The Great 2014 Dinosaur Gift Guide: Volume 1!

Though any time of year is the right time to bestow a saurian gift upon a friend or loved one, this time of year seems to put special focus on gift-giving. I'm not sure why.

In the interest of helping people find unique and inspiring dinosaur gifts, I've put together this guide. It's certainly not meant to be comprehensive, but rather is an attempt help you choose gifts that both delight their recipient and support the forward progress of paleontology. One easy and meaningful way to do that is to support artists who care about how distant chapters of life's story are presented, and work hard to research their subjects and depict them in novel ways. Also deserving of support are the publishers who commission said artists and dedicated shops who specialize in dinosaurs, such as Everything Dinosaur and Dan's Dinosaurs. What I especially love about the Dan's Dinosaurs is that they work directly with artists, so there are a number of links below that lead to their site - if you're looking to wow someone with original artworks or excellent sculptures, it's a great place to start.

Andy Farke at the Integrative Paleontologists had a similar post idea, and beat me to the punch. Be sure to read his gift guide over there. Since this was already mostly written up, and there are a few differences, I figured I'd go ahead and post mine, as well. It's so packed with sweet goodies, I'll be splitting it in two, with the second half queued up for Monday.

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Stenopterygius Palaeoplushie by Rebecca Groom, available at Etsy.

Rebecca Groom's work has been steadily growing in popularity, and for good reason. She crafts some of the finest plush prehistoric critters I've seen (and you don't have to rely on my opinion - her Velociraptor Kickstarter was a resounding success). Her Palaeoplushies are available in limited supply at her Etsy shop, with a larger range at Dan's Dinosaurs. Rebecca also designed a heraldic Microraptor that would be welcome in any enthusiast's wardrobe.


Velociraptor portrait by Angela Connor, available at her Redbubble shop.

Angela Connor has popped up here before when I included her Paleo Portraits series in a Mesozoic Miscellany post. I love the simplicity and charm of the project, putting special focus on the "soul" of the animals, if I may be so woo-woo.


Stegoceras validum by Matt Martyniuk, available as a print from his DeviantArt store.

Matt Martyniuk is no stranger to readers of this blog, as a whip-smart researcher and terrific illustrator. His book projects would be especially inspiring to the paleontology prodigies in your life. His A Field Guide to Mesozoic Birds and Other Winged Dinosaurs came out in 2012, and this year he released his first Beasts of Antiquity title. Matt also sells prints at his DeviantArt page, my favorites of which reimagine classic natural history illustration styles of the 18th and 19th century with modern knowledge of dinosaurs: as if an Audubon stepped into the Mesozoic.


Tempest Tricera by Sharon Wegner-Larson, available from her Redbubble shop or Etsy.

Sharon Wegner-Larson's Synapsid Sunrise was one of the delights of our All Yesterdays Contest back in 2013. Her paleo-themed fabric designs such are wonderful (see the full set here), as are her watercolors of sea life and Mesozoic megafauna such as the incredible Triceratops shared above. Her Redbubble shop has two of her pieces, and you can currently purchase pillows, paintings, and prints in her Etsy Store.


Chubbie Anzu by David Krentz, from his Shapeways store.

David Krentz is also a fixture in the online paleo community, a jack-of-all trades who nonetheless seems to be a master of all. He has a Shapeways shop where you can purchase his sculptures (ranging from realistic to the fanciful like the Anzu shared above), and Dan's Dinosaurs sells his work as well. For the budding paleoartists in your life, the Krentz Presentz: Drawing Tyrannosaurus Rex DVD available from Dan's Dinosaurs would be an ideal choice. As if that wasn't enough, David has some really fun designs available on tees in his Redbubble shop.


Oviraptorid tee shirt by Jaime Headden, available from Redbubble.

Jaime Headden's illustrates intricately stippled skulls and life restorations, and would be perfect for those who admire the simple elegance of skeletal anatomy.


Prairie Moon Corythosaurus (original painting) by Angie Rodrigues, available from Dan's Dinosaurs.

Angie Rodrigues hasn't been very active lately, but is one of my perennial favorites. Her originals are featured at Dan's Dinosaurs, and for those who can't quite spend that much, she's got prints available at her own Redbubble shop and DeviantArt, including Triceratops: Autumn Refuge and Fly Away, featuring Iguanodon and Iberomesornis.


