iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Here's a little guide (also inspired by Knuppe's formation work) of the common and scientific names of each animal I illustrated!

032

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

#SharkWeek BONUS! The cast of sharks and rays in the Marine Protected Areas of southern California hold a special place in my heart and to celebrate my last year of university here I spent weeks on this mural (inspired by Joschua Knuppe) of the native species I've come to love!

183

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

#SharkWeek2025 Day 7: Dasmyliobatis thomyorkei Despite appearing like a generic ray, Dasmyliobatis represents an intermediary state between the eagle rays and whiptail rays (or what many consider stingrays). The holotype was discovered in Italian rocks dating to the Eocene.

042

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

#SharkWeek2025 Day 5: Galagadon nordquistae Named after its teeth that resemble the spaceships in Galaga, this holotype of this freshwater carpet shark was famously discovered near the remains of Sue the T.rex. Unlike the giant dinosaur, Galagadon only was about a foot or so long.

011

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

#sharkweek2025 Day 4: Rolfodon goliath An extinct relative of modern frilled sharks, R.goliath was discovered to be from the Late Cretaceous of Angola, and lives up to its species name: potentially growing up to 6 meters (or almost 20 feet) long!

073

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

#SharkWeek2025 Day 3: Metopacanthus granulatus Despite looking like it has two mouths, the upper appendage of this Jurassic chimaera relative is likely a head clasper, which is used in holding onto females during reproduction, supported with en elongated cartilaginous rostrum!

031

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

#SharkWeek2025 Day 2: Iniopteryx rushlaui This strange animal superficially resembles flying fish, but is actually more related to the modern day chimaera. Found in warm shallow Carboniferous seas, this fish grew just over a foot long, and used its large pectoral fins for locomotion.

020

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

#SharkWeek2025 Day 1: Acanthodes bronii Part of the acanthodiians, or "spiny sharks", this Permian fish is believed to provide insight into the common ancestors of both cartilaginous and bony fish. Acanthodes was found to be toothless and thus could have been a suspension feeder!

061

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

A practice sketch of a fisherman catching a small Clavusodens.

031

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Traskasaura sandrae, a newly described genus and species of basal elasmosaurid, from Early Cretaceous British Columbia that shares several morphological convergences with the later derived aristonectiines.

031

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Gadusaurus, a recently described species of ichthyosaur from the Early Jurassic of Portugal.

150

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

A sketch of the recently published paper's describing of Pararhincodon torquis, a stem-parascylliid related to modern day collared carpetsharks, found in the Cretaceous Chalk of the UK.

031

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

An illustration of the Eocene fish, Dibango volans. A fish of unknown placement, it's anomalous features appear similar to that of larval teleost fishes, but had levels of ossification on the bones akin to adults, leading to a possibility of a paedomorphic fish.

072

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

A practice sketch of a breaching Helicoprion, also known as the buzzsaw shark, despite being a holocephalid, or being related to modern day chimaera.

1124

Reposted by @cjsea.bsky.social

Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

🌊🌿There's a whole world of forests beneath the waves. This #InternationalDayofForests, we're celebrating Scripps Oceanography researchers who study these underwater ecosystems to understand their role in carbon storage, marine biodiversity and coastal resilience. 🧵 ⬇️

2498

Reposted by @cjsea.bsky.social

Darren Naish @tetzoo.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

#ArtBoost today is for CJSEA @cjsea.bsky.social, marine biology student and scientific illustrator at Uni California San Diego, a big fan of chondrichthyans (sharks and kin), archosaurs and other beasts, and who's doing really nice portraits and environmental scenes. Also met Tiktaalik recently!

The petalodont Clavusodens in dark water.

Everyone's favourite new therizinosaur, the one with only two main fingers. Not published as I write this!

The famous sabretooth salmon, showing gaping jaws wide in dark water.

Some kind of fin-backed dinosaur that I haven't seen before, in the water with a fish in its mouth.

25811

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Thank you so much for this! You have no idea how much this means to me, and I'm so happy to see my hard work in illustration paying off!!!

081

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Practicing better lighting and water effects with an illustration of a Spinosaurus snacking on a small Concavodectum. This turned out amazing and I'm 95% happy with how it turned out!!

182

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

A quick sketch of the newly announced two-clawed therizinosaur Duonychus tsogtbaatar.

193

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

The longfin greeneye is a species of lizardfish found in Antarctic waters. Its genus name, Lagiacrusichthys, refers to a popular Leviathan from the Monster Hunter game series. Its large upward-facing eyes are used to detect bioluminescent prey in the deep.

141

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Clavusodens mcginnisi is a new genus of petalodont, a relative of modern day chimaera. Known from teeth dating from Carboniferous rocks in Mammoth Cave National Park, this cartilaginous fish lived in shallow seas, where they likely lived similar to modern triggerfish.

161

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Another practice sketch, this time of the unique mosasaur Megapterygius! Found in rocks in Japan dating to the Late Cretaceous, it is rather the interesting case with evidence of a dorsal fin, and the only known mosasaur to have one!

151

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

A quick sketch of a Platypterygius, a paraphyletic genus of Cretaceous ichthyosaur that contains numerous species. No particular species was used as reference, but I did use a Hector's dolphin as reference for the colors.

151

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

An illustration of the infamous Otodus megalodon based on a paper released recently that explores its physiology, speed, and life history. What I drew here is only based on the paper's evidence and modern illustrations. palaeo-electronica.org/content/2025...

