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From a Skeleton to a 3D Dinosaur

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Computational Paleontology

Abstract

What dinosaurs really looked like is (and has always been) of great interest to most people, ever since the first skeletons were found. Reconstruction methods changed over time, and the better the understanding of the anatomy of these animals is, the better are usually the reconstructions. If the body mass it known, it is possible to derive many physiological data, which in turn improve our understanding of the way of life of these extinct animals. A simple method of estimating the weights of dinosaurs is by reconstructing the body surface area, calculating the body volume, and estimating the body mass for all body parts using specific weights based on analogies to extant animals. The developmental path of a reconstruction, from a mounted skeleton to a scientific realistic looking digital dinosaur, will be detailed in this chapter. Initially, a mounted skeleton is laser scanned to derive a non-scaled 3D point cloud. The second step is to reconstruct the external shape of the living animal, and thus the body surface area, using special software. This can be done by using non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS). Next, the modeled dinosaur should be assessed for plausibility by physiologists, to check the fit of the interior organs. When necessary the model must be adapted. This can be an iterative process, and sometimes many changes must be realized to arrive at an acceptable result. This method results in editable and decidedly more accurate models of dinosaurs, which deliver significantly better data on physiological parameters than classic methods.

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Acknowledgements

I thank all the members of the research unit, especially Martin Sander (University of Bonn, Germany) and Oliver Rauhut (Bavarian State Collection for Paleontology and Geology, Munich, Germany), for their help in selecting the dinosaurs. Further thanks go to the staff of the institutions where we scanned the skeletons, especially for their warm response, patience, and support. In particular, I want to thank the following persons: Clara Stefen (Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden, Germany), Mogens Andersen and Per Christiansen (Zoological Museum of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark), Wolf-Dieter Heinrich and Heinrich Mallison (Museum für Naturkunde – Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity at the Humboldt-University Berlin, Berlin, Germany), Najat Aquesbi and Mohammed Rochdy (Ministere de l’Energie et des Mines, Rabat, Morocco) and Hans-Jakob “Kirby” Siber and his team (Sauriermuseum Aathal, Switzerland). I also thank the Beijing Museum of Natural History and the Zigong Dinosaur Museum for the excellent cooperation and the very special opportunity to scan in China. The German Research Foundation (DFG) funded this research as part of Research Group 533, to which this is contribution # 106.

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  1. Computer Vision a Remote Sensing, Technical University Berlin, FR 3 -1; Franklinstr. 28/29, 10587, Berlin, Germany

    Stefan Stoinski

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Correspondence to Stefan Stoinski .

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  1. Fac. Science, Dept. Geology, Minia University, Minia, 61519, Egypt

    Ashraf M.T. Elewa

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Stoinski, S. (2011). From a Skeleton to a 3D Dinosaur. In: Elewa, A. (eds) Computational Paleontology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16271-8_8

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