Ornithomimosaurs in autumn, available from Chris Masnaghetti's Society 6 page.

Christian Masnaghetti's work has impressed me for a while, and he keeps pushing himself stylistically and technically (I love his recent "Spino-potamus"). Purchase his prints at Society 6 and Redbubble. I also interviewed him a couple years ago, so check out more of his stuff there.

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Stay tuned for the second half on Monday, which includes much more artwork as well as a number of books to stock the shelves of the dinosaur enthusiasts in your life (surely you know dozens).

Vintage Dinosaur Art: WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH

With 1980s-style dinosaurs once again grabbing everyone's attention, thanks to the recent trailer for the long-delayed instalment of a certain cinematic franchise, it's only fitting that my latest book is a seminal specimen from the era. Hailing from around the same time as the Normanpedia,WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH (which absolutely must be written in all-caps) sees Norman and Sibbick team up again, but this time the results are a little more fun (while avoiding anachronistic humans and dinosaurs made up by Ray Harryhausen). The cover says it all.

While Sibbick's artwork for the Normanpedia was very beautiful and hugely influential (to say the least), it was also a little retrograde in depicting rather static, shapeless flesh mountains, and fudging a lot of the finer anatomical details. This may well have been due to the constraints inherent in the need to produce 'spotter's guide'-type diagnostic illustrations, because the broadly similar-looking dinosaurs in WDTRE show a lot more dynamism. Just take a look at the cover - as if the brutal scene of predation (and tyrannosaur leering out at the viewer) weren't enough, everything's ON FREAKIN' FIRE thanks to a spot of obligatory Mesozoic volcanic activity. Note the tottering Corythosaurus in the background; the illustrations here continue to depict bipedal dinosaurs (or, those walking bipedally) in a largely upright posture. Still, at least Rexy is looking a lot more Sexy than in the Normanpedia, if a little sinister. As well he might.

Rexy's predatory exploits continue inside, where he's pictured standing like a big game hunter atop an unfortunate baby chasmosaur. One noteworthy aspect of the art in this book is the use of sloping and uneven ground, which isn't as common in palaeoart as you might think; in fact, Mark Witton specifically critiqued how illustrations often make the Mesozoic appear fit for Dalek conquest. While rocky mesas quickly become a bit of a trope, the scenes show a lot more variety than those in the Normanpedia, and the action quotient is ramped up considerably. Rexy is quite resplendent here, especially when compared with the weirdo, croc-headed Normanpedia version

Of course, the world's favourite theropod movie star can't have everything in his own way, and upon demanding a jacked-up salary and 30% of the proceeds from Jurassic World, he is promptly felled by an inaccurately rendered Euoplocephalus. Illustrations like this were quite common back in the day, but this is definitely one of my favourites - Sibbick's hyper-realistic style combines with the unfortunate perspective to make the puny-armed one look quite hilarious. One can almost picture the legs flailing around in the air while the creature screams like Wario.

Ankylosaurs spend a lot of time squatting around on the ground in WDRTE, as demonstrated by Scelidosaurus here. This piece is a particular favourite of mine for the depiction of Megalosaurus which, while a little on the chubby side, nevertheless has a convincingly mad, stupid look in its eyes. It's the piercing gaze of a slightly dim reptilian animal, and it's amazing how little palaeoart manages to nail that. The relatively 'modern' posture of the individual in the centre contrasts with the more upright posture of those in the foreground (which I've had to crop off, unfortunately) and background. Palaeoart was still going through that awkward transition, with the tail-dragging behemoths still persisting even as leaner, meaner tiresome clich�s were emerging...

...Like this one! Anyone's who's visited the Natural History Museum in London will probably remember how dark, cramped and scientifically outdated its dinosaur gallery was. They'll probably also remember the giant reproductions of spectacular John Sibbick artworks, one of which depicts a gang of Deinonychus athletically leaping onto an unfortunate Tenontosaurus. This similar piece can perhaps be considered a 'prototype'. While both works feature scaly Deinonychus (as was still considered acceptable at the time), the animals in the NHM piece appear more birdlike and sleek. Even so, the Deinonychus in the above painting are still a progression from the Normanpedia's disturbing, aye-aye fingered lizardy fellow, astonishingly convincing though it was at the time.

