National Museum of Natural History

Dinosaur Skin

Photo by Mike Brett-Surman

Close-up of Corythosaurus (USNM 15493) shows fossilized skin which is covering bones of the tail. This is not the actual skin, but rather an impression of the original skin made in the surrounding dirt, when the dinosaur was buried. The dirt is now sandstone, and burial is a crucial step in the process of fossilization.

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