IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.
Image: Illustration of giant dromornithid birds known as Dromornis stirtoni

Science News

Bringing prehistory to life

Click through images from “The Artist and the Scientists” to find out how fossils are transformed into beautiful depictions of now-extinct species.

/ 8 PHOTOS
Image: Skull of a massive kangaroo known as Procoptodon goliah

From science to art

A book titled “The Artist and the Scientists,” published by Cambridge University Press, traces 30 years of collaboration involving paleontologists Thomas Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich and illustrator Peter Trusler. This skull from Victoria Cave in South Australia provided valuable insights for reconstructing the look of a massive kangaroo known as Procoptodon goliah in an illustration showing Australian megafauna. Click ahead to see Trusler’s illustration.

Image: Giant animals depicted as they might have looked 60,000 years ago in Australia

Last of a massive mob

These giant animals are depicted as they might have looked 60,000 years ago in Australia. The animals facing us in the top row, from left, are Genyornis newtoni, Diprotodon optatum and the kangaroo-like creature called Procoptodon goliah. The bottom row shows Magalania prisca, Thylacoleo carinfex and Thylacinus cynocephalus.

Image: The bones of a dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic period, named Tehuelchesaurus benitezii

Here lies a dinosaur

The bones of a dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic period, named Tehuelchesaurus benitezii, are laid on the floor of the old Museum Paleontologico Egidi Feruglio in the Argentine city of Trelew, much the way they were found in Patagonia’s western Chubut Province. Paleontologists Thomas Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich began working on their descriptions of the extinct species with this array of bones. Click ahead to see Peter Trusler’s depiction of the dinosaur.

Image: An illustration of Tehuelchesaurus benitezii

Dinosaur brought to life

Tehuelchesaurus benitezii is shown in its environment during the Jurassic period in South America, just moments before being shrouded in deadly volcanic ash. This painting – done in watercolor, gouache and pastel on paper – is part of the collection of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston, Australia.

Was mythical bird real?

A painting in a rock shelter on northern Australia’s Cape York Peninsula shows a gigantic creature known as a Quinkin that figures in Aboriginal mythology. Such large bird figures have been found alongside representations of emu-sized birds, suggesting that the last of the dromornithid birds, the mihirungs, may well have been seen by the early human occupants of Australia.

Image: Illustration of giant dromornithid birds known as Dromornis stirtoni

Birds of a feather

Giant dromornithid birds known as Dromornis stirtoni are shown in illustrator Peter Trusler’s reconstruction of the Central Australian Miocene era. This oil-on-linen painting is part of the Monash Science Center’s collection and is reproduced in the book “The Artist and the Scientists.”

Image: Fossilized bones of Leaellynasaura amicagraphica

Dinosaur for a daughter

The Australian dinosaur that left behind these fossilized bones is known today as Leaellynasaura amicagraphica. The first part of the name was inspired by the daughter of paleontologists Pat and Tom Rich, Leaellyn, who wanted her own dinosaur. The second part pays tribute to the Friends of the National Museum of Victoria (amica) and the National Geographic Society (graphica), two groups that were instrumental in the discovery of the skeleton. Click ahead to see the illustration inspired by the fossil.

Image: Illustration of a newborn dinosaur emerging from its shell

Hello world

“Leaellynasaura Hatchling” was created by Peter Trusler as a watercolor and gouache painting on paper. The picture, published in “The Artist and the Scientists,” shows a newborn dinosaur emerging from its shell.

Find out more about the book, published by Cambridge University Press.

1/8