article for September 24, 2019

Article of the day for September 24, 2019 is Edmontosaurus.
The Edmontosaurus mummy in the American Museum of Natural History is an exceptionally well-preserved fossil of a dinosaur, the first found to include a skeleton encased in skin impressions; almost two-thirds of the skin is preserved. Discovered in 1908 in the United States near Lusk, Wyoming, it is ascribed to the species Edmontosaurus annectens, a hadrosaurid (duck-billed dinosaur). It was discovered lying on its back, its neck twisted backwards and its forelimbs outstretched. After dehydration and burial of the carcass, bacteria consolidated the surrounding sediments, resulting in its excellent preservation. Skin impressions found in between the fingers were once interpreted as evidence for an aquatic lifestyle. The mummy was found by fossil hunter Charles Hazelius Sternberg and his three sons in the Lance Formation. Although Sternberg was working under contract to the British Museum of Natural History, Henry Fairfield Osborn managed to secure the mummy for the American museum.