Electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, & X-ray diffraction data from: Duck-billed dinosaur fleshy midline and hooves reveal terrestrial clay-template “mummification”
Data files
Nov 26, 2025 version files 320.75 MB
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README.md
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Sereno_et_al_2025_Science_EM_EDS_XRD_Data.zip
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Abstract
Two “mummies” of the end-Cretaceous, duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus annectens preserve a fleshy crest over the neck and trunk, an interdigitating spike row over the hips and tail, and hooves capping the toes of the hind feet. A battery of tests shows that all the fossilized integument (skin, spike, hoof) are preserved as a thin (< 1mm) clay template that formed on the surface of a buried carcass during decay prior to loss of all soft tissues and organic compounds. Unlike the underlying permineralized skeletal bone, the integument renderings of these “dinosaur mummies” are preserved as a thin external clay mask, a templating process documented previously only in anoxic marine settings.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.q573n5tx4
Description of the data and file structure
A .zip folder containing electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction raw supplemental data for: Paul C. Sereno et al., Duck-billed dinosaur fleshy midline and hooves reveal terrestrial clay-template “mummification”. Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.adw3536. The authors allow for reuse of this data.
Electron microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis of spikes in matrix
Thin sections of a block containing several mid caudal spikes of the early adult of E. annectens (UCRC PV30) were visualized under LM and subjected to BSE/EDS and XRD clay analysis (for analytical abbreviations, see the supplementary materials and table S11). Electron microscopy and elemental mapping used a TESCAN LYRA3 field-emission scanning electron microscope to examine the thin section from the posterior end of the spike with the region of interest demarcated using strips of copper tape. No coating was applied to the surface of the sample. A scintillator-type backscattered electron detector was used to image the sample using a 15 Kv beam. Elemental maps were produced by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy by raster imaging the slide with Oxford Instruments X-Max-80 silicon drift x-detectors. Resulting data were analyzed with Aztec software.
In natural light, the clay template is slightly darker than adjacent sandstone matrix, whereas in CT images the clay layer appears denser (whiter) than adjacent matrix (Fig. 4A). EDS shows aluminosilicate (Si, Al) enrichment of the template material, which is consistent with clay mineralogy. The absence of significant carbon (Fig. 4C), sulfur, nitrogen, or phosphorous in the clay template suggests that original biomolecules, such as melanin, “keratin” (corneous beta-proteins), or collagen, or their breakdown products are absent.
XRD analysis of the clay fraction (< 2μm) from a powdered sample from a spike was performed at the Illinois State Geological Survey X-ray Diffraction (XRD) Laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Particles were oriented and saturated by ethylene glycol. Basal diffraction intensities (d001) of these concentrated clays obtained from the oriented and ethylene glycol saturated films were compared to each other. The analysis was semiquantitatively calculated from major clay mineral intensities, finding the main clay component as kaolinite (54%).
X-ray diffraction of sediment
We analyzed the sediment in thin section from the mid caudal spike row of the early adult of E. annectens (UCRC PV30) (the supplementary materials and table S11). XRD bulk analysis was performed in the Illinois State Geological Survey X-ray Diffraction (XRD) Laboratory (UIUC) on a 150-micron thin section through the caudal spikes, centering a beam of 2.54 cm diameter on the external matrix immediately adjacent to the clay template. The semiquantitative results are based on the reference intensity ratio method using corundum as the reference standard. All phase intensities quantified were recalculated (normalized) using the ratio of Intensityphase/Intensitycorundum.
Files and variables
File: Sereno_et_al_2025_Science_EM_EDS_XRD_Data.zip
Description: zip folder containing two subfolders:
Subfolder "EM/EDS": Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy files. Note that .oipx are files opened by proprietary Aztec software. To increase accessibility, .tif and .png companion files are presented alongside the .oipx files.
>"spike thin section" - folder containing EM/EDS data for the tail spike thin section
>>"spike thin section.oipx": Project file for the tail spike thin section to be run on Aztec software. Contains all electron micrographs, elemental maps, and spectra.
