Technology and paleontology have teamed up to "resurrect" the fragments of a famous site that were considered lost . Although as interesting as the recovery itself, is to imagine what the remains tell: the dramatic scene in which one dinosaur hunted another 110 million years ago.
Until 1947, the tracks of that persecution were imprinted on the old bed of the Paluxy River , in Texas, but the site was dismantled and divided into several parts for study in different institutions. Unfortunately, some were destroyed or lost during the relocation operation.
Earlier, in 1940, paleontologist Roland T. Bird had taken 17 photographs of the remains during his excavations, an initiative that ultimately saved the integrity of the invaluable Cretaceous testimony.
Thanks to the black and white images, scientists from the Royal Veterinary College in London have been able to digitally recreate the 45-meter-long stage. The 3D reconstruction, carried out using a technique called photogrammetry, allows us to study in detail the terrain where a carnivorous theropod and a herbivorous sauropod left their footprints for posterity while the former pounced on the latter.
Scientists at the Royal Veterinary College believe that this type of recovery can be carried out with other sites or fossils of which photographs are preserved and even build models of them with 3D printers.
