Paleoart Tapestries

A death match that took place 74 million years ago! Based on the famous fossilised remains of Protoceratops with the wing of a predatory Velociraptor in its beak and the raptor's claws burried deep into its side. An original illustration by Joseph Fells.

Scientifically accurate stylised spino!

Illustration of an ichthyosaur hunting ammonites. Ichthyosaurs, such as ichthyosaurus, shastasaurus and ophthalmosaurus, were among the earliest marine reptiles, first appearing around 250 million years ago and living throughout most of the Mesozoic era. They coexisted with ammonites, which appeared even earlier, and may have preyed upon them. Both groups died out at or towards the end of the Cretaceous period.

TWD Pride Dinos is proud to introduce the mascot for Asexual Pride - the Asexuaeopteryx! This protobird is showing their true colors, loud and proud! #RoarYourPride with #TWDPrideDinos!

Illustration of Pelycosauria

Are you a fan of horned dinosaurs? Can you not choose your favorite? Now you don’t have to with a nice group shot of 3 phenomenal members of this exquisite prehistoric family.

Anyone who knows me understand how important dinosaurs were for me as a kid. I just drew a few of them being all friendly and polite.

Meganeura lived during the Late Carboniferous period (300MYA) and was the apex aerial predator of it's day, dominating the skies before birds, pterosaurs, or mammals had evolved. Resembling modern day dragonflies but much much bigger, they had a maximum wingspan of roughly 28 inches.

A good Paleozoic creature for prehistoric animal lovers. Opabinia was an ancient arthropod.

Last year a study was published answering some questions about what T.rex’s exterior soft tissue looked like. Traditional reconstructions have shown the Tyrant Lizard with scaly skin, the new study suggests that this is most likely the case based on numerous small examples of what appear to be scale impressions on different places on the body of a fully grown specimen. The research shows evidence of scales on the chest, stomach, neck, tail, and pelvis.

TWD Pride Dinos is proud to introduce the mascot for Asexual Pride - the Asexuaeopteryx! This protobird is showing their true colors, loud and proud! #RoarYourPride with #TWDPrideDinos!

During the Late Triassic period (214 to 204 million years ago), in what would eventually become Heroldsberg, Germany, a group of long-necked giants worked their way across an ancient floodplain; due to their great weight, up to 4.4 tons, they began to sink into the mud, their panicked struggles to free themselves from this predicament only serving to pull them further down until exhaustion eventually set in and they passed away, trapped by their own massive bulk.

A paleoart piece I made of Triceratops Horridus made with accuracy in mind. The colours are of course speculative.

A new final illustration for my prehistoric series which I may now be calling “Ancient Life.” This here is Dilophosaurus wetherilli, the twin-crested lizard made famous by the first Jurassic Park movie. Unlike it’s movie counterpart, the actual animal was not not quire the small fry that relied on a big frilly threat display and venomous spit to take down it’s prey. Dilophosaurus was about 23 feet long and weighed in at about 880 lbs, which wasn’t huge compared to the carnivorous cousins that would come after it, it was still pretty big and had a long skinny frame that was built for speed. It’s most distinctive feature, it’s dual crest, was most likely used for species identification and attracting mates.

Shringasaurus (it’s name coming from the sanskrit word “śṛṅga” for “horn” and greek for “lizard”) was a member of a group called Allokotosaurs, a group of reptiles that were related but not part of the cladistic grouping of Archosaurs, the group that includes crocodiles, dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and modern birds. It has also been called a stem-archosaur as it appears to be part of an earlier lineage that split before the evolution of true archosaurs. It was about 9.8 to 13.1 feet in length and was distinguished by it’s long neck and superaorbital brow horns (similar to those of some ceratopsian dinosaurs. It’s teeth indicate that it was an herbivore, possibly using it’s long neck to reach higher foliage than other competing animals.

Carcharodontosaurus! Realistic design fitting for people who loves dinosaurs. It can also be given as a Birthday or Christmas gift. Design is fitting in time for Dinosaur Day (June 1), and National Fossil Day (October 13)!

Some Hypacrosaurus at dawn! Realistic and Beautiful design fitting for people who loves dinosaurs. It can also be given as a Birthday or Christmas gift. Design is fitting in time for Dinosaur Day (June 1), and National Fossil Day (October 13)!

Coelodonta antiquitatis, otherwise known as the woolly rhinoceros, was a large member of the Rhino family that inhabited Europe and Northern Asia from the Late Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene. Like many Ice Age megafauna, the Woolly Rhino was covered in thick fur and fat reserves, unlike it’s mostly hairless modern day relatives. The average adult rhino weighed in at around 4000-6000lbs and measured somewhere around 9-12 feet in length. Ice Age cave paintings show evidence of interactions with early humans, which is a possible reason for their eventual extinction.

Vintage illustration of dinosaurs by Charles R. Knight, 1897. Living in the late Jurassic period, Brontosaurus depicted in the water and Diplodocus on land. Perfect gift for kids and dinosaur lovers.

Megaloceros giganteus otherwise known as the Irish Elk, one of the largest deer species in the fossil record. Measuring 6.9 feet, with the largest antlers of any deer species, measuring 12 feet in width. Despite it’s name it was not exclusively native to Ireland, nor was it actually an elk. Most of the best and most complete specimens were found in Ireland, with some of the antlers winding up on the walls in medieval castles. Megaloceros lived during the Middle pleistocene to the early holocene 0.781 – 0.008 million years ago.

