Was it possible for any life to have evolved either similar or the same level intelligence as humans before ANY homonids or close descendants to the homonids ever evolved? If so: then what period would said organism with that level of intellect likely evolved in?
(asking this is so weird for me considering my beliefs-)
17 Votes in Poll
8 Votes in Poll
8 Votes in Poll
A study was published on Parankylosaurs yesterday. And it makes their phylogeny really weird.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2025.2583504
For starters, the study recovers Minmi as a member of Parankylosauria, so we’ve been depicting it wrong this whole time and it should have a tail axe. It also describes new material belonging to Patagopelta
Now here’s the weird part; the phylogenetic analysis recovers Parankylosauria outside of Ankylosauria, going against the long standing consensus that they’re the basal most ankylosaurs. According to the study, Parankylosauria is a separate lineage within Thyreophora that spilt off before Stegosauria and Ankylosauria. On one of their phylogenetic analyses, they recover Yuxisaurus as a Parankylosaur.
I personally am going to continue to treat them as ankylosaurs, because that’s been the long standing consensus on their phylogenetics. But let’s see what the future holds.
I feel like I’ve seen sources that say they had lips instead of beaks, or vice versa.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09897-w
Ferenceratops shqiperorum is new ceratopsian from Romania. It's a very rare example of a European Ceratopsian. It's also the first Ceratopsian known from Hateg Island.
The study also reaffirms Ajkaceratops's status as a ceratopsian. In addition, it also claims that rhabdodontids are actually a clade of Ceratopsians, which I'm kind of skeptical, but oh well.
In the late Triassic, two Herrerasaurus attempt to steal a kill from a Saurosuchus. I’ve depicted the Ischigualasto Formation as a snowy forest. The Ischigualasto Formation was pretty cold compared to the rest of the Triassic, with some estimates putting the average temperature at 37 degrees Fahrenheit. Other studies suggest a warmer average, but only around 40 degrees. The temperature would’ve highly fluctuated, so I think snow fall is possible.
The two large dinosaurs are Herrerasaurus, the most famous herrerasaur, a group of predatory saurischians distinct from both Sauropodomorphs and Theropods. Here, I’ve depicted them with a coat of feathers. This feature is entirely speculative.
The large predator is Saurosuchus, a 7 meter Pseudosuchian and apex predator in its environment. I’ve found various reconstructions of Saurosuchus, both with and without osteoderms. I’m not entirely sure which is more accurate, but here I’ve chose to depict it with ostreoderms. I also added lips because pseudosuchians hadn’t yet adapted to an aquatic lifestyle and therefore would’ve possessed lips to prevent their mouths from drying.
The small dinosaur in the foreground is Eodromaeus, a basal theropod. I’ve also depicted it with feathers.
The small synapsid fighting with the Eodromaeus is Chiniquodon, a predatory cynodont that likely competed with early dinosaurs.
In the background is the dinosaur (or dinosauromorph) Pisanosaurus. Pisanosaurus Is often considered the oldest known ornithischian, a classification that I’ve reflected here. The alternative hypothesis is that it’s a silesaurid. But many recent phylogenetic analyses have recovered silesaurids as basal ornithischians.
The Saurosuchus’s kill is the dicynodont Ischigualastia. I might draw this species alive, as I’ve grown fond of it.
I really don’t like how the shading turned out, since the lead kept smearing. The shadow of my arm also got into the drawing, making it even worse. But I really love how the Herrerasaurus and Saurosuchus turned out. Also random fact, my main paleoart series is now a year old. It needs a better name.
This drawing was suggested by @ScaryLookinHobo , if you have a suggestion feel free to share, although it might take a while for your suggestion to be drawn.
Ahshislesaurus wimani
A large hadrosaur from Late Cretaceous New Mexico. It’s notable because of its deeper mandible.
