Hadrosaurs were a large family of ornithischian dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period. Related to Iguanodons, they are known primarily for their "duck-bills" which are in fact elongated rostral bone structures that give the appearance of a beak, but actually housed hundreds of small teeth that allowed these giant herbivores to grind through all manner of plant material, including rotten wood.

This specimen is a piece of Hadrosaur fossil skin material, found in South Dakota's Hell Creek Formation, dating to around 66 million years ago. It ships in a sturdy carton and includes a Mini Museum Certificate of Authenticity. You can explore more Hadrosaur showcase pieces in the collection below.

When we think of dinosaur fossils we usually imagine bones and teeth, but fossilized skin and scales have also been discovered along with feathers. Scales are rigid plates which grow out of the skin and afford protection. They occur in many animals including birds, reptiles, fish, mammals, and even butterflies and moths. In dinosaurs, scales occur in many different sizes with varied arrangements. The function of scales, aside from what we know from scales in other animals, is still under investigation as is the complex relationship to the development of feathers.

Preservation of dinosaur skin and other soft tissues requires a combination of many factors including sedimentation and the presence of microbial mats. This delicate arrangement creates certain challenges for paleontologists when recovering skin. Early methods of extraction often bypassed these delicate structures entirely, but new methods are yielding surprising discoveries including the extraction of connective tissue and intact cellular structures.

Hadrosaur fossils have been found on all continents. Evidence of their migratory nature has been recovered, but recent studies suggest that some species, those in polar regions, may have settled in place year-round.

These large herbivores ate twigs, berries and coarse plant matter. Much is known about their diet as fossilized stomach contents have been identified. They foraged on low-level foliage from conifers and deciduous shrubs and trees.

Recent studies suggest that Hadrosaurs, which could reach the size of a Tyrannosaurus rex, grew at phenomenal speeds, in part to avoid predation by therapods. Compare this with T. rex, which took three times that long to grow to full size.

As noted above, this specimen is a fragment of Hadrosaur skin recovered on found in the Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota. Once a coastal plain threaded with streams along the Western Interior Seaway, the Hell Creek Formation is one of the most productive locations for Late Cretaceous Period fossils all the way up to the end of the Cretaceous. Studies indicate rainfall amounts increased dramatically after the K-Pg boundary event, with an influx of sediments and widespread swamps.