(**To see any of these incredible images below in more detail, please click on them!)
Initially, the idea was a dream.
Asier Larramendi, from Donostia-San Sebastian, participated in social media platforms with people who shared his enthusiasm for mammoths and dinosaurs. Discussing and debating scientific details. Reading up on the latest scientific papers.
It was through these discussions on a dinosaur blog in 2007 that he met Rubén Molina: another artist, another person passionate about prehistoric life, and a person who—based in Mexico City—lived on the other side of the world.
They quit their jobs in 2010, and they formed a company in 2012.
Their dream took shape in the form of EoFauna, an international collection of award-winning paleoartists, sculptors, researchers and prehistoric enthusiasts. Their goal: to create scientifically accurate representations of prehistoric fauna, using the most up-to-date research as their guide. In addition, they hope to educate others and help correct any inaccuracies currently within the media and in museums.
(Image of the EoFauna Logo, courtesy of EoFauna.com)
The members and collaborators of their company are from all over the world:
• Sante Mazzei, an award-winning paleoillustrator from Italy;
• Andrey Atuchin, a zoologist and paleoillustrator from Russia;
• Shuhei Tamura, a traditional artist from Japan;
• Jorge Ortiz, a biologist, sculptor and paleoillustrator from Mexico;
• Martha Garcia, a technical expert and painter from Mexico;
• Shu-yu Hsu, a sculptor from Taiwan;
• Feng Shan Lu, a modeler from Taiwan;
• Alejandro Muñoz, a sculptor from Spain;
• David Zhou, a sculptor from China;
• Heraldo Mussolini, a paleoillustrator from Argentina;
• Jimmy Liu, 3D animator from Taiwan.
Perhaps most striking about the people who make up EoFauna is that most are self-taught—if not within the science itself, then within their artistic mediums. Their knowledge stems from reading thousands of scientific papers, all of the related contemporary scientific books, and from a powerful motivation to understand prehistoric life and impart that understanding to other people.
(Image of extant proboscidean models, courtesy of EoFauna.com)
(Image of extinct proboscidean models, courtesy of EoFauna.com)
Asier Larramendi himself, has just published a paper about the Songhua River Mammoths in the peer-reviewed journal Paläontologische Zeitschrift (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12542-014-0222-8).
Their artwork is absolutely beautiful, incredibly detailed and so very lifelike. One could say that this talented group of artists and researchers bring these extinct animals back to life.
Asier and Rubén very graciously took time out of their busy schedules to answer questions–in Spanish AND in English–about their company, their artwork and their research.
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1. From the “Prehistoric Times” article you very kindly sent, I can see that you and Rubén met through a blog. How did you meet the other members of your staff?
De muy diferentes maneras, pero básicamente gracias a Internet. Con algunos de los colaboradores nos pusimos en contacto a través de conocidos sitios web de arte como DeviantArt, otros mediante blogs personales y redes sociales como Facebook, también hemos llegado a acuerdos con gente que contactan directamente con nosotros. Siempre buscamos y elegimos Artistas con gran talento y ganas de trabajar en diferentes proyectos. También hemos contactado con otro tipo de profesionales (Biólogos, Paleontólogos) a través de museos y universidades. Uno de nuestros objetivos es crear y dar servicios de primera calidad basados en la excelencia, rigurosidad científica y belleza artística.
In many different ways, but basically thanks to the Internet. Some of the partners we contacted through art websites known as DeviantArt; others through personal blogs and social networks like Facebook. We have also reached agreements with people who contact us directly. We always look for and chose artists with great talent and desire to work on different projects. We have also contacted other professionals (biologists, paleontologists) through museums and universities. One of our goals is to create and provide quality services based on excellence, scientific stringency and artistic pulchritrude.
(Image of various skull sculptures, courtesy of EoFauna.com)
2. What kinds of clients contact you? Is your artwork found in museums or in universities?
Por ahora la mayoría son particulares y coleccionistas, pero poco a poco nos estamos abriendo mercado en museos y otras instituciones, todavía somos una empresa muy joven. Algunas de nuestras paleo-esculturas se pueden ver en el Museo y Centro de Interpretación Luberri (http://www.luberri.org/eu/). Por otra parte ayudamos a museos que requieren de asesoría bibliográfica, identificación de fósiles fragmentados y apoyo para reconstrucción de organismos extintos.
At the moment, most are individual people and collectors, but gradually we are expanding our market to include museums and other institutions. We are still a very young company. Some of our paleo-sculptures can be seen at the Museum and Interpretation Centre of Luberri (http://www.luberri.org/eu/). On the other hand we help museums requiring bibliographic advice, identification of fragmented fossils, and support for reconstruction of extinct organisms.
