Dynamognathus

@dynamoterror

Wildlife, rewilding, spec-evo, and paleontology enthusiast/artist.

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Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· 19d

Up in the #Appalachian mountains during the Pleistocene, a young Mastodon is very excited to have found a new playmate. The playmate in question is not nearly so enthused but also can’t do much about it. This is a sketch I began a while ago but only just returned to. #paleoart #pleistocene #sciart

A colored-pencil drawing of a very fluffy, reddish-furred juvenile Mastodon against a white background, drawn in a running pose with its mouth open in joy while lifting a screaming raccoon into the air above its head with its coiled trunk. The mastodon has very short but still protruding tusks.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· 19d

Quick sketch of a large Terror Bird, something along the lines of Kelenken, Titanis, or Devincenzia. These huge flightless birds were apex predators in South America during the Cenozoic, and had a brief reign in southern North America until the beginning of the ice age. #paleoart #sciart #cenozoic

Black-and-white pencil sketch of a large terror bird (a member of the family Phorusrhacidae) in a walking pose with its head held low and its rounded wings spread out like a defensive owl. It is angled slightly towards the viewer with its head directly facing towards the left side of the page.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· 27d

Evidently, the Cardinals like this spot. I highly recommend spying on your local wildlife with remote cameras as a hobby, it’s addictive and educational! #trailcamera #photography #birds #wildlife

A trail-camera photo of a bright red male cardinal, standing on the ground in a small clearing in a forest.

A trail-camera photo of a bright red male cardinal, in the process of landing with wings outstretched on a stick in front of the camera.

A trail-camera photo of a bright red male cardinal, sitting on a stick in front of the camera as dappled morning light hits it.

Trail-camera photo of a brown female Cardinal standing on a stick in front of the camera

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Jul 11

Somewhere in Oregon during the late Oligocene, a subadult cub Mesocyon coryphaeus intently watches his mother chew on a bone, hoping to snatch it from her at the first opportunity. Inspired by the recently published near-complete skeleton of this early, mustelid-like dog. #paleoart #sciart #mammal

Black-and-white pencil drawing of a mother and subadult cub of the ancient canid Mesocyon coryphaeus. They have somewhat Marten-like proportions, and the mother is laying down while chewing on an ungulate limb bone while the cub is sitting upright in front of her. They are surrounded by fallen leaves on the forest floor

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Jun 28

On a scale of 1 - 10, how evil would it be to make several lineages of Enantiornithean birds diversify throughout the Cenozoic on Kerguelen, only to all be wiped out (plus or minus one small survivor) by cats and rats in the 1700s? #specevo #worldbuilding

Simple black-and-white pencil sketches of three fictional Enantiornithean birds in lateral view, for my spec-evo project of Kerguelen. The first is a hawk-like form with fully feathered legs, the second is a tiny fluffy orb that acts like a wren, and the third is a sort of upright-quail looking thing with a rounded head fully covered in fluffy feathers such that the beak isn’t visible (like cock-of-the-rock birds).

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Jun 28

Rough-sketched idea of how these non-mammalian cynodonts may acquire a trunk-lip, through increasingly specialized browsing with a hardened, then lengthened upper lip that gets increasingly grippy and muscular. A bit of #specevo for my personal Kerguelen project. #worldbuilding #illustration

A rough black-and-white pencil sketch of a sequence of snout illustrations, all of non-mammal cynodonts with increasingly long and trunk-like upper lips, showcasing how Tritylodonts with non-flexible lips may develop something that looks like an elephant trunk (although the nostrils remain up near the base of the trunk).

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Jun 22

I saw a very special bee a few hours ago, the Southern Plains Bumblebee (Bombus fraternus). This #grassland dweller has declined sharply in recent times as necessary habitat and food has vanished, so it was a treat to watch one slowly forage on these tallow tree flowers for a while. #bees #wildlife

A photograph of a Southern Plains Bumblebee (Bombus fraternus) standing in lateral view on the long flower stem of a Chinese Tallow Tree, surrounded by leaves and other flowers of this tree and the dappled light they create. The pale yellowish hairs are very short and have a velvety look.

