Pikaia Illustration
In 2024, researchers Mussini et al published a new interpretation of the Burgess Shale organism Pikaia gracilens. Apparently, past descriptions of its fossils had been depicting it upside down the entire time (appendages assumed to be parapodia like those seen are the undersides of snails have now been interpreted as branching gills that would have pointed upwards).
Maybe not as exciting as when Hallucigenia (another Cambrian organism known from fossils in the Burgess Shale) got an updated description back in 2015, but it was still pretty cool news in the world of palaeontology :)
After I found out about the study, I felt inspired to start doing some sketches during the summer of 2024 based on the new description (plus feedback from a paleontologist I kept bothering):
I started a larger, more polished illustration based on the sketches, but I ended up setting it aside for a while due to focusing on activism and moving to a new apartment.
One year later, and I finally got around to finishing it:
Mixed media - pen-and-ink, watercolor paint, watercolor pencil, and the digital program Krita.
Btw, I also uploaded the final illustration to Wikimedia Commons under a CC BY-SA license (LINK), so it's free for sharing or remixing so long as its properly attributed and shared alike licensing-wise.
