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From that point on, I started posting my drawings on a new IG profile, more focused on my work as an illustrator and that I suggest you follow too www.instagram.com/renatodesenh…

Dinosaurs has always been a passion of mine. But this thread is very important to me not only for that reason. At the end of last year my head asked for rest and care. Everything was starting to weigh and I finally started a treatment with a psychiatrist and psychologist, which I continue to this day.

My idea, as with the drawings of Brazilian folklore, was also to take the opportunity to educate lay people. I am not a scientist and at most amateur paleoartist , but I think that combining art and knowledge is the best thing that an illustrator can do. So I will post the descriptions that I did on IG here too. Any mistake I made please point here, both in the text and in the drawings.

* "Troodon formosus" - Owner of a history of taxonomic uncertainty, the Troodon was a small theropod - measuring no more than 2.4 m in length and 50 kg in weight - that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous (77-75 million years BCE) with fossils assigned to the genus in the Dinosaur Park Formation, in Alberta, Prince Creek Formation, Alaska, and Two Medicine Formation, in Montana, the last two currently referring to the genus Stenonychosaurus, belonging to the same family. Currently, only the Prince Creek specimens are associated with the genus Troodon, which until now is considered a nomen dubius, that is, a scientific name of questionable application.
Troodontids are dinosaurs included among the Coelurosaurs, the theropods closest to modern birds, having characteristics in common with dromeosaurids - the "raptors" - like the large sickle-like claw on the second toe, but being generally more delicate, with long legs, and relatively large eyes, with stereoscopic vision like that of many modern predators. Something that kept troodontids in vogue for a long time in the 20th century was the fact that they had the largest brains in relation to the body size of all dinosaurs, leading to hypotheses linked to a possible greater evolution of the intelligence of these animals if they had not been extinguished - among these ideas is worth mentioning the Dinosauroid, whose story would not fit here. Such a notion of the high intelligence of these animals even seems to have inspired Michael Crichton in his most famous work, Jurassic Park, in 1990, when he created his door-opening and "as intelligent as dolphins or apes" raptors , something far from probable, since their intelligence would be closer to possums and birds like seagulls and emus.

* Spinosaurus aegyptiacus - Measuring between 16 and probably 18 meters in length and weighing up to 9 tons, the Spinosaurus is the largest terrestrial carnivore that has ever walked the Earth, living in the Early Cretaceous (112-93 million years BCE) in the Kem Kem and Bahariya Formations, in North Africa, which before being covered by the Sahara Desert, were watersheds rich in biodiversity.
The first fossils of the genus were described by Ernst Stromer in 1915, which were unfortunately destroyed during the WWII, in a bombing in Munich, where these and other Bahariya fossils were stored.
Beginning in the 1980s, other fossils of this non-avian dinosaur were discovered, changing its appearance with each new discovery, but nothing came close to the findings of 2014, revealing the giant's possible curious nature, with hind legs much shorter than that of other theropods, with spaced fingers, perfect for swimming. This, together with its crocodile-like snout and long body, indicates that the Spinosaurus would have semi-aquatic habits, diving after fish and other riverside faunas such as turtles and small Polycotylidae plesiosaurs - these present in the fossil extract of Kem Kem, in Morocco.
The most striking feature of this creature, the large neural spines on its back, still has an uncertain function, but with everything indicating to be a display structure for partners/rivals or thermoregulation.
Spinosaurids, in addition to Africa, are also present in the fossil extract of Southeast Asia and South America, with Northeast Brazil being home to genera such as the Irritator challengeri and the recently discovered Oxalaia quilombensis, which could be as massive as its African cousin and it may even be a genus synonymous with it, making Spinosaurus another converging paleofauna between Brazil and Africa.

* Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus - Another of the most important discoveries of the last decade, the Kulindadromeus was a small ornithischian about 1.5 m long that lived during the Middle Jurassic (168-166 million years BCE) in the Ukureyskaya Formation, south of Siberia, officially described in 2014. Known for at least one almost complete skeleton and young individuals, the holotypic fossil - the original specimen of which the species was first described - was covered with a layer of volcanic ash, allowing an exceptional level of preservation, including impressions of the animal's skin , revealing that the Kulindadromeus had bare scales covering its legs and tail, but what stands out the most is the extensive feather cover - with structures more similar to hair than flight feathers. Such a structure is known as "dino-fuzz" - on the trunk, neck and head, as well as longer filaments near the base of the tail and on the limbs.
The discovery of Kulindadromeus, together with the Asian ceratopsids Psittacosaurus and Tianyulong, which in turn also have filaments preserved in their fossils, may indicate that these structures would be basal to the entire clade Dinosauria, not just to Coelurosaurs - theropods closest to birds -, or even going even further in the evolutionary tree, considering that the pterosaurs - flying relatives of the dinosaurs - are also covered by filaments called pycnofibers, which appear to be homologous to feathers, bringing such characters as an ancestral evolutionary feature to all Avemetatarsalia - practically all archosaurs except crocodylomorphs and their extinct lineages (Pseudosuchia).

* Raphus cucullatus - World symbol related to extinction, the dodo bird was an avian dinosaur that inhabited the island of Mauritius, in the Mascarenes Archipelago, on the east coast of Africa, being a member of the order Columbiformes, which includes current birds such as pigeons and doves, being the Nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) the closest living relative to the dodo in genetic terms.
Classic case of insular gigantism, the dodo bird probably appeared when migratory pigeons found the environment without predatory mammals and with abundant food at the ground level of the islands, losing their flight capacity and retaining neotenic characteristics - characteristics of chicks that usually disappear as individuals mature. - like the large beaks, perfect for opening fruits and seeds.
In the same archipelago, on the islands of Réunion and Rodrigues, there was another immense pigeon, the Rodrigues solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria), of similar habits to its relative. As is very common in island environments, other birds from other families had become terrestrial on the same islands, such as the Reunion ibis (Threskiornis solitarius) and the broad-billed parrot (Lophopsittacus mauritianus).
Unfortunately, the dodo was extinct a few years after its discovery by Dutch navigators in 1598, due to the destruction of its habitat and the introduction of invasive species such as cats, pigs and dogs. The extinction of the dodo was not even noticed at first sight, since it was considered a mythical creature, despite the fact that at least four specimens were brought to Europe in the 17th century, as well as several illustrations and reports. 1662 is the accepted date for the extinction of this animal, with other animals native to the Mascarenes following the same destiny in the following years until the departure of the Dutch in 1710.

Description
From that point on, I started posting my drawings on a new IG profile, more focused on my work as an illustrator and that I suggest you follow too www.instagram.com/renatodesenh…

Dinosaurs has always been a passion of mine. But this thread is very important to me not only for that reason. At the end of last year my head asked for rest and care. Everything was starting to weigh and I finally started a treatment with a psychiatrist and psychologist, which I continue to this day.

My idea, as with the drawings of Brazilian folklore, was also to take the opportunity to educate lay people. I am not a scientist and at most amateur paleoartist , but I think that combining art and knowledge is the best thing that an illustrator can do. So I will post the descriptions that I did on IG here too. Any mistake I made please point here, both in the text and in the drawings.

* "Troodon formosus" - Owner of a history of taxonomic uncertainty, the Troodon was a small theropod - measuring no more than 2.4 m in length and 50 kg in weight - that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous (77-75 million years BCE) with fossils assigned to the genus in the Dinosaur Park Formation, in Alberta, Prince Creek Formation, Alaska, and Two Medicine Formation, in Montana, the last two currently referring to the genus Stenonychosaurus, belonging to the same family. Currently, only the Prince Creek specimens are associated with the genus Troodon, which until now is considered a nomen dubius, that is, a scientific name of questionable application.
Troodontids are dinosaurs included among the Coelurosaurs, the theropods closest to modern birds, having characteristics in common with dromeosaurids - the "raptors" - like the large sickle-like claw on the second toe, but being generally more delicate, with long legs, and relatively large eyes, with stereoscopic vision like that of many modern predators. Something that kept troodontids in vogue for a long time in the 20th century was the fact that they had the largest brains in relation to the body size of all dinosaurs, leading to hypotheses linked to a possible greater evolution of the intelligence of these animals if they had not been extinguished - among these ideas is worth mentioning the Dinosauroid, whose story would not fit here. Such a notion of the high intelligence of these animals even seems to have inspired Michael Crichton in his most famous work, Jurassic Park, in 1990, when he created his door-opening and "as intelligent as dolphins or apes" raptors , something far from probable, since their intelligence would be closer to possums and birds like seagulls and emus.

