Reviving Megaraptor namunhuaiquii (Dinosauria, Theropoda): the synergy of art and science for the life reconstruction of ancient species

Alessio Ciaffi¹, Mattia Yuri Messina², Flavio Bellardini^3,4,5 & Mattia Antonio Baiano^3,4,6
1Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
²Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Cittadella Universitaria (Blocco A), Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Monserrato (CA), Italy.
³Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290, C1033AAJ Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
⁴Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología (IIPG), Universidad Nacional del Rio Negro. Av. Roca 1242, R8332EXZ General Roca, Río Negro.
⁵Museo Carlos Ameghino (MPCA), Belgrano 1700, Para­ je Pichi Ruca (predio Marabunta), Cipolletti R8324, Río Negro, Argentina.
⁶Area Laboratorio e Investigación, Museo Municipal ‘Ernesto Bachmann’, Dr Natali S/N, 8311 Villa El Chocon, Neuquén, Argentina.
Corresponding author e-mail: al.ciaffi@gmail.com

Since their first discovery, the remains of the Cretaceous theropod dinosaur Megaraptor namunhuaiquii remains have captured the attention of palaeontologists, as well as part of the public, not only for their unique morphology and size, but also for the characteristic manual claw. Throughout the years, the reconstruction of the phylogenetic relationships and the anatomy of this animal has been subject to different interpretations, resulting in drastic changes of its appearance. Thus, Megaraptor is an example of how scientific data determine how artists depict extinct taxa, both for academic research papers and public science communication efforts alike. In this contribution we showcase the production process of a new palaeoartistic life reconstruction of Megaraptor, tracing the history of the discoveries related to this genus and examining how it has been depicted over the past three decades. The most recent artistic reconstructions exemplify the importance of the synthesis of palaeontological and palaeoartistic approaches to visually communicate scientific results.

Megaraptora, Megaraptoridae, Gondwana, Argentina, palaeoart.