To start with, according to the reading, those lines may derive from decomposition of a died dinosaur’ skin instead of being part of a living one. The lecturer does not believe this point for the reason that other animals’ fossils that are buried at the same site have not shown such kind of decomposition; instead, their functional skin structures have been perfectly preserved in the volcanic ash. Therefore, these lines are likely to be well-preserved feathers instead of fibers. Moving on, the reading proposes that the lines may be the frills rather than remains of feathers. The listening argues this is not true. She further explains that there is an apparent chemical difference between feathers and frills. Feathers contain protein called beta-keratin while frills do not. And the chemical analysis suggested that Sinosauropteryx’s structures contain protein beta-keratin.
Last but not least importantly, the reading puts emphasis on such a fact that lines around the backbone and the tail of the Sinosauropteryx cannot play the role of helping it fly or regulating its body temperature but common feathers have these functions. The lecturer, by contrasts mentions other functions of the feathers by using peacock as an example. The peacock has colorful feathers in its tail to attract the mate. Recent analysis has found that Sinosauropteryx’s structures are also colorful, which can also be used for display.
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