Paleo Ink Journal

Tharosaurus indicus | Dicraeosaurid sauropod (Middle Jurassic period)

Presenting my first ever attempt at the scientific reconstruction of a prehistoric animal. This is the Tharosaurus indicus, an early dicraeosaurid discovered in Rajasthan, India. It is based on the research paper published by Sunil Bajpai et al in August 2023. Alongside the drawing are glimpses of my (slightly messy) research method which largely involved drawing every photo of every bone from the paper, extensively researching related sauropod papers and books and trying to arrive at as objective a conclusion as possible about how it would've looked.

And then of course, not making a mess of the drawing. That's a whole other story.

The Tharosaurus, named after the desert it was discovered in, was dated back to between 170 and 165 Ma, meaning it is the oldest known diplodocoid. This could imply it to be the originating taxon of all diplodocid and dicraeosaurid lineages, making the prehistoric lands that are now in India an important source of sauropod evolution.

1. Tharosaurus indicus, a reconstruction based on the paper published by Bajpai et al.
2. Researching the research paper- understanding the neck vertebrae
3. Researching the research paper- understanding the dorsal (back) vertebrae and rib
4. Researching the research paper- understanding the tail vertebrae
5. Summary of paper to help turn words into a picture
6. Summary contd.

So it's already been a year since a hapless Argentinosaurus and 3 bloodthirsty Mapusaurs found themselves on a death metal split album cover. How (deep) time flies!

Thank you Power Beast , Carnotaurus for this opportunity!

Carnotaurus/Powerbeast - Turonian Terror Split Cassette Carnotaurus/Powerbeast - Turonian Terror Split Please email us about shipping outside of the US [email protected]