Category Archives: Paleontology

Paleontologica Infographica


It occurs to me I need a single place to collate all my various “infographic” art pieces discussing a variety of topics, so here we go. Brief summaries of their content when not obvious will follow. Continue reading

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Crowned Kings


A recently completed art project (ostensibly to hone skills and objectively to explore reconstruction ideas) led me through the Ceratopsidae from its beginnings to its end. This was observed on Twitter, where I posted each full piece (at reduced size), … Continue reading

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The Persistent Melancholy of Oviraptor


Or, what is Oviraptor? Originally described in 1924 by H. F. Osborn on the partial remains of a skeleton including the skull, neck, should, and forelimb, associated with some eggs inferred to belong to a ceratopsian the animal was predating, … Continue reading

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Mama Danger Noodle


Unlike many of the Triassic marine reptiles, this particular beast was of Paleogene age, and represented such a novelty in its discovery. Originally framed as a giant crocodilian, its name, meaning “king lizard of Isis,” reflected the view of many … Continue reading

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Wherein I attempt a bit of humor


A recent paper (Pahl & Ruedas, in press at this time) suggested that large carnosaurs from the Morrison Formation would have preferrentially or obligately been scavengers, but because they were also the largest theropods of the region, they would have … Continue reading

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How am I even supposed to say this name?


A large number of Triassic marine reptiles have similar body plans: A barrel-shaped body, large flippers, short but slender neck, and moderate to small head. This bauplan is useful for many pelagic animals, although most Triassic sediments preserving these are … Continue reading

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Recapping the Nightmare Beast


Quite some time ago, I fell in line with the authors in reconstructing the weird Atopodentatus unicus with a particularly Lovecraftian face. I won’t apologize for this reconstruction, I followed the implied anatomy the authors presented and couldn’t distinguish what, … Continue reading

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Hellfrog Maximum


Beelzebufo ampinga (Evans, Jones & Krause, 2008) may not be the largest extinct frog, but it was particularly large. Amongst the frogs, it’s amongst the hyperossified members of Ceratophryidae (Hyloidea, Anura) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. There’s not much … Continue reading

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What Has a Bird’s Head, a Chameleon’s Hands, a Monkey’s Feet, and a Scorpion’s Tail?


If you wondered why I love some peculiar Triassic tetrapods like Longisquama or Sharovipteryx, it’s probably due to the high diversity and degree of questions you can ask about them, and some even provide curious answers. So here’s the answer … Continue reading

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Longisquama is too Weird for this World


I might be a little safe with this reconstruction, but it represents a further attempt to clean up and add to the number of controversial archosauromorphs for which few skeletals exist, or whose existence is owed to controversial reconstructors or … Continue reading

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