HOME | DD

Description
second instalment of paleofauna brougth to you by MCK's random animal generator . self-explanatory let's continue.

[DISCLAIMER: THESE ARE NOT MEANT TO BE 100% ACURATED. THEY WERE DRAWN FOR FUN, NOT FOR SCIENCE ARTICLES]

-petrolacosaurus
a little lizard from the late Carboniferous period of kansas, and one of the earliest diapsid reptiles out there (the group that would lead to not just lizards and snakes but also dinosaurs and a whole manor of other weird reptiles). they're believed to have been insectivores, which probably wasn't exactly a choice for them as this was the era of massive insects. i drew it a bit like a brown anole, complete with a little dewlap. i don't know if they had a dewlap, but i gave it one anyways.

-percrocuta
percrocuta was the type genus for Percrocutidae, a sister group to modern hyenas (though back then it was believed they actually were hyenas). its basically just a hyena for the most part, so i gave it some similar colors to a spotted hyena.

-platypterygius
of all terrestrial animals to return to the ocean and become fish again, no animal seems to have truly gotten as close to being a fish as ichthyosaurs themselves; i mean look at this guy! the only thing this guy needs is the ability to breathe the dissolved oxygen in the water and he'll be a fish!
but anyways, while platypterygius wasn't quite remarkable in terms of ichthyosaurs, apart from some evidence that they were macropredators that hunted larger prey. also, fun fact: ichthyosaurs have evidence of being able to birth live young. i based the colors off of the commerson dolphin.

-eutatus
an admitantly obscure species of armadillo, there's not much info on this guy apart from the fact that it's believed to be an herbivore that ate mainly grass. colors are based off of other armadillo species.

-concavenator
our first dinosaur on this list, concavenator was a smaller species of Carcharodontosaur from early cretaceous Spain. it's most well-known feature is the distinct triangular crest/hump on it's rear, and nobody quite knows what it's use was. it's fossils look like it had quill-knobs on their arms, suggesting that there were...well...quills..on their arms.
anyways, this guys isn't based on anything particular; i just kinda gave him a generic brownish color with some brighter colors on this crest, back and arms.

-estemmenosuchus
contrary to it's name translating as "crowned crocodile" in greek, it's not a crocodilian but in fact a synapsid; a therapsid synapsid that live during the mid permian. they are most known for their moose-like horns, with the one i drew (E.mirabilis) having the largest of them. so, of course, i gave it moose-like colors.

-simosthenurus
a species of short-faced kangaroos (Sthenurinae) from late pleistocene tasmania. beyond the short faces, short-faced kangaroos also were, weirdly enough, now believed to also be capable of walking like us humans instead of hopping. i think i loosely based the colors off of the red kangaroo and maybe some kind of wallaby.

-dinocrocuta
sharing the same family as percrocuta, dinocrocuta is a eurasian/african member of the family, and the largest member of the family (especially D. gigantea). it's actual size seems to vary depending on reconstruction, but from what i could gather it stood at least 4ft at the shoulders. i loosely based it off of the spotted hyena, but also gave it some extra colors to make it stand out.

-tyrannoneustes
a species of crocodilian. yes, this is actually a crocodile, not a mosasaur. specifically, the come from the suborder of Thalattosuchia, also known as the "sea crocodiles" or "Marine crocodiles". the tyrannonneustes itself is believed to go after larger prey, but apart from that it seems to be just a regular species of marine crocodile. colors are more or less artist choice.

-eotitanops
one of the earliest genus of brontotheres, which were rhino-like perissodactyls that would dominated the eocene era. eotitanops was an otherwise standard leaf-eating small herbivore of it's time, and i loosely based it off a reconstruction i saw of it.

-jaekelopterus
a species of eurypterid from the early devonian, and one of the largest species of eurypterid, too. eurypterids are also known as "sea scorpions", though not actually related to the arachnids. this guy i more or less gave up and made him albino. this drawing does do justice on how creepy they are.

-amtocephale
a genus of pachycephalosaur, and believed to be one of the earliest members of the family itself due to how far back the fossil has been dated. colors here are loosely based off of deer, and just for fun i gave it some feathers on it's back.

-tapejara wellnhoferi
the type genus of Tapejaridae, tapejara was a pterosaur from early cretaceous brazil. like most tapajarids, they're best known for their short beaks and large crests like seen here (T.wellnhoferi was chosen specifically because of the crest), and i swear to got they gotta be the most derpiest pterosaur out there. the colors are loosely based on the the Himalayan flameback (a kind of woodpecker).

-patagonykus
a species of alvarezsauroid theropod from upper creteceous argentina. considering it's currently seen as a basal alvarezsaur, i would put it past me that this guy ate small animals and insects. this guy is supposed to be based off of some species of tinamous, but i cant recall which species it was.

-ichthyornis
a species of late cretaceous bird of unknown taxon (as of making this post). however, what IS known i that this toothed bird was definetly a sea-faring type, if not a beachcomber, due to it's morphology. i decided for this one i would base it off of seagull fledglings; giving them a more gray spotty coat.
-ischyromys
a genus of rodents from the early Eocene to the early Oligocene. not much is given in the way of information, apart from it being among the earliest of rodents and being closer to squirrels. i based this guy off of the grizzled giant squirrel, and gave it a bushy tail as well.

just one more to go.

