Researchers have found a dinosaur mummy with hooves and a hidden crest

Scientists have discovered a dinosaur mummy, whose soft tissues have been preserved in the form of the thinnest clay mask. Researchers from the University of Chicago have described how the bodies of the flat-billed dinosaurs Edmontosaurus annectens (Edmontosaurus annectens) were transformed into detailed clay prints of skin, scales and hooves about 66 million years ago. This was reported on November 30 by Science Daily magazine.

The team called this process "clay templating." During the transformation, the external soft tissues were covered with an ultra-thin layer of clay, which fixed the shape of the body. Using modern scanning techniques, the researchers recreated the dinosaur's appearance. It included a high crest along the neck and body, a row of spikes along the tail and hooves. By comparing the data with the footprints, the scientists obtained the most complete soft tissue profile of the giant platypus dinosaur to date.

"For the first time, we've got a complete, detailed view of a large dinosaur that we can be sure of. The barren lands in Wyoming, where the finds were made, are a unique "mummy zone" that holds even more surprises thanks to the fossils collected over the years by groups of university students," said Paul Sereno, professor of body biology and anatomy at the University of Chicago.

Researchers have restored the location of old finds from the early 20th century using archival photographs. They identified a compact "mummy zone" in the river sands in eastern Wyoming. Here, the team discovered two new Edmontosaurus mummies — a younger one and an older one— with large preserved patches of skin.

Sereno clarifies that such mummies are fundamentally different from the Egyptian ones: no organics have been preserved. The skin, spikes, and hooves are fixed in the form of an ultra-thin clay layer formed shortly after burial. It is specified that the clay layer is very thin and was formed randomly due to its interaction with the microbial film on the surface of the decomposing body.

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The results indicated a specific sequence of events — dinosaurs died, their bodies dried out in the sun, then flash floods quickly covered them with sediment. The microbial film, in turn, attracted clay particles, forming the thinnest three-dimensional shell. At the same time, the soft tissues disappeared, but the clay preserved their contours.

Two specimens allowed us to restore the full shape of the animal. According to Sereno, for the first time, instead of scattered fragments, it was possible to see a complete profile. It was found that there was a continuous ridge running along the back, passing over the hips into a series of tail spikes, each of which was located above the vertebra.

The scales were diverse. Large multi-faceted scales were found on the lower body and tail, but most of the surface was covered with miniature "pebble" scales with a diameter of 1 to 4 mm. Fine wrinkles above the ribs revealed that the skin was quite thin.

The most unexpected discovery was the hooves on the hind legs. The ends of the three fingers were covered with wedge-shaped hooves with a flat base, resembling a horse's.

"There are so many amazing 'firsts' preserved in these duck—billed mummies—the earliest hooves recorded in a terrestrial vertebrate, the first confirmed hoofed reptile, and the first hoofed quadrupedal animal with a different position of forelimbs and hind legs," Sereno emphasized.

Earlier, on October 10, paleontologists found an almost complete skeleton of a new and rare species of ichthyosaurus, named Xiphodracon goldencapensis ("Dorset xiphoid dragon"). The find was discovered on the coast of the Jurassic period in the UK.

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