>>"Al Kα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged Al map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"C Kα1_2 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged C map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"Ca Kα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged Ca map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"Cl Kα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged Cl map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"Cu Lα1,2 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged Cu map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"Electron Image 1276.tif": Montaged backscatter electron image .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"Fe Kα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged Fe map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"K Kα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged K map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"Mg Kα1,2 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged Mg map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"Mn Kα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged Mn map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"Na Kα1,2 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged Na map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"O Kα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged O map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"P Kα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged P map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"S Kα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged S map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"Sc Kα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged Sc map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"Si Kα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged Si map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>>"Ti Kα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged Ti map .tif file for the tail spike thin section. This element may be misidentified.
>>"Zr Lα1 Montaged Map Data.tif": Montaged Zr map .tif file for the tail spike thin section.
>"plant matter under tail" - folder containing EM/EDS data for the fossil plant material under tail
>>"plant matter under tail.oipx": Project file for the fossil plant material under tail to be run on Aztec software. Contains all electron micrographs, elemental maps, and spectra. Note: beam voltage was 20 kV, rather than 15 kV.
>>C K_alpha_1,2 Map Data 2.tif": C map .tif file for the fossil plant material under tail.
>>"Al K_alpha_1 Map Data 2.tif": Al map .tif file for the fossil plant material under tail.
>>"Ca K_alpha_1 Map Data 2.tif": Ca map .tif file for the fossil plant material under tail.
>>"Electron Image 6.png": Backscatter electron image .png file of the fossil plant material under tail.
>>"Fe K_alpha_1 Map Data 2.tif": Fe map .tif file for the fossil plant material under tail.
>>"Mg K_alpha_1,2 Map Data 2.tif": Mg map .tif file for the fossil plant material under tail.
>>"Na K_alpha_1,2 Map Data 2.tif": Na map .tif file for the fossil plant material under tail.
>>"O K_alpha_1 Map Data 2.tif": O map .tif file for the fossil plant material under tail.
>>"S K_alpha_1 Map Data 2.tif": S map .tif file for the fossil plant material under tail.
>>"Si K_alpha_1 Map Data 2.tif": Si map .tif file for the fossil plant material under tail.
>>"Ti K_alpha_1 Map Data 2.tif": Ti map .tif file for the fossil plant material under tail.This element may be misidentified.
>"ironstone tail tip concretion" & >> "ironstone concretion redux at 30kv" - nested folders containing exported files from Aztec software on the ironstone concretion at tail tip at three sites under 30 kV beam voltage, rather than 15 kV.
>>>"site 1 30 kev" - Folder with .tif and .bmp images of electron image, elemental maps, & spectra from site 1 on the ironstone concretion sample. Can be opened in various software.
>>>>"30kev ironstone conc redux site 1 redux spectrum.bmp": EDS spectrum of site 1 .bmp file.
>>>>"Al K_alpha_1 Map Data 13.tif": Al map of site 1 .tif file.
>>>>"C K_alpha_1,2 Map Data 13.tif": C map of site 1 .tif file.
>>>>"Ca K_alpha_1 Map Data 13.tif": Ca map of site 1 .tif file.
>>>>"EDS Layered Image 13 Map Data 13.tif": Layered elemental maps of site 1 .tif file.
>>>>"Electron Image 13 (BSE).tif": Backscatter electron image of site 1 .tif file.
>>>>"Fe K_alpha_1 Map Data 13.tif": Fe map of site 1 .tif file.
>>>>"K K_alpha_1 Map Data 13.tif": K map of site 1 .tif file.
>>>>"Mg K_alpha_1,2 Map Data 13.tif": Mg map of site 1 .tif file.
>>>>"O K_alpha_1 Map Data 13.tif": O map of site 1 .tif file.
