The paper has been questioned by palaeontologists such as Andrea Cau and Thomas Holtz, who point out that feathers in theropod dinosaurs can grow in the same parts of the body as scales (as seen in "Juravenator"), and thus the presence of scales does not actually eliminate the presence of feathers from that part of the body. Furthermore, feathers are delicate structures which can be very easily lost due to taphonomic factors. Paleontologist Mark Witton was warmer to the study, suggesting "we have to concede a scalier appearance than many of us thought likely", while also highlighting that much remains to be determined about tyrannosaurid life appearance. Though acknowledging the role that taphonomy plays in interpreting dinosaur skin, Witton points out that the scale impressions are high quality, consistent in form across all patches, and show no obvious evidence of fibre impressions or spaces for filament attachment, despite the preservation of submillimeter scales. More variation and evidence of deformation might be expected if taphonomy had distorted the specimens in a significant way.