Hadrosaur skin found

Published: 23 July 2013 (GMT+10)
Such is the power of the dinosaurs-died-out-millions-of-years-ago paradigm, that it not only limits what scientists expect to find, but also bizarrely affects how they view ‘unexpected’ evidence when they do find it.
The discovery of hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur) skin near Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, is a classic example. University of Regina researcher Mauricio Barbi recounts: “As we excavated the fossil, I thought we were looking at a skin impression. Then I noticed a piece came off and I realized this is not ordinary—this is real skin. Everyone involved with the excavation was incredibly excited ….”2
Their excitement is understandable. Everybody is taught that dinosaurs became extinct millions of years ago yet here is a piece of real skin. No wonder they didn’t expect to find it, and initially thought it must have been only a skin impression. The basic question arising from the discovery ought now to have been, “Why is it that we’ve been taught these fossils are millions of years old, when here quite plainly is evidence to the contrary?”
Instead, Mauricio Barbi and colleagues are trying to answer their question: “how the fossil remained intact for around 70 million years.”
They plan to use the Canadian Light Source (CLS) synchrotron to look at melanosomes—the cellular organelles that contain pigments that control the colour of an animal’s skin.
“If we are able to observe the melanosomes and their shape, it will be the first time pigments have been identified in the skin of a dinosaur,” said Barbi. That will determine if the hadrosaur skin was green or grey like most dinosaurs are currently portrayed, or a completely different colour.
CLS scientist Tim May is also amazed: “It is astonishing that we can get information like this from such an old sample.”
And Barbi further mused: “What’s not clear is what happened to this dinosaur and how it died. There is something special about this fossil and the area where it was found, and I am going to find out what it is.”3
If only these researchers could look at the world’s geological and fossil evidence through the biblical framework of a 6,000-years-ago Creation and 4,500-years-ago Flood timeline, they would be way less incredulous.
Dino skin “glossy and black, unlike anything I had ever seen in the field before”

The photo at left shows part of the hadrosaur skin sample found in a remote area of northwestern Alberta known as the Wapiti formation. It was found by paleontologist Philip Bell, who trawls the dry riverbeds there every summer, looking to see if the spring runoff has exposed any fossils.
Sure enough, in June 2012 he and his team came upon a cliff that had collapsed, revealing dinosaur remains. “I first picked up a bit with skin impressions, and I thought, great, there should be more in there,” he said. “We immediately changed our approach to make sure everything was kept in pristine condition. Soon, we hit upon a section of skin that was glossy and black, unlike anything I had ever seen in the field before. We looked at it closely, and realized that it had a three-dimensional structure.”4
Now, does Dr Bell consider that the standard textbook slow-and-gradual processes were at work to preserve this skin so exquisitely? Despite believing in millions-of-years and evolution, he says: “Obviously skin is something that decays rapidly, so the fossilization must have been incredibly fast.”
For some enlightening material on how such fast fossilization could occur, Dr Bell would do well to read our articles Deluge disaster and Dinosaur herd buried in Noah’s Flood in Inner Mongolia.
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References
- Kretzel, L., Scientists use U of S synchrotron to study dinosaur skin, Saskatoon News—News Talk 650 CKOM, ckom.com, 29 April 2013. Return to text.
- Scientists study rare dinosaur skin fossil to determine skin colour for first time, phys.org, 29 April 2013. Return to text.
- Foley, J., What color were dinosaurs? Test of ancient skin sample will reveal final answer, Nature World News, natureworldnews.com, 29 April 2013. Return to text.
- In the skin of a … hadrosaur?, Scientific Canadian, tylerirving.ca, 6 May 2013. Return to text.
Readers’ comments
You are correct in saying we should not let religion enter into the interpretation of the evidence we see. Religion is man made and this is exactly what evolution is, a man made set of ideas that takes a great leap of faith to believe in. Even if we did not presuppose our belief in a Creator, the evidence by itself tells us the earth is only a few thousand years old. It is ironic that your faith in evolution is so great, no evidence will change your mind.
Lenin
What a wonderful find! This evidence, along with the liquid blood found recently, is stunning testimony to the truth of the bible.
I just wondered: How do they know it is the skin of a hadrosaur? I guess it was found with the skeleton. If that is the case, what else was found?
Also, is it possible that these scientists are throwing away a lot of evidence because they are not expecting to find anything but stony bones?
LB
Anyone using the Bible, being the history and saga of the Jewish people as a yardstick for measuring anything must have his head read.
Science, which has been systematically suppressed for centuries by Christianity I believe should keep quiet and not entering any scientific discussions based on ancient Jewish history.
It just do not make any sense at all. Keep religion out of science.
So be It
See 'Evolution Exposed' at the Mighty Mag website.
God bless to CMI
Keep up the good work!
Creationists can expect that further fossil finds in the future will contain biological material that will continue to dumbfound the evolutionary scientists but put a huge "I told you so" smile on Creationists.
This article also makes me realise that evolutionists have, by and large, the same degree of faith in their theory as much as creationist Christians have in the Holy Scriptures. The only difference is that whilst ours is a logical and reasoned faith based on the twin pillars of historical records (The Bible) and nature (the creation), evolutionists base their faith on unproven assumptions of history on the one hand, and contradictory and unsubstantiated interpretations of the fossils and rocks on the other. This just goes to show not only how extreme the gap dividing the two faiths are but the impossibility of creationists and evolutionists ever seeing eye to eye.
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