Image of the Day

Heporornis, originally uploaded by zenosaurus.

Hesporornis gracilis

From the author:
I was a volunteer during the restoration of the Edmontosaurus skeleton at the University of Wisconsin Geology Museum in Weeks Hall in Madison in about 1989-1990 or so. I was privileged to sculpt out of clay and then cast in a hard type of plaster several bones that were missing and could not be cast out of any existing parts. During this time, the crew was also restoring a specimen of Hesporornis gracilis (If which name memory serves me right) which the Edmontosaurus team had previously excavated at another site in Kansas. This ancient, toothed, diving bird was lacking it's skull, so I was persuaded to sculpt a skull for it, based upon 19th century renderings of the skull of Hesporornic regalis, the more common variety. And here is the result, which I accomplished despite much cursing and whatever back in about 1990 or 1991. I haven't visited it for quite a few years now, until this last Saturday, during which I took a picture. Hey, no digital cameras in 1991. At least, none I could afford.