Dinosaur leather.

[Ragitsu]

Which dinosaur hides would make for the best leather clothing/armor? Note that the threat level of a species is no object here.

 

What are the most ideal dinosaurs for a civilization with the best in 1930s technology to rear/raise for their hides?

[Lord Liaden]

If we're talking armor, I would suggest the Ankylosaurus. Bone-infused hide like a crocodile? Sounds like a winner to me.

[Lord Liaden]

If your dinosaur-wranglers were prepared to keep them caged or tethered, the wing membranes of Pterosaurs would probably be a fine source of light, tough leather, producing a lot for the size of the animal.

[Ragitsu]

Are sauropods a waste of time?

[Lord Liaden]

Well, you were asking for suggestions of "best." Depending on circumstances, certain dinosaurs might be better for some uses, but that doesn't mean you couldn't get usable leather from others. It's like asking whether pigs are a waste of time because you have cows.

[DShomshak]

I seem to recall that paleontologists have found preserved bits of actual skin from hadrosaurs (the "duckbill" dinosaurs). Not fossils, actual skin. They can even make guesses about the original pigmentation by analyzing the chemical breakdown products.

 

This suggests hadrosaur skin is pretty durable. Convenient, since at least some hadrosaurs were provably herd animals, which might make them easier to domesticate.

 

IIRC, hadrosaur skin has a pebbly texture that could add visual interest, too.

 

EDIT: Wikipedia's article "Trachodon Mummy" includes a drawing of the skin impression from a fossil hadrosaur. The article says the skin appears "thin and delicate" in comparison with the dinosaur's bulk, but that sounds a bit, well, relative. I'm still pretty sure I've read mention of actual skin being found.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Ragitsu]

Well, you were asking for suggestions of "best." Depending on circumstances, certain dinosaurs might be better for some uses, but that doesn't mean you couldn't get usable leather from others. It's like asking whether pigs are a waste of time because you have cows.

 

It's just that these titans (the sauropods) provide a huge amount of potential leather per body, but they require a substantial ecological footprint with their rate of consumption, are incredibly strong, and might possibly take quite a while to reach maturity.

 

There may be an angle to this specific harvesting tactic/business I have not yet considered. For that reason, I put forth another inquiry.

[Tasha]

I would imagine that person sized Theropods would produce leather similar to Ostrich leather. ie Supple

 

While dangerous to trap they might be better to farm. You could use the Sauropods to produce Thicker Leather and meat for the feed of the faster growing Utahraptors. The feathers from the Raptors can also be sold, perhaps even passed off as Ostrich Feathers (if the Dino Farming is somewhat secret)