3D-model image of Shonisaurus ichthyosaur fossil bed from above in Quarry 2, Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, Nevada. (IMAGE)
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Fossilized bones, representing at least seven separate ichthyosaur skeletons, have been color-coded where each color corresponds to a different skeleton. Findings published today in the journal Current Biology examine a rich fossil bed in the renowned Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park in Nevada’s Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, where many ichthyosaurs (Shonisaurus popularis) lay petrified in stone. The study suggests that nearly 200 million years before giant whales evolved, these marine reptiles may have been making migrations to breed and give birth together in relative safety. The research team collaborated with the Smithsonian Digitization Program Office’s 3D Program team and staff at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History to create a 3D model of the site at Quarry 2. They used digital cameras and a spherical laser scanner to take hundreds of photographs and millions of point measurements that were then stitched together using specialized software to create a 3D model of the fossil bed. The 3D scans of the site are now available for other researchers to study and for the public to explore via the open-source Smithsonian’s Voyager platform. An interactive digital experience about the research team’s study, including a 3D model of ichthyosaur site analyzed, is also available on the Digitization Program Office’s website. Although most well-studied paleontological sites excavate fossils so they can be more closely studied by scientists at research institutions, the main attraction for visitors to the Nevada State Park-run Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park is a barn-like building that houses what researchers call Quarry 2, an array of ichthyosaurs that have been left embedded in the rock for the public to see and appreciate. Quarry 2 has partial skeletons from an estimated seven individual ichthyosaurs that all appear to have died around the same time.
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Smithsonian.
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