Ahvaytum bahndooiveche
A primitive sauropodomorph from the Triassic. It lived in what is now Wyoming, and is the oldest dinosaur known from Laurasia.
Anteavis crurilongus
A very early Theropod from Triassic Argentina.
Archaeocursor asiaticus
A meter long basal ornithischian from the Early Jurassic. It lived in China and is the oldest known Ornithischian from Asia.
Astigmasaura genuflexa
A Rebbachisaurid from Argentina. It lived during the Late Cretaceous and coexisted with large dinosaurs such as Mapusaurus and Argentinosaurus.
Athenar bermani
A dicraeosaurid from Late Jurassic Utah. It was one of the many large herbivores from the Morrison Formation.
Brontotholus harmoni
A Pachycephalosaurid from Late Cretaceous Montana. At 3.8 meters, it’s the third largest North America.
Cariocecus bocagei
A hadrosauroid from Early Cretaceous Portugal. It had a large ridge over its eye to protect it from the sun’s glare.
Chadititan calvoi
A Titanosaur from Late Cretaceous Argentina. It was small for a sauropod, being only 7 meters long.
Cienciargentina sanchezi
See the Astigmasaura description
Duonychus tsogtbaatari
A Therizinosaur from Late Cretaceous Mongolia. Unlike other therizinosaurs, it only had two claws as opposed to the typical three.
Dzharacursor bissektensis
An ornithomimid from Uzbekistan. It was originally believed to be a species of Archaeornithomimus.
Emiliasaura alessandrii
A medium sized iguanodontian from Argentina. The holotype is believed to be from a juvenile, so the adult form was probably larger than the holotype.
Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae
A basal Neornithischian from the Morrison Formation.
Huadanosaurus sinensis
A Compsognathid from Early Cretaceous China. It coexisted with its relative Sinosauropteryx and was also described in the same paper as Ā Sinosauropteryx species.
Huashanosaurus qini
A basal eusauropod from Early Jurassic China.
Huayracursor jaguensis
One of the many basal sauropodomorphs from Triassic Argentina. It’s closest relative is Bagualosaurus.
Istiorachis macarthurae
An iguanodontian from Early Cretaceous England. It had elongated spine, similar to Ouranosaurus.
Jinchuanloong niedu
A eusauropod from Middle Jurassic China. It was medium sized sauropod, at 10 meters long.
Joaquinraptor casali
A megaraptoran from Late Cretaceous Argentina. It’s the youngest megaraptoran currently known to science.
Khankhuuluu mongoliensis
A medium sized Tyrannosauroid from Late Cretaceous Mongolia.
Maleriraptor kuttyi
A herrerasaurian from India. It is the first confidentially identified herrerasaur outside of South America.
Mamenchisaurus sanjiangensis
A large Mamenchisaurid from Late Jurassic China. It’s the 8th species of Mamenchisaurus described so far.
Manipulonyx reshetovi
An alvarezsaurid from the Nemegt Formation. It fed on eggs, and its claws were specially adapted to grabbing eggs.
Mexidracon longimanus
An ornithomimid from Mexico. It is the second Mexican ornithomimid to be described.
Nanotyrannus lethaeus
A tyrannosauroid from the Hell Creek Formation. It was described in the same paper that proved the genus’ validity.
Newtonsaurus cambrensis
A neotheropod from Late Triassic South Wales. At 7 meters, it was one of the largest Triassic Theropods.
Obelignathus septimanicus
A Rhabdodontomorph from Late Cretaceous France. It was one of the few Rhabdodontomorphs to survive into the Maastrichtian.
Petrustitan hungaricus
A Titanosaur from Hațeg Island (Romania). Unlike most of the other dinosaurs on the island, it did not undergo insular dwarfism.
Pulaosaurus qinglong
A Neornithischian from Middle Jurassic China. The specimen has a preserved larynx.
Qianjiangsaurus changshengi
A hadrosauroid from Late Cretaceous China. Its similarities to Mongolian species suggest that Mongolia and China had a biotic interchange during the Cretaceous.