WDRTE clearly freed Sibbick to explore more unusual perspectives in his work, as demonstrated in the above piece, where the viewer takes on the perspective of an encroaching allosaur (note the shadow) and hence gains an idea of what it would be like to take on the spiky-tailed one. There are certainly problems here (not least the stegosaurs' drastically shortened tails), but this different approach is commendable, as is the unusual depiction of a rearing, tripod Stegosaurus. Note also the curling fingers of the Allosaurus - there is a tendency for artists to depict theropods with permanently extended digits, in spite of the fact that they often retained a lot of flexion in them.

Not every scene features a fight to the saurian death - herbivores are allowed to just do their own thing now and then. The pretty panorama above features a herd of Camptosaurus, without a hungry predator or scene-stealing sauropod in sight. The curling black tongue of the foreground individual might be a nod to old illustrations of Iguanodon, which often depicted it with a giraffe-like prehensile tongue for no good reason. There's a fair amount of awkwardly limp tail-dragging, but by and large it's aged better than...

...the book's depiction of Apatosaurus, a blunt-headed, Burianesque, proper brontosaur of a beast, decked out in drab Elephantine Grey and hanging around a generic Jurassic oasis. It might be 'cos I grew up in the 1990s (and was thus duly brainwashed with images of relatively spritely sauropods), but I really can't stand these things. At least Baby Bronto is quite the cutie. D'awwww.

I couldn't end on such a note, however, so here's another of my favourites - Plateosaurus in a thunderstorm. With Sibbick, it's all about the superfine details, and the way the rain palpably lashes against the plateosaur's skin in this illustration is simply marvellous. This illustration was one of many by Sibbick that really brought the Mesozoic alive for me as a kid, and fired my fascination with prehistory (that went away, and then came back again). I should mention that I know these illustrations from another source - namely, a promotional tie-in for PG Tips teabags. Sections of the illustrations were printed onto collectible cards, which could then be pasted onto the full illustration in an album, thus completing the picture. One could also buy a plush T. rex, and my mum's boss acquired one for me - I named him T. Tips (geddit?). Ah, thems were the days.

But enough shameless dino-nostalgia - there's enough of that being peddled by Hollywood these days. I'm off to eBay to try and find a new old dinosaur book. See you when!

Mesozoic Miscellany 69

Newsie Bits

ThinkGeek, the popular on-line retailer specializing in, appropriately enough, geeky gifts, recently began selling fossils. This resulted in criticism from paleontologists, and eventually ThinkGeek's decision to halt the sales, at least for a time. Lee Hall posted about the controversy at Extinct Los Angeles, following his original post with a ThinkGeek reply, and his subsequent response. At Jersey Boys Hunt Dinosaurs - as well as her blog Shaman of the Atheistic Sciences, Lisa Buckley has shared her opinions on how to best approach the collecting of fossils. At i09, Artiofab wrote a series of posts on the issue - here, here, and here. Emily Graslie weighed in at the Brain Scoop blog. The American Association of Applied Paleontological Sciences issued a press release supporting ThinkGeek for selling fossils [PDF].

Around the Dinoblogosphere

At Dinosaur Postcards, Denver Fowler writes about some intruguing early 20th century photo postcards which seem to show paleontological work in the Morrison Formation.

It looks like Kansas has its very own bona fide Mosasaurus, after a history of taxonomic reassignments found putative specimens placed in other genera. Anthony Maltese gives you the low down.

Over at Art Evolved, Herman is back with more dinosaur book reviews, offering a positive look at Sloan's Feathered Dinosaurs and a less glowing review of the infamous How to Keep Dinosaurs.

Mark Witton is selling prints!

Learn about the less-publicized dangers of paleontology at Mary Anning's Revenge.

On the lastest episode of the TetZoo podcast, John and Darren offer a great tribute to Eleanor Kish, who recently passed away - in addition to discussions on the Shanklin croc, bird behavior, and the proud tradition of paleontologists giving lousy advice to artists. Thanks for the shout-out to Marc's 2013 post on Kish, guys!

James Gurney is on Soundcloud, and has been posting Dinotopia audio-books. episodes one and two are currently available. Expect a new chapter every Tuesday for the next three months or so. Gurney writes about the project at the Gurney Journey blog.

