If Dinosaurs are more related to birds than reptiles, Would be reasonable to assume that they had feathers?

dinosaurs have been proven to have feathers. Animals like Velociraptor and Archaeopteryx had feathers. Scientists know this because imprints are left, and they decompose, leaving the imprint.

how do you know what dinosaur skin is which

Find the remain of the dinosaur that someone found with the skin impression.

Did dinosaurs' skin feel anything like snake skin does today? Or did it have a completely different texture? From what we know, of course. :)

Among the Dinosaurs that had scales, the scales themselves were probably more like a bird's scales than a snake's.

what did dinosars skin fell like

Dinosaur skin was very rough, bumpy and scaly.

Where do you usually find the skeletons?

Usually in erosional environments, like the Badlands in South Dakota, where there is exposed rock being weathered away, sometimes leaving little bits of bone at the surface where we can see them. But quarries and mines are also good places, since lots of digging happens anyway.

Main content

Course: American Museum of Natural History > Unit 1

Lesson 2: How do scientists study dinosaurs?

What was dinosaur skin like?

Google Classroom

Reptile skin is a complex system of scales separated by flexible joints. In birds, the only living group of dinosaurs, the scales are modified into feathers, except around the feet and beak. The hind feet of extinct dinosaurs probably looked like a bird's foot, but what about the rest of their body? Rare, non-avian dinosaur "mummies" provide intriguing direct evidence. One of these is the AMNH Edmontosaurus "mummy", one of the greatest dinosaur fossils ever collected. Impressions of skin are preserved over almost the entire body. Around the base of the limbs, on the neck, and at other joints, the skin is folded, like that surrounding the joints of an elephant, presumably to allow flexibility during movement. Classroom activity: Fossilized Fashion. Created by American Museum of Natural History.

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Julian Delgadillo Marin
Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to Julian Delgadillo Marin's post “If Dinosaurs are more rel...”
If Dinosaurs are more related to birds than reptiles, Would be reasonable to assume that they had feathers?
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- Tallyho
  Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to Tallyho's post “dinosaurs have been prove...”
  dinosaurs have been proven to have feathers. Animals like Velociraptor and Archaeopteryx had feathers. Scientists know this because imprints are left, and they decompose, leaving the imprint.
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Kathryn
Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to Kathryn's post “how do you know what dino...”
how do you know what dinosaur skin is which
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- WilliamT422
  Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to WilliamT422's post “Find the remain of the di...”
  Find the remain of the dinosaur that someone found with the skin impression.
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somya.pandey
Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to somya.pandey's post “Did dinosaurs' skin feel ...”
Did dinosaurs' skin feel anything like snake skin does today? Or did it have a completely different texture? From what we know, of course. :)
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(3 votes)
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- cosimpsonco
  Posted 7 years ago. Direct link to cosimpsonco's post “Among the Dinosaurs that ...”
  Among the Dinosaurs that had scales, the scales themselves were probably more like a bird's scales than a snake's.
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josh28h85
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to josh28h85's post “what did dinosars skin fe...”
what did dinosars skin fell like
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- bangtanroses
  Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to bangtanroses's post “Dinosaur skin was very ro...”
  Dinosaur skin was very rough, bumpy and scaly.
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♫♥Morgan►Heather♥♫
Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to ♫♥Morgan►Heather♥♫'s post “Where do you usually find...”
Where do you usually find the skeletons?
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- Becky Cribdon
  Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to Becky Cribdon's post “Usually in erosional envi...”
  Usually in erosional environments, like the Badlands in South Dakota, where there is exposed rock being weathered away, sometimes leaving little bits of bone at the surface where we can see them. But quarries and mines are also good places, since lots of digging happens anyway.
  Comment on Becky Cribdon's post “Usually in erosional envi...”
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josh28h85
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to josh28h85's post “did you ever feel a dinos...”
did you ever feel a dinosars skin yet
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Video transcript

Most dinosaur fossils are the bones and the teeth of the animal and it's very rare when you get soft parts of the animals like skin and muscles preserved it takes a very special environmental circumstances but occasionally where you're in the right environment, that lacks oxygen for the organisms that help decomposed the soft tissues, you can get skin impressions preserved for dinosaurs and it shows that dinosaur skin was often kind of bumpy almost scaly in a sense. Our best representation of what dinosaur skin is like is take a look at living dinosaur skin. iI mean the foot on a chicken actually has scales and it appears, I think just like, what the skin of most of the non-bird dinosaurs would've looked like. So it's not tough and rough like you know most lizards or crocodile things, it's actually very soft very very pliable and very elastic