iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Wife @gizz47.bsky.social is currently running a 10km race to raise money for Bhutanese tigers. There's still time to donate some money towards the cause if you have some spare change. Would be great to see her make the £200 target! www.justgiving.com/page/georgia...

justgiving.com

Marwell 10K 2026: Race to Protect Wildlife

Help Georgia Witton-Maclean raise money to support Marwell Wildlife

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

New #paleoart for #FossilFriday: Baryonyx walkeri portrait factoring new epidermal correlate data gathered for an ongoing project. "Yes" to lips, "no" to a cornified sheath on the nasal crest, "yes" to a boss and scale above the eyes. More details at my Patreon: www.patreon.com/markwitton

Portrait of a long-snouted predatory dinosaur in the dimming evening light. Reddish skin gives way to a paler underside on the neck and face, while conifer trees - skeletonised and in full leaf - are silhouetted against a purply-yellow-blue skyscape.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Hey, look: the cover of my next book has been revealed. Looks like it'll be out next March. Details: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

For #FossilFriday, here's some 2019 #paleoart of Deinonychus subduing a juvenile Sauroposeidon using the Raptor Prey Restraint (RPR) model of dromaeosaur predation: grabbing prey with taloned feet, pinning it down with its body weight, and then eating it alive. Just like modern raptors, then.

A yellowish feathered predatory dinosaur has leapt onto the back of a small long-necked dinosaur, forcing it roughly to the ground. It has grasped the back of the herbivore with taloned feet, and holds its wings out for stability. Dust swirls around them as they wrestle.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

This #paleoart of #Pteranodon standing on a wave-crashed rock seems to be a favourite for some, judging by steady print sales over the last 10 years. I recall it coming together quickly, probably because I did it for my own enjoyment and fully engaged with my impulses towards romantic art.

A moody male Pteranodon longiceps, sporting an overbite and a giant, slender headcrest, stands on a dark, narrow rock amid a swirling, crashing sea. The next wave's height will reveal whether this guy is the biggest badass to ever bear membranous wings or a grade-A moron for standing on a tiny rock in such a violent sea.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Over at #Patreon, I've been discussing my latest #specevo #dinosaur piece for my upcoming book. Meet Thalassoraptor maximus: non-bird dinosaurs have finally made it into the oceans! About time, guys, sheesh. Lots more detail at www.patreon.com/markwitton/p....

Two large blue-black animals, looking like a cross between a bird and a sea-lion, perched on rocks lapped by gentle waves. White birds with blue bills sit and stretch nearby, wondering what the crazy motherhubbards next to them are all about.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

My review of The Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Plants is now up at Palaeontologica Electronica. Approaching it wanting to know more about Mesozoic plants for my #paleoart, the reconstruction-heavy format is welcome, but many aspects could be improved. palaeo-electronica.org/content/?vie...

palaeo-electronica.org

Review: The Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Plants

paleontology, palaeontology, dinosaurs, Palaeontologia Electronica, Palaeontologica Electronica, Paleontologia Electronica, Paleontologica Electronica

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

@davehone.bsky.social asked me a question about my comments on Pteranodon from my 2013 book "Pterosaurs", which brought me face to face with my #paleoart from that era. Here's my Pteranodon sensu 2011, vs. Pteranodon 2025, for my next book. The difference? Lots of practise. #FossilFriday

Three crested pterosaurs swim underwater while a school of fish swirls into a baitball. All three have fish in their jaws. Dark shapes loom below, suggesting the approach of mosasaurs.

Painted in 2011, this image was executed in about a day, which was normal for the pictures in "Pterosaurs". I look back on pictures like this and am very grateful for all the nice words and encouragement said about them, as they're pretty rough around the edges!

A crested pterosaur, too big to fit in frame, soars over a windy, wavy sea surface. Small seabirds scatter in fear, but they do not dread being attacked or eaten. No, they fear their own inferiority; the existential emptiness that this mighty membraned flier inspires. For they are birds, mere avians, subservient in the natural hierarchy of flying beings. And the awesomeness that shadows them is the great Pteranodon. They dare not speak his name, for they are unworthy.

(Painted in 2025. Pretentious alt-text written in 2026)

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Reposted by Mark Witton

Darren Naish @tetzoo.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Ok, time for a thread about what I saw yesterday at #CrystalPalace. As you can see, just about everything has been repaired and re-painted, and in places (like the previously misidentified Xiphodon) re-positioned. It looks fantastic and you have to check it out, even if you've visited before...

View of some of Crystal Palace models from top of the hill.

3D print of pterosaur head being held in front of actual models way back in the distance, Iguanodon at left.

