Scientists discover a new nodosaur dinosaur species, and the specimen has perfectly preserved skin

Impact

An equipment operator at an oil mine in Alberta, Canada, found some unusual buried treasure in 2011 — a roughly 110 million-year-old, dragon-like dinosaur with its armored, spiky skin still intact.

Now, scientists understand the true weight of that discovery — the specimen, called a nodosaur, makes way in the encyclopedia for an all-new genus and species. It’s a type of ankylosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period, and this specimen is about 18 feet long and about 3,000 pounds, according to National Geographic. Plus, it’s extremely rare for scientists to have more than the bones of a specimen to work with.

"We don’t just have a skeleton," Caleb Brown, a postdoctoral researcher at Royal Tyrrell Museum, told National Geographic"We have a dinosaur as it would have been."

Researchers think the nodosaur is so well-preserved because it was essentially buried at sea. A flood may have swept the creature away, and the weight of its sinking body could have created an impact crater that then was filled with sediment.

With spikes protruding as far as 20 inches, it was probably a terrifying sight. But it likely won’t be a good candidate for any upcoming Jurassic Park films — the nodosaur ate plants and probably didn’t have much of an appetite for violence.