iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I highly recommend reading Dental homologies in lamniform sharks (Chondrichthyes: Elasmobranchii) by Kenshu Shimada to get a sense of lamniform jaws/dentition. A selection of figures from the paper are below pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11746467/

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Above sketches/drawings are all my own, some directly based on scientific figures from Shimada et al's work on lamniform jaws/dentition, Cooper et al's 2022 study on Megalodon as a transoceanic predator & ‘Ewa Wahine’oniuhinui's Megalodon skeletals & 3D models.

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The sketches of the head are meant to get a sense of the spatial relationship between the eyes, nostrils, mouth and teeth. Sharks come in all shapes and sizes, so paying attention to these details allows me to create a more realistic depiction of this iconic predator.

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

... while they get progressively smaller, more asymmetrical/slanted moving from the center front to the corners of the mouth.

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This means it took me quite a bit of work to understand how shark jaws work, and how the 250-some teeth would be arranged in the jaws of Megalodon when it was alive. Basically, the largest and most symmetrical of Megalodon's robust and triangular teeth would be located in the front of the mouth

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Some of the studies I made of the extinct megatooth shark Otodus megalodon, for an upcoming commission I can hopefully share soon. Megalodon is known almost exclusively from fossil teeth, which have not been found articulated with jaws.

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

With this in mind, endangered Mexican wolves now need our help as they are losing government protections & face similar threats from ranchers & trophy hunters. Learn more here: www.wildarizona.org/actions-to-p...

wildarizona.org

Actions to Protect Mexican Gray Wolves - Wild Arizona

Calls to action to protect and conserve Mexican gray wolves. Use your voice to ask your Representatives to protect our endangered wildlife.

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Competition with introduced predators like dingos threatened these striped marsupials, but in the 19th century they were perceived as a threat to livestock and were exterminated by ranchers & bounty hunters.

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

The stripes on the back half of the body. It's also been referred to as the Tasmanian wolf

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

It's been 90 years since the last living thylacine aka Tasmanian tiger was alive. I don't have anything profound to say, other than that Paschalis Dougalis' portrait below is a beautiful depiction #sciart

A highly detailed portrait painting of a thylacine, a dog-like carnivorous marsupial with triangular ears and large eyes, set against a soft olive-brown backdrop. Their is incredible detail in the light & depth of the large eyes and the nose. Its golden-brown fur is detailed enough it looks like you could touch it.

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Reposted by Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸

Rosemary Mosco @rosemarymosco.com · 06/09/2026

AI is certainly making all of this much worse, but every scientist you know, or at least all the physicists, astronomers, mathematicians, and climate scientists, gets tons of emails from men, especially engineers, who think they are Einstein. It’s sad and complicated and messy.

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Breakfast of champions! A female horn shark (Heterodontus francisci) eating its own egg case. There are no males in the habitat so the egg wasn’t fertilized

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

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)

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

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)

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

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.

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

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.

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

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.

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

The sharks you don't hear about: Deepsea catsharks (Pentanchidae) are the largest family of sharks, containing 11 genera & at least (!!!) 110 species.

Smalleye catshark (Apristurus microps) dentition

Fleshynose catshark (Apristurus melanoasper)

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

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 🐧🐦🐤🏳️‍🌈

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Anybody recognize this trilobite? Even family level or time period would be cool to know. Was a gift

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Feast your eyes on DOMINO! Potentially the world's first warty frogfish (Antennarius maculatus) successfully reared in human care 📍Shedd Aquarium

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

To anybody that knows fossils- do these look like brachiopods? From the limestone tiles of Shedd Aquarium. I believe quarried in Illinois

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

This individual is 1 of 2 rescues at Shedd Aquarium. Their mother was caught in a fishing net off the coast of Taiwan in a non-protected area. She was pregnant, & her pups went to different accredited institutions that could care for them www.sheddaquarium.org/about-shedd/...

sheddaquarium.org

Unique and Critically Endangered Bowmouth Guitarfish Pups Find Refuge at Shedd Aquarium | Shedd Aquarium

Shedd Aquarium’s Wild Reef Exhibit is now home to three young critically endangered bowmouth guitarfish pups (Rhina ancylostoma).

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

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

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

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

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

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

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Another version of the same concept: These have a very storybook feel to them, not like his more grounded/detailed Ice Age scenes. The lack of underwater photography to reference, &/or inability to do "plein air" studies underwater, probably played a role in the overall look

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

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.

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Another Megalodon reconstruction by Charles R. Knight from the book "Great White Shark" (Ellis & McCosker, 1991). I've never seen this before, very cool to feature specific taxa like spotted eagle rays (right) & tiger sharks (left). #sciart #paleoart

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Great point, thanks for pointing that out!

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Photo by Joel Sartore for comparison. I have an iPhone 16 Pro Max

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Thank you for the answer! That's very interesting

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

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?

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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.

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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:

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

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

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

I recently searched "goblin shark" on Instagram and was disgusted by the ubiquity of generative AI slop masquerading as actual footage of living goblin sharks. So here's a thread on how to spot the bullshit (examples below) #scicomm #sharks

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

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

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

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

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

It is classified by some as belonging to the genus Isogomphodon

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Liam Elward Paleoart 🇵🇸 @paleobyliam.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

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

Daggernose shark (Isogomphodon oxyrhynchus) illustration [Marc Dando]

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