Leonardo!

I was perusing the archives of New Scientist Magazine when I ran across an older article that I can’t believe I’d missed.

It’s the tale of Leonardo, the 77 million year old brachylophosaurus (hadrosaur) discovered in 2000. The really amazing thing about Leonardo is that he fossilized in a mummified state, meaning that 90% of his soft tissue was preserved.

The specimen is so well preserved that his beak, nails, musculature and even his stomach contents were preserved for study. It was an amazing find, and I can’t believe I never heard this one.

Anyway, he can apparently be seen at Judith River Dinosaur Foundation in Montana, and you can read about him here too, or buy a DVD.

Better than reading about him, you can also go on a real dig and learn to use a toothbrush the way a paleontologist does.

Maybe this summer I’ll let my wife and kids go to Taiwan for 5 days while I go to Montana!

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