Tyrannosaur Skin Inprint Found in Alberta

["Constable,Miles [Edm]" <CONSTABLEM@mail.edm.ab.doe.ca>]

The following is an excerpt from Saturday's Edmonton Journal on the 
discovery of a skin inprint of a tyrannosaur.

"A 12 year-old's inquiring mind and keen eyes found rock traces of a 
tyrannosaur's hide where professional paleontologists had missed it."

The pros were looking for bones. Tess Owen looked in a rock formation near 
Edmonton where Royal Tyrrell Museum paleontologists had earlier examined the 
partial skeleton of a young adult tyrannosaur and found one of only three 
tyrannosaur skin impressions to date."

"The 10 cm-square inpression is also by far the best of the three."

"It was one of those things that is a humbling experience for the rest of 
us," said Dr. Phil Currie, head of dinosaur research for the museum in 
Drumheller. If you look for bones, your're likely to find bones, Currie 
suggested. Not having the same prejudice that everyone else had in terms of 
looking at the bones she found the skin impression.  Our peiple missed it 
and I think professionals all around the world miss it all the time. I think 
it was lucky she was curious enough to sak about it."

The impression shows symmetrical rows of raised bumps and is definitely from 
a tyrannosaur..." Currie said.

Currie says the specimen is far vetter than the two other previously 
discovered tyrannosaur skin impressions. It's small, but it confirms what 
the other two suggested: that tyrannosaurs had a lightly pebbled skin, like 
an elephant's hide."

Miles Constable
Paleontological Bystander