(Image of Charonosaurus, courtesy of EoFauna.com)
3. Would your artwork be used in movies?
Si, eso es algo que tenemos mente, de hecho en estos momentos estamos trabajando en proyecto de animación 3D sobre un Mammuthus meridionalis para un museo Francés. Contamos con un fantástico modelador y un animador 3D de primer nivel. Colaborar en algún documental acerca de la vida prehistórica con nuestros 3D y asesoría científica, eso sería algo genial y trabajaremos para lograr ese sueño.
Yeah, that’s something that we have in our minds. In fact, right now we are working on a 3D animation project: a Mammuthus meridionalis (Southern Mammoth) for a French museum. We collaborate with a fantastic 3D modeler and first-rate animator. Participating on a documentary about prehistoric life with our 3D and scientific advice, that would be something great, and we will work to achieve that dream.
(Image of Mammuthus meridionalis, courtesy of EoFauna.com)
4. Have any of you participated in any fossil digs?
Alguno de nuestros colaboradores como Andrey Atuchin ha participado en trabajos de campo un par de años atrás en Blagoveshchensk (Lejano Oriente, Rusia, Cretácico Superior), y en Sharipovo (SO Siberia, edad Bathonian).
Por otro lado Rubén Molina ha visitado algunas colecciones fósiles tales como: Centro paleontológico Lago Barreales (CEPALB) o el museo de La Plata a fin de tomar medidas propias de los holotipos de Futalognkosaurus, Macrogryphosaurus, Argentinosaurus entre otros más. Asier Larramendi por su parte ha realizado trabajos de investigación estudiando algunas colecciones de Mueso de China, Taiwan y Europa. Las más destacadas serían la colección del Inner Mongolian Museum, Zhalainuoer National Mine Museum, National Museum of Natural Science of Taiwan, National natural history museum of Madrid, Mainz Natural history Museum…
Some of our collaborators. For example, Andrey Atuchin, participated in field work a couple of years ago in Blagoveshchensk (Far East, Russia, Late Cretaceous), and in Sharipovo (SW Siberia, Bathonian age).
Furthermore, Rubén Molina visited some fossil collections such as the Lake Barreales Paleontological Center (CEPALB) or the Museum of La Plata in order to make holotypes of Futalognkosaurus, Macrogryphosaurus, Argentinosaurus among others measures. Asier Larramendi, meanwhile, has conducted research studying some museum collections from China, Taiwan and Europe. The most notable would be the Inner Mongolian Museum, Zhalainuoer National Mine Museum, National Museum of Natural Science of Taiwan, National Natural History Museum of Madrid, Mainz Natural history Museum…
5. Your website says that most of your research relies on scientific papers, but that you’ve also been to a number of museums. Has there been any specific paper or museum that has truly impacted your research? Or do you have favorites among museums?
Bien, no hay un articulo en concreto, más bien nos fijamos en los trabajos de diferentes autores que nos llaman la atención. A parte de estar muy interesados en la evolución, filogenia, ecología, comportamiento… de las criaturas prehistóricas, uno de los campos más interesante para poder crear nuestras obras y productos, es el de la anatomía y morfología.
Son numerosos los títulos que utilizamos para nuestros trabajos, sin embargo destacan algunos por contener estudios especializados en ciertos temas:
Paleorecontrucción y estimación de pesos (Gregory Paul, Scott Hartman, Jerison)
Icnología (Tony Thulborn)
Fisiología (Robert Bakker)
Historia (Spalding & Sarjeant)
Geografía (Weishampel, Dodson & Osmólska)
Recopilaciones (Matthew Carrano et al en Paleobiology Database)
Anatomía (Mathew Wedel , Mike Taylor, Mickey Mortimer en Theropod Database, Jeheskel Shoshani )
Bibliografía especializada (Tracy Ford en Paleofile)
Etc…
Tratamos siempre de estar actualizados y conseguir el mayor número de artículos científicos, libros relacionados con los dinosaurios y otros animales, temas prehistóricos, zoológicos y todo lo relacionado con el mundo animal. Por supuesto, uno de nuestros objetivos en relación con los dinosaurios es hacernos con todos los artículos descriptivos de todas las especies descritas hasta el día de hoy, por lo que siempre estamos muy encima en todo lo que se publica.
No tenemos un museo favorito, cada uno tiene su encanto. Algunos museos son muy espectaculares de cara al publico pero su colección en ocasiones es escasa, por lo contrario, en otras veces, pese que el museo es pequeño, en las entrañas de su colección puedes descubrir algo maravilloso que ha permanecido oculto e impacte a la comunidad científica. Todos guardan algún pequeño tesoro.
Well, there is no specific article. Rather, we follow the work of various authors who draw our attention.
