What was believed to be traces of preserved skin has been mentioned several times in books and scholarly articles, but the “skin” has never been examined in detail. Its appearance indicates an unusual method of preserving the fossil, which has caused problems in classification and age determination.
Soft tissues are rarely preserved, but when we find a fossil with its traces, we can learn a lot of important information about the animal – its color, internal anatomy, and physiology. – says Dr. Valentina Rossi of University College Cork, whose team open forgery.
The fossil has been previously studied, among other things. Using ultraviolet imaging. It was then observed that the entire sample was covered with some material. This was not surprising, because in the past it was customary to cover similar fossils with varnish for better preservation. This is sometimes done even today.
Dr. Rossi's team used a range of modern techniques to investigate Ancient Tridentinosaurus: Photography, 3D modeling, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. It turns out that someone had faked a real fossil. All the leather that is supposedly preserved is paint. The fossilized bones of the hind limbs, especially the femur, are real – and unfortunately not well preserved. The new analyzes also revealed the presence of original osteoderms, which are bony plates covering the animal's back.
The exceptional state of preservation of Tridentinosaurus has remained a mystery to experts for decades. Now everything is clear. What he thought was leather was just paint – says study co-author, Professor Evelyn Kostacher.
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