3.2" Edmontosaurus Fossil Rib Bone Hell Creek FM Cretaceous Dinosaur MT COA Stand
Location: Hell Creek Formation, Montana (Private Land Origin)
Weight: 4.3 Ounces (With Metal Stand)
Dimensions: 4.1 Inches Long, 2 Inches Wide, 2 Inches Thick (With Metal Stand)
Fossil Dimensions: 3.2 Inches Long, 1.2 Inches Wide, 0.6 Inches Thick
Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
Comes with a Free Metal Stand.
The item pictured is the one you will receive.
This is a genuine fossil.
Edmontosaurus ("lizard from Edmonton") is a hadrosaurid dinosaur species from the Maastrichtian, the last phase of the Cretaceous period, 71-65 million years ago. A fully-grown adult could have been up to nine meters long, and some of the larger species reached thirteen meters. Its weight was in the region of 3.5 tonnes, making it one of the largest hadrosaurids.
Edmontosaurus could pass the toughest foodstuffs back and forth across the teeth with its muscular, daring pouches.
Edmontosaurus had tightly packed "banks" of teeth, with up to sixty rows to accommodate its dental needs, continuously replacing lost teeth much like modern sharks. The upper jaw bones could flex outward as the lower jaw rose, allowing the mandible to grind effectively against them. Fossil evidence, including remnants of conifer needles, seeds, and twigs in body cavities, indicates that Edmontosaurus primarily browsed vegetation from trees.
The 1908 discovery in Wyoming was particularly remarkable in that paleontologists actually recovered fossilized imprints of Edmontosaurus' skin. The skin drying very quickly and fixing its shape into the mud must have left an impression. It is from these limitations that we know the skin was scaly and leathery, and the thigh muscle was under the skin of the body. This would have given the feeling that the leg left its body at the knee, and the whole thigh was under the skin. This only contributes to its resemblance to a duck. It also had a number of tubercles (bumps) on its neck and down its back and tail.
Edmontosaurus primarily moved on two legs but was capable of quadrupedal locomotion. Its forelimbs were shorter than the hindlimbs, yet sufficiently robust to support walking on all fours. The forefeet exhibited hooves on two digits and possessed weight-bearing pads comparable to those seen in Camarasaurus. The hind feet had two hooked toes. The lower limb bone structure indicates strong muscle attachments to both legs and feet. The spine’s downward curve at the shoulders suggests a low browsing posture near the ground. Despite powerful limbs, Edmontosaurus was likely slow and lacked significant defense mechanisms, compensating with acute vision, hearing, and olfaction to detect predators early.
