125-million-year-old fossil in China may reveal dinosaur spikes never seen before
Scientists have made a surprising discovery in a 125-million-year-old dinosaur fossil unearthed in China, potentially revealing a previously unknown anatomical feature in these ancient animals.
The fossil, a young plant-eater now named Haolong dongi, seems to have hollow spikes rising from its skin, reminiscent of porcupine quills.
What happened?
According to Daily Galaxy, the fossil preserved soft tissue so clearly that individual skin cells are still visible roughly 125 million years later.
Such preservation is extraordinarily uncommon. Daily Galaxy reported that soft tissue rarely survives fossilization intact, and preservation at a microscopic scale is rarer still, which makes this find especially useful for scientists studying the evolution of dinosaur skin and other body coverings.
According to Daily Galaxy, the dinosaur is part of Iguanodontia, a group of beaked herbivores scientists have been examining since the 19th century. Even so, this specimen appears to show a body structure never before identified either in that lineage or in any dinosaur.
The findings were published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, and the species was formally named Haolong dongi. Daily Galaxy reported the name honors Chinese paleontologist Dong Zhiming, whose work helped illuminate China’s extensive dinosaur fossil record.
Why does it matter?
Bones provide much of what scientists know about dinosaurs, but preserved skin, scales, feathers, and other soft tissues can reveal much more about how these animals functioned, protected themselves, and responded to their environments.
Researchers proposed several possible roles for the hollow spikes in this case. DailyGalaxy reported that they may have offered defense against predators, similar to how porcupine quills function, but they may also have helped with thermoregulation by increasing surface area, or even served as sensory structures that detected nearby movement.
Studies of exceptionally preserved fossils can broaden scientific understanding of ancient ecosystems, evolutionary change, and the kinds of biological structures that can endure across deep time.
There may still be much more to learn from both museum collections and newly uncovered fossils.
One key uncertainty remains. Since the known specimen was a juvenile, researchers still cannot tell whether adult Haolong dongi kept the same hollow spikes or lost them during growth, the outlet reported.
As Daily Galaxy noted, a team from collaborating institutions studied the fossil using X-ray scanning and high-resolution histological analysis, which involves examining ultra-thin tissue slices under a microscope. Those methods allow researchers to investigate the specimen at the cellular level and reconstruct the spikes’ internal structure.
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