Apart from being very interested in the evolution, phylogeny, ecology, behavior… of prehistoric creatures, anatomy and morphology are two of the most interesting fields in relation to our products.
There are numerous titles we use for our work. However, some are highlighted below as they contain specialized studies in certain subjects:
Paleoreconstruction and body mass estimates (Gregory Paul, Scott Hartman, Jerison)
Ichnology (Tony Thulborn)
Physiology (Robert Bakker)
History (Spalding & Sarjeant)
Geography (Weishampel , Dodson & Osmolska)
Compilations (Matthew Carrano et al in Paleobiology Database)
Anatomy (Mathew Wedel, Mike Taylor, Mickey Mortimer on Theropod Database, Jeheskel Shoshani)
Specialized literature (Tracy Ford on Paleofile)
Etc…We always try to be up-to-date and get the highest number of scientific papers, books about dinosaurs and other animals, prehistoric and zoological themes, and everything related to the animal world. Of course, one of our objectives regarding dinosaurs, for example, is to get all of the recently published described-species articles, so we are always up on everything that is published.
We do not have a favorite museum; each has its charm. Some museums are spectacular for the general public, but its collection might be limited. In contrast, although the museum may be small, something wonderful might be discovered in the bowels of its collection that has remained hidden and might impact the scientific community. Normally all of them have some little treasure.
(Image of Guanlong, courtesy of EoFauna.com)
6. I notice feedback on your DeviantArt pages: http://EoFauna.deviantart.com/gallery/
Do you have a lot of debate with scientists over the details of your artwork?
Si, con Leonardo Filippi por ejemplo, revisamos el género Pitekunsaurus pues al parecer el occipital no coincidía en proporción con los demás huesos encontrados, que por mala fortuna son pocos. Analizamos y comparamos con otros géneros como son Antarctosaurus, Bonatitan, Rapetosaurus, Malawisaurus, Bonitasaura, Tapuiasaura y encontramos que resulta demasiado pequeño. Esto nos lleva a sugerir dos probabilidades, que el cráneo perteneció a otro ejemplar juvenil o que ese género fue un dinosaurio con la cabeza relativamente pequeña.
Yes. For example, we reviewed the genus of Pitekunsaurus with Leonardo Filippi because the occipital bone apparently did not match the proportion of other bones found. Those are very few. We analyzed and compared it to other genera such as Antarctosaurus, Bonatitan, Rapetosaurus, Malawisaurus, Bonitasaura, Tapuiasaura, and we found it too small. This leads us to suggest two probabilities: that the skull belonged to another juvenile individual, or that it was a dinosaur with a relatively small head.
(Image of Psittacosaurus, courtesy of EoFauna.com)
7. Can you tell me more about the book you’re working on?
Claro, la obra en la que estamos trabajando trata sobre diferentes tipos de records en dinosaurios. Estos records, no sólo tratarán sobre los más grandes y de menor tamaño, incluirá record históricos, anatómicos y taxonómicos. Revisaremos algunos mitos que se han creado a fin de sustentarlos y descartarlos.
La obra está basada en datos recopilados durante años y cuidadosamente analizados para ofrecer un material confiable, además de que intentaremos aportar nuevas observaciones en diversos temas. Como adelanto decir que mostraremos que dinosaurios fueron lo más grandes y más pequeños por zonas geográficas, periódicas, familias… Por otra parte, nuestro libro será el primero en mostrar todas las especies descritas hasta el día de hoy con su correspondiente tamaño estimado. Contamos con una base de datos basada en miles de artículos y recopilaciones que se publicará junto con la obra, para que se pueda verificar a fin de darle autenticidad de lo que se mostraremos. El libro será dibujado por los ilustradores Andrey Atuchin, Sante Mazzei, Jorge Ortiz Mendieta y los dos autores: Rubén Molina y Asier Larramendi.
Sure. The book we are working on is about different types of dinosaur records. We will include the largest and the smallest dinosaurs by epoch, geographic location, and families. We will also include historical, anatomical and taxonomic records. We will review some myths that have been created and discard them.
The work is based on data collected for years and carefully analyzed to offer reliable material. Moreover, we will try to try to bring new observations on various subjects. We will show which dinosaurs were largest and smallest geographically, by different periods, by families… Furthermore, our book will be the first to show all species described to-date with each species’ corresponding estimated size. We have a database based on thousands of papers and collections that will be published along with the book in order that anyone can verify the authenticity of that which we present. The book will be contain artwork by illustrators Andrey Atuchin, Sante Mazzei, Jorge Ortiz Mendieta, and two authors: Rubén Molina and Asier Larramendi .