Local mural on side of building celebrating Crystal Palace prehistoric animals. Art by Nacho Welles.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Don't forget that abstract submission for SVPCA 2026 closes on Sunday 16th of August (i.e. in two days time!). Details about the conference, abstract submission etc. are here: www.geocollections.org/events/199-s...

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Another very busy week and manic #FossilFriday, so here's a drive-by new #paleoart post of Middle Jurassic British organisms: the (very poorly known) possible dryosaurid Callovosaurus, two bennettitaleans (Williamsonia and Williamsoniella), plus bonus Cladophlebis ferns. #sciart #fossils #dinosaurs

A fuzzy-bodied, scaly-tailed beaked dinosaur runs for cover amid shrubby plants. The tallest, Williamsonia hildae (centre-left), is shown in several life stages (see leaves emerging from the ground, as a single branching pair, and then again as a small tree/tall bush). The other, shrubbier species on the right is Williamsoniella coronata.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

These are always really interesting and fun to attend, I hope to see some of you there! Please spread the word to those who might be interested.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

It's #WorldLionDay, so here's some #paleoart of cave lions, Panthera spelaea, from my upcoming book, "The Colors of Dinosaurs and the Prehistoric World". P. spelaea is among the Ice Age megafauna we have colour data for, although it's not easy to interpret. press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

Two cave lions, one male (with an effort at a mane, but not a big one, as cave art suggests) and one female (maneless) chase a juvenile buffalo. The sky has dark, rain-filled clouds, and the grass is lush and green. Like it was in the before times.

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Richard Butler @richardjbutler.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

For me key points are: - We should better fund our museums to allow them to acquire & display such collections - We should consider are we happy to allow collections of this significance to leave the country (we wouldn’t if it was a Turner).

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James @tlbjames.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Locked in Time is an excellent book. Gonna have to look for the others on this list. King Tyrant by @markwitton.bsky.social is also an excellent dive into T. rex history and science.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

For #FossilFriday, a fashionably late post of my Musango matusadonaensis #paleoart, the first depiction of this newly-named Zimbabwean sauropodomorph. Commissioned by @profpaulbarrett.bsky.social of @nhm-london.bsky.social, Musango is known from just enough of a skeleton to attempt a reconstruction.

A mid-sized, longish-necked dinosaur crosses a drying riverbed in Triassic Zimbabwe. It rears slightly to look around, seeing sparse trees surrounded by drying mud and desiccated, collapsing riverbanks. Dead vegetation suggests a stressed habitat. (This is based on geological data, by the way, and is not a description of the European summer of 2026.)

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Just added prints of my new coloured Styracosaurus artwork to my web store! If your life needs more elaborate neck frills, grab one from here: www.markwitton.co.uk/product-page.... (And if that's not to your fancy, there's over 140 other #paleoart pieces to choose from.)

markwitton.co.uk

Styracosaurus albertensis in (full) colour (2026) | MarkWittonPalaeoart

Uncropped print on 312gsm smooth fine art paper.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Just submitted a review of the Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Plants. Short version: a book heavy on plant reconstructions is a great idea (and potential #paleoart reference), but it's let down by formatting issues and problematic plant recons. Thanks to @palaeojules.bsky.social for discussion.

The cover of the Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Plants, with plant reconstructions pushing in from the margins.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

I've recently posted new #paleoart and essays at #Patreon: a coloured version of my b+w Styracosaurus (shown here), a #specevo #pterosaur, and observations on whether the jaw fossils of Baryonyx suggest spinosaurids had lips. Check this out at www.patreon.com/markwitton.

Styracosaurus albertensis walking towards us, glancing around. On the left, a wee bird flies up to a small nest, where its mate is waiting. Hey, I found a nest similar to that on this morning's dog walk. It had fallen from a pruned tree and couldn't be repositioned, so I carried it home (which meant walking around town for 40 minutes carrying it) and placed it in a tree of the same species in our garden. Hopefully some small birds will find it and re-use it next year. We already have various tits and corvids nesting in trees outside, and I'm pretty sure sparrows nest in a neighbour's hedge. What were we talking about? Oh yeah: art and stuff. Yes, that sure is a picture of a horned dinosaur.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

I've spent far too long agonising over this.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Seeking feedback on this image of Neanderthals chatting. Any comments or feedback on their appearance or expressions, positive or negative?

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Laying out my #DinoCon #paleoart display to check everything looks OK... I seem to have printed an illustrated essay. Bring your reading glasses, folks.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Am happy to say that #SVPCA 2026 >is< happening: a one-day event, 10th September, at the Uni. of Southampton. Registration opens very soon so, if you're on the SVPCA mailing list or FB group, expect details imminently. I'll post links etc. here too. For now, here's the shiny new conference logo...

