Dinosaur skin impressions and associated skeletal remains from the upper Campanian of southwestern New Mexico: new data on the integument morphology of hadrosaurs

Abstract

ABSTRACT Skin impressions from the tail region of an indeterminate hadrosaur recently excavated from the Upper Cretaceous Ringbone Formation, southwest New Mexico represent the first known dinosaur specimen from New Mexico with impressions of the integument preserved in association with skeletal remains. The mid- to distal-caudal region is represented by 20 articulated centra, other disarticulated centra, a single chevron, ossified tendons and fragmentary bone, including poorly preserved neural spines. The skin impressions are preserved in negative and positive relief between two very fine-grained sandstone beds, interpreted as part of a fluvio-lacustrine facies package. The impression surface is directly below the ossified tendons, and 2.5 m from the articulated vertebral column. The skin impressions are six discrete patches characterized by predominantly apical, circular to ovate tubercles. Measurements of the long and short axes of individual tubercles demonstrate that a distribution of relatively homogenous tubercle sizes occur along the tail section. The tubercles range from 3 to 12 mm and 10 to 16 mm on the short and long axes, respectively. All tubercles examined are ornamented with radiating ridges and grooves that converge at their apex. Presently, the material cannot be identified below the level of Hadrosauridae; however, a comparison of tubercle size, shape and ornamentation described previously from hadrosaur skin impressions indicates the integument morphology of the Ringbone hadrosaur has some similarities to that of the gryposaurs. In general, the complexity of the radial sculpturing, specifically the number of ridges and rugosity, increases with increasing tubercle size. This specific type of ornamentation is not known from modern reptiles or birds; however, the tubercular morphology is similar to that of the lizard Heloderma. Although it is impossible to determine whether the ridges and grooves may have had a physiologic function, these features would increase the surface area of the skin, and therefore may have afforded more efficient heat exchange across the skin, or possibly provided added resistance to tearing and puncturing.