Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸
@paleobyliam
Chicago-based paleoartist. He/him. Email for commissions/inquiries at liam_elward@yahoo.com
Some good resources to learn more: Introduction; Vision in Elasmobranchs (Robert E. Hueter, 1990) Scene through the eyes of an apex predator; a comparative analysis of the shark visual system (Shaun P. Collin, 2018)
Photos of elasmobranch eyes taken by yours truly at Shedd Aquarium! I am (obviously) not a photographer, these were taken by iPhone Leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata) Spotted wobbegong (Orectolobus maculatus) Sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus Bowmouth guitarfish (Rhina ancylostoma)
The horizontal pupils of great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) likely sacrifice sharpness with a wide field of view to quickly spot any potential prey animals near the surface of the water. Basking sharks also have horizontal pupils.
Round pupils (like those in the shortspine spurdog (Squalus mitukurii) at the top) are often found in deep-water species. Slit vertical pupils are common in species like the sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) that experience bright and dim light.
Studies of the incredible and specialized eyes of elasmobranchs (sharks and rays). Shark vision is an ongoing research topic but the general consensus is, overall, sharks are more sensitive to movement and contrast than they are to colors.
The sharks you don't hear about: Deepsea catsharks (Pentanchidae) are the largest family of sharks, containing 11 genera & at least (!!!) 110 species.
This incredible graphic is by @maijakarala.bsky.social and is an excellent crash-course in bird (and honestly animal) color/pigmentation. Check it out! I’ve continually come back to this for reference and always love sharing it with others 🐧🐦🐤🏳️🌈
Anybody recognize this trilobite? Even family level or time period would be cool to know. Was a gift
Feast your eyes on DOMINO! Potentially the world's first warty frogfish (Antennarius maculatus) successfully reared in human care 📍Shedd Aquarium
To anybody that knows fossils- do these look like brachiopods? From the limestone tiles of Shedd Aquarium. I believe quarried in Illinois
They have an insane mouth/dentition, their jaws almost look wavy or "W"-shaped. They're still not super well-known, but have been described as "one of the world’s most vulnerable and evolutionarily distinct jawed vertebrates on the planet" due to lack of close relatives
One of the most bizarre animals I've ever seen in person - the bowmouth guitarfish (Rhina ancylostoma). Front of body, while ray-like, is fairly deep with several isolated rows of spikes. Back of body has taller fins and a weirdly "dipped" caudal peduncle. ~8-9ft long
Yep, here are the 2 others. I haven't seen them either until this book! The 2nd is obviously another take on the same concept/composition
The overall morphology (large crescent-shaped caudal fin, tall 1st dorsal fin, short/blunt face) & coloration (stark countershading with dark greyish color above & pale/white below) of Megalodon depicted here is still very much within the realm of plausibility.
Photo by Joel Sartore for comparison. I have an iPhone 16 Pro Max
An interesting camera effect I noticed when taking a pic of a bigtooth river stingray at Shedd Aquarium: from a distance their creamy-white spots look normal, but when you zoom in there's this crazy blue and orange halo. Is this a camera effect to make the spots pop? Or something else?
Another tell is the curvature/outline of the body (mainly the trunk/midsection) looks a bit stiff/rectangular. Real, living goblin sharks have interesting slopes and curves that give their form a lot of character
Lastly, while it's not AI I want to address this because it's 1 of the most widespread images related to goblin sharks. This is, I'm fairly certain, a photo of a dead/preserved specimen edited to look like it's swimming/alive. It doesn't quite fit the angle, lighting doesn't match, etc.
Another tell: while the distinctive snout of goblin sharks can appear narrow/pointed/sword-like in profile, this is not the case! It's much rounder than you'd think, almost plate or spoon-like. First is AI that doesn't know this, rest are genuine article
Documentation of a living goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) is still very rare and exciting! And I hate that like everything it's getting poisoned by fucking AI slop. Enjoy some genuine articles:
Because of how bizarre and "alien" the goblin shark seems, it's a particular target of engagement farming. Your best defense is learning about goblin sharks from reputable sources. This great illustration of a goblin shark by Marc Dando shows how they should typically look
AI bullshit purporting to be living goblin sharks is trained mostly on photos of *dead* goblin sharks, which often show slackened, extended jaws (real photo on right). The wrinkly skin is another tell that it's slop trained on dead sharks
Another huge tell - the jaws. Goblin sharks are famous for their ability to extend their jaws outward when hunting. But in life, they are held normally and only extend for a split second before returning to typical position
With deep sea videos in general, a big tell is clarity. AI videos of goblin sharks will often be crystal clear and HD. If you've seen real footage of benthic animals, this is pretty much never the case. AI slop on the left, actual footage stills on right
Apologies for the pic quality, I am not a photographer/this is on my phone/Wild Reef doesn't have the best lighting for photos/sandbar sharks are constantly moving
Photo of a captive sandbar shark at Shedd Aquarium - those parallel diagonal lines running along the tail are the shark's muscles!!! Even animals we think of as "simple" or "smooth" can reveal a lot if you know what to look for
It is classified by some as belonging to the genus Isogomphodon
For #EndangeredSpeciesDay, a type of shark I had no idea existed until very recently: the daggernose shark (Carcharhinus oxyrhynchus). This is a super weird, poorly known requiem shark that is Critically Endangered. I'm not sure if it's ever been photographed alive/underwater