#SeaCows Have Engineered the #PersianGulf’s #Seagrass Ecosystems for Over 20 Million Years https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/ancient-manatee-relative-reveals-sea-cows-have-engineered-arabian-gulfs-seagrass

High abundance of Early #Miocene sea cows from #Qatar shows repeated evolution of seagrass #EcosystemEngineers in Eastern Tethys https://peerj.com/articles/20030/

"This part of the world has been prime #SeaCow habitat for the past 21 million years—it’s just that the sea cow role has been occupied by different species over time."

My 25 years of palaeoart chronology...

In 2021 I created a bunch of vignettes for a new book, called SEA MAMMALS, by Annalisa Berta. They were quick to produce and a fun change from my big Mesozoic landscapes, which take weeks to complete. The animals here are not to scale.

#Art #Painting #PaleoArt #PalaeoArt #SciArt #SciComm #DigitalArt #Illustration #Dinosaurs #Birds #Reptiles #Palaeontology #Paleontology #SeaMammals #Whales #Dolphins #SeaCows

Less than three decades after the Steller's sea cow was described, the #species was #extinct. But a new study led by @peterroopnarine suggests it left a legacy in the North Pacific's coastal waters: the enhancement of #kelp forests through its eating habits.

My story for
@mongabay

https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/extinct-sea-cows-underwater-engineering-legacy-lives-on-today-study-finds/

#seacows #extinction #kelpforests #ocean