* Spinosaurus aegyptiacus - Measuring between 16 and probably 18 meters in length and weighing up to 9 tons, the Spinosaurus is the largest terrestrial carnivore that has ever walked the Earth, living in the Early Cretaceous (112-93 million years BCE) in the Kem Kem and Bahariya Formations, in North Africa, which before being covered by the Sahara Desert, were watersheds rich in biodiversity.
The first fossils of the genus were described by Ernst Stromer in 1915, which were unfortunately destroyed during the WWII, in a bombing in Munich, where these and other Bahariya fossils were stored.
Beginning in the 1980s, other fossils of this non-avian dinosaur were discovered, changing its appearance with each new discovery, but nothing came close to the findings of 2014, revealing the giant's possible curious nature, with hind legs much shorter than that of other theropods, with spaced fingers, perfect for swimming. This, together with its crocodile-like snout and long body, indicates that the Spinosaurus would have semi-aquatic habits, diving after fish and other riverside faunas such as turtles and small Polycotylidae plesiosaurs - these present in the fossil extract of Kem Kem, in Morocco.
The most striking feature of this creature, the large neural spines on its back, still has an uncertain function, but with everything indicating to be a display structure for partners/rivals or thermoregulation.
Spinosaurids, in addition to Africa, are also present in the fossil extract of Southeast Asia and South America, with Northeast Brazil being home to genera such as the Irritator challengeri and the recently discovered Oxalaia quilombensis, which could be as massive as its African cousin and it may even be a genus synonymous with it, making Spinosaurus another converging paleofauna between Brazil and Africa.

* Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus - Another of the most important discoveries of the last decade, the Kulindadromeus was a small ornithischian about 1.5 m long that lived during the Middle Jurassic (168-166 million years BCE) in the Ukureyskaya Formation, south of Siberia, officially described in 2014. Known for at least one almost complete skeleton and young individuals, the holotypic fossil - the original specimen of which the species was first described - was covered with a layer of volcanic ash, allowing an exceptional level of preservation, including impressions of the animal's skin , revealing that the Kulindadromeus had bare scales covering its legs and tail, but what stands out the most is the extensive feather cover - with structures more similar to hair than flight feathers. Such a structure is known as "dino-fuzz" - on the trunk, neck and head, as well as longer filaments near the base of the tail and on the limbs.
The discovery of Kulindadromeus, together with the Asian ceratopsids Psittacosaurus and Tianyulong, which in turn also have filaments preserved in their fossils, may indicate that these structures would be basal to the entire clade Dinosauria, not just to Coelurosaurs - theropods closest to birds -, or even going even further in the evolutionary tree, considering that the pterosaurs - flying relatives of the dinosaurs - are also covered by filaments called pycnofibers, which appear to be homologous to feathers, bringing such characters as an ancestral evolutionary feature to all Avemetatarsalia - practically all archosaurs except crocodylomorphs and their extinct lineages (Pseudosuchia).

* Raphus cucullatus - World symbol related to extinction, the dodo bird was an avian dinosaur that inhabited the island of Mauritius, in the Mascarenes Archipelago, on the east coast of Africa, being a member of the order Columbiformes, which includes current birds such as pigeons and doves, being the Nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) the closest living relative to the dodo in genetic terms.
Classic case of insular gigantism, the dodo bird probably appeared when migratory pigeons found the environment without predatory mammals and with abundant food at the ground level of the islands, losing their flight capacity and retaining neotenic characteristics - characteristics of chicks that usually disappear as individuals mature. - like the large beaks, perfect for opening fruits and seeds.
In the same archipelago, on the islands of Réunion and Rodrigues, there was another immense pigeon, the Rodrigues solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria), of similar habits to its relative. As is very common in island environments, other birds from other families had become terrestrial on the same islands, such as the Reunion ibis (Threskiornis solitarius) and the broad-billed parrot (Lophopsittacus mauritianus).
Unfortunately, the dodo was extinct a few years after its discovery by Dutch navigators in 1598, due to the destruction of its habitat and the introduction of invasive species such as cats, pigs and dogs. The extinction of the dodo was not even noticed at first sight, since it was considered a mythical creature, despite the fact that at least four specimens were brought to Europe in the 17th century, as well as several illustrations and reports. 1662 is the accepted date for the extinction of this animal, with other animals native to the Mascarenes following the same destiny in the following years until the departure of the Dutch in 1710.