Named for the enormous neural spines running along it’s back to form what most have theorized to be a large sail or possibly a hump-like structure, Spinosaurus was first uncovered by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1912 while he was in Western Egypt in the Bahariya Formation. The fragmented remains looked to be from a very large and unusual theropod, possibly one bigger than the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex, which had been discovered less than 10 years prior. Unfortunately the museum holding those remains was destroyed in a bombing run during World War II, but detailed drawings of the fragments did survive along with photos of the display.

A species of trilobite from the Upper Ordovician, about 445 million years ago, it was discovered in 1838 by an American geologist and paleontologist named James Hall, in the Beecher’s Trilobite Bed in Rome, New York. These specimens were particularly well preserved with even soft body parts preserved in iron pyrite (fools gold). The fossilisation was so good that scientists were able to study their legs, gills, antennae, digestive system, and even some eggs. As a result of this exquisite preservation, this species is often referenced as the standard for scientific text describing trilobite anatomy. Triarthus was a small animal, on’y about 2 inches in length, but that is pretty average among most species of trilobite.

I don't need bear arms (or any kind of arms) to kick ur ass.

Medium sized carnivore from the Jurassic.

Under a veil of moonlight, a giant pushes its way through the edge of an ancient forest, massive legs plow slowly through deep snow, crashing through the stillness of the night making sure not to tangle the even more massive antlers that adorn its head.

This adorable children's book style cartoon illustration makes a great gift for anyone, young or old, who loves dinos. The happy smiley style makes this Stegosaurus fun for all ages

Zuul was discovered on a dig in the Montana Badlands in 2014, during the excavation of what was thought to be Gorgosaurus, an early relative of Tyrannosaurus rex that stalked North America roughly 76.6 to 75.1 million years ago. While it was initially thought to be a specimen of another ankylosaur called Euplocephalus that had been known to science since 1897 known to live in the same area at the same time, research done at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada would later identify the specimen as belonging to an as yet unknown genus of armored dinosaur. The specimen was given the genus name of Zuul, after the horned monster dog from the classic 1984 film, Ghostbusters, and the species name of crurivastator meaning “Destroyer of Shins.”

A trilobite found in deposits near Saint Petersburg Russia. It first appeared on the fossil record about 500 million years ago, and died out around 390 million years ago, it was discovered around 1845. Sadly there isn’t as much specific info on this one, but there are more than 20,000 currently identified Trilobite species, and not all of them has as much info as others.

Dunkleosteus was a 19.7 foot super-predator that used a lethal combination of suction and a wicked bite to cut through everything unlucky enough to cross it’s path, armor or no. Like many fish living today, D.terrelli most likely would swim close to unsuspecting prey and suck water into it’s mouth along with it’s victim. Instead of teeth, Dunkleosteus possessed a set of bony plates that were an extension of it’s own dermal armor. These places were self sharpening and would shear through most other armored fish with little trouble and was aided by a four-bar linkage mechanism that allowed it to open and close it’s jaws on the top and bottom at incredibly high speeds.

A reconstruction of everyone’s favorite Six Foot Turkey, Velociraptor, in the style of the harvest season.

In 1598 Dutch sailors landed on the shores of Maritius looking for supplies during an expedition to Indonesia, while on the island they encountered a large, odd looking, flightless bird. According to the surviving translations of that first account the birds were somewhat tasteless, leading to their discoverers initially calling them Walghvogel (Dutch for “tastelss” or “sickly” “bird”). The origin of the name Dodo is somewhat nebulous, but it’s possible that it may have it’s routes in the word Dodaars, meaning “fat-arse” or “knot-arse.”

While being a member of the overall group that dinosaurs like Ankylosaurus was a part of, Sauropelta edwardsorum was a member of a different branch known as Nodosaurs. Unlike Ankylosaurs, Nodosaurs did not possess tail weapons, though they often displayed large shoulder spikes and still possesses a body covered in armor. Sauropelta could grow up to 17 feet in length and weighed around 2.2 tons, they lived during the Early Cretaceous period, around 108 million years ago.

This depiction of a Pterodactylus is based on an 1800s illustration from the book "La Terre Avant le Deluge" illustrated by Edouard Riou. I've recreated his original illustration in my own digital block print style, simplifying it to just the swooping Pterodactyl and its soon to be snack dragonfly.

A rogues gallery of some of the greatest predators to have dwelt in our planet's oceans. Seeing how big and toothy life used to be makes one grateful that these creatures are not alive today... though there are those who would claim these monsters still lurk in our seas; it is not like anyone who encountered them would live to tell the tale after all...

dino hatching

Possibly one of the most recognizable dinosaurs, Stegosaurus was named in 1877 by Othniel Charles Marsh during the “Bone Wars,” becoming the flagship genus of the entire Stegosaur group. The name Stegosaurus means “roofed” or “covered lizard,” as Marsh initially thought the back plates formed a roof-like shell over the animal’s back. There are 3 species currently described: S. ungulatus, S. sulcatus, and S. stenops (stenops being the longest species yet discovered at 29.5 feet).