>>>>"S K_alpha_1 Map Data 13.tif": S map of site 1 .tif file.
>>>>"Si K_alpha_1 Map Data 13.tif": Si map of site 1 .tif file.
>>>>"Ti K_alpha_1 Map Data 13.tif": Ti map of site 1 .tif file. This element may be misidentified.
>>>"site 2 30 kev" - Folder with .tif and .bmp images of electron image, elemental maps, & spectra from site 2 on the ironstone concretion sample. Can be opened in various software.
>>>>"ironstone conc 30kev redux site 2 spectrum.bmp": EDS spectrum of site 2 .bmp file.
>>>>"Al K_alpha_1 Map Data 14.tif": Al map of site 2 .tif file.
>>>>"C K_alpha_1,2 Map Data 14.tif": C map of site 2 .tif file.
>>>>"Ca K_alpha_1 Map Data 14.tif": Ca map of site 2 .tif file.
>>>>"EDS Layered Image 14 Map Data 14.tif": Layered elemental maps of site 2 .tif file.
>>>>"Electron Image 14 (BSE).tif": Backscatter electron image of site 2 .tif file.
>>>>"Fe K_alpha_1 Map Data 14.tif": Fe map of site 2 .tif file.
>>>>"K K_alpha_1 Map Data 14.tif": K map of site 2 .tif file.
>>>>"Na K_alpha_1,2 Map Data 14.tif": Na map of site 2 .tif file.
>>>>"O K_alpha_1 Map Data 14.tif": O map of site 2 .tif file.
>>>>"S K_alpha_1 Map Data 14.tif": S map of site 2 .tif file.
>>>>"Si K_alpha_1 Map Data 14.tif": Si map of site 2 .tif file.
>>>>"Ti K_alpha_1 Map Data 14.tif": Ti map of site 2 .tif file. This element may be misidentified.
>>>"site 3 30 kev" - Folder with .tif and .bmp images of electron image, elemental maps, & spectra from site 3 on the ironstone concretion sample. Can be opened in various software.
>>>>"ironstone conc 30kev redux site 3 spectrum.bmp": EDS spectrum of site 3 .bmp file.
>>>>"Al K_alpha_1 Map Data 15.tif": Al map of site 3 .tif file.
>>>>"C K_alpha_1,2 Map Data 15.tif": C map of site 3 .tif file.
>>>>"Ca K_alpha_1 Map Data 15.tif": Ca map of site 3 .tif file.
>>>>"EDS Layered Image 15 Map Data 15.tif": Layered elemental maps of site 3 .tif file.
>>>>"Electron Image 15 (BSE).tif": Backscatter electron image of site 3 .tif file.
>>>>"Fe K_alpha_1 Map Data 15.tif": Fe map of site 3 .tif file.
>>>>"K K_alpha_1 Map Data 15.tif": K map of site 3 .tif file.
>>>>"O K_alpha_1,2 Map Data 15.tif": O map of site 3 .tif file.
>>>>"P K_alpha_1 Map Data 15.tif": P map of site 3 .tif file.
>>>>"S K_alpha_1 Map Data 15.tif": S map of site 3 .tif file.
>>>>"Si K_alpha_1 Map Data 15.tif": Si map of site 3 .tif file.
>>>>"Ti K_alpha_1 Map Data 15.tif": Ti map of site 3 .tif file. This element may be misidentified.
Subfolder "XRD": X-ray Diffraction files
> Approximate XRD beam area on spike thin section_Laser Stimulated Flouresence image by Tom Kaye.png - shows location of XRD beam on spike thin section viewed with LSF
> XD4951, A, XBP.xy - raw XRD data for spike thin section
> XD4952, A, 2CLAY, GLY.xy - raw XRD data for spike powder clay analysis
> XRD_XD4951_2024-03-04_Saitta.xlsx - summary table of the spike thin section XRD results
> XRD_XD4952_2024-03-04_Saitta.xlsx - summary table of the spike powder XRD clay analysis
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data: