Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Get into the #halloween spirit with the Museum's famous dinosaur mummy, the duck-billed dino, Edmontosaurus annectens. Why is this specimen called a mummy? It's an exceptionally well-preserved fossil with impressions of dinosaur skin. The animal’s skin texture, marked by bumps called tubercles, was similar to the skin on bird feet. Note: the areas that look like skin are just impressions. No actual skin is preserved. This Edmontosaurus is mounted as it was found, lying on its back, head and neck twisted back with its knees drawn up. Many dinosaur fossils are found in a similar pose. It's often referred to as the “death pose” and reflects something that happened after the animal died. The neck muscle slackened, the ligament shrunk, and the neck straightened or bent back on itself. This specimen in the Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs is one of the most complete pieces of Mesozoic dinosaur remains ever found, and it represents one of the greatest discoveries in the history of paleontology. #dinosaur #duckbill #mummy #fossils #americanmuseumofnaturalhistory #spookyscience #spookyseason
Get into the #halloween spirit with the Museum's famous dinosaur mummy, the duck-billed dino, Edmontosaurus annectens. Why is this specimen called a mummy? It's an exceptionally well-preserved fossil with impressions of dinosaur skin. The animal’s skin texture, marked by bumps called tubercles, was similar to the skin on bird feet. Note: the areas that look like skin are just impressions. No actual skin is preserved. This Edmontosaurus is mounted as it was found, lying on its back, head and neck twisted back with its knees drawn up. Many dinosaur fossils are found in a similar pose. It's often referred to as the “death pose” and reflects something that happened after the animal died. The neck muscle slackened, the ligament shrunk, and the neck straightened or bent back on itself. This specimen in the Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs is one of the most complete pieces of Mesozoic dinosaur remains ever found, and it represents one of the greatest discoveries in the history of paleontology. #dinosaur #duckbill #mummy #fossils #americanmuseumofnaturalhistory #spookyscience #spookyseason
