Museum Frankfurt


Edmontosaurus annectens

Order: Ornithischia
Suborder: Cerapoda
Infraorder: Ornithopoda
Diet:   plants
Weight: approx. 3-4 tons
Length:   approx. 10 metres
Age: 75-65 million years (Upper Cretaceous)
Fossil site: Wyoming (USA)
at Senckenberg: original

The only original skeleton of an Edmontosaurus in Europe is in the Senckenberg Museum. In this specimen, even the structure of the skin has been preserved by a fossilized imprint. Worldwide, there are only two examples
in this state of preservation! The neck and front legs are sharply curved backward. It can be surmised from the cramped bodily posture of the animal, that these dinosaurs had already been dried up like mummies, before the body was covered up by sandy deposits. This way, the hardened skin could make an impression on the sediment and be preserved as a fossil imprint.
The mouth of the Edmontosaurus was surrounded by a horny beak. Its dentition was equipped with several hundred teeth. Together they formed a striking surface used to effectively crush the plants it took in.
To date, only a few dinosaurs have been found which still contained the fossilized stomach contents. In the
uniquely well-preserved "petrified mummy" in the Senckenberg Museum, in 1921 Prof. Kräusel discovered this animal's last meal. It consisted of needles of a common tree of the Cretaceous period, numerous small seeds and fruits, as well as the remains of twigs from conifers and deciduous trees.
The skin imprints on the feet show that Edmontosaurus ran on the balls of its feet, which is reminiscent of the modern camel.
The Edmontosaurus was a representative of the widespread family of hadrosaurus. Previously, it was also known by the name Anatosaurus or Trachodon .

Gift of Arthur von Weinberg

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