Dinosaur mummy yields its secrets

A remarkably well-preserved fossil of a dinosaur has been analysed by scientists writing in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

They describe how the fossil’s soft tissues were spared from decay by fine sediments that formed a mineral cast.

Tests have shown that the fossil still holds cell-like structures - but their constituent proteins have decayed.

The team says the cellular structure of the dinosaur’s skin was similar to that of dinosaurs’ modern-day descendants.

A member of the duck-billed hadrosaur family, the fossil was found in North Dakota in the US and has been nicknamed “Dakota”.

A metre-long section of the fossil shows the size of the hadrosaur’s scales

They believe that the dinosaur fell into a watery grave, with little oxygen present to speed along the decay process. Meanwhile, very fine sediments reacted with the soft tissues of the animal, forming a kind of cement.

As a result, the 66 million-year-old fossil still retains some of the organic matter of the original dinosaur, mixed in with the minerals.

The team found that although the proteins that made up the hadrosaur’s skin had degraded, the amino acid building blocks that once made up the proteins were still present.

“We’re looking at the altered products of proteins from the skin of this animal, locked within the three dimensional mineralised skin,” Dr [Phil] Manning [of the University of Manchester] told BBC News.

“You’re looking at cell-like structures; you slice through this and you’re looking at the cell structure of dinosaur skin. That is absolutely gobsmacking.”

(via BBC NEWS)

So exciting!! AHHHH!

1 year ago  /  4 notes