768 ISBN: 0-12-226810-5.  ↑  (2017). "A new tyrannosaur with evidence for anagenesis and crocodile-like facial sensory system". Scientific Reports 7: 44942. DOI:10.1038/srep44942. ↑ Xu, X., Norell, M. A., Kuang, X., Wang, X., Zhao, Q., Jia, C. (2004). "Basal tyrannosauroids from China and evidence for protofeathers in tyrannosauroids". Nature 431: 680–684. DOI:10.1038/nature02855. ↑  (2012). "A gigantic feathered dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China" (PDF). Nature 484: 92–95. DOI:10.1038/nature10906. PMID 22481363.