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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sereno, Paul C, Saitta, Evan T, Vidal, Daniel, Myhrvold, Nathan, Ciudad Real, María, Baumgart, Stephanie L, Bop, Lauren L, Keillor, Tyler M, Eriksen, Marcus, Derstler, Kraig
Format: Artículo científico
Language:en
Published: Science (New York, N.Y.) 2026
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Online Access:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41129614/
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Table of Contents:
  • Duck-billed dinosaur fleshy midline and hooves reveal terrestrial clay-template "mummification". Sereno, Paul C Saitta, Evan T Vidal, Daniel Myhrvold, Nathan Ciudad Real, María Baumgart, Stephanie L Bop, Lauren L Keillor, Tyler M Eriksen, Marcus Derstler, Kraig Animals Clay Dinosaurs Fossils Hoof and Claw Skin Mummies Two "mummies" of the end-Cretaceous duck-billed dinosaur preserve a fleshy crest over the neck and trunk, an interdigitating spike row over the hips and tail, and hooves capping the toes of the hind feet. A battery of tests showed that all of the fossilized integument (skin, spike, and hoof) are preserved as a thin (less than 1 millimeter) clay template that formed on the surface of a buried carcass during decay before the loss of all soft tissues and organic compounds. Unlike the underlying permineralized skeletal bone, the integument renderings of these "dinosaur mummies" are preserved as a thin external clay mask, a templating process documented previously only in anoxic marine settings.