It's #ChristmasEve, so I depicted Parasaurolophus under UV light, lit up like a Christmas tree - you can check out the rationale of this #paleoart on my #Patreon if you're already bored of holiday TV. Oh, and Happy Christmas to those who celebrate! #sciart #fossils www.patreon.com/posts/146578...

Brundle's Christmas present came early. With @gizz47.bsky.social.

Spent #FossilFriday tweaking my Anchiornis colour reconstruction. The black+white+red intepretation does entirely match the melanosome data recorded for this species, as there's evidence of phaeomelanin (= rufous hues) on the arm, and lots of grey across the body. #paleoart #sciart #paleontology

Magnificent artwork from projects with which I was involved in 2025, by @sketchy-raptor.bsky.social @markwitton.bsky.social @maijakarala.bsky.social

Some cool early christmas presents are here finally. Spinosaur tales by @davehone.bsky.social and @markwitton.bsky.social , Mesozoic art II by @tetzoo.bsky.social and @sharkbitesteve.bsky.social

This is really gross: a book full of plagiarised #paleoart published by a legit UK publisher. As if we don't have enough problems with AI! There is no excuse for the author/artist not knowing better, either: this isn't the first time they've been caught committing major acts of plagiarism.

Fresh off the digital canvas, my take on the Carboniferous verte... arthro... mollu... er... bilaterally symmetrical animal Tullimonstrum gregarium. Tully monsters are true palaeontological enigmas: 70 years after they were named, we still don't know what they are. #paleoart #sciart #fossil

New #paleoart on #FossilFriday: #Tiktaalik sees the world. Discussions of early #tetrapods often focus on limbs and lungs, but major changes also took place in their eyes. Seeing further and clearer than any animal before, they were the first to clearly see sunsets, stars, and the moon. #sciart

Tetrapoda*: how it started vs. how it's going. *OK, OK: stem-Tetrapoda. But it's not as snappy.

#FossilFriday There's a big 5-star customer review of this new dinosaur book by great paleontologists @davehone.bsky.social and @markwitton.bsky.social! Can't wait to read Spinosaur Tales, but the day will come in two weeks. ^^ www.nhbs.com/spinosaur-ta...

New #paleoart for #FossilFriday: the giant Meganeuropsis hawks Dunbaria in Early Permian Kansas, reaching to trap it with long, spiny legs. This image is set at the coast to reflect the marine occurrences of Meganeuropsis and Dunbaria fossils - not all Carbo-Permian insects lived in swamps! #sciart

Here's a nice 30 mins on #Spinosaurus that I recorded with @markwitton.bsky.social for the BBC Instant Genius Podcast. open.spotify.com/episode/7hWf... (Note it has a ton of ads at the start, talking begins after 3 minutes)

Hark! @davehone.bsky.social and I have been interviewed about spinosaurs for the Instant Genius podcast, created by BBC Science Focus. If you need a listen for your commute home, we may not be your worst option. #dinosaurs #fossils #paleontology #scicomm open.spotify.com/episode/7hWf...

Very nearly done on a long review of this spectacular book, King Tyrant by @markwitton.bsky.social, published by @princetonupress.bsky.social Cannot recommend it enough, buy it now! #dinosaurs #books

More images in a scientific paper that can be described as low quality, of questionable accuracy, environmentally damaging, job stealing and copyright infringing. Hey, maybe it's time for scientific journals to just stop accepting AI-generated images?

New at #Patreon: an illustrated review of what we know, and some of what we don't, about the colours and patterns of ancient marine invertebrates (ft. trilobites, orthoceratoids, ammonites and Cambrian critters). Check it out at www.patreon.com/c/markwitton #paleoart #fossils #paleontology #sciart

Strong review of Spinosaur Tales from The Inquisitive Biologist: "Spinosaur Tales is a thoughtful and accessible book about these enigmatic dinosaurs... presenting a nuanced overview of what we know, what we can reasonably infer, and what is spin." inquisitivebiologist.com/2025/11/26/b...

An inspiring article for National Illustration Day: www.theguardian.com/artanddesign.... Most #paleoart is probably "illustration" rather than "art" (if, indeed, these are distinct categories) and is an excellent example of how images augment written/verbal communication and democratise #scicomm.

I didn't have "Southern Rail openly adopts Skynet policies" on today's bingo card.

Just received Down Under: Looking forward to reading the spinosaur science from @davehone.bsky.social and @markwitton.bsky.social

Well, christmas came a month early this year; skimming through, @markwitton.bsky.social 's work is impresively thorough. Shame on the shifting consensus on juveniles mere months after publication of this edition, but still a must have.

Working on invertebrate #paleoart at the moment, knowing I'm probably making mistakes despite best efforts, consulting primary literature etc. Inverts are much like fossil plants: there are few accessible resources on their appearance so we must wing it, or go down deep rabbit holes to restore them.

Thanks to Marc for a great review of our new book! "...a tremendous amount of work went into this book... there’s no other work that unites everything we know about them, their palaeoenvironments, and their modern day afterlife like Spinosaur Tales..". #dinosaurs #books @chiffchat.bsky.social

Brain work bad thanks to some sort of flu, so you'll have to write your own amusing #FossilFriday post about this giant #azhdarchid #pterosaur #paleoart.

Starting the journey home from #2025SVP. I didn't leave the conference empty handed...