Shri rapax
A Dromaeosaurid from Late Cretaceous Mongolia. It coexisted with several other Dromaeosaurids, such as Velociraptor.
Sinosauropteryx lingyuanensis
A compsognathid from Early Cretaceous China. The genus is the first-non avian dinosaur with preserved feathers.
Taleta taleta
A lambeosaurine from Morocco. It is one of the few known hadrosaurs from Africa.
Tameryraptor markgrafi
A Carcharodontosaurid from Late Cretaceous Africa. Its holotype, along with several others, was destroyed in World War 2.
Tongnanlong zhimingi
A Mamenchisaurid from Late Jurassic China. It could grow to 26 meters, making it one of the largest members of its family.
Uriash kadici
A Titanosaur from Hațeg Island that also did not undergo insular dwarfism.
Utetitan zellaguymondeweyae
A Titanosaur from Late Cretaceous North America. Its discovery proves that Alamosaurus was not the only sauropod living in North America at the end of the Cretaceous.
Vitosaura colozacani
An abelisaurid from Late Cretaceous Argentina.
Wudingloong wui
A sauropodomorph from Early Jurassic China. It represents the oldest known Sauropodmorph in East Asia.
Xingxiulong yueorum
A sauropodomorph from Early Jurassic China. It’s the larger of the two species in the genus.
Yuanmouraptor jinshajiangensis
A Metriacanthosaurid from Middle Jurassic China.
Yuanyanglong bainian
An oviraptorosaur from Early Cretaceous China. It is the oldest known Oviraptorosaur from the Gobi Desert.
Zavacephale rinpoche
A Pachycephalosaur from Early Cretaceous Mongolia. It is the oldest Pachycephalosaur known to science.
Zhongyuansaurus junchangi
An Ankylosaurid from Early Cretaceous China. Despite being an ankylosaurid, it lacked a tail club, leading to the genus originally being misidentified as a Nodosaurid.
This would’ve been posted in 2025, but my phone sabotaged it.
What species described last year was your favorite?
Ahshislesaurus wimani
A large hadrosaur from Late Cretaceous New Mexico. It’s notable because of its deeper mandible.
Ahvaytum bahndooiveche
A primitive sauropodomorph from the Triassic. It lived in what is now Wyoming, and is the oldest dinosaur known from Laurasia.
Anteavis crurilongus
A very early Theropod from Triassic Argentina.
Archaeocursor asiaticus
A meter long basal ornithischian from the Early Jurassic. It lived in China and is the oldest known Ornithischian from Asia.
Astigmasaura genuflexa
A Rebbachisaurid from Argentina. It lived during the Late Cretaceous and coexisted with large dinosaurs such as Mapusaurus and Argentinosaurus.
Athenar bermani
A dicraeosaurid from Late Jurassic Utah. It was one of the many large herbivores from the Morrison Formation.
Brontotholus harmoni
A Pachycephalosaurid from Late Cretaceous Montana. At 3.8 meters, it’s the third largest North America.
Cariocecus bocagei
A hadrosauroid from Early Cretaceous Portugal. It had a large ridge over its eye to protect it from the sun’s glare.
Chadititan calvoi
A Titanosaur from Late Cretaceous Argentina. It was small for a sauropod, being only 7 meters long.
Cienciargentina sanchezi
See the Astigmasaura description
Duonychus tsogtbaatari
A Therizinosaur from Late Cretaceous Mongolia. Unlike other therizinosaurs, it only had two claws as opposed to the typical three.
Dzharacursor bissektensis
At the end of the Cretaceous, a Hatzegopteryx duo hunt the dwarf sauropod Paludititan. In the foreground, the dwarf nodosaurid Struthiosaurus watches them. The dinosaur in the background is Gargantuavis. It might look like an ornithomimid, but it’s actually an enormous bird.
