HOME | DD
Eurwentala β Croc in a Tree
Published: 2014-02-18 00:03:48 +0000 UTC; Views: 16829; Favourites: 486; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description
No, I definitely did not get overly carried away with this one. Nope.
Inspired by the recent news about living crocodilians routinely climbing trees, here's the recently extinct New Caledonian terrestrial crocodile Mekosuchus inexpectatus basking on a branch. That, and a few other organisms.
The little lizard thing on the lower branch is a crested gecko (Correlophus ciliatusΒ ). The plants pictured include:
Asplenium sp. - the bird's nest fern
Austrogramme marginata
Tmesipteris sp.
Nepenthes sp. - the pitcher plant
Dendrobium ngoyense - the yellow orchid
D. masarangense - the little white orchid
Amyema scandens - the weird red parasitic vine
There are no leaves or flowers of the actual tree visible, but judging by the obligate symbiont fungi (Podoserpula miranda, only described in 2013) it must be the endemic oak gum (Arillastrum gummiferum).
In case I sound too smart, don't worry. I have no idea whether all these species live in the same habitats or even in the same part of New Caledonia. And they're probably not all epiphytes. I just stumbled upon them and liked them. I could not even find names for all the plants, but they're drawn after photos people have taken in the forests of New Caledonia.
Related content
Comments: 69
π: 0 β©: 0
π: 0 β©: 0
π: 0 β©: 1
π: 0 β©: 1
π: 0 β©: 1
π: 0 β©: 1
π: 0 β©: 0
These arboreal Crocs should be noticed by the public more! These guys are awesome!
π: 0 β©: 1
This looks amazing and I love your style. The gecko is a nice touch!
π: 0 β©: 0
I recently found out about them, and I love the idea that there used to be small, possibly arboreal crocodiles living on South Pacific islands.Β
I've been wondering if they were possibly the inspiration for Hawai'ian mo'o and other lizard-like spirits. I know the mo'o is usually portrayed as a gecko because that's the reptile found in the islands.
Also, I always love the inclusion of Nepenthes in art.Β
π: 0 β©: 0
This is why paleontology should get more attention outside the realm of dinosaurs and the Ice Age.
π: 0 β©: 0
Ah, Mekosuchus, the last of the land crocodiles that we humans exterminated from the face of this planet.
π: 0 β©: 1
Yeah, we most likely did. It's a shame.
π: 0 β©: 2
The latest bone finds are, I think, from the time just before humans arrived on New Caledonia. It was most likely exterminated by the Lapita people somewhere around 1600 B.C.
π: 0 β©: 1
So they died out in recorded history.Β Doesn't make them prehistoric, then.
π: 0 β©: 1
It actually kind of is. Wikipedia states "...since the time of settlement of modern humans and the evolution of human civilisations, differ from region to region, prehistory starts and ends at different moments in time, depending on the region concerned." That is, prehistory only ends when written history starts at that particular region. On New Caledonia, written language only arrived with Europeans in 1700s.
π: 1 β©: 0
Because everyone now thinks crocs are inferior creatures on land.
π: 0 β©: 1
That's hardly the most important reason why it's a shame a whole group of unique creatures has disappeared. And many researchers, Vladimir Dinets as the latest, has demostrated that living crocs are far from helpless on land.
π: 0 β©: 1
Yep, but people still believe crocs are helpless on land.
Β
If only Quinkana was still here.....
π: 0 β©: 1
People believe lots of odd things that have little to do with reality. They might still think the same, even if there were a few species of land-crocs in some remote country.
I have heard someone believe that snakes are slimy, that children are the preferred prey of wolves, that penguins are man-sized, that porcupines are pigs, that dinosaurs are dead and they were all huge. Just... don't care about what people think if you don't want to get a headache.
π: 0 β©: 1
This is the most beautiful artwork featuring a crocodylian I've ever seen.
π: 0 β©: 0
Mekosuchus was a really interesting crocodile. ^^
π: 0 β©: 0
So that just made those croc B-movies where the humans climb trees to escape a whole lot more unrealistic.
π: 0 β©: 1
Yeah. 
π: 0 β©: 0
Lovely composition!
Ddin't know modern crocs could climb trees O_O
π: 0 β©: 0
Quite a beautiful illustration! 
π: 0 β©: 0
I think it's been estimated to be something like two meters from nose to tail. Though this one is a subadult. Perhaps it's up a tree to avoid cannibalistic adult conspecifics.
π: 0 β©: 1
Like young Komodo dragons....
π: 0 β©: 0
It's a print now. I hope someone buys it too.
π: 0 β©: 1
Well if there is an empty patch of wall, you know whats on my mind firstΒ
π: 0 β©: 0
B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L the plants are lovely aswell!
π: 0 β©: 0
Such beautiful environment :>
Ahh I'm guilty of "just drawing random plants"Β since it's so hard for me to think of real plants that fit in with the environment I'm aiming to draw ><
π: 0 β©: 0
Stunning! I love the pose of the croc, and the attention to detail is amazing!
π: 0 β©: 0
| Next =>