ecimen was purchased from Messrs. Sensiba Brothers and excavated
by the American Museum in 1906."

[Illustration: Fig. 30.--THE DINOSAUR MUMMY. SKELETON OF A
TRACHODON PRESERVING THE SKIN IMPRESSIONS OVER A LARGE PART OF THE
BODY. _After Osborn_]

THE DINOSAUR "MUMMY."

We all _believe_ that the Dinosaurs existed. But to realize it is not
so easy. Even with the help of the mounted skeletons and restorations,
they are somewhat unreal and shadowy beings in the minds of most of
us. But this "dinosaur mummy" sprawling on his back and covered with
shrunken skin--a real specimen, not restored in any part--brings home
the reality of this ancient world even as the mummy of an ancient
Egyptian brings home to us the reality of the world of the Pharaohs.
The description of this unique skeleton by Professor Henry Fairfield
Osborn first appeared in the Museum Journal for January 1911.[17]

"Two years ago (1908) through the Jesup Fund, the Museum came into
possession of a most unique specimen discovered in August 1908, by the
veteran fossil hunter Charles H. Sternberg of Kansas. It is a large
herbivorous dinosaur of the closing period of the Age of Reptiles and
is known to palaeontologists as _Trachodon_ or more popularly as the
'duck-billed dinosaur.'

"The skeleton or hard parts of these very remarkable animals had been
known for over forty years, and a few specimens of the epidermal
covering, but it was not until the discovery of the Sternberg specimen
that a complete knowledge of the outer covering of these dinosaurs was
gained. It appears probable that in a number of cases these priceless
skin impressions were mostly destroyed in removing the fossil
specimens from their surroundings because the explorers were not
expecting to find anything of the kind. Altogether seven specimens
have been discovered in which these delicate skin impressions were
partly preserved, but the 'Trachodon mummy' far surpasses all the
others, as it yields a nearly complete picture of the outer covering.

"The reason the Sternberg specimen (_Trachodon annectens_) may be
known as a dinosaur 'mummy' is that in all the parts of the animal
which are preserved (_i.e._ all except the hind limbs and the tail),
the epidermis is shrunken around the limbs, tightly drawn along the
bony surfaces, and contracted like a great curtain below the chest
area. This condition of the epidermis suggests the following theory of
the deposition and preservation of