175

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Carpathospinosus propheticus is a prehistoric species of spikefish found in Polish rocks dating to the Oligocene. It lived in what was the late Tethys Sea, and was related to the Triacanthodinae, a subfamily that contains most extant spikefish.

083

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

I even got to hold a cast of the skull of what I believe was the original holotype of Tiktaalik!!

051

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Today, I had the honor of listening to and getting to meet Neil Shubin, one of the co-discoverers of Tiktaalik roseae!! While listening to the talk, I took the opportunity to learn about its unique bone structure and illustrated this sketch! Even got it signed!

2146

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Cooking up some things in the back.

042

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

"Lord of the Lake" Gaiasia jennyae is the largest known genus of stem-tetrapod that has digits. Found from Namibian rocks dating to the early Permian, it habitated in cold lakes in Southern Gondwana as an apex predator, hunting fish and other tetrapods.

0176

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

"Reigning Titan" The largest marine reptile currently known, Ichthyotitan is a shastasaurid ichthyosaur from the Late Triassic. Known from 2 partial lower jaw bones, indicate that it may have grown up to 82 ft/25m or even larger, and it fed on larger prey, hunting like orcas.

1176

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Teaser images of my Paleonnual series, where I choose extinct creatures published from the current year. Guess which animals these three are based on their piece titles: “Lord of the Lake” “Reigning Titan” “All-Seeing Serpent”

011

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

At last, I am pleased to share with y'all paleoart commissioned by William Jude Hart for their presentation: The Devonian Red Beds! Featuring several Devonian fish such as Bothriolepis, Turrisaspis, Holoptychius, Gyracanthus, and a large rhizodont.

1126

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Despite appearing like a strange shark, the genus Orodus actually belongs under Holocephali, meaning it is more related to chimaera. Found in North American rocks from the Carboniferous to the Permian, the many species of Orodus can range from a meter to several.

052

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Mortuneria (named after Dr. Mort Turner) is an aristonectine elasmosaur from Late Cretaceous Antarctica. It is believed that the unusual dentition of this animal was not for snapping up fish, but actually for sifting across the seafloor, much like modern day gray whales do.

094

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Oncorhynchus rastrosus, commonly known as the "sabertooth salmon", and the largest salmonid, was re-analyzed in a paper published in April 2024. It is now believed to be planktivorous, and both sexes have elongated premaxilla and horizontal teeth used for multiple purposes.

0104

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

A sketch of one of the most bizarre chondrichthyans, Aquilolamna milarcae, or the eagle shark, from Late Cretaceous Mexico. Originally assigned as a lamniform (related to great whites and makos), it's now uncertain of this animal's placement.

093

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

For #SharkWeek2024, the shark of choice is Dracopristis hoffmanorum (Hoffman’s dragon shark), or as it’s more commonly known, the “Godzilla shark”. Here we see a female, hiding on the seafloor of a shallow lagoon at night from a hungry Glikmanius, amongst some crinoids.

082

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Cretoxyrhina, also known as the Ginsu shark, is a genus of lamniform shark from the mid-late Cretaceous found worldwide, but is famously known from the Western Interior Seaway. As a top-order carnivore, it likely fed on large fish, other sharks, and large marine reptiles.

082

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

A recently announced on the prehistoric shark Ptychodus revealed it's formerly unknown body plan to actually resemble that of lamniform sharks. Ptychodus was a durophage, hunting hard-shelled organisms such as ammonites, and lived from the mid to late Cretaceous worldwide.

072

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

While nicknamed "buzzsaw shark", the Helicoprion genus actually is related to the chimera. During the early and mid-Permian, this giant eugeneodont was a pelagic predator who used its signature tooth whorl to slice fish and cephalopods. It was the largest predator of its time.

072

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

The great hammerhead(Sphyrna mokarran) is found in tropical coasts worldwide, and these 5m sharks specialize in hunting smaller sharks and rays. The famous hammer assists in better vision and electroreception! Sadly, these sharks are deemed Critically Endangered.

062

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

The sand tiger shark(Carcharias taurus) is a lamniform shark found in temperate and subtropical waters across the world. Despite its name, it's more related to ancient sharks like Megalodon. Sadly, the shark is critically endangered according to the IUCN.

072

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Basking sharks(Cetorhinus maximus) are one of the most popular sharks. Despite that gaping maw and 7m length, they feed exclusively on plankton using enlarged gill rakers. They are cosmipolitan migrants, moving across the world's oceans to find rich plankton communities.

082

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Hexanchus griseus, or bluntnose sixgill shark, is the largest member of the Hexanchiform order, growing up to 6.1m long, or 20ft. Sixgills follow the DMV(Diel Vertical Migration) alongside their prey(fish, crustaceans, marine mammals), but are also known to scavenge on whalefall.

062

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Cookiecutter sharks(Isistius brasiliensis) are unique squaliform sharks, being a facultative ectoparasite: able to feed on larger organisms by removing circular chunks of flesh with their large teeth. They can produce light with photophores, which are for camouflage.

072

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Goblin sharks(Mitsukurina owstoni) belong to an prehistoric family of mackerel sharks. The infamous extending jaws are used to snag small fish and cephalopods, with their snout detecting prey movements. These sharks grow anywhere from 3-4m, with one reported to measure 6m long.

072

cjsea.bsky.social @cjsea.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Megamouth sharks (Megachasma pelagios) are unusual lamniform or mackerel sharks. The smallest of the big three filter feeding sharks, they follow plankton migrations up and down the water column. There have been less than 100 sightings of megamouths, but are found worldwide.

073