During the Cretaceous, many dinosaurs and pterosaurs became isolated on Hațeg Island in what is now Romania. While herbivorous dinosaurs (such as Paludititan and Struthiosaurus) became small due to limited food, pterosaurs and birds became huge.
This is one of those drawings that I started months ago but didn’t finish until much later. I was originally going to add big mountains in the background, but I decided not to because I think it would’ve taken away the island feel.
Because there’s a lot of stuff going on in this drawing, here’s a key so you can identify the different species.
Spondylerpeton spinatum - a four foot long “reptile-like” amphibian known as an Embolomere. It was one of the largest animals in the Mazon Creek.
Dragonympha srokai - a griffinfly. I was originally going to add Meganeura, but it isn’t known from the formation. This species is known only from nymph remains, and its adult form is unknown, so I think my depiction as being similar to Meganeura is reasonable.
Cephalerpeton ventriarmatum - a very primitive reptile.
Arthropleura cristata - a giant herbivorous millipede. This was probably the hardest species to draw.
Megalichthys hibberti - a five foot long carnivorous lobe-finned fish. I’m not sure how realistic the idea of it leaping out of the water is. I’d imagine early tetrapodomorphs like this would’ve had the ability to breathe air, since lungfish can breathe air.
Amphibamus grandiceps - a mid sized Temnospondyl.
Mazothairos enormis - an enormous herbivorous insect. These types of insects rivaled griffinflies in size and aren’t related to any living group of insects.
Mesotarbus extraneus - an extinct arachnid possibly related to mites.
Calamites - a huge plant related to horsetails.
Lepidodendron - a large tree-like clubmoss.
Pecopteris - a generic fern
Cordaites - a tree related to confides (or possibly a true conifer). All the trees in this drawing are juveniles, since adults could grow up to 100 feet tall.
This drawing actually took 10 months to finish, but mostly because I forgot about it for most of then. Anyway, I had a lot of fun making it. It’s interesting how all the plants in the drawing are extinct, making an extra challenge. It was also pretty hard to research these species since all of these species (except Arthropleura) either have stubs for Wikipedia pages, or don’t have Wikipedia pages at all. This was kind of intended to be a modern interpretation of Walking With monsters, and originally I was going to feature more species from the show. Anyway, hope you guys like it!
August 30th, 2019
All life comes from a single common ancestor, and each descendant of that ancestor contains the same knowledge that ancestor possessed: the knowledge stored in its DNA.
By unlocking the power of DNA, our scientists at Revolution Global Genetics are now working round the clock to use that power to create a better future.
If we understand DNA, then we can edit it, and if we can edit DNA, then we can stop genetic disorders that could result in innocent people dying. Imagine if you had a genetic disorder that would kill you by the time you’re 30. With our research, not only could you reduce the effects of the disorder, but you could erase it entirely, as if it never existed.
But it’s not just our fellow humans we can save. Many of the incredible animals that roam our planet are becoming increasingly rare and may face extinction in the coming decades if proper wildlife conservation measures are taken. And some of these species just don’t have enough individuals to ensure the long term survival of their species.
Imagine a flightless parrot the size of a dog (the Kākāpō).
A small relative of cattle that looks like an antelope (the saola).
A tiny porpoise only 4 feet long (the vaquita).
All three of the animals really do exist, but have dangerously low numbers. But by using the power of genetic engineering, we can create new individuals with distinct genes to ensure the species survives. By partnering with wildlife conservation groups, we believe we can get all 3 of these species (and hundreds more) off the endangered list by 2050.
We improve genetic diversity by taking the genome of a living species, and analyzing the knowledge in its DNA. By studying its ancestry, we are able to use computer programs (some of the most advanced programs in the world!), and simulate entirely new bloodlines in the species. Our computers can then rearrange a genetic strand and create our digitally created DNA strand in real life. We have even discovered that we can perfectly create the DNA of species merely by analyzing the characteristics of its bones.
