iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 14h

Went to Crocodiles of the World today to conclude the Oxford Marine Reptile Conference. Much time spent time with amazing, hyper-charismatic reptiles and made loads of cool observations, including the teeth-sheathing gingiva of a Komodo dragon, high walking Nile crocs and nippy Galapagos tortoises.

111023

Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I haven't posted anything for a while, so here's some new #paleoart for #FossilFriday: Cetiosaurus in a Middle Jurassic landscape. I've had to compose and execute this in just two days, so hopefully it looks OK! (All data for the plant recons comes from @palaeojules.bsky.social.) #dinosaur #sciart

A long-necked dinosaur walks along a shallow river surrounded by various Jurassic trees, ferns and shrubs. A small predatory dinosaur watches from the nearest riverbank.

724280

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.

518157

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...

825859

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

And just for fun, because I seem to have them saved in the same directory, here are Deinonychus predation scenes that I drew when I was 13-14 years old. They are preying on iguanodonts because Cretaceous sauropods weren't on the radar when I was small.

An old pencil sketch showing featherless raptorial dinosaurs attacking an iguanodont. There are deep gashes and gore across the herbivore, because teenagers gotta teenage.

Another old sketch showing a group of featherless raptorial dinosaurs running around and clambering over a bellowing iguanodont. The latter has broad scute-like scales over its belly because I'd been looking at Ricardo Delgado's dinosaur imagery again. That probably also explains the nasty wound across the iguanodont neck (Age of Reptiles fans might know what I'm talking about).

5616

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.

219758

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.

525981

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.

316847

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)

411932

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...

0197

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.

122070

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.

28420

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.)

212342

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.

39916

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.

521971

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?

168418

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.

1469

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...

24411

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

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

210010

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).

310838

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

(Addendum: the sculptures were being illuminated as we left. Sadly @gizz47.bsky.social and I had to bail before the effect was fully realised, but @bobnichollsart.bsky.social's Palaeotherium magnum had already attained a fetching shade of red, and **relocated!!** Xiphodon was a cool magenta.)

1548

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

The fantastic news is that the dinosaurs are no longer considered "at risk" by Historic England. More work lies ahead in getting the Geological Court resembling its original state, but this is an important milestone in the Dinosaurs' history. Congrats to all involved, we've done good.

59112

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

The project has also relocated statutes to historic positions, used broken sculpture parts and photographs to model and 3D print missing and replacement body parts (including draconic pterosaur heads), and restored the geological sculptures.

1637

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

...with an emphasis on making them "old" again. So, yes, those crazy two-tone colours, those oranges and purples etc. are based on sculpture paint analyses and how BW Hawkins imagined prehistoric animals in his paintings. The CP Dinos were far more garish than their recent history suggests.

1529

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.

825258

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.

210825

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.

213735

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.

417852

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!

1124575

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

Must have been a great place to spend a month! We didn't see any mammals but strong winds meant the auks had to swing right above our heads, just metres away, to get to the cliffs. We'd go back for a third visit but today is our last day away: tomorrow we return to the realm of normality.

191

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.)

2494

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

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

411914

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.

414220

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

So artists who still regard that JP T. rex aesthetic as plausible, or who draw sneaky, snaggly teeth emerging from lipped reptile mouths, need to get with the times. Deep-lipped, gummy lepidosaur-style jaws with reduced tooth visibility is what we should be imagining for most extinct reptiles.

26713

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

There's a lot to digest in the paper because even fish-eating taxa that some regard as lipless - phytosaurs and spinosaurs - are inferred as lipped. (I've argued this for spinosaurs for over half a decade now in blog posts and books, most recently in 2025's Spinosaur Tales).

3335

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

A lot of Terras and colleagues' approach builds on our recent work on theropod lips (Cullen et al. 2023), which is great to see. We aimed to present a toolkit for assessing the likelihood of extra-oral tissues in extinct animals and hoped it would be useful to others.

1458

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

Also, I can't not post these images of Iguanodon supraorbital bones. I'm uncertain if there's some exaggeration in this specimen, but they join other examples in suggesting a decent (and seldom restored) set of eyebrows.

1377

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.

47817

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.

211221

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.

013540

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

Thinking specifically about putting soft-tissues over fossils, the oldest examples I know of are 1672 and 1717 fish studies: pre-science, even. I need to learn more about these (off the top of my head, I can't remember who drew them), but this is clearly palaeoart of some kind.

1237

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

"Palaeoart can't be stylised" Because palaeoart has always, since the beginning, produced 100% photo-real, non-cartoony takes on fossil life. Whoops, I dropped some drawings from Cuvier's 1820s series on fossil mammals of France...

1546

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.

5919

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.

411027

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...

728888

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.

49817

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

510511

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.

5262101

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...

05415