User:AnkylosaurMan/sandbox

Jorsua, I think both of these are good ideas. For the first, you would want to explain how the color has been discovered, of course, and by whom, whether it is still uncertain, etc.--i.e., as much as you can. For the second, not only what molecular information can be extracted but how and of what use that is. Your choice. Good work, Eric

WritingMan (talk) 15:50, 13 April 2018 (UTC)

1) First proposal: 
   The title of the wikipedia article is "Ankylosaurus"(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankylosaurus). I would like to add information 
   about the skin color in Ankylosaurus specimen. For that, I going to use the following sources:
        - Keely Glass, Shosuke Ito, Philip R. Wilby, Takayuki Sota, Atsushi Nakamura, C. Russell Bowers, Kristen E. Miller, Suryendu 
          Dutta, Roger E. Summons, Derek E.G. Briggs, Kazumasa Wakamatsu, John D. Simon. Impact of diagenesis and maturation on the 
          survival of eumelanin in the fossil record
        - Vinther, J., Nicholls, R., Lautenschlager, S., Pittman, M., Kaye, T. G., Rayfield, E., ... & Cuthill, I. C. (2016). 3D 
          camouflage in an ornithischian dinosaur. Current Biology
        - Eglinton, G., & Logan, G. A. (1991). Molecular preservation. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B
        - Brown, C. M., Henderson, D. M., Vinther, J., Fletcher, I., Sistiaga, A., Herrera, J., & Summons, R. E. (2017). An 
          Exceptionally Preserved Three-Dimensional Armored Dinosaur Reveals Insights into Coloration and Cretaceous Predator-Prey 
          Dynamics. Current Biology
        - Vinther, J. (2015). A guide to the field of palaeo colour. BioEssays

2) Second proposal: 
   The title of the wikipedia article is "Coprolite" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coprolite). I am thinking on adding some information about the molecular information that can be extracted from coprolite. 
        - Bull, I. D., Lockheart, M. J., Elhmmali, M. M., Roberts, D. J., & Evershed, R. P. (2002). The origin of faeces by means of 
          biomarker detection. Environment international.
        - Sistiaga, A., Berna, F., Laursen, R., & Goldberg, P. (2014). Steroidal biomarker analysis of a 14,000 years old putative 
          human coprolite from Paisley Cave, Oregon. Journal of Archaeological Science, 41, 813-817.
        - Lin, D. S., Connor, W. E., Napton, L. K., & Heizer, R. F. (1978). The steroids of 2000-year-old human coprolites. Journal 
          of Lipid Research.

AnkylosaurMan (talk) 15:14, 9 April 2018 (UTC)

1) First Source:

Defense

Depiction of Ankylosaurus displaying its tail club

The osteoderms of ankylosaurids were thin in comparison to those of other ankylosaurs, and appear to have been strengthened by randomly distributed cushions of collagen fibers. Structurally similar to Sharpey's fibres, they were embedded directly into the bone tissue, a feature unique to ankylosaurids. This would have provided the ankylosaurids with an armor covering that was both lightweight and highly durable, being resistant to breakage and penetration by the teeth of predators. The palpebral bones over the eyes may have provided additional protection for them. Carpenter suggested in 1982 that the heavily vascularized armor may also have had a role in thermoregulation as in modern crocodilians.

Caudal vertebra from the tail of AMNH 5895

The tail club of Ankylosaurus seems to have been an active defensive weapon, capable of producing enough of an impact to break the bones of an assailant. The tendons of the tail were partially ossified and were not very elastic, allowing great force to be transmitted to the club when it was used as a weapon. Coombs suggested in 1979 that several hindlimb muscles would have controlled the swinging of the tail, and that violent thrusts of the club would have been able to break the metatarsal bones of large theropods. A 2009 study estimated that ankylosaurids could swing their tails at 100 degrees laterally, and the mainly cancellous clubs would have had a lowered moment of inertia and been effective weapons. The study also found that while adult ankylosaurid tail clubs were capable of breaking bones, those of juveniles were not. Despite the feasibility of tail-swinging, the researchers could not determine whether ankylosaurids used their clubs for defense against potential predators, in intraspecific combat, or both.

Although some specimens have recently been discovered with an almost intact armor, the real appearance of the Ankylosaurus armor is still unknown. However, Paleocolour studies on a recently discovered and an exceptionally preserved specimen of Ankylosaurus (Borealopelta markmitchelli) has provided groundbreaking evidence on the original colour of this specimen ^[1]. The application of these analytical chemistry techniques revealed that the upper part of the fossil showed a significant abundance of Benzothiazole, which is a degradation product of phaeomelanin that is often used as marker of reddish colour. In contrast, the lower part of the body showed a lighter pigmentation, which is compatible with display, and a countershading pattern ^[1].

In 1993 Tony Thulborn proposed that the tail club of ankylosaurids primarily acted as a decoy for the head, as he thought the tail too short and inflexible to have an effective reach; the "dummy head" would lure a predator close to the tail, where it could be struck. Carpenter has rejected this idea, as tail club shape is highly variable among ankylosaurids, even in the same genus.

2) Second Source:

Research value

By examining coprolites, paleontologists are able to find information about the diet of the animal (if bones or other food remains are present), such as whether it was a herbivorous or carnivorous, and the taphonomy of the coprolites, although the producer is rarely identified unambiguously, especially with more ancient examples. In one example these fossils can be analyzed for certain minerals that are known to exist in trace amounts in certain species of plant that can still be detected millions of years later. In another example, the existence of human proteins in coprolites can be used to pinpoint the existence of cannibalistic behavior in an ancient culture. Parasite remains found in human and animal coprolites have also shed new light on questions of human migratory patterns, the diseases which plagued ancient civilizations, and animal domestication practices in the past (see archaeoparasitology and paleoparasitology).

Organic molecules found in fossil faecal matter can be also very informative about the producer of the coprolite, its diet, or the paleoenvironment where it was deposited. The application of the faecal biomarker approach (the analysis of lipid molecules in faecal matter) in archaeological sites has provided groundbreaking evidence in key questions such as the peopling of the americas, the Neanderthal diet, or AND the origin of the domestication of animals .