On the Dinologue Youtube channel, Brian Switek discusses the Carnegie Dinosaur Quarry at Dinosaur National Monument.


Paul Barrett writes about the Natural History Museum in London's unveiled a new Stegosaurus at New Views on Old Bones. It's the most complete specimen ever found and once it goes on public display on December 4, should be quite a centerpiece for their collection.

At Antediluvian Salad, Duane Nash writes about a visit to Big Sur, musing on redwoods living at the extreme edge of their range, the history of the taxon, and their use in environments in paleoart.

Jurassic World's teaser trailer is set to debut on Thursday, but since this is the way the world works now, there is a teaser trailer for the teaser trailer.



Edited: Well, that was quick. Here's the whole trailer, two days early. In-depth analysis to come!



Extant Theropod Appreciation

At 10,000 Birds, Larry Jordan writes about the Peregrine Falcon's use of tree cavities for nesting sites and shares a video of a peregrine taking on a brown pelican.

Paleoart(ish) Pick

I'm not going to pretend to get the whole Pokemon thing, but DeviantArt recently profiled RJ Palmer, who illustrated the realistic Pokemon series, about his dinosaur obsession and the way it informs his work. They're pretty great, and in the interview RJ gives props to some other great illustrators, including official friend of LITC Paul Heaston. Check it out (er, catch 'em all)!

The Cretaceous Tortoise and Hare

Once upon a time, in the autumn of 2011, I submitted an artwork requested by one Scott Persons of the University of Alberta via Art Evolved...

Three years later, the resulting set of three illustrations -- a race between an Olorotitan and a Tarbosaurus -- was finally published in the press release for a study of hadrosaur locomotion by Dr. Phil Currie and Scott Persons, which I expect a number of our readers are already familiar with, either independently or via the Chasmosaurs Facebook page. There is also a podcast about the research. Here, for your delectation and privilege (or indeed indifference and ennui, so please you) are the illustrations at a much larger size, which can be opened out in a new tab/window for full-view if you wish. Much of the comic expression in the dinosaurs' eyes are missed in reduction -- something which I hadn't accounted for when I drew them.

The Aesop analogy subsequently repeated in the article was one which had actually occurred to Scott as a result of my original submission, as quoted in my linked Himmapaanensis post above: '...this is a charming twist (and one I had not anticipated). I like it very much!' I readily confess that my simple little ego was considerably flattered by this.

There is also a story behind the flag-waving Protoceratops, who was originally accompanied by a much more incongruous figure (again, for the sake of this post's conciseness, please see the first link for this). I don't know, you'd think I had a penchant for such a thing...

Prints of the illustrations were donated to the silent auction at the Alberta Dinosaur Research Institute fundraising dinner this past weekend. Sean Willett of the Dragon Tongues podcast (whom Marc and I had the great pleasure of meeting and speaking to at the first TetZooCon, and for whom David recently completed a new logo) had very kindly placed a bid on them. He informs me that the prints finally sold for over $100.

Photograph by Sean Willett

Of course, given that it has been three years since their creation, there are several things I would do differently now. So consider this the appropriate disclaimer/apology for any obvious shortcomings. I do know, however, that I would relish more such opportunities for playful pictures accompanying serious research in formal publications. Can we make this A Thing, please?

Vintage Dinosaur Art: A New Look at Dinosaurs, National Geographic, August 1978

Anyone who knows the slightest thing about the history of dinosaur science will tell you that the '60s and '70s constituted a pivotal period - the 'Dinosaur Renaissance', during which the old ideas about dinosaurs being 'great fossil lizards' (as John McLoughlin memorably put it) were overturned, and a new, more exciting picture emerged. In August 1978, National Geographic published an article by none other than John Ostrom, the man who named Deinonychus and helped lead this new wave in palaeontology. Accompanying the article were a series of paintings by Roy Andersen, and they provide a wonderful insight into how the palaeoart of the time still owed a great deal to the past, even as artists strove to capture something of the Renaissance.

