title: Mineralized soft-tissue structure and chemistry in a mummified hadrosaur from the Hell Creek Formation, North Dakota (USA).
abstract: 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 presence of endogenously derived organics from the skin was further demonstrated by pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GCMS), indicating survival and presence of macromolecules that were in part aliphatic (see the electronic supplementary material).
authors: School of Earth, Atmospheric, and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors: Phillip L
authors: PL
authors: Manning
authors: Peter M
authors: PM
authors: Morris
authors: Adam
authors: A
authors: McMahon
authors: Emrys
authors: E
authors: Jones
authors: Andy
authors: A
authors: Gize
authors: Joe H S
authors: JH
authors: Macquaker
authors: George
authors: G
authors: Wolff
authors: Anu
authors: A
authors: Thompson
authors: Jim
authors: J
authors: Marshall
authors: Kevin G
authors: KG
authors: Taylor
authors: Tyler
authors: T
authors: Lyson
authors: Simon
authors: S
authors: Gaskell
authors: Onrapak
authors: O
authors: Reamtong
authors: William I
authors: WI
authors: Sellers
authors: Bart E
authors: BE
authors: van Dongen
authors: Mike
authors: M
authors: Buckley
authors: Roy A
authors: RA
authors: Wogelius
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D025061:Dinosaurs / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005580:Fossils; D009658:North Dakota; D012867:Skin / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013710:Tendons / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction