The Edmontosaurus mummy AMNH 5060 is an exceptionally well-preserved fossil of a dinosaur in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History. Discovered in 1908 in the United States near Lusk, Wyoming, it was the first dinosaur specimen found to include a skeleton encased in skin impressions from large parts of the body. The mummy was found by fossil hunter Charles Hazelius Sternberg and his three sons in the Lance Formation.
About Edmontosaurus mummy AMNH 5060 in brief
The Edmontosaurus mummy AMNH 5060 is an exceptionally well-preserved fossil of a dinosaur in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History. Discovered in 1908 in the United States near Lusk, Wyoming, it was the first dinosaur specimen found to include a skeleton encased in skin impressions from large parts of the body. The mummy was found by fossil hunter Charles Hazelius Sternberg and his three sons in the Lance Formation. Henry Fairfield Osborn of the AMNH managed to secure the mummy. Osborn described the fossil in detail in 1912, coining the name “dinosaur mummy” for it. Several other dinosaur mummies of similar preservation have been discovered since then. This specimen has considerably influenced the scientific conception of hadrosaurids. Skin impressions found in between the fingers were once interpreted as interdigital webbing, bolstering the now-rejected perception of hadosaurids as aquatic animals. The skin includes two different types of non-overlapping scales that were between 1 and 5 millimetres in diameter. After dehydration, the mummy likely would have been rapidly buried by a meandering river, with bacteria consolidating the surrounding sediments, resulting in its excellent preservation. The skeleton is complete save the tail, hind feet, and the hind portion of the pelvis. All bones are preserved unflattened and still connected to each other. Today the mummy is considered one of the most important fossils of theAMNH.
It is ascribed to the species Edmontaurus annectens, a hadrosaurusid. The mummy is thought to have been found in the middle of the Cretaceous period. It was discovered lying on its back, its neck twisted backwards and its forelimbs outstretched. The fossil was discovered and excavated in 1908 by Sternberg and his three sons George, Charles Jr. and Levi. The sons worked as assistants for their father, and later became renowned paleontologists. They found a fossil horn weathering out of the rock; subsequent excavation revealed a 19 cm long Triceratops skull. Soon after, the youngest son, George, found more bones apparently belonging to the same skeleton. By the time the group had travelled 65mi from their base camp, and then removed a large piece of sandstone from the region, they had found an apparently complete skeleton. The third day after their father’s departure, George and Levi recognized that they had discovered a large specimen of the dinosaur. The museum agreed to buy any good fossil finds if such were made, knowing that the museum was lacking a good specimen; the museum had been unsuccessfully working in the area for years. The party left their family residence in Kansas in early spring, and arrived to the Lance Creek area in July. Sternberg’s plan foresaw the exploration of an uninhabited area of approximately 1,000 sq mi north to the North Platte River and south to the Cheyenne River in Converse County.
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