Paleoart Tapestries

Discovered in 1903 by paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in the Colorado River Valley, Brachiosaurus (it’s name meaning “Arm Lizard” because of it’s proportionately longer front limbs) roamed what would become North America during the Late Jurassic about 154 to 153 million years ago. With a length in the upper estimates of 69 feet and a possible 64 tons in weight it was a large animal, though it was not by far the largest the clade of sauropods would get.

Fish leaving water I'm outta here

A cozy little Anurognathus companion for your day to day ventures!

A cozy little Thalassodromeus companion for your day to day ventures!

Sometimes I just butt heads with people - it's in my nature!!

Around 66 million years ago, in Late Cretaceous South Dakota, an odd bird-like creature darted it’s way through the thick overgrowth of a humid, swampy, coastal plain near the coast of an inland sea that only only exists now in the form of trace elements of chemical signatures, rock strata, and the fossil remains of the animals that lived and died on its shores and below its waves.

I present Amargasaurus cazaui, (meaning “La Amarga lizard”) a sauropod that roamed in what is now Argentina during the Early Cretaceous period, about 129.4 to 122.46 million years ago. Though it was not the larges sauropod in environment, or it’s genera within the overall family (Dicraeosauridae), it was definitely one of the weirdest dinosaurs ever discovered. Amargasaurus distinguished itself from other Sauropods by sporting 2 rows of bony spines that ran along it’s neck, scientists have speculated as to the purpose of this adaptation by proposing everything from them supporting body heat regulating sails, being percussive instruments, a means of defense, and a way to attract mates and recognize their species.

Struthiomimus, one of the ostrich-like dinosaurs from the Cretaceous period.

... as they viciously attack insects and intimidate small children Ah, the chicken, the tyrannosaurus rex's closest living relative. If only they knew what they'd become.

The sickest Tiktaalik you ever saw B)

A T Rex

Carnotaurus, the horned predatory dinosaur from Late Cretaceous Argentina.

It's drip or drown, and brother I'm a basal eotyrannosaurian theropod from the Late Cretaceous (only the real ones understand)

Triceratops horridus was a Late Cretaceous (68 – 66 million years ago) herbivore, the first of the horned ceratopsian dinosaurs to be discovered. It’s remains were originally found by Othniel Charles Marsh, in the spring of 1887. though he thought that the fossil cores that fit the animal’s brow belonged to a species of extinct Pliocene Bison. It wasn’t until 1889 that he realized his error and named the species Triceratops, meaning “Three Horned Face.” A fully grown Triceratops measured around 30 feet in length, weighing in at roughly 5.5 tons, It’s head made up around 5 feet of it’s total length with 3 feet of horns attached above each eye.

Final for Carnotaurus sastrei. A farely large predatory dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (72 – 69.9 million years ago), it is mostly defined by it’s short bulldog like skull sporting 2 large horns mounted on it’s brow just above the eyes. The bull-like placement of the horns were not lost on the scientist who discovered it, José Bonaparte, deriving it’s name from the Latin words meaning “meat-eating bull.”

Megalosaurus lived 166 million years ago during the Middle Jurassic period, its remains were first described by science in 1699 but it were misattributed as being those of a fish, it would later become the first animal to be placed under the group, Dinosauria. It was about 30 feet in length and weighed between 2,200 and 6,600 lbs.

Yi qi (pronounced yee chee, and meaning essentially “Strange Wing”). This pint-sized dinosaur was only about 380 grams in weight and was about the size of your average pigeon. Of course you would definitely notice a pigeon with wings like this little fella had. What makes Yi so interesting is what those wings were made of. Most dinosaurian wings were made of feathers just like you see today, Yi qi had wings that were made of leather-like skin membranes spread between it’s second and third fingers, with an extra bony strut protruding from the back of it’s wrist. While this configuration looks like that of a bat, the animals are not related except in the most distant way possible.

an archaeopteryx is also an urvogel! theyre pretty cool bird dinosaurs

During the 1971 Polish-Mongolian paleontological expedition to Mongolia's Gobi desert, an articulated Velociraptor mongoliensis skeleton was found with hands and feet grasping a Protoceratops andrewsi. The two fighting dinosaurs were killed immediately, possibly in a dune collapse, as the Protoceratops bit down on the arm of its assailant.

Roughly 153 to 148 million years ago a vicious predator stalked the sun bleached grasslands and loosely populated conifer forests of Late Jurassic Colorado. As a mid-sized predator, measuring in at around 23 feet in length, with a weight estimated between 1500 and 2100 pounds, it would have been formidable hunter, most likely preying on whatever herbivorous fauna that it could sink its teeth into.

big ol weenie carnotaurus like a t rex! but not a t rex.

A red carnotaurus

Eodromaeus was a basal theropod that lived during the Late Triassic period (231.4 to 299 million years ago). It was discovered in 1996 in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina.

The best dino podcast on the interwebs!

A blue amargasaurus

Velociraptor is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago

Late in the Devonian, some 382 to 358 million years ago, around the same time when the first vertebrates were crawling their way onto land, a massive predator called the ocean it’s home. The size of a modern day Orca, Dunkleosteus was a fish unlike any alive today. It belonged to a group of fish called placoderms, all of which possessed heavily armored bodies, to combat this Dunkleosteus had a brutal adaptation, instead of teeth, the plate like parts of it’s armored skull extended down into cleaver like blades that self-sharpened every time it shut it’s mouth.

My favorite animal is Velociraptor!

Styracosaurus is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period

A smaller member of the ceratopsian family (Triceratops, etc) from the Early Cretaceous period.

Einiosaurus

Diadectes was a Permian stem-amniote... possibly an early amniote with little affiliation with mammals, amphibians or reptiles, but related to all. Some species were large. This herbivorous land-tetrapod was a prey item for Dimetrodon.

Traditional pencil head-shot of a velociraptor mongoliensis. Enjoy!

Baryonyx walkeri

Dilophosaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaurs that lived in what is now North America during the Early Jurassic.

Big claws. You know what that means.