Researchers Detect Collagen in 66-Million-Year-Old Edmontosaurus Bones, Challenging Fossilization Dogma
Updated
Updated · ScienceDaily · May 14
Researchers Detect Collagen in 66-Million-Year-Old Edmontosaurus Bones, Challenging Fossilization Dogma
3 articles · Updated · ScienceDaily · May 14
A 22-kilogram Edmontosaurus sacrum from South Dakota’s Hell Creek Formation yielded evidence of original collagen, suggesting some dinosaur bones still retain endogenous proteins after 66 million years.
Mass spectrometry, protein sequencing and microscopy all pointed to collagen fragments, while UCLA researchers identified hydroxyproline — a bone-linked amino acid that strengthened the case against contamination.
The finding cuts into a debate that has divided paleontology since soft-tissue claims in the early 2000s, with the team arguing multiple independent tests on the same fossil make this case unusually strong.
If confirmed more broadly, preserved proteins could let scientists revisit old fossil collections and use molecular traces to study dinosaur evolution, growth, physiology and disease beyond what bone shape alone can show.
If dinosaur proteins can survive 66 million years, what secrets about their lives could our museum collections already hold?
Could this discovery unlock the biological secrets of even more ancient life forms preserved deep within Earth's rocks?
How did minerals encase dinosaur collagen, creating a molecular time capsule that defies our understanding of decay?
Endogenous Collagen Found in 66-Million-Year-Old Edmontosaurus: Overturning Fossilization Dogma
Overview
A groundbreaking study led by the University of Liverpool has provided the strongest evidence yet that original organic molecules, specifically collagen, can persist within dinosaur fossils. By meticulously analyzing an Edmontosaurus fossil bone, researchers challenged the long-held belief that soft tissues completely degrade over millions of years. Using a sophisticated combination of analytical techniques—including ATR-FTIR, cross-polarized light microscopy, and mass spectrometry—they definitively confirmed the presence of endogenous collagen, meaning it originated from the dinosaur itself. This multi-faceted approach marks a pivotal moment in understanding how ancient life can be preserved at the molecular level.