A reboot of a paiting I originally did in 1997, age 16. I think at the time I considered it my first sucessful oil painting. I have added all the stuff to it that I originally intended to, but chickened-out (painting over skies in oil painting is scary,... [more]:
Shuvuuia deserti was a small maniraptoran theropod from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Its short, strong arm might have been used for digging, perhaps into insect mounds.
A reboot of a paiting I originally did in 1997, age 16. I think at the time I considered it my first sucessful oil painting. I have added all the stuff to it that I originally intended to, but chickened-out (painting over skies in oil painting is scary,... [more]:
First discovered in 2002, paleontologist draw comparisons of #Dinocephalosaurus_orientalis with other aquatic species having no modern day analogs - why did the entire family of #Tanystropheidae or the genera exhibiting these morphological functionalities not continue?
Perhaps just as interesting is the convergent evolution (especially with respect to their necks) between that of Dinocephalosaurus and members of the Tanystropheus genus. A close resemblance on the surface, yet Dinocephalosaurus orientalis was strictly an aquatic species.
I've included an artists reconstructive rendition of Tanystropheus longobardicus for comparison between the two, but note that Dinocephalosaurus had four flipper-like feet of the same size, and unable to exist, or at least thrive in a terrestrial environment, where Tanystropheus exhibited larger feet in the rear - not unlike your hands being smaller than your feet.
And yes, as Yuki (@youronlyone) offers up as a contemplative inference, the whole "Dragon" and "Loch Ness Monster" corollaries are uncanny, raising questions as to why would pre-industrial societies actually have such fables, or in the case of the latter, claims of sightings, if not rooted in some previous observation by humans?
Did #dinosaurs pollinate some #Mesozoic#gymnosperms?
This is an idea I've had which is explained below, but there are some caveats to this, one of which being a lack of corresponding/ conspecific female organs also with suitable anatomy. Thoughts? #paleobotany#paleoart#plants
"Overall, there is almost no ice over four years old remaining—it now comprises just 3 percent of the total ice cover. This is the same percentage as last year and contrasts starkly with the late 1980s when 30 to 35 percent of the Arctic Ocean’s ice was older than 4 years."
As a reminder for the none-biologists among us:
"Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind).
In the ocean, they provide a crucial source of food to many..."