The cover is quite resolutely old-school, and wouldn't have looked out of place back in the Zallinger days. Here is the great primordial struggle, rendered in moody, smoky hues, as one massive reptile looms out of the darkness and snatches another in its cruel, flesh-tearing jaws (as they no doubt would have put it back then). To modern eyes, the lumpen, saggy tyrannosaur looks completely bizarre; over on Facebook, Blake � Murch� dubbed this beast a "Mastiffasaurus", which seems fitting. On closer inspection, the hadrosaur is pretty weird, too - for one thing, it appears that its arms are growing out of its neck. Of course, all this means that this cover has instant vintage palaeoart appeal. It's really very evocative.

Inside, the article proper starts with a 'dinosaur parade', which is a bit like one of the ones used to promote PT Barnum's circuses, only the giant quadrupeds aren't decked out in glittering finery. My rubbish scanner wouldn't fit it all in, and I'm far too lazy to scan it in chunks, so here's a choice section. Again, the animals here look rather retro - there are tail-dragging sauropods, tail-dragging stegosaurs, and even our old friend, Dainty Limbed Hunchback Megalosaurus (straight out of a depressing-looking Neave Parker piece). However, there are hints of palaeontological progress here. The theropods, as a whole, are much more sprightly than the various herbivores; Allosaurus looks particularly lean 'n' mean in a fashion quite alien to the pot-bellied waddling fellows of earlier decades, while all the little fellows are breaking out into a jog. Which brings us neatly to the star of the show...

Deinonychus! In an adventure with scientists! This is a striking vision of the creature, in a highly Bakkerian sprinting posture, dapper dewlap in place, against a fierce red backdrop. Modern artists take note - this is how you do 'badass dinosaurs'. Even ignoring the poor sap getting mauled at stage left, this illustration is highly effective at conveying the perceived ferocity of this creature - and it's just a plain ol' lateral view, without any gaping maws, blood, or copious salivating. It helps, of course, that we are also provided with a skeletal reference, and a diagram depicting the movement arc of that famous claw. Great stuff.

When compared with Deinonychus, Sexy Rexy's portrayal initially comes across as disappointingly staid and conservative. On the other hand, while the posture certainly tends more towards the vertical, there's a definite sense of energy and movement here, most evident in the tail and legs. It reminds me very much of Burian's Tyrannosaurus, which while distinctly old-fashioned at first glance nevertheless boasted a long stride and an obviously burning desire to clamp its jaws around a juicy edmontosaur thigh. The head also shows an admirable attention to detail, unknown in a lot of 'classic' palaeoart. Again, the inclusion of the skull (seemingly belonging to AMNH 5027) is a nice touch. Oh, and there's a suitably Knightian encounter between Rexy and his eternal sparring partner Triceratops going on at the bottom there.

One of the finest illustrations of a fossil is this one of a Heterodontosaurus slab, featured alongside a life restoration of the animal. For all that it looks weird now (creepy needle fingers and cold, unduly tiny eyes!), this illustration of a horizontal-backed, fleet-footed ornithischian dinosaur with a straight, muscular tail serves as the perfect accompaniment to Ostrom's text, in which he points out that the animal's anatomy "[seems] to point toward endothermy" and an active lifestyle. Noteworthy for those tired of certain clich�s in modern palaeoart is that both individuals have their mouths closed, with 'lips' covering their famous pointy teeth, which is quite unlike almost every single depiction of this animal since. I think Jaime Headden would approve (but I'll probably regret second-guessing him).

While there's naturally been a lot of fuss made about the spectacularly strange Deinocheirus recently (which, incidentally, is briefly mentioned in this article), let's not forget that even 'normal' ornithomimosaurs were pretty odd, too. Of course, retro palaeoart only serves to exaggerate their weirdness by giving them scaly hides and weedy limbs, as is the case with Andersen's egg-plundering stilt-walker. If you were wondering about the giant pelvis 'n' femur, it's related to the caption, which explains that birds "paradoxically" evolved from the 'lizard hipped', rather than the 'bird hipped' dinosaurs (while pointing out that birds were already well established by Struthiomimus' time).

Corythosaurus is next on the bill, and is used to illustrate the point pertaining to hadrosaurs being land browsers, rather than paddle-handed jokers partial to the odd swimming party. This illustration is a particularly good example of the 'transition' taking place in palaeoart at the time, and how much of it still recalled the vintage 'great fossil lizard' depictions. While the carriage of this Corythosaurus would be alien to an artist working in, say, the 1930s, the exceptionally dainty forelimbs and grumpy lizard lips are reminiscent of art from the bad old days. In fact, one could comment that the overall style of these pieces, that is to say the technique behind them, is rather retro - while some of the animals sport splashes of colour (see Heterodontosaurus above), the overall impression remains fairly murky and gloopy. And brown.

