The outer parts of long-dead creatures don't easily make it into the fossil record. That's why this incredibly well-preserved skin of an iconic carnivorous dinosaur is such a treat – a new analysis reveals a complex coat of scales, studs, thorns, bumps and wrinkles.
The remains of this bizarre-looking predator, known as the horned abelisaurid (Carnotaurus sastrei), were first discovered in Patagonia in 1984. At the time, it was the first meat-eating dinosaur ever found with fossilized skin, and the exquisite impressions covered nearly every part of the predator, from neck to tail.
At times, the jagged surface almost resembles Australia's thorny devil (Moloch horridus), and yet the ridges on some other scales remind scientists of an elephant hide. Not anywhere is there even a hint of a feather.
Only the fossilized skin on the abelisaurid's horned head was missing; now, scientists have properly analyzed and described the discovery in close detail.
Unlike other, brief descriptions of the skin prints, the fresh analysis has found no evidence that the dinosaur's scales were arranged in irregular rows, or that they were different sizes depending on where they were found on the body (as we see on some modern lizards, for example).
For instance, the scales don't get smaller as they spread further down the tail and away from the core of the dinosaur's body. Instead, the largest scales appear randomly scattered across the thorax and the tail.
This Fossilized Skin Sample of an Iconic Dinosaur Has Revealed Jaw-Dropping Details
The remains of this bizarre-looking predator, known as the horned abelisaurid (Carnotaurus sastrei), were first discovered in Patagonia in 1984. At the time, it was the first meat-eating dinosaur ever found with fossilized skin, and the exquisite impressions covered nearly every part of the predator, from neck to tail.
At times, the jagged surface almost resembles Australia's thorny devil (Moloch horridus), and yet the ridges on some other scales remind scientists of an elephant hide. Not anywhere is there even a hint of a feather.
Only the fossilized skin on the abelisaurid's horned head was missing; now, scientists have properly analyzed and described the discovery in close detail.
Unlike other, brief descriptions of the skin prints, the fresh analysis has found no evidence that the dinosaur's scales were arranged in irregular rows, or that they were different sizes depending on where they were found on the body (as we see on some modern lizards, for example).
For instance, the scales don't get smaller as they spread further down the tail and away from the core of the dinosaur's body. Instead, the largest scales appear randomly scattered across the thorax and the tail.
This Fossilized Skin Sample of an Iconic Dinosaur Has Revealed Jaw-Dropping Details