Reconstruction layer by layer of Citipati osmolskae, an oviraptorid.
From top left: A full boyd reconstruction with feathers.
Top right: no feathers, just the skin.
Top middle: No skin or body fat, just the muscle and tendons.
Middle left: skeleton with outline of muscle and skin contours, in gray.
Middle right: heart and blood vessels, missing all the intradermal and subdermal vessels and capillaries.
Bottom left: nervous system and brain, missing the fine web of thinner nerves. No distinction here is made between motor and sensory nerves.
Bottom upper right: pulmonary system, which involves a small, rigid lung and expansions of the pleura. Typically, this is all one big sac, the pleura, but here the compartments are shown. Missing include some subdermal diverticulae, and pelvic and caudal diverticular, which are not indicated in the bones.
Bottom lower right: digestive tract. Missing, the urogenital system, as that would be sex-specific, as well as the glandular system, including the liver.
#sciart #dinosaur #ovirptor #citipati
Still one of the most difficult and involved projects I've ever done.
The many layers of a reconstruction of an extinct animal, with inference and reference to living birds and crocs: Citipati osmolskae.
Yes, all of this is ink on paper.