7-10 Michael the Microraptor and Osborn the Velociraptor: Dromaeosaur Life Reconstruction for Educating the Public

Session: Undergraduate Research, Part I (Posters)

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Abstract:

The Dromaeosauridae were a clade of largely Cretaceous small-to medium-sized feathered theropod dinosaurs. We strove to reconstruct two common “raptors,” a Velociraptor (“Osborn”) and a Microraptor (“Michael”) at life size. 

Osborn mark 1, including its base/stand, is 31 cm long, 27 cm at the hip, and was originally constructed by one of us (Pugh) as a high school project. To showcase 3D capability, the entire model, including its stand, was 3D-printed using polylactic acid (PLA). The 3D print was then covered with washed human hair and turkey and goose feathers. These were spray-painted a brown color with darker stripes. The dynamic pose of the Velociraptor has it leaning forward with one foot off the base, requiring a stand under the torso and the tail as a counterweight. 

Osborn mark 2 began as a rebuilding project. The glued feathers were stiff and prone to breaking, and the “hair” was neither a realistic, nor desirable, covering. The tail had also fallen off and was going to be reattached. Before that could be completed, the Appalachian Mountains were hit with hurricane Helene, and Appalachian State was shut down for a few weeks. Osborn sat in the lab without the counterweight of the tail or the stand during that period of inactivity, and the connection to the base failed. We used a short thick wooden dowel to reconnect the pes to the tibia. The tissue was reconstructed with air-dry clay. The tail’s peg holes were redrilled, and the 3D pegs were reattached. While building a new stand, we recolored Osborn following published melanosome evidence for other “raptors.” We cut and recolored the hair using acrylic black paint, and matching black feathers were ordered online and attached using hot glue. We used acrylic paint to have the face resemble a Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius). 

Michael the Microraptor was built by Choiniere, and is intended to be a hand held outreach tool to educate the public. He is composed of clay, cardboard, feathers, foam, and acrylic paint. Published size estimates were used to complete the model. As with Osborn, we relied on published evidence of pigmentation in Microraptor using melanosomes that suggested black iridescent feathers to develop a coloration for the model.

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