Ancient arachnid brought back to life with Blender

Another great story of Blender playing a role in scientific research, in Paleontology this time.

Researchers from The University of Manchester and the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, used exceptionally preserved fossils from the Natural History Museum in London to create the video showing the most likely walking gait of the animal; the study is published in a special issue of the Journal of Paleontology today (Wednesday).

The scientists used the fossils - thin slices of rock showing the animal’s cross-section - to work out the range of motion in the limbs of this ancient, extinct early relative of the spiders. From this, and comparisons to living arachnids, the researchers used an open source computer graphic program called Blender to create the video showing the animals walking.