The Anhui Geological Museum recently announced its latest scientific research achievement. Through the study of dinosaur fossils discovered in the Early Cretaceous strata of Liaoning Province in northeast China, the research team identified a new genus and species of iguanodontian dinosaur, naming it Haolongdongi.

This finding not only expands known dinosaur diversity but also provides the world’s first evidence of cellular-level preservation of dermal spines in a non-avian dinosaur, offering groundbreaking insights into the evolution of dinosaur skin. The results have been published in a leading international academic journal.

The fossil, dating back approximately 125 million years to the Jehol Biota, exhibits exceptionally well-preserved skin tissue with three types of dermal structures preserved down to the cellular level—far more complex than previously understood. This unprecedented discovery shifts paleontological research from macroscopic morphology to the microscopic cellular scale, illuminating new evolutionary pathways for dinosaur integument and representing a significant contribution by Chinese scientists to global palaeontology.