Paleontologists from the Museum of Northern Arizona conducting the excavation of the first crested hadrosaur ever discovered in southwestern Utah noticed what appeared to be patterns of thumb-sized impressions on the tail and pelvic areas. "I knew right away we had fossilized skin, which is really rare," said Doctor Barry Albright. "Only one other dinosaur specimen has ever been found in Utah with skin impressions, and this one is a more complete skeleton." Only a handful of dinosaur skeletons with skin preserved are known in the world, most of them from Canada, Montana, and Wyoming.

The crested hadrosaur, also known as a "duck billed" dinosaur, probably belongs to the genus Parasaurolophus, a bizarre 30-foot long, 3-ton creature with a long tube sticking straight out of the top of its head.

The specimen was discovered by Monument Paleontologist Dr. Alan Titus. This discovery ranks as one of the most important dinosaur finds made in the state, and will provide important data on how these creatures appeared in life.