2.6" Edmontosaurus Fossil Finger Dight Bone Lance Creek Cretaceous Dinosaur WY
Location: Lance Creek Formation, Wyoming (Private Land Origin)
Weight: 3.1 Ounces
Fossil Dimensions: 2.6 Inches Long, 2.1 Inches Wide, 1.6 Inches Thick
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Edmontosaurus (meaning "lizard from Edmonton") is a hadrosaurid dinosaur species from the Maastrichtian stage of the Cretaceous period, dating from approximately 71 to 65 million years ago. A fully grown adult could measure up to nine meters in length, with some of the larger species reaching thirteen meters. Its weight was around 3—3.5 tonnes, making it one of the largest hadrosaurids.
Edmontosaurus could grind even the toughest foodstuffs back and forth across its teeth using its muscular, flexible cheeks.
To accommodate so many teeth, they were tightly packed into "banks" of up to sixty rows, and new teeth continuously grew to replace those lost, similar to sharks. The bones of the upper jaw would flex outward as the lower jaw moved upward, allowing the mandible to grind against it. Typical diet items included conifer needles, seeds, and twigs, which have been found in the fossilized body cavities of Edmontosaurus. It was a herbivore that browsed on trees.
The 1908 discovery in Wyoming was particularly notable because paleontologists actually found fossilized imprints of Edmontosaurus' skin. The rapid drying of the skin and the preservation of its shape in the mud must have left an impression. From these fossils, we know the skin was scaly and leathery, with thigh muscle situated just under the skin of the body. This would give the impression that the leg left the body at the knee, and the entire thigh was covered by skin. This feature also adds to its resemblance to a duck. Additionally, it had numerous tubercles (bumps) on its neck, back, and tail.
Edmontosaurus was bipedal but could have walked on all fours. The forelimbs were shorter than the hind limbs, but not so much that walking on four legs was impossible. The front feet had two hooved fingers and weight-bearing pads similar to those of Camarasaurus. The rear feet had two hooked toes. The bone structure in the lower limbs suggests that powerful muscles supported both the legs and feet. The spine curved downward at the shoulders, indicating a low posture and that Edmontosaurus fed close to the ground. Despite the strength of its limbs, it was slow-moving and had few defensive features. To survive, it likely relied on keen eyesight, sharp hearing, and a good sense of smell to spot predators early.
