Ophthalmosaurus

Here’s a scene depicting the British seas, 160 million years ago. The huge fish is Leedsichthys, one of the largest fish ever to live, and a filter feeder similar to today’s baleen whales.

The reptiles attacking it are Tyrannoneustes, 4 and a half meter long thalattosuchians. Tyrannoneustes and its relatives are crocodylimorphs, making them related to crocodiles. But instead of legs, they had fully developed flippers, along with a tail fluke. They were the only archosaurs capable of spending their entire life in the ocean, never having to go on land and being capable of live birth.

The diving pterosaurs are Rhamphorhynchus. Rhamphorhynchus itself isn’t confirmed to live in the formation, but a specimen referred to as cf. Rhamphorhynchus is. These pterosaurs were similar to modern seabirds, and were capable of swimming underwater to catch fish and squid. Their dependence on the marine ecosystem may be why their fossils are fairly common, since aquatic animals are more likely to fossilize than terrestrial ones.

The two ichthyosaurs are Ophthalmosaurus. These ichthyosaurs were capable of diving 600 meters underwater, well within the Mesopelagic Zone (also known as the twilight zone). It’s unlikely that they would dive this deep often, since the Oxford Clay was only around 50 meters deep. This is the first ichthyosaur I’ve drawn in my main paleoart series.

The Plesiosaurs are Cryptoclidus, a member of the family Cryptoclididae. I’m surprised these guys aren’t talked about more since they are frequently featured in dinosaur encyclopedias, and a generally just pretty cool. Cryptoclidus may have used its teeth to extract its prey from sediment, similar to the Antarctic elsmosaur Morturneria.

The ammonites are Aulacostephanus. This genus is not known from the Oxford Clay, but its eggs have been discovered in the Kimmeridge Clay, which is near the Oxford Clay, so I think it’s possible they overlapped.

This sketch is by far the fastest I’ve ever drawn, completed in a few hours (I’m currently at a debate tournament, where I drew it). Ultimately it was a lot of fun to draw, and setting it in the ocean meant I didn’t have to draw complex foliage. I really liked how the Leedsichthys turned out, I do think it doesn’t have the underwater feel though. Nonetheless it feels good to draw another underwater ecosystem (after the Pisco Formation) and Jurassic Formation (after the Morrison).

If you guys have any paleoart suggestions, do feel free to share them, although I cannot guarantee I’ll end up drawing them.

So, if you've been following my posts, you probably know about my story, Monster Cove. A story about a park filled with a lot of aquatic animals from prehistory. In this universe, evolution took a different path, and a lot of the apex predators of the seas and rivers made it to modern day. But dinosaurs were left behind.

First up, we have the main animal protagonist of the story, Donya, a Dolichorhynchops Aqusaltator. She is 4 feet tall, 17 feet long, and 1,200 pounds. Her species name means "Long-nosed Face Water Dancer". She's a little bulkier than a Cretaceous Dolichorhynchops, she has spiked brows, a sharp tail fluke, and spikes in the front of her fins, mainly used for ramming and stunning prey, she also has markings that look like flower petals. Donya was found at sea when a group of poachers were attacking her and her mother. Fortunately, Dr. Gi-wo Hun, a Korean marine biologist who specialized in marine reptiles, and his daughter, Su-yen, along with the coastguard, found the ship the poachers were on and boarded them. Unfortunately, Donya's mother died from blood loss because she was speared in the back. From then on, Su adopted Donya and has been taking care of her since. At Monster Cove, Donya's exhibit is called "Dolly Dimension", which is a live show where she and Su do performances. Because of how she was raised, Donya is very fond of people, almost acting like a pet. But her bond with Su is very strong, so strong in fact, that at one point, when the park was hacked and the animals started rampaging across the park, Donya saved Su from being killed by the park's flagship, Apollo the Unbelievable, a massive Prognathodon. She even helped Su and her father lure Apollo back to his enclosure.