A photograph of a Southern Plains Bumblebee (Bombus fraternus) standing with its butt towards the viewer on the long flower stem of a Chinese Tallow Tree, surrounded by leaves and other flowers of this tree and the dappled light they create. The pale yellowish hairs are very short and have a velvety look.

A photograph of a Southern Plains Bumblebee (Bombus fraternus) standing at an angled frontal view on the long flower stem of a Chinese Tallow Tree, surrounded by leaves and other flowers of this tree and the dappled light they create. The pale yellowish hairs are very short and have a velvety look.

A photograph of a Southern Plains Bumblebee (Bombus fraternus) standing in dorsal view (giving a good look at its dorsal yellow/black pattern) on the long flower stem of a Chinese Tallow Tree, surrounded by leaves and other flowers of this tree and the dappled light they create. The pale yellowish hairs are very short and have a velvety look.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Jun 15

A lineup of the big cats of Sukaya, the Africa-equivalent continent in the world of Tyrannoc (a spec-evo and worldbuilding project made by a friend of mine). Three are extant African big cats, the others are based on extinct sabertooths from the Pliocene, and Pleistocene. #specevo #art #Tyrannoc

A lineup of eight colored-pencil-drawn big cats, all based on real living and extinct big cats from Africa, for the continent of Sukaya in the fictional world of Tyrannoc. From left to right, the species are: African Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Sabre-toothed Lion (based on Adeilosmilus), Sukayan Scimitar Cat (based on Homotherium), Kisu (based on Metailurus), Kitisho (based on Dinofelis), and Punhal (based on Megantereon).

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Jun 7

My submission for Sawyer Lee’s #codexcontest, wherein much of the bones belong to a titanic terrestrial cetacean (descended from something Ambulocetid/Protocetid-like that went back to land). This beast would have been an all-consuming omnivorous browser, living in dense forests and swamps. #specevo

A black-and-white infographic of a fictional prehistoric animal, which is my submission for Sawyer Lee’s codex-contest featuring a jumble of very large fossils that need reconstructing. I’ve depicted it as a huge terrestrial basal cetacean, with long, columnar limbs and somewhat sauropod-like feet. The head is proportionately small and pointed and the neck and tail are both quite short. On the left side of the image are a skeletal reconstruction and life reconstruction, both in the same walking pose. On the right side are two smaller sketches, one showing the evolution of such a lineage and the other showing a predatory encounter between this land-whale and a similarly massive dragon.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Jun 6

First two sketches from tonight’s flocking #Paleostream, the strange marine mammal Desmostylus and the early, semi-sprawled elephant-cousin Numidotherium. #sciart #paleoart #cenozoic #mammals

Two black-and-white pencil sketches of prehistoric mammals: a Desmostylus on the left treading water upright, facing the viewer, and a Numidotherium on the right walking away from the viewer at an angle with its head raised and small trunk curled up.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Jun 4

This bovid (and the fossil site as a whole) has received a little bit of artistic attention thus far, with three beautiful scenes by Mauricio Anton (one is included in this paper) and a size chart of most of the fauna by @narwhaler.bsky.social. (3/3)

An illustration of a lakeshore scene during the Pliocene at what would become the Camp Del Ninots fossil site, made by Mauricio Anton. A tapir and her calf, multiple ducks and turtles, a herd of Parabos tigneresi, and a Stephanorhinus are all present along the forested shoreline.

An illustration of a lakeshore scene during the Pliocene at what would become the Camp Del Ninots fossil site, made by Mauricio Anton. A pair of Parabos tigneresi are struggling to stand due to volcanic gasses, and the corpses of a tapir, a Stephanorhinus, and multiple other Parabos are strewn along the shore and in the shallow water.

An illustration of a lakeshore scene during the Pliocene at what would become the Camp Del Ninots fossil site, made by Mauricio Anton. A herd of Parabos tigneresi are walking in a field past a lake, while birds fly past and a mouse sits on a log in the foreground.

