Hadrosaur Hooves, Head Combs, Muscles, and More Soft Tissues

Lots of new discoveries of soft tissues in dinosaurs. Plus new studies to confirm old soft tissues and a new—controversial—iguanodont.
For links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Santanaraptor, and our fun fact check out iknowdino.com/Santanaraptor-Episode-563
Join us at patreon.com/iknowdino for dinosaur requests, bonus content, ad-free episodes, and more.
Dinosaur of the day Santanaraptor, a small theropod found with soft tissue.
In dinosaur news this week:
• There’s a potentially new iguanodont, Paulodon galvensis (but it is controversial)
• Soft tissues can be preserved in fossils regardless of the species, age of the bones, or where the animal was buried
• A new method using Cross-polarized light microscopy (XPol) helps identify organic molecules in fossils
• New Edmontosaurus "mummies" show hooves, small spikes down the tail, and a banded fleshy crest over the neck and back
• Scientists re-evaluated the soft tissue crest of an edmontosaur hadrosaur dinosaur
• Dinosaurs likely had muscles forming cheeks
• New titanosaur sauropod tracks found in Mongolia show a lot of soft tissue details in the hands and feet

Tell us what you think about our show in our 2026 IKD Survey (docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevPbXKk5h9y0…)! We want our show to be as enjoyable as possible, and your input will help us improve. Head to bit.ly/ikdsurvey26 (docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevPbXKk5h9y0…) to help shape the future of I Know Dino!
See Privacy Policy at art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.