Ultimately our future is dependent on our past, perhaps more than we believe.
Here’s a drawing of the hadrosaur Bonapartesaurus climbing the mountains of Late Cretaceous South America. In the background you can see an Aerotitan flying.
I was looking at the rock climbing sloth image for Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age, and I thought “hey, what if a hadrosaur did the same thing,” so I chose Bonapartesaurus because I like South American hadrosaurs. Ultimately though, this was about the background not the dinosaurs. I really wanted to create a sense of scale with the towering mountains. The Allen formation was a tropical rainforest (I think) or swamp, so the snow capped mountains was meant to emphasize the elevation. Unlike past drawings of mine, I really put a lot of time making the details for the mountain. I’m honestly really proud of how this drawing turned out (although I think the shading could be better).
If you have any suggestions, feel free to share them, although I can’t guarantee I’ll draw them.
It was described a week ago, but still pretty new.
Scientists have described a new species of bird named Pujatopouli from the Lopez de Bertodano Formation in Antarctica. According to the phylogenetic analysis in the study describing it, Pujatopouli is the sister taxon to the extant family Procellariidae, which contains most living petrels (like fulmars and shearwaters). This makes it one of the few named crown-group birds from the Cretaceous. It is also one of the most complete Cretaceous crown-group birds.
I can’t find any paleoart of the species, but here’s a picture of a Cape petrel, one of several petrel species found in Antarctica.
Here’s the study
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019566712500182X
Do note that they mainly refer to it as just a member of Aequornithes (large clade that includes penguins, loons, boobies, storks, petrels, and many others). However their phylogenetic tree places it next to petrels.
So I was just thinking today, we know that various groups of dinosaurs inhabited Antarctica during the Maastrichtian, specifically Titanosaurs, Ankylosaurs, Elasmarians, Unenlagiines, Megaraptorans, and Hadrosaurs. Now all these groups were present in South America at the time, so I'd imagine that they migrated from there (or maybe Australia, but Hadrosaurs never lived in Australia, or not that I know of). Since Abelisaurids were also thriving in South America, I wondered if maybe they could've gotten to Antarctica as well.
What do you guys think? Could Abelisaurids have reached Antarctica?
do you think that dinosaurs got embarrassed when they pood out eggs in front of others??? sorry if this offends anyone but i thought it was a funny thing haha. and i would like to know if any of you have any pics of dinosaurs pooping an egg while they look nervous or embarrassed i just want to see it for a few laughs haha. another thing i am wondering is what do you think the eggs smell like haha im just curious for laughs haha i would like to smell them
Because my self esteem requires me to make silly WDYLM polls, I’ve decided to bring back my most iconic WDYLM series. But this time it’s going to be bigger and better. It will feature all the prehistoric animals from the Walking With canon, which includes:
Walking with Dinosaurs
Ballad of Big Al
Walking with Beasts
Chased by Dinosaurs
Walking with Cavemen
Sea Monsters
Walking with Monsters
The Movie
