bcfossilcollector Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 After reading the recent thread on Morrison Formation fossils, especially the reference to Suuwassea on the tables provided, I thought I’d post an image of this particular fossil from my collection. It’s an example of the carbonized dinosaur skin found in the Morrison and sometimes attributed to Suuwassea although Diplodocus sp. is probably more accurate. I think I have a few more specimens somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfossilcollector Posted March 2, 2023 Author Share Posted March 2, 2023 Forgot to include my question. Has there been a comparative study on sauropod skin impressions as regards Morrison Formation fossils? I tried searching but did not come up with much information. @Troodon, @jpc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 I don't know of any Morrison Fm dino skin papers. There have been some sauropods from South America (I think) with some pretty good soft tissue preservation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 I'm like jp not heard of any. You might want to touch base with Ken Carpenter on FB and see what he says. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 can we see closer up photos of these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 Found this MOR 790 from Mothers Day Quarry possible Diplo Image courtesy of MOR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 Short paper New occurrences of dinosaur skin of two types (Sauropoda? and Dinosauria indet.) from the Late Jurassic of North America (Mygatt-Moore Quarry, Morrison Formation) Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Volume 31, 2011 - Issue 3 Foster et al 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfossilcollector Posted March 2, 2023 Author Share Posted March 2, 2023 1 hour ago, jpc said: can we see closer up photos of these? Yes. Definitely. @jpc @Troodon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfossilcollector Posted March 2, 2023 Author Share Posted March 2, 2023 (edited) Thanks Troodon and jpc. Really appreciate the information! Edited March 2, 2023 by bcfossilcollector Add Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 I read this but pertaining to South American ones Polygonal – specifically, pentagonal, hexagonal and heptagonal – scales are known for the macronarian and some diplodocids 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfossilcollector Posted March 2, 2023 Author Share Posted March 2, 2023 Some of the images and information I’ve seen/read online suggest polygonal scales in the configurations you’ve mentioned. I will try to get in touch with Ken Carpenter. Hopefully the close ups I’ve provided are clear enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted March 2, 2023 Share Posted March 2, 2023 3 minutes ago, bcfossilcollector said: Hopefully the close ups I’ve provided are clear enough. Can you try to send him ones that are sharper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfossilcollector Posted March 2, 2023 Author Share Posted March 2, 2023 (edited) Yes. I’ll try to get some sharper pictures with a camera that’s better than the phone I’m currently using. I will post those here as well. @Troodon Edited March 2, 2023 by bcfossilcollector 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 yeah, those aren't terribly sharp. I cannot see what makes this skin and not plant matter. Says the skeptic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfossilcollector Posted March 3, 2023 Author Share Posted March 3, 2023 36 minutes ago, jpc said: yeah, those aren't terribly sharp. I cannot see what makes this skin and not plant matter. Says the skeptic. Skepticism is good! I’m going by the information I was provided along with my own comparison with some photos I’ve seen of alleged sauropod skin from the Morrison Formation. Of course that comparison is really quite meaningless given my ignorance as regards Morrison fossils. I’ll try to post some better photos this afternoon. I really appreciate your time and knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfossilcollector Posted March 3, 2023 Author Share Posted March 3, 2023 Hopefully these are a bit sharper on zoom. Johnson County, Wyoming. @Troodon, @jpc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted March 3, 2023 Share Posted March 3, 2023 I've never held or seen sauropod skin other than the photos in images I added above. So I'm not really qualified to be commenting on them but would lean against them being one. The expected polygon shapes are too varied and irregular. An expert is needed here 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfossilcollector Posted March 3, 2023 Author Share Posted March 3, 2023 I’ve seen nothing apart from these specimens and a few photos online. The Haestasaurus photo example, from the United Kingdom, showed the same lack of uniformity in the tubercules as the specimens I’ve shown in this thread. I realize that is not, in itself, conclusive evidence. I must admit to being a bit more skeptical , as regards these fossils, than I have been in the past. Thanks Troodon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 I had seen another post on "dinosaur skin impressions in tracks" and I wasn't 100% convinced that they were skin impressions. So I asked Dr. Weems, who has written a number of books on dinosaurs and tracks in the VA/MD area, about skin impressions. This was his reply: "Areas of skin surface do occasionally show up, but much more common are areas where algae formed a mat at the surface of sluggish marsh water. In a dry spell, such an algal mat dries up and creates a wrinkly surface that looks a lot like dried skin. If there is a large patch of this material big enough to get a sense of the size and shape of the wrinkled surface, it is usually pretty easy to tell if we are looking at an algal mat or a patch of mummified skin. For small examples where the edge of the mat or skin cannot be seen, however, it is generally impossible to be sure which case we are seeing." I know what a typical algal mat looks like, and this specimen doesn't look like one to me. But there are a number of other non skin impression possibilities. So send your pictures to an expert as Troodon suggests. Marco Sr. 2 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfossilcollector Posted March 4, 2023 Author Share Posted March 4, 2023 I’ll contact Ken Carpenter as Troodon advised. Thanks @MarcoSr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfossilcollector Posted March 4, 2023 Author Share Posted March 4, 2023 I’ll post whatever information I receive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flx Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 Our local dinosaur museum team has found skin from sauropods in Morrison Fm.. However, as far as I know a paper has been written about stegosaur skin from that quarry only. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226416413_Exceptional_stegosaur_integument_impressions_from_the_Upper_Jurassic_Morrison_Formation_of_Wyoming 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcfossilcollector Posted March 5, 2023 Author Share Posted March 5, 2023 Thank you @Flx. Fascinating paper! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts