They describe how the fossil's soft tissues were spared from decay by fine sediments that formed a mineral cast.

Tests have shown that the fossil still holds cell-like structures - but their constituent proteins have decayed.

The team says the cellular structure of the dinosaur's skin was similar to that of dinosaurs' modern-day descendants.

A member of the duck-billed hadrosaur family, the fossil was found in North Dakota in the US and has been nicknamed "Dakota".

Phil Manning of the University of Manchester and his collaborators have been employing a number of techniques to tease out as much information as they can from the fossil.