Duckbilled dinosaur fossil with skin found
The more they dig, the more they find. But finding soft tissue in a 67 million year old bone seems to stagger belief. can they really be that old and
still have soft tissue?
In the past, what we've learned about dinosaurs has been mostly based on bones. That might soon change with the recent discovery of an extremely well preserved, 67-million-year-old duckbilled dinosaur found with fossilized skin in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, according to a North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences press release.
The near-complete remains may yield precious soft tissue, thanks to a technique that recovered structures resembling blood cells in a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton last year.
More than 80 percent of the Edmontosaurus annectens skeleton has been recovered so far, he said, and even more bones likely still exist at the Hell Creek site. The skeleton missing only an arm, a few toes and a few other bones is estimated to be among the top five percent most complete dinosaur specimens worldwide, said Schneider.
The large piece of fossilized skin once covered the adult dino's back right hip.
Julia Clarke, a North Carolina State University assistant professor of paleontology, worked on the dig. She told Discovery News that the skin is preserved in three dimensions, which is extremely rare.
Clarke said.
Much more on the site
http://dsc.discovery.com/ne...
Below: This skull of a 67-million-year-old duckbilled dinosaur was recently excavated in Hell Creek, Montana. Researchers believe the fossil — which was found nearly complete — may allow the recovery of valuable soft tissue.
By netchicken:
posted on 23-11-2006 In the past, what we've learned about dinosaurs has been mostly based on bones. That might soon change with the recent discovery of an extremely well preserved, 67-million-year-old duckbilled dinosaur found with fossilized skin in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, according to a North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences press release.
The near-complete remains may yield precious soft tissue, thanks to a technique that recovered structures resembling blood cells in a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton last year.
More than 80 percent of the Edmontosaurus annectens skeleton has been recovered so far, he said, and even more bones likely still exist at the Hell Creek site. The skeleton missing only an arm, a few toes and a few other bones is estimated to be among the top five percent most complete dinosaur specimens worldwide, said Schneider.
The large piece of fossilized skin once covered the adult dino's back right hip.
Julia Clarke, a North Carolina State University assistant professor of paleontology, worked on the dig. She told Discovery News that the skin is preserved in three dimensions, which is extremely rare.
... Quote:
Clarke said.
Much more on the site
http://dsc.discovery.com/ne...
Below: This skull of a 67-million-year-old duckbilled dinosaur was recently excavated in Hell Creek, Montana. Researchers believe the fossil — which was found nearly complete — may allow the recovery of valuable soft tissue.