Authors
Phillip L Manning, Peter M Morris, Adam McMahon, Emrys Jones, Andy Gize, Joe HS Macquaker, George Wolff, Anu Thompson, Jim Marshall, Kevin G Taylor, Tyler Lyson, Simon Gaskell, Onrapak Reamtong, William I Sellers, Bart E Van Dongen, Mike Buckley, Roy A Wogelius
Publication date
2009/10/7
Journal
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume
276
Issue
1672
Pages
3429-3437
Publisher
The Royal Society
Description
An extremely well-preserved dinosaur (Cf. Edmontosaurus sp.) found in the Hell Creek Formation (Upper Cretaceous, North Dakota) retains soft-tissue replacement structures and associated organic compounds. Mineral cements precipitated in the skin apparently follow original cell boundaries, partially preserving epidermis microstructure. Infrared and electron microprobe images of ossified tendon clearly show preserved mineral zonation, with silica and trapped carbon dioxide forming thin linings on Haversian canals within apatite. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of materials recovered from the skin and terminal ungual phalanx suggests the presence of compounds containing amide groups. Amino acid composition analyses of the mineralized skin envelope clearly differ from the surrounding matrix; however, intact proteins could not be obtained using protein mass spectrometry. The …
Total citations
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Scholar articles
PL Manning, PM Morris, A McMahon, E Jones, A Gize… - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological …, 2009