Steller’s Sea Cow

This reconstruction of a Steller’s Sea Cow in its natural environment used the 3D model created for the Skin & Bones mobile app and imagined its marine habitat.

Sea cows (Hydrodamalis gigas) were overheated to extinction only 27 years after Europeans first encountered them in 1741. There are no visual records of what they looked like, only written descriptions. These were used to create the reconstruction as well as photo and video references closely related living species (such as the manatees and dugongs). An expert on the anatomy of this animal group kindly reviewed the piece for accuracy.

The illustration was included on the exhibit Anatomy of an Illustration and on its print catalog, part of the Brazilian Science Illustration Meeting in Florianópolis (Brazil) in 2014. It was in another exhibit and catalog, called Beautiful Maryland, that took place at the Quiet Waters Park gallery.