AnimalsAPR 2, 2018

This Artist Depicts How Dinosaurs Actually Looked Like, And The Result Might Surprise You

When it comes to creatures that are known to us only through fossils it's understandable that there's a lot we don’t know. Skin, fur, hair, feathers, fat tissue rarely gets fossilised and fossil remains can't tell much about the behavior of the animal. Hence, it's no secret that when it comes to palaeontology, a fair amount of speculation is allowed.

C.M. Kosemen, an Istanbul-based artist has written a book "All Yesterdays" about prehistoric animals where he shared some of his speculations through illustrations.
He says that animal reconstructions based only on fossils may often pose some inaccuracies. The main reason is that many features of animal bodies may not have survived in fossils, such as pouches, or skin flaps.

Most of us have seen dinosaurs portrayed with deadly grins and massive sharp teeth making them look like terrifying predators. According to Kosemen, actual dinosaurs which inhabited the earth million years ago, may not have looked so terrifying after all. Most of the animals had lips, gums and enough facial fat to hide their vicious grins.
To avoid similar misconceptions himself, the artist tries to take more cues from animals today.

With his illustrations, Koseman challenges current depictions of dinosaurs by offering alternatives, which may be more accurate and knowledgeable.
Check them out below and tell us what you think in the comments.

#1 The Extremely Birdy Predatory Dinosaur Deinonychus Watches The Sunset At A Canyon

#2 Scythe-Armed, Featherless Swans

#3 An Elephant, A Rhinoceros And A Horse Reconstructed With The Mistakes We Often See In Reconstructions Of Dinosaurs And Other Extinct Animals. From My Book, All Yesterdays, Unique And Speculative Views Of Dinosaurs And Other Prehistoric Animals

#4 Two Lanky Moganopterus Pterosaurs On A Stroll At An Ancient Beach. Moganopterus Was One Of The Largest Toothed Pterosaurs

#5 A Short-Tailed Form Of The Popular Sail-Backed Repto-Mammal Dimetrodon. The Background On This Image Is Inaccurate. These Animals Mostly Inhabited Swamps And Jungle

#6 The Intermediate-Form Pterosaur, Darwinopterus Modularis, Flashes Its Red Crest For A Potential Mate

#7 The Giant, Macropredatory Sperm Whale, Livyathan Melvillei, Which Lived 12-13 Million Years Ago. Each Teeth Of This Animal Was The Size Of A Small Shoe

#8 The Sword-Beaked Ichthyosaur Eurhinosaurus Has Been Typecast As A Slim, Sleek Marine Reptile, But With A Length Exceeding 6 Meters, It Must Have Been Quite A Stately Creature In Real Life

#9 The Stubby-Armed Dinosaur, Majungasaurus, Displays With Its Flamboyant Neck Wattles And Crest

#10 A Jock Ctenospondylus Faces Down A Smaller Opponent Because His Back Is Not Humpy And Red Enough

#11 "Shrink-Wrap" Reconstructions Of Birds

#12 Measured Drawing Of The Small Chinese Pterosaur Qinglongopterus, A Relative Of Rhamphorhynchus. This Flying Reptile Is Known From The Fossil Of A Very Small Juvennile - Not Much Larger Than The Eurasian Wren, Troglodytes Troglodytes Living Today

#13 Albertosaurus, The Original "Terror Bird"

#14 A Bull Diplodocus Briefly Walks On Two Legs While On A Beachside Excursion, As His Kind Often Does

#15 The Swimming Reptile Polycotylus, Viewed From The Top. New Discoveries Indicate These Prehistoric Marine Reptiles Were Quite Chunky - More Like Seals And Walruses Than Snakes Or Crocodiles.

#16 Balaur Bondoc Lived In Late Cretaceous Romania. It Was Interpreted As A Strange, “Double-Sickle-Clawed” Relative Of Velociraptor Or Deinonychus, But It Is Now Thought To Be A Unique Relative Of Early Birds

#17 A Slightly Immature Pterodactylus Pterosaur By An Ancient Seashore. A Mature Specimen Can Be Seen On The Background

#18 Pencil Illustration Of The Ichthyosaur Acamptonectes

#19 The Demon-Bird Austroraptor Howls Against The Full Moon

#20 The “Bull-Horned” Ceratopsian Nasutuceratops Supplements Its Diet With A Dash Of Calcium - From An Unfortunate Turtle It Found On A River Bank