Palaeoart: Brachylophosaurus in the river

I wanted to highlight this piece of artwork by Julius C. Csotonyl because of its palaeontological importance and the reason for its creation.

This piece shows a dead hadrosaur, Brachylophosaurus canadensis, on a sand bank in a turbulent river. Not only is the artwork beautifully executed with real force coming through in the torrents of the river, but this was actually created because of an important discovery. Numerous mummified brachylophosaurs have been discovered, the best preserved, named Leonardo, exhibits remnants of a ceratinous beak, skin impressions showing a scaly covering. Also an interesting adaptation of extra thick muscle around the neck, possibly to make it more difficult for predators to make a kill. We can also see that the animals were dominated by parasitic worms because of this specimen. The mummy is on display in the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. 

The best way that a mummy like this could have been created is if the carcass of the dinosaur was left untouched and then rapidly covered with sediment. This would explain why the skin impressions survived the process of fossilisation. This environment for preservation is best provided by a river, preferably a powerful one, as depicted above. 

This piece is therefore interesting to me because it shows a key study in palaeontology; taphonomy. Taphonomy is the study of what happens to an animal between death and discovery, so basically looks at the mechanisms of fossilisation. 

What do you guys think? Is this interesting piece to see or is there another artwork that you find even more fascinating? Let me know in the comments.