Dinosaurs had dandruff, newly discovered fossils reveal

The first ever reported fossil dandruff was discovered among the feathers of a microraptor

A fossil of a microraptor found in Liaoning Province, China, in 2005 (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Scientists have discovered the first evidence of dinosaur dandruff, according to a new study.

Fossilised skin flakes were found among the feathers of a 125-million-year-old four-winged microraptor.

Their existence confirms that these dinosaurs shed their skin in small patches like modern birds and mammals rather than whole or in large sections.

"This is the only ever reported fossil dandruff of any kind, so far as I am aware," said Professor Mike Benton, one of the authors of the study published in Nature on Friday.

"So, the first from a dinosaur, the oldest and the first from any fossil."

The researchers used an electronic microscope to study feathers from Chinese samples of the microraptor as well as feathered dinosaurs beipiaosaurus and sinornithosaurus, and the primitive bird confuciusornis.

They discovered corneocytes, dead cells that form the skin's outer layer which are very similar to those in modern birds.

"We were originally interested in studying the feathers, and when we were looking at the feathers we kept finding these little white blobs, the stuff was everywhere, it was in between all the feathers," Dr Maria McNamara from University College Cork told BBC News.

"We started wondering if it was a biological feature like fragments of shells, or reptile skin, but it's not consistent with any of those things, the only option left was that it was fragments of the skin that were preserved, and it's identical in structure to the outer part of the skin in modern birds, what we would call dandruff."

Structural differences in the skin flakes imply that these dinosaurs had lower body heat production than modern birds, according to the study.

This suggests that the Cretaceous-era microraptor was not able to fly for long periods, if at all.

Additional reporting by PA