An illustrated size chart (made several years ago) of the Camp Del Ninots fossil site fauna by Narwhaler, against a green background. Included are Parabos tigneresi (labeled Alephis), Apodemus atavus, Pelophylax perezi, Mauremys leprosa, Stephanorhinus jeanvireti, Chelydropsis pontica, and Tapirus arvernensis.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Jun 4

So many of these specimens are perfectly preserved and articulated due to being buried in-place in a volcanic lake, and this paper gives us all angles (amazing artistic references)! It’s fair to call it the bovid ever, but this is an impeccable view of such a bovid nonetheless. (2/3)

Screenshot of figure three from the new paper reclassifying the Camp Del Ninots Alephis as Parabos, comprised of six top-down photos of near-complete articulated skeletons of this bovid. Five are the full skeleton, and one is the front half of the skeleton.

Screenshot of figure four from the new paper reclassifying the Camp Del Ninots Alephis as Parabos, comprised of multiple illustrated angles of the skull of Parabos tigneresi, a lateral view of an entire skeleton, and a life reconstruction of the head and neck.

Screenshot of figure five from the new paper reclassifying the Camp Del Ninots Alephis as Parabos, comprised of photos and scans from multiple angles of a slightly crushed but complete skull of Parabos tigneresi.

Screenshot of figure eleven from the new paper reclassifying the Camp Del Ninots Alephis as Parabos, comprised of photos of Parabos tigneresi vertebrae from multiple angles and lateral photos of two different articulated skeletons, one being the torso plus front limbs and the other being nearly the entire animal squished in its death pose.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Jun 2

A massive bull Konobelodon britti, the largest of beasts in late Miocene Florida, decrees with a misty jet from his trunk into the sunlit sky that all shall have a happy and safe pride month. #sciart #paleoart #miocene #pridemonth #florida

A colored-pencil drawing of Konobelodon britti, a massive shovel-tusked cousin of elephants that lived in southern North America during the late Miocene, walking with its head raised up, mouth open, and trunk curled up as it sprays a jet of misty water over its head. A large, vibrant rainbow curls across the middle of the spray.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 30

In an open field in central Alabama during the late Pleistocene, two small bees in the genus Halictus are approached by the nose of a Paramylodon sloth. Are they H. poeyi, H. ligatus, or even the ancestor of both? No way to know without genetic testing! #bees #wildlife #entomology #sciart #paleoart

A colored pencil drawing of two small brownish-colored bees amongst three Plains Coreopsis flowers, one flying and one sitting in the middle of a flower, while the nose of a Paramylodon ground sloth approaches from the background (taking up most of the frame).

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 30

Much of the huge diversity of arthropods looks just like this, tons of little stinkers that are nearly identical at passing glance. All are unique species with their own natural history and irreplaceable ecology, it just takes a very observant mind to appreciate it. #entomology #science #insects

A screenshot of Figure 8 from a scientific publication that describes a new genus of stink-bug-like hemipterans (Similihypoxys). All are greenish with a dark horizontal stripe roughly across the middle of the thorax and darkened wings, generally top-heavy diamond-shaped insects.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 27

Some sketches made for the recent #Kaimere episode on Manticores, depicting a wild individual grooming itself with its wrist/ankle glands and a small caravan of domestic individuals returning home from a roo-hog hunt. #specevo #fantasy #cynodonts #permian

A black-and-white pencil sketch of a wild Manticore (vaguely horse-like fictional cynodont) sitting down to groom itself with glands. One arm is lifted over its downward-pointed snout, and behind it the porcupine-like spiked tail lays flat on the ground.

A black-and-white pencil sketch of a group of three domestic Manticores (fictional horse-like cynodonts with spiked tails) walking in single-file on a well-worn dirt road, surrounded by dense ferns and tall trees on either side. The first one (furthest from the viewer) has a rider wearing cone-shaped headgear, the second one has the large, kangaroo-like hind-limbs of a hunted Roo-hog tied to its back, and the third one has the horned head of that Roo-hog tied to its back. The two individuals in the back have various amounts of spotting on their fur, the one in front does not.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 23

Quick Deinotherium sketches, using their weird tusks for anchoring/resting the head while browsing and for intraspecific combat. Just exploring the possibilities of such a strangely shaped proboscidean. #sciart #paleoart #cenozoic #deinotherium

Rough black-and-white sketch of a Deinotherium opening its mouth and reaching its trunk up into the branches of a tree as its lower jaw hooks over a large branch, anchoring the head in place.

