Overview
- University of Chicago researchers report in Science that several Edmontosaurus specimens from east-central Wyoming preserved three-dimensional skin, spikes and hooves as ultra-thin clay templates.
- Analyses indicate no original soft tissue or DNA survives, with the visible “fleshy” features captured in clay layers about 0.01 inch thick.
- The study identifies a midline crest over the neck and trunk that transitions into a row of tail spikes, along with small pebble-like scales across the body.
- Hoof-like structures on the toes make Edmontosaurus the first confirmed hooved reptile and the earliest example of hooves in a land vertebrate.
- Researchers mapped a localized “mummy zone,” reexamined early 20th-century finds, recovered two new mummies, and used CT scans, thin sections, X-ray spectroscopy and digital reconstructions, including a footprint fit test for the hoofed foot.