Description
second instalment of paleofauna brougth to you by MCK's random animal generator . self-explanatory let's continue.

[DISCLAIMER: THESE ARE NOT MEANT TO BE 100% ACURATED. THEY WERE DRAWN FOR FUN, NOT FOR SCIENCE ARTICLES]

-petrolacosaurus
a little lizard from the late Carboniferous period of kansas, and one of the earliest diapsid reptiles out there (the group that would lead to not just lizards and snakes but also dinosaurs and a whole manor of other weird reptiles). they're believed to have been insectivores, which probably wasn't exactly a choice for them as this was the era of massive insects. i drew it a bit like a brown anole, complete with a little dewlap. i don't know if they had a dewlap, but i gave it one anyways.

-percrocuta
percrocuta was the type genus for Percrocutidae, a sister group to modern hyenas (though back then it was believed they actually were hyenas). its basically just a hyena for the most part, so i gave it some similar colors to a spotted hyena.

-platypterygius
of all terrestrial animals to return to the ocean and become fish again, no animal seems to have truly gotten as close to being a fish as ichthyosaurs themselves; i mean look at this guy! the only thing this guy needs is the ability to breathe the dissolved oxygen in the water and he'll be a fish!
but anyways, while platypterygius wasn't quite remarkable in terms of ichthyosaurs, apart from some evidence that they were macropredators that hunted larger prey. also, fun fact: ichthyosaurs have evidence of being able to birth live young. i based the colors off of the commerson dolphin.

-eutatus
an admitantly obscure species of armadillo, there's not much info on this guy apart from the fact that it's believed to be an herbivore that ate mainly grass. colors are based off of other armadillo species.

-concavenator
our first dinosaur on this list, concavenator was a smaller species of Carcharodontosaur from early cretaceous Spain. it's most well-known feature is the distinct triangular crest/hump on it's rear, and nobody quite knows what it's use was. it's fossils look like it had quill-knobs on their arms, suggesting that there were...well...quills..on their arms.
anyways, this guys isn't based on anything particular; i just kinda gave him a generic brownish color with some brighter colors on this crest, back and arms.

-estemmenosuchus
contrary to it's name translating as "crowned crocodile" in greek, it's not a crocodilian but in fact a synapsid; a therapsid synapsid that live during the mid permian. they are most known for their moose-like horns, with the one i drew (E.mirabilis) having the largest of them. so, of course, i gave it moose-like colors.

-simosthenurus
a species of short-faced kangaroos (Sthenurinae) from late pleistocene tasmania. beyond the short faces, short-faced kangaroos also were, weirdly enough, now believed to also be capable of walking like us humans instead of hopping. i think i loosely based the colors off of the red kangaroo and maybe some kind of wallaby.

-dinocrocuta
sharing the same family as percrocuta, dinocrocuta is a eurasian/african member of the family, and the largest member of the family (especially D. gigantea). it's actual size seems to vary depending on reconstruction, but from what i could gather it stood at least 4ft at the shoulders. i loosely based it off of the spotted hyena, but also gave it some extra colors to make it stand out.

-tyrannoneustes
a species of crocodilian. yes, this is actually a crocodile, not a mosasaur. specifically, the come from the suborder of Thalattosuchia, also known as the "sea crocodiles" or "Marine crocodiles". the tyrannonneustes itself is believed to go after larger prey, but apart from that it seems to be just a regular species of marine crocodile. colors are more or less artist choice.

-eotitanops
one of the earliest genus of brontotheres, which were rhino-like perissodactyls that would dominated the eocene era. eotitanops was an otherwise standard leaf-eating small herbivore of it's time, and i loosely based it off a reconstruction i saw of it.

-jaekelopterus
a species of eurypterid from the early devonian, and one of the largest species of eurypterid, too. eurypterids are also known as "sea scorpions", though not actually related to the arachnids. this guy i more or less gave up and made him albino. this drawing does do justice on how creepy they are.

-amtocephale
a genus of pachycephalosaur, and believed to be one of the earliest members of the family itself due to how far back the fossil has been dated. colors here are loosely based off of deer, and just for fun i gave it some feathers on it's back.

-tapejara wellnhoferi
the type genus of Tapejaridae, tapejara was a pterosaur from early cretaceous brazil. like most tapajarids, they're best known for their short beaks and large crests like seen here (T.wellnhoferi was chosen specifically because of the crest), and i swear to got they gotta be the most derpiest pterosaur out there. the colors are loosely based on the the Himalayan flameback (a kind of woodpecker).

-patagonykus
a species of alvarezsauroid theropod from upper creteceous argentina. considering it's currently seen as a basal alvarezsaur, i would put it past me that this guy ate small animals and insects. this guy is supposed to be based off of some species of tinamous, but i cant recall which species it was.

-ichthyornis
a species of late cretaceous bird of unknown taxon (as of making this post). however, what IS known i that this toothed bird was definetly a sea-faring type, if not a beachcomber, due to it's morphology. i decided for this one i would base it off of seagull fledglings; giving them a more gray spotty coat.
-ischyromys
a genus of rodents from the early Eocene to the early Oligocene. not much is given in the way of information, apart from it being among the earliest of rodents and being closer to squirrels. i based this guy off of the grizzled giant squirrel, and gave it a bushy tail as well.

just one more to go.