Next up, we have our first remake. Big Duncan is a massive Dunkleosteus Malleocranium, measuring at 36 feet in length, 7 feet in height, and weighs 6 tons. His species name means "Dunke's Bone Hammer Skull". Big Duncan's story is unique in that he wasn't originally from Monster Cove. He was from a park called "Deep Scares", where he was the biggest animal in the park. But the park wasn't exactly the best when it came to managing the animals. In fact, it got to the point that a lot of the animals started dying, and soon enough, the park became smaller to better make Big Duncan the selling point. But one day, he snapped. He started ramming the glass of his enclosure, trying to break out, but then, the people of ScopeSea, the people who own Monster Cove, found out about Big Duncan's situation and sued Deep Scares for it's mistreatment of it's animals. After that, ScopeSea moved Big Duncan to Monster Cove. At first, he wasn't happy with being put into another cage, but then, he noticed that he wasn't just being fed small fish, no, he was being fed large chunks of meat, the kind of meat that his kind need to sustain themsleves. This led to Big Duncan becoming more laid back because he realized that people in Monster Cove actually do care about him, so his anger faded away until there was nothing left. These days, Big Duncan, despite his intimidating appearance, is well-loved by guests, and especially children because of how friendly he is. He even does something a fish shouldn't be able to do, he often winks at the guests, making them question things. But he knows they're confused and loves to play along with the mystery. His exhibit is called "Abyssal Encounter", because unlike a lot of the other exhibits, this one is set in a cave-like setting. Because in the wild, this Dunkleosteus species is mainly a night hunter and they prefer darker areas. He has far more armor than the Dunkleosteus of the Devonian, and his head is structured in a way where it can be used as a battering ram, and his lower jaw is also bulkier to enhance his bite power. In this universe, the reason why Dunkleosteus doesn't look like a massive goldfish, is because in the Devonian, well, they actually did look like the modern reconstruction of Dunkleosteus. But over the years, they started facing more challenges, especially from sharks, so they evolved a longer body for faster travel. So yeah, I actually have a reason as to why Dunkleosteus looks the way it does in this universe. It's convergent evolution, they're trying to copy sharks.

Next up we have the resident daredevil, Silas, a Cretoxyrhina Duplidentium. He is 34 feet long, 6 feet tall at the top of his dorsal fin, and 5 tons. His name means "Double toothed Cretaceous Sharp-nose", because he actually has two types of teeth. The teeth on his upper jaw are smaller and are used for ripping flesh, while the teeth on the lower jaw are used for crushing bone. Most of his body was inspired by both makos and Greenland sharks. Silas is a very energetic shark and one who always wants to eat large prey and rip it apart in the most violent way possible. He sees violence as an art form, but he never tried to kill his handlers because they're the ones who feed him, if he kills them, he has nothing left to rip apart. But then, when the park was hacked by an extremist group, Silas got out of his exhibit and swam through the connected pipelines of the park, and they were big enough to fit him in them. And eventually, he ended up at Triple Wave Lagoon, where the Plesiosaurs and the Hesperonis were. Chaos soon ensued when Silas tried to kill the Hesperonis in the exhibit, but the three Plesiosaurs, Peppa the Cryptoclidus, Marko the Mauisaurus, and Leido the Thalassomedon fought Silas to protect the Hesperonis because they saw them as neighbors. But he shrugged the Plesiosaurs off. But the problem was, he didn't know someone else was traveling through the same pipes he did. Big Duncan then swam into Triple Wave Lagoon, and he immediately rammed Silas, seeing him as a threat to the surrounding populace. The two of them fought until Big Duncan tired Silas out, enough time for the handlers to capture him and take Silas back to his enclosure. Silas' enclosure is called "Knife House" and it's filled with decorative shipwrecks and bones. The reason for the name is because Cretoxyrhina is often known as the Ginsu Shark, named after Ginsu knives. But after his rampage, he was put into a quarantine enclosure to better study his behavior. Monster Cove and it's staff aren't experimenting on him, they're simply trying to determine whether or not they should keep Silas or they should either give him to another institute or release him back into the wild. They're already planning on a possible replacement just in case Silas acts up again. It's very possible that if his behavior doesn't improve, they'll replace him with a pair of Hybodus or a Helicoprion. Though those two are still predators, their aggression pales in comparison to his.

Up next is a less problematic animal than Silas, we have Hanny, a Hyneria Defumembri. She is 17 feet long and 1.5 feet tall and weighs 3 tons. Her species name means "Missing Limb from Hyner", because, for some unknown reason, her species is missing a lot of the fins often found in Hyneria. She also has more armor on her head. Hanny lives in Superstar Grotto, an exhibit in the freshwater section with a lot of windows and crystal clear water. Hanny has night vision and can slither on land using her front fins for three hours. She is an ambush predator, but one who is an absolute diva when it comes to people taking pictures of her. Because if they don't get her good side, she often splashes the guests with a whip of her tail which flings water at them. But she's actually gentle when it comes to her handlers.

