Preliminary investigations utilizing UV images confirmed that the whole thing of the specimen was handled with some type of coating materials.
The crew had been initially hopeful that the coating was a kind of varnish or lacquer utilized to protect the fossil, and that beneath that layer, the mushy tissue would nonetheless be in good situation.
However, after they appeared additional down, they found that the physique define of Tridentinosaurus antiquus was artificially created, and painted on prime.
There is a few proof of actual hindlimbs and scales. However, they aren’t nicely preserved sufficient to disclose what Tridentinosaurus truly was, or to place it within the paleontological document.
Dr Valentina Rossi, of University College Cork, Ireland, who carried out an in depth examine of the stays stated: “Fossil soft tissues are rare, but when found in a fossil they can reveal important biological information, for instance, the external colouration, internal anatomy and physiology.
“The specimen was considered important because it was thought to be the most complete fossil found of this region of Italy where only fossil trackways and plants are usually found as fossils.
“Our new study however demonstrated that the most striking attribute of the specimens – the presence of carbonised skin – is (unfortunately) black paint.
“So, we can’t use this specimen to understand reptile evolution because it is not complete, only a few bones and tiny scales are preserved.”
Dr Marc Jones, the Natural History Museum’s Curator of Fossil Reptiles, added: “This examine highlights the significance of recent imaging methods for rigorously verifying obvious mushy tissue stays in historic specimens.’
The analysis was revealed within the Paleontology journal.