Rough black-and-white pencil sketch of two large Deinotherium approaching each other with their heads raised pointing at the sky, such that their curved lower-jaw tusks are pointed at each other.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 23

Tonight’s flocking-together #Paleostream was pretty mammal-heavy! We started with the cheetah-like sabertooth Yoshi, then the newly named Tylosaurus rex, then the little Jurassic furball Xianshou, and finally the strange hopping metatherian Argyrolagus. #cenozoic #mesozoic #paleoart #sciart #mammals

Four rough black-and-white pencil sketches of prehistoric animals, roughly arranged in quadrants on a piece of paper. In the top left is the long-legged, cheetah-like sabertooth cat Yoshi, with its back arched and tail tucked under in a defensive posture as it snarls. In the top right is the front half of a Tylosaurus rex as it snatches a much smaller Terminonaris (an ancient croc). In the bottom left is the little euharamiyidan Xianshou, sitting on a branch as a fuzzy orb and staring directly at the camera. In the bottom right is the jerboa-like South American weirdo Argyrolagus, happily rolling around on the ground with its legs kicking up and eyes closed.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 21

Quick sketch (will refine later) of a small bee, Halictus poeyi, fleeing from the oncoming nose of a Paramylodon somewhere in eastern Alabama during the late Pleistocene. Another bee, either H. poeyi or H. ligatus, is still clinging to the Coreopsis behind it. #WorldBeeDay #sciart #paleoart

A rough black-and-white sketch of a small bee flying through the air, away from the Coreopsis flowers and the comparatively gigantic nose of a ground sloth taking up most of the background. Another similar bee is sitting in the middle of one of the Coreopsis much closer to the sloth nose.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 19

When you finally find a really cool bird in a far-off land and get lots of cool photos but they all look like this but you don’t care because it’s STILL A HORNED LARK! #birds #birdwatching

A very, very pixelated cropped photo of a Horned Lark staring directly at the viewer.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 17

Behold, a non-mammalian shovel-tusker: (Trunk-lipped Tritylodont concept for my Kerguelen spec-evo project) #specevo #creaturedesign #synapsid

Quick pencil sketch of a very concerned/frightened stick figure person side-eyeing the head of a large gomphothere-like tritylodont (close cousin of mammals) from my personal speculative-evolution project.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 16

Last night’s flocking #Paleostream sketches, the large Eurasian hyena Pachycrocuta and the enigmatic, carnivorous afrothere Ptolemaia. I was only able to catch the tail end of the stream. #paleoart #sciart #prehistoric #mammals

Black-and-white pencil sketches of two prehistoric mammals; on the top is the bulky hyena Pachycrocuta trotting towards the viewer at an angle with its tail curled up, and on the bottom is the strange carnivorous afrothere Ptolemaia, walking towards the right in lateral view with its eyes closed and vaguely smiling (given an otter-like body shape although we only know of its skull).

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 10

This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard of! It’s the only totally eyeless and cave-endemic parasitoid wasp, known exclusively from dead, mummified specimens (all other endemic insects from this cave are also very specialized and also all dead and mummified). #insects #entomology #australia

Figure one from the description paper of the blind cave wasp Troglopompilus miracaecatus, showcasing two photographs of researchers walking through cave N-745 where this wasp is known from.

Figure two from the description paper of the blind cave wasp Troglopompilus miracaecatus, showcasing photographs of female paratype specimens. The wings are very small and there are no eyes on the narrow head.

Figure three from the description paper of the blind cave wasp Troglopompilus miracaecatus, showcasing photographs of male paratype specimens, including one mummified to the cave wall in a life-like standing position.

