New paper: The past, present and future of Megalosaurus bucklandii in paleoart. I review the #paleoart history of this oft-depicted #dinosaur, consider its fluctuating status as a subject of artistic interest, and review what we know of its anatomy. #sciart meridian.allenpress.com/esh/article-... - ThreadSky

markwitton.bsky.social • 5 days ago

New paper: The past, present and future of Megalosaurus bucklandii in paleoart. I review the #paleoart history of this oft-depicted #dinosaur, consider its fluctuating status as a subject of artistic interest, and review what we know of its anatomy. #sciart
https://meridian.allenpress.com/esh/article-abstract/44/1/202/506696/THE-PAST-PRESENT-AND-FUTURE-OF-MEGALOSAURUS

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franxurio.bsky.social•5 days ago

Wow, who did the top one in the first picture? It's incredible

markwitton.bsky.social•5 days ago

This one? It's John Martin's Country of the Iguanodon, from 1837.

ennuiinmotion.bsky.social•4 days ago

I love old paleoart. Inaccurate, sure, but I love the otherworldliness and eeriness of it.

markwitton.bsky.social•5 days ago

This is a big paper full of both familiar and obscure Megalosaurus paleoart, and I hope it's of interest to folks curious about dinosaur art and palaeo pop culture. Megalosaurus has the longest reconstruction history of any dinosaur, and ideas of its appearance have changed remarkably in that time.

markwitton.bsky.social•5 days ago

For palaeoartists, the most useful part of the paper is the final section: what do we know about Megalosaurus anatomy? My answer is "not as much as we'd like, but more than some realise". Megalosaurs seem to have been long-bodied, stout-limbed theropods, and this was probably true for Meg., too.

markwitton.bsky.social•5 days ago

Megalosaurus had a long face, probably terminating in sheer, blunted jaw tips. They almost certainly didn't have Allosaurus-like horns, as no megalosaurs have these. But their nasals remain elusive, and lots of early theropods have nasal crests: this may have been true of Meg. as well.

markwitton.bsky.social•5 days ago

This paper is part of a special issue of the journal Earth Science History devoted to the seminal 1824 Geol Soc meeting on Plesiosaurus and Megalosaurus. Lots of interesting papers await science/palaeo history buffs! https://meridian.allenpress.com/esh/issue/44/1

markwitton.bsky.social•5 days ago

Big thanks to Duncan Hawley and @dremmanicholls.bsky.social for inviting me to the party, and to John Diemer for his editorial duties. Also, shout out to @bobnichollsart.bsky.social for contributing photos of his Scarborough Megalosaurus exhibition - the biggest Meg. display since Crystal Palace!

domenicpennetta.bsky.social•4 days ago

This is an awesome diagram! It’s crazy to visually see just how far paleoartists have come reconstructing prehistoric fauna over the centuries.

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