An arachnid that lived over 400 million years ago has gotten a new life – at least virtually.
An arachnid that lived over 400 million years ago has gotten a new life – at least virtually.
Scientists working in the UK and Germany built their computer model from a fossil that was so well preserved even the leg joints could be clearly identified and measured.
The sample came from the Natural History Museum in London, where it had undergone a fair deal of advanced preparation back in the 1920s.
Slices only microns thick had been made, allowing the present-day researchers to construct a 3D computerized version of the early predator.
By comparing the fossilized creature to the spiders of today they were able to calculate the ancient one’s center of gravity and estimate its gait.
After that with the help of a program called Blender they were able to get it walking.
They also know quite a bit about what its life was probably like.
Said one team member, “When it comes to early life on land, long before our ancestors came out of the sea, these early arachnids were top dog of the food chain.”
There were also probably a lot of them running around, and in places further afield than spiders are found today.