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

By criminy, it looks like I've got another book to proofread.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Protoceratops hellenikorhinus sits on a dune on another warm #FossilFriday, wondering when the heat will end. At least it looks cool with those snazzy low horns. #Paleoart from 2016 (one of my better pieces from that period, I think).

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Heading back early* from the big shindig to celebrate the restoration of Crystal Palace Park and the @cpdinosaurs.bsky.social. I'm proud to have played a part in a huge effort to repair and restore the Dinosaurs... *Stupid trains.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

I turn a lot of my #paleoart paintings into silhouettes for book graphics and diagrams. I think they look pretty neat. If you can correctly identify all of these, award yourself an extra big slice of cake after dinner.

A collection of prehistoric animals in silhouettes. No fish, because I'm a monster and forgot to include any.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

#Paleoart for #FossilFriday from 2021: elasmosaurid Albertonectes vanderveldei explores the deep, dark, cool waters of Cretaceous Canada. (Psst: if you also like murky pictures of extinct animals where you can't see anything, all my art is available as prints: www.markwitton.co.uk)

A pair of long-necked marine reptiles exploring the gloom of the deep sea. One scrapes its neck along the floor, perhaps to rid itself of parasitic fish that have attached themselves to its flank (some examples are seen on its hindquarters). Amid the darkness are fish and marine invertebrates, including straight-shelled ammonites.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

To celebrate the announcement of my #specevo #dinosaur book this #FossilFriday, here's my giant Olymposaurus, a modern-day abelisaur. The proportions were predicted using real abelisaur scaling regimes: that short, upturned face, enormous thigh etc. are expected features of a 13 m abelisaur. #sciart

A huge carnivorous dinosaur with a short, deep face, tiny, handless arms and enormous muscled legs pins a juvenile long-necked dinosaur in a South American grassland. A large, deep gash on the constrained dinosaur hints at a wound on its abdomen, and blood on the snout of the carnivore suggests predatory activity. Other long-necks are visible in the distance, in front of a bank of clouds.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Major announcement posted at #Patreon yesterday: I'm producing a big #specevo #dinosaur book devoted to a "no K/Pg impact" scenario over the next 18 months. I'll be sharing updates on the project at Patreon throughout development, so sign up if you want previews! www.patreon.com/markwitton #sciart

A montage of speculative dinosaurs produced thus far for my "Dinosaurs Evolved" project. Clockwise from top left: the green crookedbill; the magnificent fissurefrill; the berk; the grand field titan; the short-faced olymposaur; the steppe fissurefrill, and the ferocious slaughter king. Want to know more about these guys? Set your controls for the heart of Patreon!

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Today's lunch spot is a slight upgrade from eating at my desk. (Watching c. 20,000 guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, gulls etc. at RSPB South Stack with @gizz47.bsky.social.)

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

A glance into the garden revealed some awesome natural history unfolding mere metres away.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

If you know what this is, you'll be just as excited about it as I am.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Major new paper for #paleoart by Terras et al. on extra-oral tissues (lips, cheeks etc.) in Triassic archosauromorphs. They conclude what a lot of us have been saying for a while now: lipped mouths should be the starting point for restoring fossil reptiles. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Inferred presence of extraoral tissues in Triassic archosauromorphs and the evolutionary implications for the clade Sauropsida

Recent work has suggested that the presence of extraoral soft tissues (‘lips’), in the form of labial scales in theropod dinosaurs, could be inferred based on: anteroposteriorly distributed foramina ...

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Went to the unveiling of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History's new palaeo exhibits this evening with @gizz47.bsky.social. Excellent new displays of British dinosaur material, well worth checking out even if you've visited umpteen times before.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Book 8 contract SIGNED. Am pretty excited for this one! I'll be sharing teasers and previews while I write and illustrate it over the next 18 months (especially at Patreon: www.patreon.com/markwitton). That's all for no - hey, what's this weirdly-proportioned sauropod doing here?

So big as to eclipse the rising full moon, a gargantuan sauropod grazes in what looks like a modern grassland. Say, is that a short tail with a club? Whatever, dog; it's Friday afternoon, no one cares.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Added some older #Spinosaurus images to my print store, having forgotten to upload them earlier. These are Paralititan stomping towards Spino, and a Spinosaurus lek where they're showing off their sails and tails. Available to buy here: www.markwitton.co.uk/category/all... #FossilFriday #paleoart

Two enormous long-necked dinosaurs stomp towards a comparatively small Spinosaurus in a Cretaceous delta. Spinosaurus looks up, wondering if the titles people instil onto it - "king of the Cretaceous", "river king" etc. - are meant to be ironic.