Walking with Dinosaurs (2025)
And here’s the complete roster
African bush elephant
Alanqa
Albertosaurus
Alexornis
Allosaurus
Alphadon
Ambulocetus
Ancylotherium
Andrewsarchus
Ankylosaurus
Anomalocaris
Anurognathus
Apidium
Archelon
Argentinosaurus
Arrhinoceratops
Arsinoitherium
Arthropleura
Astraspis
Australopithecus
Avitelmessus
Azhdarcho
Basilosaurus
Bison
Black eagle
Bothriolepis
Brachiosaurus
Brontoscorpio
Cambrian trilobite
Cameroceras
Carcharodontosaurus
Cave lion
Cephalaspis
Cetiosaurus
Chalicotherium
Chirostenotes
Coelophysis
Cretaceous ammonite
Cretaceous wasp
Cryodrakon
Cryptoclidus
Cymbospondylus
Cynodictis
Dakotadon
Deinosuchus
Deinotherium
Didelphodon
Diictodon
Dimetrodon
Dinilysia
Dinofelis
Diplodocus
Doedicurus
Dorudon
Dragonfly
Dromaeosaurus
Dryosaurus
Dung beetle
Dunkleosteus
Edaphosaurus
Edmontonia
Edmontosaurus annectens
Edmontosaurus regalis
Elasmosaurus
Embolotherium
Entelodon
Eocene sea turtle
Eocene shark
Euparkeria
European pterosaur
Eurotamandua
Eustreptospondylus
Formicium
Gastonia
Gastornis
Giant wētā
Giganotosaurus
Gigantopithecus
Godinotia
Gorgonops
Gorgosaurus
Graptolite
Gray wolf
Haikouichthys
Halisaurus
Hell Creek butterfly
Hesperonychus
Hesperornis
Homo erectus
Homo ergaster
Homo habilis
Homo heidelbergensis
Homo rudolfensis
Horseshoe crab
Human
Hyaenodon
Hybodus
Hyneria
Hynerpeton
Iberomesornis
Iguanodon
Infernodrakon
Isotelus
Jackal
Jellyfish
Jurassic ammonite
Kem Kem ornithopod
Kem Kem Titanosaur
Kem Kem Crocodylimorph
Koolasuchus
Leaellynasaura
Leedsichthys
Leptictidium
Leptolepis
Lion
Liopleurodon
Lungfish
Lusotitan
Lystrosaurus
Macrauchenia
Megaloceros
Megalodon
Megalograptus
Meganeura
Megatherium
Mesothelae
Metriorhynchus
Miocene crocodile
Moeritherium
Mononykus
Muttaburrasaurus
Nanosaurus
Neanderthal
Nothosaurus
Odobenocetops
Onchopristis
Ophthalmosaurus
Ornithocheirus
Ornitholestes
Pachyrhinosaurus
Palaeobatrachus
Paraceratherium
Paramacellodus
Paranthropus
Parksosaurus
Peteinosaurus
Petrolacosaurus
Phorusrhacos
Placerias
Planicoxa
Plateosaurus
Pleistocene rabbit
Plesiopleurodon
Polacanthus
Polar allosaur
Postosuchus
Propalaeotherium
Proterogyrinus
Proterosuchus
Protoceratops
Pteranodon
Pterygotus
Purgatorius
Quetzalcoatlus
Rhamphorhynchus
Rhinesuchus
Saiga antelope
Sarcosuchus
Saurolophus
Saurophthirus
Scorpion
Scutosaurus
Sea urchin
Seymouria
Smilodon
South American iguanodont
Spinosaurus
Squalicorax
Stegosaurus
Steropodon
Stethacanthus
Tanystropheus
Tapejara
Tarbosaurus
Therizinosaurus
Therocephalian
Thrinaxodon
Torosaurus
Torvosaurus
Triceratops
Troodon
Tuatara
Tylosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Unidentified creodont
Unidentified Cretaceous pterosaurs
Unidentified Hell Creek ornithischians
Unidentified Jurassic pterosaurs
Unidentified pliosaur
Unidentified whale
Utahraptor
Velociraptor
Vulture
Warthog
White rhinoceros
Wildebeest
Woolly mammoth
Woolly rhinoceros
Xiphactinus
Zebra
Let me know if you want poings
I drew this in only a few hours (and I listened to practically the entire Hamilton soundtrack while doing it). I challenged myself to only use my dinosaur books as a reference and not the internet. The sauropodomorphs aren’t a named species, they’re an unnamed taxon known only from footprints. I based them off Plateosaurus. The other creature is Effigia. It may look like a dinosaur, but it’s a pseudosuchian, and therefore a distant relative of crocodiles.
Haven’t continued the Horseshoe Canyon collage in a few days, so here we go.