Next up is Ricky the Rhizodus Vitrumanus, He's 2 feet tall and 25 feet long, and 3 tons. His name means "Root Tooth Glass Hand", because his fins look like paned glass. Like Hanny, he's also ambush predator with a top speed of 20 mph in a short burst, and he can also crawl on land just like her. He can be found in the Ravenous Rivers exhibit, an enclosure with one massive glass view, the water that is intentionally murky so guests wouldn't be able to see Ricky at first, but he sees though the water just fine. Ricky, despite being a predator, isn't that aggressive, not even when he's eating. He's actually a prankster. He leverages the murky water as a way to sneak up on people and surprise them through the glass. He often targets an intern who's a new tour guide because he knows this intern is easy to scare. So, Ricky often rolls his eyes to the back of his head when he scares this intern. His color scheme is inspired by salmons.

Then, we have Jet, an Ophthalmosaurus Nasferrum, he's 7 feet tall, 20 feet long, and 3.5 tons. His name means "Eye Lizard Blade Nose", because if his jaws are closed, he can use them like how a needlefish uses it's jaws, to stab prey, and he also whacks prey like how swordfish do. He has superior night vision thanks to his big eyes, he also has echolocation and his top speed is 60 mph and he can maintain that for a long time, making him the fastest animal in the park. His enclosure is Jetstream Speedway, an enclosure that looks like a NASCAR race track, and has compartments where hoops come out. Most of Jet's body is a result of convergent evolution, for the same reason Big Duncan looks longer than a real Dunkleosteus. Because Ophthalmosaurus was competing with sharks, so they evolved a body similar to mako sharks. The stripes on his fins are supposed to look like racing stripes. He has a saddle because he's one of the only animals in the park that people can ride on. The handle on the top is what guests need to hold onto during a ride, they need to put their hands in the hole in the middle, but if that doesn't work they can hold onto the top of the handle, there are also straps meant to hold in a person's legs. Jet is cocky, overconfident, but he makes sure to slow down when someone is riding him. Sometimes, Jet is taken out of his enclosure and put into Triple Wave Lagoon to perform with the Plesiosaurs and the Hesperonis, this usually happens during big events or holidays.

Before anyone asks, no, despite it's name, this isn't a crocodile. It's pretty much a giant salamander that looks like one. This is Gus, a Prionosuchus Ucahabitator. He is 35 feet long, 4 feet tall, and 4.5 tons. His species name means "Saw Crocodile Mangrove Dweller", because that's the usual habitat for this animal. Gus is unique in that he's one of the few animals in the park who is a confirmed man-eater. When he was in the wild, he often killed humans and often attacked their boats on purpose. But then, one day, he fought a rogue saltwater crocodile that escaped from animal traffickers which is why it ended up in his territory. During the fight, the croc performed a death roll on Gus' left front leg, tearing it off. The croc then left, because Gus was far too big for it to take down even with his torn limb. For days, Gus just sat by the river banks, because he wasn't used to hunting without both his front limbs because he often uses them for lunging. But then, he was taken to Monster Cove and rehabilitated, he was given a prosthetic leg and ever since then, he stopped hunting humans and saw them as friends because they essentially saved his life. The staff even clean him once a week to make sure he doesn't have parasites or ticks. He lives in the Mangrove Mystery exhibit in the freshwater section, where a boat is driven across a massive enclosure filled with different freshwater animals, and Gus is at the very end of that tour. Because people aren't afraid of him due to his friendly nature, he often allows people to pat him. Gus was named after Gustave, a massive man-eating Nile crocodile. A lot of his features resemble crocs even more due to convergent evolution yet again, because crocodiles are his main competitors in the wild. He evolved a bulkier snout than a prehistoric Prionosuchus, and longer legs. He also has a sail inspired by the ones on newts, but only males like him have these sails and they're for attracting females and regulating heat during cold climates.

Next we have the Plesiosaur Trio, and we will start with it's smallest member. Peppa, a Cryptoclidus Pumilioserpen. She is 22 feet long, 4 feet tall, and 4 tons. Her species name means "Hidden Clavicles Dwarf Serpent", because she's actually smaller than a prehistoric Cryptoclidus, mainly because she's meant to be faster. Her most notable feature is a relatively small neck compared to other Plesiosaurs. That, and her color scheme is meant to fool the eye. If you look at her in complete darkness with only one source of light, it's very possible you'll assume she's a serpent because the rest of her body is colored in darker colors, so all you'll really see is her neck. She has a diamond shaped tail fluke, and spines on her back. She's the little sister of the trio. The most playful and lively one.