Which isn't to say that this piece is a throwback - far from it. But the next one is.

Alas, poor Bronto. For all that the other animals are given important updates (no matter how tentative they may seem), Apatosaurus still suffers the indignity of being lumped with a mismatched (and cross-looking) camarasaur head at one end, while its tail ploughs the ground behind it. While the animal's resolutely free from swampbound misery and being a defenceless flesh heap, it's still weird to see Marsh's error perpetuated in an article all about a new, more enlightened approach to dinosaur science. Not being horrifically fat is a significant enough change on its own, I guess.

At least Poor Bronto isn't pretty much a straight-up Burian rip-off, like this Stegosaurus. Come on Andersen, give us the Shiny Renaissance Future! Tail-dragging sluggard stegosaurs are so early twentieth century.

And finally...Triceratops. It's another blandly brown depiction that wouldn't have looked out of place in properly retro palaeoart, and is a far cry from the more radical depiction we might have expected. The skull, of course, is taken from the mounted specimen in the AMNH, on which the frill has largely been reconstructed. Curiously, the Triceratops at the foot of the page appear to have had their heads based on this mount, and subsequently look very Torosaurus-like, while the individual above has a more 'scalloped' and shorter frill. It's enough to make me wonder if the main illustration wasn't also 'inspired' by an earlier work, although I can't for the life of me think which one it might be. (Comments please guv!)

That's it...for now. I've avoided discussing Ostrom's article itself very much, famous and seminal though it is. Perhaps another time (especially if there's any demand for it. That's right, feed my monstrous ego). Coming up next (from me) - a book named after a cheesetastic Hammer film. Hurrah!

Mesozoic Miscellany 68

The Big News

Vintana sertichi is a new Gondwanatherian mammal from Madagascar, and in expanding our knowledge of the clade beyond assorted jaw-y and tooth-y bits, it's a pretty significant discovery. It's one of the largest mesozoic mammals discovered, coming in second to the mighty Repenomamus. More on V. sertichi from the New York Times, NSF, National Geographic, Palaeoblog, and the Guardian.

Kulindadromeus on Twitter claims that the reconstructions we've seen are way off, however. Supposedly, this was what the critter looked like:



Last time around, I'd intended to include another new ankylosaur with a generic name starting with "Z" (the previous being Ziapelta). But that other splashy new research distracted me. So, I'm making up for it now. Zaraapelta is a new ankylosaurid from the Nemegt formation in Mongolia. Danielle Dufault created a gorgeous illustration for the press release, so be sure to gaze on its splendor. And be sure to read the post on it at Everything Dinosaur.

Around the Dinoblogosphere

John Hutchinson, who has given us so much insight by showing the contents of his freezer, has had a dreadful health scare. He wrote an affecting post about his adversity, which I can't recommend highly enough.

At DinoGoss, more cathartic ranting against crappy practices in paleo-toys. This time, Matt is training the crosshairs on the toy industry'penchant for rip-offs.

Fans of the spaghetti-necked Tanystropheus, hie thee to Nobu Tamura's Paleoexhibit blog.

Necks lie! And SV-POW tells all.

Pete Von Sholly had a bit of fun at the expense of people who allow their canine companions to defecate willy-nilly.

At TetZoo, Darren has begun writing a series on phytosaurs.

Rebecca Groom wrote about a plush Elginerpeton at the Dino Toy blog.

Extant Theropod Appreciation

I used to do occasional posts on those living theropods we like to call "birds," and I've decided it would be a great idea to bring it back as part of the Mesozoic Miscellany Series. For the first one, I'll strongly urge you to visit Tony Martin's Life Traces of the Georgia Coast blog for a ghoulish story of a decapitated gull.

Paleoart Pick

I mentioned the new "Z" ankylosaurs up above, so this led me to decide on Sydney Mohr, creator of the first reconstruction of Ziapelta, for this round-up's paleoart feature. Here is a terrific piece called "Campanian Scene." Check out more of Sydney's work at DeviantArt.


Illustration � Sydney Mohr, used with permission.