Data from: Three-dimensional soft tissue preservation revealed in the skin of a non-avian dinosaur

The most commonly preserved soft tissues associated with ornithischian
dinosaurs are skin remains. The apparent resistance of hadrosaur skin to
decay, and its abundance in the fossil record relative to that of other
tetrapods, has been attributed to factors such as thickness and
composition. Here we report additional intrinsic factors within hadrosaur
skin: 3D‐preserved eumelanin‐bearing bodies, dermal cells and blood vessel
fragments in an organic matrix composed of protein fossilization products.
The skin is much thinner than that of living mammals of similar size. It
is likely that the preservation of hadrosaur skin is related to the
arrangement of the layers composing it.