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Works from last week's paleostream. It was very interesting to work on the animals that were present this time, and I again got a portion of priceless experience.
The first was Effigia okeeffeae from the late Triassic of New Mexico. It belongs to the Shuvosauridae family, which was originally thought to be early ornithomimosaurs. But despite the appearance, shuvosaurids were not dinosaurs at all. Instead, they belonged to the crocodilian branch of archosaurs, thus proving a remarkable plasticity in the morphology of these animals. Shuvosaurids, like their dinosaur counterparts, had no teeth and ate mostly plants. Effigia lived at the same time as true dinosaurs. Its name reflects the fact that it remained undescribed for decades until 2006. I decided to portray the parent with brood, because I have never seen images of shuvosaurids with offspring.
The next one is a true dinosaur. This is Dryosaurus elderae from the late Jurassic of Utah. Dryosaurus is considered a relatively small (up to 4.3 m) ornithopod, but since no adult specimens have yet been found, the maximum length of the animal is unknown. It was a plant-eating dinosaur with a gracile build and a small head. The type species, D. altus, was described from Wyoming by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878 as the species Laosaurus. Later, specimens of Dryosaurus were discovered at the National dinosaur monument in Utah. In 2018, they were described as a separate species, D. elderae, pictured here. To make the image interesting, I decided to add speculative filaments at the base of the neck.
Dryosaurus is followed by Edestus giganteus, a representative of the extinct group of cartilaginous fish - eugeneodonts. They existed throughout the late Paleozoic. Their closest modern relatives are the chimeras. Edestus is one of many genera of these strange fish. All its species are known only from the maxillary symphysis with teeth. According to known materials, the upper and lower jaws of these creatures curved outward in an arc. They each had a single row of serrated teeth. Research has shown that these fish could hunt by applying cutting bites. Edestus giganteus from the late Carboniferous of Oklahoma is the largest species of the genus. It could reach 6 meters in length. Here I have depicted it together with goniatites similar to the genus Gastrioceras, cephalopods common for the late Paleozoic. I want to thank my friend Maxim Gaponov (he's not here) for his valuable help in the drawing process.
And the last of these four is the giant lemur Megaladapis madagascariensis from the Pleistocene-Holocene of Madagascar. Representatives of this genus were much more massive than modern lemurs. Their size did not allow them to jump from branch to branch, instead they simply climbed like koalas. Hence the informal name "koala lemur", which is attached to these animals. Judging by the wear of the molars, Megaladapis ate mainly leaves, diluting them with a small amount of fruit. These amazing primates became extinct in the Holocene. A prolonged drought may have been cause partly, but judging by the bones with tool marks, humans also have had a hand in its extinction. This animal turned out to be quite difficult from the perspective of the head, the texture of the coat was also complicated, but the result was not bad.
Blue ballpoint pens, 2020.

Description

Works from last week's paleostream. It was very interesting to work on the animals that were present this time, and I again got a portion of priceless experience.
The first was Effigia okeeffeae from the late Triassic of New Mexico. It belongs to the Shuvosauridae family, which was originally thought to be early ornithomimosaurs. But despite the appearance, shuvosaurids were not dinosaurs at all. Instead, they belonged to the crocodilian branch of archosaurs, thus proving a remarkable plasticity in the morphology of these animals. Shuvosaurids, like their dinosaur counterparts, had no teeth and ate mostly plants. Effigia lived at the same time as true dinosaurs. Its name reflects the fact that it remained undescribed for decades until 2006. I decided to portray the parent with brood, because I have never seen images of shuvosaurids with offspring.
The next one is a true dinosaur. This is Dryosaurus elderae from the late Jurassic of Utah. Dryosaurus is considered a relatively small (up to 4.3 m) ornithopod, but since no adult specimens have yet been found, the maximum length of the animal is unknown. It was a plant-eating dinosaur with a gracile build and a small head. The type species, D. altus, was described from Wyoming by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878 as the species Laosaurus. Later, specimens of Dryosaurus were discovered at the National dinosaur monument in Utah. In 2018, they were described as a separate species, D. elderae, pictured here. To make the image interesting, I decided to add speculative filaments at the base of the neck.
Dryosaurus is followed by Edestus giganteus, a representative of the extinct group of cartilaginous fish - eugeneodonts. They existed throughout the late Paleozoic. Their closest modern relatives are the chimeras. Edestus is one of many genera of these strange fish. All its species are known only from the maxillary symphysis with teeth. According to known materials, the upper and lower jaws of these creatures curved outward in an arc. They each had a single row of serrated teeth. Research has shown that these fish could hunt by applying cutting bites. Edestus giganteus from the late Carboniferous of Oklahoma is the largest species of the genus. It could reach 6 meters in length. Here I have depicted it together with goniatites similar to the genus Gastrioceras, cephalopods common for the late Paleozoic. I want to thank my friend Maxim Gaponov (he's not here) for his valuable help in the drawing process.
And the last of these four is the giant lemur Megaladapis madagascariensis from the Pleistocene-Holocene of Madagascar. Representatives of this genus were much more massive than modern lemurs. Their size did not allow them to jump from branch to branch, instead they simply climbed like koalas. Hence the informal name "koala lemur", which is attached to these animals. Judging by the wear of the molars, Megaladapis ate mainly leaves, diluting them with a small amount of fruit. These amazing primates became extinct in the Holocene. A prolonged drought may have been cause partly, but judging by the bones with tool marks, humans also have had a hand in its extinction. This animal turned out to be quite difficult from the perspective of the head, the texture of the coat was also complicated, but the result was not bad.
Blue ballpoint pens, 2020.