Laelaps is the blog of 
I cringed when one of the video captions used the phrase "missing link," but other than that the clip is a good summary of what it took to reconstruct Tiktaalik. I wish I had some degree of artistic talent; I've always admired the reconstructions, restorations, and mounts on display at the AMNH and elsewhere. Arranging bones in a "true-to-life" position might not be considered art to some aficionados, but then again the Tyrannosaurus on display in New York is still inspiring awe in scores of children that stand in the shadow of the skeleton's massive frame.
Update: Paleo-artist and friend of this blog Mike Skrepnick offers this in the comments;
The paleo artist is question is Tyler Keillor who works in Paul Sereno's lab at the U. of Chicago. Apart from casting skeletal elements and handling numerous other responsibilities in the prep lab, he is an exceptionally talented sculptor and takes extraordinary care and consideration in the methodology of his life reconstructions. He spends much time researching and mulling over comparative anatomical features in extant vertebrates and deliberating on plausible applications and solutions in regard to soft tissue structural analysis in extinct taxa. He has produced a number of fleshed out portraits of dinosaurs, often including surprisingly practical and yet realistic treatment of details i.e. saliva on teeth of predatory dinosaurs, patches of sloughing skin, and patterning reminiscent of living monitor lizards, etc. . . that make these reconstructions highly believable. I always wait in anticipation of his latest work, and know he is presently involved in several exciting projects !
Life Science
Comments
Speaking of missin...er... transitional fossils, Quirks and Quarks this week had news of a new transitional bat fossil: 52 million years old. Interesting features: claws still remained on all the fingers (now absent in extant species) and no sign of echolocation, suggesting that bats adapted to flight first, with echolocation appearing later in their evolution.
Quirks and Quarks Radio link:
http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/07-08/feb16.html
Nature article:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v451/n7180/full/nature06549.html
Posted by: Left_Wing_Fox | February 21, 2008 6:58 PM
The paleo artist is question is Tyler Keillor who works in Paul Sereno's lab at the U. of Chicago. Apart from casting skeletal elements and handling numerous other responsibilities in the prep lab, he is an exceptionally talented sculptor and takes extraordinary care and consideration in the methodology of his life reconstructions. He spends much time researching and mulling over comparative anatomical features in extant vertebrates and deliberating on plausible applications and solutions in regard to soft tissue structural analysis in extinct taxa. He has produced a number of fleshed out portraits of dinosaurs, often including suprisingly practical and yet realistic treatment of details i.e. saliva on teeth of predatory dinosaurs, patches of sloughing skin, and patterning reminiscent of living monitor lizards, etc. . . that make these reconstructions highly believable. I always wait in anticipation of his latest work, and know he is presently involved in several exciting projects !
Posted by: Mike Skrepnick | February 21, 2008 9:16 PM