Paleontology and science illustration, and feathering ALL the dinosaurs
The first known stegosaur fossils were found in England and South Africa between the 1840s and 1870s, but these dinosaurs weren’t properly recognized as a highly distinctive group until the discovery of Stegosaurus itself in North America during the late 1870s. 1880s The first Stegosaurus reconstructions were based on fragmentary and disarticulated fossil material, and … Continue reading “Retro vs Modern #13: Stegosaurus stenops”
Hadrosaurs were first discovered during the 1850s in North America, with the eponymous Hadrosaurus being both one of the most complete dinosaurs known at the time and also the first dinosaur skeleton to ever be mounted and displayed. Like many other dinosaurs of the time hadrosaurs were initially reconstructed as bipedal with an upright kangaroo-like … Continue reading “Retro vs Modern #12: Edmontosaurus annectens”
Discovered in the Western United States during the 1870s, in the early years of the Bone Wars, Brontosaurus excelsus was one of the most complete sauropod dinosaurs known at the time. 1900s-1970s In the early 1900s the genus name Brontosaurus was declared invalid and it was reclassified as a species of the very-closely-related Apatosaurus, renaming … Continue reading “Retro vs Modern #11: Brontosaurus excelsus”
First discovered in southeast Germany in the 1930s, Plateosaurus was only the fifth non-avian dinosaur known to science – but its fossils were fragmentary and poorly understood until the early 20th century, when large bonebeds full of much better specimens began to be excavated. 1910s-1970s Between the 1910s and 1930s around 80 near-complete skeletons of … Continue reading “Retro vs Modern #10: Plateosaurus trossingensis”
If just one single species had to represent how our reconstructions of prehistoric animals can drastically change, it would have to be Hallucigenia sparsa. 1970s First discovered in the 1910s in the Canadian Burgess Shale fossil deposits, specimens of Hallucigenia were initially categorized as being a species of the early polychaete worm Canadia. It wasn’t … Continue reading “Retro vs Modern #09: Hallucigenia sparsa”
First discovered in Western Australia in the mid-1880s, the bizarre-toothed eugeneodont cartilaginous fish Helicoprion davisii was initially mistaken for a species of the equally weird Edestus. It was eventually recognized as part of a separate genus over a decade later, when similar fossils of its close relative Helicoprion bessonowi were found in the Ural Mountains. … Continue reading “Retro vs Modern #08: Helicoprion davisii”
The first scientifically documented mosasaur fossils were skulls discovered in the Netherlands during the 1760s and 1770s, but these remains were initially interpreted as belonging to a fish, crocodile, or whale. In the late 1790s their resemblance to monitor lizards was noted, and the fossils were soon recognized as belonging to giant marine reptiles unlike … Continue reading “Retro vs Modern #07: Mosasaurus hoffmannii”
Plesiosaurs were first recognized as a distinct group of fossil animals in the early 1820s, only a few years after ichthyosaurs. Initially they were perceived as being closer in form to reptiles in the “chain of being” than the more fish-like ichthyosaurs were, and so the group’s scientific name ended up reflecting that early interpretation … Continue reading “Retro vs Modern #06: Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus”
Fossilized ichthyosaur bones have been found for centuries, but were initially misidentified as being the remains of fish, dolphins, and crocodiles. More complete skeletons began to be discovered in the early 19th century – particularly by pioneering paleontologist Mary Anning – and Ichthyosaurus communis was one of the first species of these ancient “fish lizards” … Continue reading “Retro vs Modern #05: Ichthyosaurus communis”
Archaeopteryx lithographica was first discovered in the 1860s, still in the early days of our understanding of dinosaurs, and was a timely example of the sort of transitional form first proposed by Charles Darwin only a couple of years earlier. For over a century it was a famous icon of evolution, and has been part … Continue reading “Retro vs Modern #04: Archaeopteryx lithographica”
