@stereospondyl.bsky.social, you're welcome!

BIG Congratulations to @stephanspiekman.bsky.social and colleagues for a once in a lifetime publication and thank sooo very much for confiding in me to illustrate this magnificent animal. Here is the link to the Nature paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09167-9

Herzlichen Glückwunsch an Sie und Ihr Team, lb. Herr Spiekmann. Die fesche Mirasaura hat es dann gestern ja sogar in die 20:15-Tagesschau geschafft, heute in die Süddeutsche
www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/miras...

The feature of the Smithsonian on Mirasaura is here
www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-...

We found melansomes in the crest. Their shape tells us about the tissue type but can also inform on color patterns. In our case, we could only sample a small section, and it revealed a darker, brownish color. The reconstruction of the whole crest is an artist impression, not hard scientific data

Indeed, bone can be excluded. We also exclude blood vessels. This tissue would have been made up of keratinous dead cells, as are hairs, feathers, and the outer layers of scales. The central ridge is likely some sort of differentiation of the same tissue, but it's hard to know what or how for sure.

Possibly, although these isolated specimens were never considered to be plant remains. They looked too different. Nobody really knew what they were, but they were at some point tentatively identified as the remains of shark egg capsules!

I definitely will. There's a good chance that'll happen. :)