Screenshot of the Remarks, Etymology, Distribution, and Discussion sections from the description paper of the blind cave wasp Troglopompilus miracaecatus.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 7

A little update to this: as of a brand new paper on Choerolophodont taxonomy, C. chioticus is now Parachoerodon chioticus (and potentially had a significant keratin spade on the tip of its jaw)! Also quickly sketched out the new Parachoerodon rhynchus. #paleoart #sciart #elephant #miocene

A rough black-and-white pencil sketch of the head of Parachoerodon rhynchus (a long-jawed elephant cousin) in lateral view. The ears are quite large and roughly Asian-elephant-shaped, the head is overall low and long, and the upper tusks gently curve upwards. The tip of the long lower jaw is capped with a small, shovel-like keratinous blade that projects forwards and upwards.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 7

A proposed keratinous blade taking the role of the absent lower tusks.

A cropped screenshot of a figure from the new Choerolophodont paper, showcasing photos of the tip of a Parachoerodon mandible and the large slits on either side + the roughened tip that are proposed to support a keratinous blade or spade of sorts.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· May 6

Somewhere in Southeast Asia during the middle #Pleistocene, a pair of Yellow-throated martens harass the local Honey Badger (Mellivora indosinica) as it traverses the open savanna. This eastern species of honey badger is known from a single tooth from Vietnam, described recently. #paleoart #sciart

A colored-pencil sketch of a scene in middle-Pleistocene Southeast Asia, depicting a Honey Badger surrounded by two Yellow-throated martens. The honey badger is snarling and trotting towards one of the martens, which is crouching down and flicking its tail up. The other marten is standing tall on all fours behind the badger, with an adorable expression on its face. They are on an open, sandy trail surrounded by tall grasses, with a few dry, brown leaves scattered around.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Apr 27

And somehow, there’s already a little bit of a paleo-meme forming around this genus, depicting it looking like a kaiju-scale, diamond-shaped cross between a classic incirrate octopus and a large squid. In other words, not based whatsoever on the clade it is assigned to, even loosely.

Very rough black-and-white sketch of Nanaimoteuthis grabbing a much smaller mosasaur, depicting it with the anatomy seen in some of Hodari Nundu’s and others’ artwork wherein it looks more like something out of the monsterverse than a huge cirrate octopus.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Apr 27

A quick drawing of two Cretaceous giants, the cirrate octopus Nanaimoteuthis and the chimaera Edaphodon. Both are known from particularly fragmentary remains (the octopus especially so), so full body reconstructions and their exact dimensions are quite speculative. #paleoart #sciart #octopus #ocean

A colored-pencil drawing of two large marine animals of the Cretaceous, the large cirrate octopus Nanaimoteuthis and the large Chimaera/rabbitfish Edaphodon. The octopus is relatively elongated for its clade, with two large fins curled downward in a swimming stroke as it passes over the Edaphodon, which cruises along the seafloor. The shadow of Nanaimoteuthis is visible along the seafloor and passing over the lower body of the Edaphodon.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Apr 27

Quick doodles of Nanaimoteuthis, a genus of gigantic, durophagus Cirrate Octopus from the North Pacific during the Cretaceous. As all we have are huge beaks with significant wear, and extant species are deep-water filter feeders, all reconstructions are very speculative. #paleoart #sciart #octopus

Black-and-white pencil sketches of the giant prehistoric octopus Nanaimoteuthis, depicted in a wide range of shapes and sizes. One sketch is similar in proportions to elongated extant cirrate octopus but with shorter tentacles, engulfing a swarm of much smaller ammonites in its webbed net of tentacles. Two other sketches are a slender, large-finned version next to a much chunkier, small-finned version. Two other sketches have four fins instead of two, inspired by some of the potential ancestors of octopodiformes. One is nearly Pliosaur-like in proportions while the other, holding a diplomoceras-like ammonite, has fins more similar to actual four-finned extinct cephalopods. All are entirely speculative, as all we know from Nanaimoteuthis is what the beak looks like and what clade it is in.

Dynamognathus@dynamoterror· Apr 23

Extant Honey Badgers live across Africa, western Asia and India, so this is a significant range extension for the genus. It would have coexisted with all of the classic southeast-Asia fauna of the Pleistocene, including the massive ape Gigantopithecus.