Appalachian State University art and geology students are collaborating on a sculpture of a Triassic aetosaur based on a handful of pre-historic bones unearthed in North Carolina. The finished piece is expected to be placed in the Fred Webb Jr. Outdoor Geology Laboratory/Interactive Rock Garden alongside Rankin Science South in fall 2018.
A rendering of a North Carolina landscape as imagined during the Triassic, in tropical Pangea. Internet photo
Close to completion, this clay, foam and wire-framed aetosaur is almost ready for bronze casting. Refining the armored plating on the back – the most distinguishing characteristics of this species of aetosaur – was critical in order to create as accurate a visual as possible for the interlocking plates and spikes. Photo by Travis Donovan