Lot 918
Dinosaur Skin With Soft Tissue. Dinosaur skin is the rarest and most coveted of dinosaur fossils because of its extreme rarity being preserved only under extraordinary conditions. The dinosaur had to have been completely covered by fine mud sediments probably in a large river delta within a day or so after dying to avoid bacterial breakdown of the skin and soft tissue which would occur immediately. The skin texture was impressed in detail in the soft clay forming a natural mold which was later filled by more muddy sand creating a natural cast and remained intact for over 65 million years even after the skin and other soft tissue was destroyed by bacteria. This large section of dinosaur skin is from the back of the hip or tail section of an Edmontosaurus duckbilled dinosaur and is between 65-70 million years old and was found along with some fragmented Edmontosaurus bones in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana. Also, soft tissue has also been fossilized along with the skin. This large section of matrix is 10.5X7 inches and has deep very distinct skin impressions on both sides of the limestone rock. The best detailed skin is 4X4 inches showing excellent detail and color with a large 8X2 inch skin section curving beneath it. Also present on the bottom of this 8X2 inch skin section is a 2.5X2 inch dark brown imprint of the muscle or gland that was present just beneath the skin. On the back of the slab is another 5X5 inch long skin impression area that varies in thickness from 1-3 inches. All of the color is original just as found when the rare specimen was broken out of a larger piece of rock. The Dinosaur Autopsy show called their find the most important of the decade and an offering of dinosaur skin with soft tissue preservation may never be offered for sale again.
Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,500.
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| Realized $600 |