Mainstream palaeoart often seems lily-white in terms of the diversity of its contributors. But pieces of palaeoart that rank among the -MOST SEEN- works in the entire field were examples of black craftsmanship. This week came news on the passing of Garfield G. Minott (1966-2025)... cont

Thrilled for our triple author signing tomorrow (14 Nov) at @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social #SVP2025 #2025SVP in Birmingham, UK! Come see @markwitton.bsky.social (King Tyrant, 11-12noon), David Hone (Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior, 12-1pm), and Mike Benton (Dinosaur Behavior, 2-3pm)! buff.ly/TmWzwCS

I'll be signing and sketching in copies of my (unintentionally orange) @princetonupress.bsky.social books this Friday, 11:00-12:00 at #2025SVP #SVP2025. #Pterosaurs and T. rex: what more could anyone want? #paleontology #fossil #dinosaur

Thrilled for our triple author signing on Friday 14 Nov at @societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social #SVP2025 #2025SVP in Birmingham, UK! Come see @markwitton.bsky.social (King Tyrant, 11-12noon), David Hone (Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior, 12-1pm), and Mike Benton (Dinosaur Behavior, 2-3pm)! buff.ly/TmWzwCS

Scenes from the #SVP2025 #2025SVP #paleoart workshop. We had terrific talks from @cpdinosaurs.bsky.social, @tetzoo.bsky.social, @palaeojules.bsky.social and @bobnichollsart.bsky.social, as well as fantastic discussion from attendees. Thanks to everyone who contributed, I hope you all enjoyed it!

Although #2025SVP officially starts tomorrow, today we have a Triassic field trip to Warwickshire, tours of @lapworthmuseum.bsky.social, workshops run by @markwitton.bsky.social & @graphicssci.bsky.social & our evening Walking With Dinosaurs event chaired by @tweetisaurus.bsky.social!

Spinosaur Tales from David Hone and @markwitton.bsky.social is out now: a new book exploring the world of the legendary Spinosaurus, packed with science, illustrations, and the latest research. Perfect for #dinosaur enthusiasts! Pick it up here: uk.bookshop.org/a/2456/97813... #Booksky

Sneaking glimpses at the set up of #SVP2025 #2025SVP, spotted some familiar logo artwork in the ICC.

Two new #Spinosaurus-themed things just arrived at Tet Zoo Towers. Congrats @davehone.bsky.social and @markwitton.bsky.social for the release of what looks like a very well designed book. #dinosaurs

I'm late to my own party (again, sigh) but my new book on #spinosaurid #dinosaurs (written with @davehone.bsky.social) was officially released yesterday! Tons of info on and #paleoart of spinosaurs therein: research history, evolution, ecology, life appearance etc. Available wherever books are sold.

The reality of being a freelancer is that you end up working a lot of evenings and nights, something #mammals have been doing since the Mesozoic. Here's new #paleoart of two #Jurassic gliding Mammaliaformes, Arboroharamiya, starting their day as the sun sets 160 million years ago. #sciart #fossil

Spinosaur Tales by @davehone.bsky.social and @markwitton.bsky.social. I got my hands on it early, and I can't recommend it enough for anybody interested in these enigmatic therapods!

Nanotyrannus is cool and all, but what if there was a brand new book written with, and illustrated by, @markwitton.bsky.social on Spinosaurus? Wouldn't that be really cool? Listen to use talk about it here before it comes out in less than a week! terriblelizards.libsyn.com/s11e10-spino...

It's #Halloween, so here's some scary #paleoart of the dreaded MAMMALIAN NOCTURNAL BOTTLENECK HYPOTHESIS. Which of these Megaconus will survive - AND WHAT WILL BE LEFT OF THEM? (Image just uploaded to #Patreon, along with a detailed discussion of this idea: www.patreon.com/posts/142523...)

Over the next few hours/days I'll be uploading lots of new #paleoart to Patreon. First up is this #Neanderthal fellow looking whimsically over his shoulder, wondering if he locked the door to his cave. Lots of discussion about his appearance and clothes at www.patreon.com/posts/142405... #sciart

[looks at clock] Oh hey, look: all my emails sorted by 10:00, not bad going. Time to get on with some writing and painting! Oh, wait: it's _that_ 10:00.

Pre-book promo podcast episode on Spinosaurus recorded with @markwitton.bsky.social terriblelizards.libsyn.com/s11e10-spino...

For some reason, this (fossil-based, evidence-led) picture always gets a reaction...

I had a go at drawing steppe #lions chasing a European bison recently, based on Palaeolithic artworks. I'm unsure about the markings around the lions' eyes but my main reference, which seems to otherwise give good data about colour distribution, suggests _something_ was there. #paleoart

Tomorrow (Oct 19), see @markwitton.bsky.social at @newscientist.com Live to discuss his book, King Tyrant: A Natural History of Tyrannosaurus rex. Stop by Our Planet stage at 11:55 am BST to hear about his fascinating research on the world's most famous dinosaur! Learn more here: buff.ly/4YBFj1U

For #FossilFriday this week, and continuing the build up to my new book on spinosaurs with @markwitton.bsky.social, here's the tip of a dentary of a large Spinosaurus showing the huge sockets for the very large anterior teeth.

Why look: a box of some sort of newish, bookish things arrived this morning. Seems to be about spinosaurid #dinosaurs... coauthored with @davehone.bsky.social... and published by Bloomsbury. Available 6th of November In the UK; then worldwide in early 2026.

I was thrilled to help to excavate more of this huge Oxfordshire dinosaur track site earlier this year. The BBC's new article has a ton of fantastic images and graphics that bring the tracks to life, including a moment where a sauropod paused to... do something?

A heads up that I'm talking at @NewScientist Live this weekend (Sunday 19th October) about my book, King Tyrant: A Natural History of Tyrannosaurus rex. Details, tickets etc. can be found here: live.newscientist.com/nsl-london-2... #dinosaur #fossils #scicomm #paleontology #books