Scientific Illustration

paleoillustration:

Carcharodontosauridae size chart by Vitor Silva. From the largest to the smallest: Carcharodontosaurus, Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, Acrocanthosaurus, Eocarcharia and Concavenator.

See also the Spinosauridae chart

paleoillustration:

Spinosauridae size chart by Vitor Silva. From the largest to the smallest: Spinosaurus, Oxalaia, Suchomimus, Baryonyx, Ichthyovenator and Irritator.

See also the Carcharodontosauridae chart and the one by Hyrotrioskjan

ewilloughby:

Utahraptor stands in the shallows of the great early Cretaceous inland sea, looking out to the horizon as the sun rises. Utahraptor, though one of the largest dromaeosaurs, was certainly not always taking down large prey in a dramatic and bloody fashion. On this morning, these dromaeosaurs were not hungry enough to hunt, so they combed the beach for shellfish and protein minutiae washed in by the tide. A small flock of ornithocheiroid pterosaurs pass by above.

Considered making this my ‘All Yesterdays’ entry (a Utahraptor not being a big badass and ripping apart everything in sight? Unheard of) but ultimately decided to do something more original for that.

Commission for an individual customer. Photoshop CS4, 80+ hours.

(via rhamphotheca)

astronomy-to-zoology:

Genus Rinchenia

is a genus of oviraptoid theropod dinosaurs from late Cretaceous Mongolia. Rinchenia is known solely from a single incomplete skeleton of its only species R. mongoliensis. Rinchenia has alot in common with its sister genus Oviraptor and was originally part of oviraptor until several features in its skull and skeleton were shown to be distinct. Rinchenia was around the same size as oviraptor at around 5 feet long, it also had a distinct casque unlike oviraptors whose casque is indistinct due to poor preservation. 

Phylogeny

Animalia-Chordata-Dinosauria-Theropoda-Oviraptoridae-Oviraptorinae-Rinchenia

Source

(via rhamphotheca)

paleoillustration:

Spinosauridae 2 by Hyrotrioskjan:

“What you see here, is a compilation of every spinosaur which is, in my eyes, different enough to be not a nomen dubium. In the case of the juvenile spinosaur from australia it’s different to say but the isolation from the rest of the world make it pretty plausible that this species was different from Baryonyx and Co.”

Spinosaurus: [link]
Irritator: [link]
Suchomimus: [link]
Baryonyx: [link]
Oxalaia: [link]
Ostafrikasaurus: [link]
Australian spinosaur juvenile: [link]
Cristatusaurus: [link]
Siamosaurus: [link]
Ichthyoventor: [link]

(via paleoillustration)

lostbeasts:

prehistorygirl:

geozoic:

Peter Schouten

Conchoraptor

www.studioschouten.com

That is seriously the single most beautiful reconstruction of any Oviraptorosaur I have ever seen.

aahh this is so cute!

prehistorygirl:

Retro Paleoart Of the Week!

I should probably make it clear that I don’t know the illustrator of these old things 90% of the time, but please let me know if you do! Believe it or not, these are actually supposed to be a Spinosaurus. For those of you who don’t understand why that’s such a problem, reflect on this for a moment.

Credit to Kronosaurus82 on Deviantart for the Image!

This is what Spinosaurus is currently thought to look like. If you grew up during the 80’s and 90’s you’re probably used to Dimetrodon-Esque freaks like the monsters above. My favorite thing about them is that they can’t seem to decide whether or not they have sprawling crocodile legs or erect dinosaur legs. That guy in the back also seems pretty confused about what’s going on, I would be too if I looked like he does. I really love the big lizard eyes on them too. These don’t even seem like real animals, just some sort of cheap movie monster in a 70’s dinosaur movie. Oddly enough, though, I first saw this picture with the label Edaphosaurus. Edaphosaurus was a Permian herbivorous Pelycosaur, far from the cold blooded predators we can…hopefully assume these things are. Be sure to check in next week for my next art-fueled ramblings! 

(via lostbeasts)

paleoillustration:

Deinonychus antirrhopus by Francesco Delrio

prehistoric-birds:

Moa: The Life and Death of New Zealand’s Legendary Bird

By Quinn Berentson

The moa were the most unusual and unique family of birds that ever lived, a clan of feathered monsters that developed in isolation for many, many millions of years. They became extinct reasonably quickly after the arrival of the Maori, and were a distant memory by the time European explorers arrived. So the discovery and identification of their bones in the 1840s was a worldwide sensation, claimed by many to be the zoological find of the century.

This book begins by recounting the story of discovery, which was characterised by an unbelievable amount of controversy and intrigue. Since then there has been an unbroken chain of new discoveries, culminating with intriguing revelations in recent years about the moa’s biology, that have come to light through DNA testing and radio-dating.

This is a fascinating and important book that richly recounts the life and death of our strangest bird. Packed with a fantastic range of illustrations, Moa fills an important gap in our natural history literature, a popular but serious book on this national icon.

(Find out more —> Craig Potton Publishing)

marywilliams:

I’m loving this guy too much to not share. Still a personal piece, no contract yet. Once it’s finished (or when the whole project is completed) I’ll be putting up legit, cleaned up scans, so it won’t look so muddy. But since it’s just a work in progress, I’m okay with pixelation.

Happy Friday and have a Happy New Year!