Researchers made a 3D reconstruction of a dinosaur chase using photos of theropod and sauropod footprints.
The set of footprints used for the model is considered to be one of the most famous dinosaur tracks ever discovered; the Paluxy River tracks were excavated 70 years ago in Texas, a PLOS news release reported.
Since the discovery of the tracks in the 1940s the footprints have been removed from their original location and shipped all over the globe. The original site was documented using photographs and maps but some pieces of the puzzle have gotten lost throughout the years.
The researchers scanned 17 photos of the site as it was originally and compared the resulting model with the original maps drawn by American paleontologist Roland Bird, who was part of the original excavation.
For the first time since the original excavation the researchers were able to view the entire footprint sequence, which stretched almost 150 feet, in 3D.
"The 3D digital model helped the authors corroborate the maps drawn by Bird when the tracksite was first described," the news release reported.
The researchers hope their model will encourage other scientists to recreate more historical evidence that has been lost over time.
"In recent years technology has advanced to the point where highly accurate 3D models can be produced easily and at very little cost just from digital photos, and this has been revolutionizing many different fields. That we can apply that technology to specimens, or even entire sites, that no longer exist but were recorded photographically is extremely exciting," Peter Falkingham from Royal Veterinary College, London, said in the news release.
"This work was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the 7th European Framework Programme awarded to PLF, and a National Geographic grant awarded to JOF. The Laser scans of the AMNH and TMM sections were collected during previous work funded by Jurassic foundation and Palaeontological Association grants awarded to KTB. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript," the news release reported.
The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