(Image of Triceratops horridus and Eotriceratops xerinsularis, courtesy of EoFauna.com)
8. Do you attend any paleontological conferences? Will you be attending the Mammoth Conference in Greece this year?
Si, Asier Larramendi como especialista en proboscideos estará presente en la sexta conferencia internacional de Mamuts y sus relativos (VI International Conference on Mammoths and their Relatives). Acudirán cerca de 200 científicos de todo el mundo, entre ellos varios de los mayores expertos en proboscídeos como Dick Mol o Adrian Lister. Será una gran oportunidad para estar al día de los nuevos descubrimientos y debatir con diferentes especialistas y poder hablar cara a cara con esos colegas que sólo se tiene contacto vía e-mail. La misma conferencia dará la oportunidad de ver in-situ algunos impresionantes hallazgos de probsocidos como los restos del mastodonte europeo, Mammut borsoni, incluyendo los dos colmillos más largos descubiertos en todo el mundo.
Asier por su parte, está preparando un manuscrito sobre la altura, tamaño corporal y morfología de los proboscídeos extintos que será enviado al congreso.
Yes. Asier Larramendi, our proboscideans specialist, will attend the Sixth International Conference on Mammoths and Their Relatives. The conference will be attended by nearly 200 scientists from all around the world, including several of the leading experts in proboscidea, such as Dick Mol and Adrian Lister. It will be a great opportunity to keep abreast of new discoveries and to be able to debate face-to-face with those specialists with whom we have only contacted via e-mail. The same conference will give the opportunity to see in-situ some awesome proboscidean findings, such as the remains of the European mastodon, Mammut borsoni, and the two of the longest tusks ever discovered worldwide.
Asier, meanwhile, is preparing a manuscript on the height, body size, and morphology of extinct proboscidea that will be sent to Congress.
(Image of paleontologist running from Mammuthus meridionalis, courtesy of Eofauna.com)
9. Can you tell me in what kind of projects or scientific papers are you involved?
Bien, tenemos en mente algunos otros libros relacionados con la vida prehistórica que nos gustaría ir realizando durante los próximos años. Durante esta año por ejemplo, revisaremos algunas colecciones y publicaremos algunos estudios en revistas con revisión científica externa. Asier por ejemplo acaba de publicar un estudio sobre los Mamuts del Río Songhua en la revista Paläontologische Zeitschrift (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12542-014-0222-8), en el que describe un espécimen completo. Como hemos comentado en la pregunta anterior, Asier está trabajando en un manuscrito acerca del tamaño y morfología de Proboscideos extintos. Rubén por su parte, está realizando diferentes estudios sobre la distribución geográfica de los dinosaurios durante las diferentes periodos y un estudio comparativo entre huesos incompletos de diferentes tipos de dinosaurios en México. Los resultados de estos estudios serán publicados durante el 2014.
Well, we have in mind to publish some other books related to prehistoric life over the next few years. During this year, for example, some collections will be revised, and several studies will be published in peer-reviewed journals. Asier, for example, has just published a study on Songhua River Mammoths in Zeitschrift Paläontologische (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12542-014-0222-8), which describes a complete specimen. As mentioned in the previous question, Asier is also working on a manuscript about the size and morphology of extinct proboscidea. Rubén, meanwhile, is conducting various studies on the geographical distribution of the dinosaurs during different periods and a comparative study on incomplete bones of different types of dinosaurs in Mexico. The results of these studies will be published in 2014.
(Image of juvenile mastodon, courtesy of EoFauna.com)
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A Mammuthus Columbi-sized thank you to Asier Larramendi and Rubén Molina! What a great pleasure connecting with them and learning about their exciting company!
Please be sure to check out their website! http://eofauna.com/en/
Asier’s recent paper is here:
Abstract
In 1980, in the Lingquan Strip Mine of Zhalainuoer, Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, China, two partial skeletons of Mammuthus trogontherii were unearthed and subsequently stored at the Inner Mongolian Museum in Hohhot. In March 1984, an almost complete skeleton of M. trogontherii was recovered in the same coal mine. This third steppe mammoth skeleton (Zhalainuoer III) is now exhibited at the Zhalainuoer Coal Mine Museum. It is the best-preserved skeleton of M. trogontherii ever found. A previously identified dropping and the enclosing sediments where the Zhalainuoer skeletons were found were dated to the Late Pleistocene. The almost complete third skeleton (Zhalainuoer III) is that of a fully grown male. The age at death of this individual was estimated at c. 53 years. It had a shoulder height of 389 cm in the flesh and a body mass of 10.5 tons. The completeness of the Zhalainuoer III skeleton provides new information about the morphology and the osteology of M. trogontherii. Especially noteworthy is the complete preservation of the caudal vertebrae.
Mostly Mammoths 