A bunch of Spinosaurus showing off their sails and tails in the only way they know how: a dance off.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Sad to see that "The End of Oak Street" looks to have read deeply from the Big Book of Dinosaur Movie Cliches. I'm glad to see a non-JP dinosaur film coming out but can we get some different dinosaur encounters, please? Not everything has to be about violent theropods. youtu.be/3oB9AxspVow?...

youtu.be

The End of Oak Street | Official Trailer

YouTube video by Warner Bros.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Was amazed to find a Harris hawk visiting the garden this morning, presumably a lost pet. It hung around for 20 minutes or so, making low-energy efforts at the neighbour's quail pen. No interest in our chickens.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

New #paleoart just posted at #Patreon: #sauropod Xenoposeidon meets the enigmatic #theropod Alitspinax. A lengthy post shows the image in HD and catalogues its long history, the preceding versions appearing in 2013 and 2015. #sciart #dinosaur #art www.patreon.com/posts/159645...

Caught in the light of a full moon revealed on a cloudy night, a skulking predatory dinosaur is revealed to a much larger long-necked species. They stand on a flooded plain amid shadowy dead trees and other Cretaceous vegetation. In the far distance are conifer trees and other sauropod dinosaurs.

The 2015 version of my Wealden night scene. A predatory dinosaur approaches two small long-necked dinosaurs standing in a cluster of dead trees on a cloudy night. There is much grey.

The 2013 version of my Wealden night scene. A predatory dinosaur approaches two small long-necked dinosaurs standing in a cluster of dead trees on a cloudy night. There is some blue and lots of black. It's almost too dark to see anything because 2013 Mark didn't really know what he was doing. What a hack.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

New at #Patreon: Stop press (literally, in my case)! Fossils suggest that the tapjearid Sinopterus had blue-green/magenta iridescence? Huge implications for #pterosaur #paleoart and just one of a suite of new papers reinventing tapejarid pterosaurs. Discussion at www.patreon.com/posts/159645...

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Top #paleoart tip: 3D prints help enormously with understanding the shape of fossils even if only printed at moderate size and roughly finished. If you recognise everything in this photo, award yourself an extra scoop of pudding this evening.

A collection of 3D printed skulls from fossil animals.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

New #paleoart of the Welsh theropod Dracoraptor hanigani, restored with appropriately neotheropodan features. UK marine sediments have a glut of small Jurassic theropods, with Dracoraptor one of the best-known. #sciart Like this image? You can own a copy! www.markwitton.co.uk/product-page...

A small predatory dinosaur emerges from the darkness of a Welsh cave into the bright sunlight of a beach. Waves crash over dark rocks, and the sand is bleached almost white by the sun. A solitary cloud occurs in the deep, blue sky.

It's all fantasy, of course. The weather in Wales is never this good.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Hark! You can now buy gift vouchers for my print store! The perfect gift for #paleoart or #dinosaur fans to celebrate birthdays, religious holidays, or a #FossilFriday? Check them out at: www.markwitton.co.uk/gift-voucher And the print store itself: www.markwitton.co.uk/category/all...

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Another election, another sense of feeling totally out of step with the rest of the country. We've seen time and again what happens when we hand power to the far right, and what happens when we vote in parties offering nothing but populist policies, but none of that seems to matter.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Voted! Please do the same if you're in a UK region with elections today.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Prep work for #paleoart of Dracoraptor, a Jurassic neotheropod(?) from Wales. The original "cute" skull reconstruction is strange, bearing little resemblance to any close relatives. I see no reason it shouldn't have a much more conventional L. Trassic/E. Jurassic theropod cranium. #dinosaurs

Alternative reconstructions of the skull of Dracroraptor hanigani. Top, the original short-faced, concave-snouted reconstruction from Martill et al. (2016) with colours representing different states of bone preservation and reconstructive inference; bottom, my reconstruction of the same skull, based on the cranial configuration of Coelophysis. The point of this exercise isn't to say "Dracoraptor looks like Coelophysis" - it's too poorly known to make any declarations of this sort - but that the published skull bones do not falsify a more conventional coelophysoid/neotheropod guise, and that they actually fit the basic skull anatomy of such theropods very well. I don't see any reason to regard them as evidencing a novel form of early theropod with a collapsed snout and short jaws.

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Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Received some good news about what might end up being my eighth book today. I don't want to say much yet, but fans of a certain type of evolutionary project are likely to welcome the news. More soon, hopefully.

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