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Using open source 3D modeling software, paleontologists resurrected a 410-million-year-old spider relative—digitally, anyway. The researchers from the University of Manchester and Berlin's Museum für Naturkunde, created an animated video showing how the ancient arachnid would have walked hundreds of millions of years ago. Published in the Journal of Paleontology, this research showcases how paleontologists are using 3D modeling software to reconstruct long-extinct creatures.

Scientists study these early spider relatives because they want to know how their legs adapted to walking on land. These creatures looked similar to tarantulas and wolf spiders, were widespread 300 to 400 million years ago and may have been one of the first predators to live on land.

To create the creepy-crawly video, scientists analyzed fossil cross-sections and living arachnids to piece together the arachnid's appearance and range of motion in three dimensions. Then they used Blender, a piece of open-source software, to make the 3D models and animate them. As it turns out, the old creatures moved much like today's arachnids do.

As these tools get less expensive, more and more paleontologists are using 3D modeling to visualize ancient life. Last summer, for example, high school students spent two weeks at the American Museum of Natural History in New York creating 3D printouts of dinosaur bones. Blender is a particularly attractive program, since it's free. Comparable programs like Autodesk Maya and Cinema 4D cost around $3700 for the full versions.

In the press release, researcher Jason Dunlop said, "What's really exciting here is that scientists themselves can make these animations now, without needing the technical wizardry—and immense costs—of a Jurassic Park­-style film.... When I started working on fossil arachnids we were happy if we could manage a sketch of what they used to look like; now we can view them running across our computer screens."

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