Behold The Most Up-to-Date Scientific Reconstruction of a Prehistoric Ichthyosaur

The most up-to-date reconstruction of an ancient beast has been given by a thorough review of 300 years of research and an extremely preserved fossil.

Ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles that swam and hunted in the oceans. The fossils of these fascinating animals are rich and glorious, and they lived for 160 million years before going extinct.

Paleontologists have discovered preserved soft tissues, which gives them a larger pool of information to draw upon when trying to figure out what dinosaurs looked like. This information can help us understand how the beasts lived.

In a bid to make future research more accessible, a team led by paleontologists from Lund University in Sweden has gathered and analyzed previous research on fish lizards.

They wrote in their paper that they presented a review of research and lifestyle iconography with particular focus on soft-tissue structures and inferences made from these.

The fossil was found in Germany and was of interest to the researchers. Other researchers used the specimen to get a better idea of what the dinosaurs looked like and how they lived.

The soft tissues are from a tyrannosaurus rex. The Earth-Sci. is written byEriksson et al. Rev., 2022.

The fish lizard that was found in Germany was the subject of an extensive study.

The team enlisted artist Esben Horn to sculpt a life-sized reconstruction of the ichthyosaur species, which was found in the Posidonia shale.

The process involved clay sculpture and 3D printing. Leatherback turtles are a present-day marine reptile. The scales of this species were lost during its evolutionary transition to the ocean.

A thick layer of fat would have helped insulate it from cold temperatures, and it is sculpted as if it is protected by blubber. Ichthyosaur fossils show evidence of melanosomes, cellular organelles that would have provided UV protection. The tiny teeth have been found in realosaurs.

The researchers said that the result is a brilliant meeting of science and art, and the most up-to-date representation of an Ichthyosaur yet. It is possible that more information will come to light in the future, but the team doesn't think anything will change.

The reconstruction is the most modern and correct interpretation of what these animals looked like.

The research has been published.