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yesterday

Wyoming 'Mummy Zone' Yields First Reptile Hooves and Full Duck-Billed Dinosaur Profile

A Science study describes ultra-thin clay molds formed during rapid burial that captured skin, a crest, and tail spikes, allowing a life-accurate reconstruction.

A thin layer of clay over the fossilized skeleton of the juvenile Edmontosaurus preserved large areas of scaly, wrinkled skin and a fleshy crest over its back.
Image
© Artwork by Dani Navarro
Lead study author Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago marvels at the preserved hooves on the foot of an adult mummy of Edmontosaurus.

Overview

  • Two Edmontosaurus annectens from east-central Wyoming preserve continuous external anatomy as sub-millimeter clay templates rather than original soft tissue.
  • The adult shows wedge-shaped, flat-bottomed caps on the three hind toes, representing the earliest hooves in a land vertebrate and the first documented in a reptile.
  • The juvenile retains a complete fleshy outline with a tall midline crest, while the adult preserves a full tail spike row, pebble-like scales, and wrinkles indicating thin skin.
  • Analyses using CT imaging, electron microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy, and 3D fitting to contemporaneous footprints support the reconstructions and reveal no detectable organics in the clay layer.
  • Researchers mapped a compact Lance Formation locality known as the ‘mummy zone’ and infer drought desiccation, flash-flood burial, and microbial biofilms as the preservation pathway, with additional fieldwork planned.