• MeanEYE@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This person assumes only bones are visible in fossils. When in reality even things without bones can end up fossilized.

    • fsxylo
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      1 year ago

      But that is their bones. Dragonflies have exoskeletons.

      • Lucidlethargy
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        1 year ago

        I think their point is that a beaver’s tail would also show up if something as fragile as a dragon flies wings do.

        If the composition matters here, it could be an incorrect assertion, though. Do we have a paleontologist up in here?

        • [email protected]
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          1 year ago

          Soft tissues preserve poorly, which is obvious enough. Hair, if you’re incredibly lucky might show up, displaying the beaver paddle for whatever might be looking at the fossil, but otherwise, that tail can only be extrapolated to be fairly strong due to the numerous large connection points for muscle. There will be screaming matches between scientists to determine who is right about the beaver’s appearance if the fossil is hairless, and the being discovering it is even faintly human-like.