Incredible dinosaur 'mummy' reveals a surprisingly hoof-like foot - National Geographic

• Science

Despite being known to subject for much than a century, the duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus continues to surprise. In 2013, paleontologists announced that immoderate of these herbivorous dinosaurs had fleshy combs connected the tops of their heads, overmuch similar a rooster’s. Now caller probe has uncovered different unexpected diagnostic that experts had missed. Edmontosaurus had the reptilian equivalent of a hoof—its mediate fingers connected and covered successful a ample nail.

The find comes from an investigation of an Edmontosaurus “mummy,” nicknamed Dakota, published contiguous successful PLOS ONE. Other exceptional Edmontosaurus fossils person been found, but Dakota is 1 of the astir complete. In summation to the find of the hoof, it offers clues astir 1 mode dinosaur bones and tissues tin beryllium preserved done time.

Dinosaur fossils with preserved tissues specified arsenic tegument are sometimes called “mummies,” and up until present “the presumption was that dinosaur mummies had to beryllium rapidly buried,” says University of Tennessee, Knoxville paleontologist Stephanie Drumheller-Horton. Uncovered carcasses would pull scavengers that would prime distant astatine the body, the reasoning went, and vulnerability to the sun, wind, and rainfall could besides lend to the body’s breakdown. The faster a dinosaur was covered successful sediment and shielded from destructive forces, researchers believed, the amended the accidental that immoderate of its brushed tissues would beryllium preserved.