Mark Witton
@markwitton.bsky.social
Palaeoartist, palaeontologist, author, documentary consultant and creature designer. Affiliated with the University of Portsmouth, UK; views and opinions are my own. More about me at markwitton.co.uk. Support my work at www.patreon.com/markwitton
Just submitted a review of the Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Plants. Short version: a book heavy on plant reconstructions is a great idea (and potential #paleoart reference), but it's let down by formatting issues and problematic plant recons. Thanks to @palaeojules.bsky.social for discussion.
I've recently posted new #paleoart and essays at #Patreon: a coloured version of my b+w Styracosaurus (shown here), a #specevo #pterosaur, and observations on whether the jaw fossils of Baryonyx suggest spinosaurids had lips. Check this out at www.patreon.com/markwitton.
I've spent far too long agonising over this.
@hannahcole04.bsky.social · 2w agoDo humans and birds share an eye for design? 🐦🎨 For my Master's diss, I’m testing if we share aesthetic tastes with bowerbirds. I need 100 responses to finish! Visual, anonymous & under 5 mins. Link: exe.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_... 🧪 cc: @scienseed.com #AcademicSky #SciComm
Seeking feedback on this image of Neanderthals chatting. Any comments or feedback on their appearance or expressions, positive or negative?
Am happy to say that #SVPCA 2026 >is< happening: a one-day event, 10th September, at the Uni. of Southampton. Registration opens very soon so, if you're on the SVPCA mailing list or FB group, expect details imminently. I'll post links etc. here too. For now, here's the shiny new conference logo...
By criminy, it looks like I've got another book to proofread.
Protoceratops hellenikorhinus sits on a dune on another warm #FossilFriday, wondering when the heat will end. At least it looks cool with those snazzy low horns. #Paleoart from 2016 (one of my better pieces from that period, I think).
Heading back early* from the big shindig to celebrate the restoration of Crystal Palace Park and the @cpdinosaurs.bsky.social. I'm proud to have played a part in a huge effort to repair and restore the Dinosaurs... *Stupid trains.
I turn a lot of my #paleoart paintings into silhouettes for book graphics and diagrams. I think they look pretty neat. If you can correctly identify all of these, award yourself an extra big slice of cake after dinner.
#Paleoart for #FossilFriday from 2021: elasmosaurid Albertonectes vanderveldei explores the deep, dark, cool waters of Cretaceous Canada. (Psst: if you also like murky pictures of extinct animals where you can't see anything, all my art is available as prints: www.markwitton.co.uk)
To celebrate the announcement of my #specevo #dinosaur book this #FossilFriday, here's my giant Olymposaurus, a modern-day abelisaur. The proportions were predicted using real abelisaur scaling regimes: that short, upturned face, enormous thigh etc. are expected features of a 13 m abelisaur. #sciart
Major announcement posted at #Patreon yesterday: I'm producing a big #specevo #dinosaur book devoted to a "no K/Pg impact" scenario over the next 18 months. I'll be sharing updates on the project at Patreon throughout development, so sign up if you want previews! www.patreon.com/markwitton #sciart
Today's lunch spot is a slight upgrade from eating at my desk. (Watching c. 20,000 guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, gulls etc. at RSPB South Stack with @gizz47.bsky.social.)
A glance into the garden revealed some awesome natural history unfolding mere metres away.
If you know what this is, you'll be just as excited about it as I am.
Major new paper for #paleoart by Terras et al. on extra-oral tissues (lips, cheeks etc.) in Triassic archosauromorphs. They conclude what a lot of us have been saying for a while now: lipped mouths should be the starting point for restoring fossil reptiles. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Inferred presence of extraoral tissues in Triassic archosauromorphs and the evolutionary implications for the clade Sauropsida
Recent work has suggested that the presence of extraoral soft tissues (‘lips’), in the form of labial scales in theropod dinosaurs, could be inferred based on: anteroposteriorly distributed foramina ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Went to the unveiling of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History's new palaeo exhibits this evening with @gizz47.bsky.social. Excellent new displays of British dinosaur material, well worth checking out even if you've visited umpteen times before.
Book 8 contract SIGNED. Am pretty excited for this one! I'll be sharing teasers and previews while I write and illustrate it over the next 18 months (especially at Patreon: www.patreon.com/markwitton). That's all for no - hey, what's this weirdly-proportioned sauropod doing here?
Added some older #Spinosaurus images to my print store, having forgotten to upload them earlier. These are Paralititan stomping towards Spino, and a Spinosaurus lek where they're showing off their sails and tails. Available to buy here: www.markwitton.co.uk/category/all... #FossilFriday #paleoart
Sad to see that "The End of Oak Street" looks to have read deeply from the Big Book of Dinosaur Movie Cliches. I'm glad to see a non-JP dinosaur film coming out but can we get some different dinosaur encounters, please? Not everything has to be about violent theropods. youtu.be/3oB9AxspVow?...
The End of Oak Street | Official Trailer
YouTube video by Warner Bros.
youtu.be
Was amazed to find a Harris hawk visiting the garden this morning, presumably a lost pet. It hung around for 20 minutes or so, making low-energy efforts at the neighbour's quail pen. No interest in our chickens.
New at #Patreon: Stop press (literally, in my case)! Fossils suggest that the tapjearid Sinopterus had blue-green/magenta iridescence? Huge implications for #pterosaur #paleoart and just one of a suite of new papers reinventing tapejarid pterosaurs. Discussion at www.patreon.com/posts/159645...
Top #paleoart tip: 3D prints help enormously with understanding the shape of fossils even if only printed at moderate size and roughly finished. If you recognise everything in this photo, award yourself an extra scoop of pudding this evening.
Top #paleoart tip: 3D prints help enormously with understanding the shape of fossils even if only printed at moderate size and roughly finished. If you recognise everything in this photo, award yourself an extra scoop of pudding this evening.
New #paleoart of the Welsh theropod Dracoraptor hanigani, restored with appropriately neotheropodan features. UK marine sediments have a glut of small Jurassic theropods, with Dracoraptor one of the best-known. #sciart Like this image? You can own a copy! www.markwitton.co.uk/product-page...
Hark! You can now buy gift vouchers for my print store! The perfect gift for #paleoart or #dinosaur fans to celebrate birthdays, religious holidays, or a #FossilFriday? Check them out at: www.markwitton.co.uk/gift-voucher And the print store itself: www.markwitton.co.uk/category/all...
Another election, another sense of feeling totally out of step with the rest of the country. We've seen time and again what happens when we hand power to the far right, and what happens when we vote in parties offering nothing but populist policies, but none of that seems to matter.