The second member is Marko, a Mauisaurus Deauratumanu, he is 30 feet long, 7 feet tall, and is 5 tons. His species name means "Maui Lizard Gliding Hand". His most notable features are the multiple sails on his neck and back, and the tattoo like markings on his body. The ones on his diamond shaped flippers are meant to resemble fish hooks, a reference to Mauisaurus' namesake, Maui himself. The marks on his tail fluke are also based on certain Polynesian tattoos. Marko is a bit of a perfectionist, he always wants his performances to be perfect and he often pecks Peppa when she gets something wrong, but it's not like he's heartless, because he does see the other Plesiosaurs as siblings.

Lastly, is the leader of the trio, Leido, a Thalassomedon Lugerentis. He's 45 feet long, 10 feet tall, and 6 tons, making him so far, the second largest animal in the park, only second to Apollo himself. His species name means "Sea Lord Light Wielder", because he's one of the only animals in the park, and the only marine reptile thus far who has bioluminescence. The sky blue marks on his body are the bioluminescent parts. Even the tips of the barbels on his head can glow. He uses those barbels to detect subtle movement. Thalassomedon Lugerentis in the wild mostly hunt at night in deep water, which is why they have bioluminescence, they use it to attract prey. But if they're threatened, by say, another predator, they start lighting up the big circular markings in the flippers, giving the illusion of eyes, making the predators think that the Thalassomedon is way bigger than it actually is. Leido acts as the big brother of the trio, he's the one who keeps Marko in check whenever Marko scolds Peppa. But he also cares deeply for his adoptive siblings, often bonding when them when they aren't performing. Another notable thing about Thalassomedon Lugerentis is that they have very thick necks, uncommon for Plesiosaurs. They evolved these to counteract Pliosaurs, so they won't be able to snap a Thalassomedon's neck too easily. The sail is primarily used to attract females. His flippers are meant to look like bird wings.

All three of them live in Triple Wave Lagoon, a massive enclosure where their trainers and them perform. They often jump through hoops, play with beach balls, and swim in coordinated ways that look like their version of dancing.

What do you think?

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So, a month back, I posted about my Monster Cove project which focuses on a park that has mostly water-based/water-adjacent prehistoric animals because in this universe, the meteor didn't kill off most of the inhabitants. I showed off a few animal drawings in that first post, and now, I'm going to share four more of them.

First up, we have Koolaid, a Koolasuchus Priserpere. His species name translates to "Kool's Crocodile High Crawler'". Because this Koolasuchus evolved to counter crocodiles so it adapted their "high walk" ability with the help of longer legs. Koolaid is bulkier than his ancestors, has a bulkier head, and though it's not obvious at this angle, the head is still that distinct salamander shaped head, it's just the perspective making it look different. He has forward facing eyes, fangs at the front, fairly long legs, a sail on the back, and a paddle tail. He has many splotches on his body, scales on his underbelly, and some lines on his tail. At 30 feet long and 3 feet tall, he's far bigger than a Cretaceous Koolasuchus, and weighs about 3 tons.

Koolaid is generally very lazy. He mostly sleeps during most of the day and even in the night. For some odd reason, this Koolasuchus keeps thinking about cars. That's because when he was transported here, he was transported using a truck. And because no trailer walls were covering him, he was held down by ropes and a tarp. But he kept seeing cars on the road which interested him. But if he is hungry, he goes from a lazy bum to a vicious killing machine that chews his prey down to the bone. He can be found in the "Kool Shores" exhibit in the freshwater section of the park.

Next up, we have our first lobe-finned fish, Ricky the Rhizodus Viltrumanus. He's 2 feet tall and 25 feet long, and his species name translates to "Root Tooth Glass Hand" because his lower fins look like stained glass. He has an Armored head, with sharp teeth and big eyes, he has a large dorsal fin, a smaller fin, and a large triangle shaped tail. He has a long stripe running down his side and a few oval shaped markings on his body, and stripes running down his upper fins.

He's not that much of a speedy predator, but he does attack with short bursts of speed but it decreases fast so he's mainly an ambush predator. His top speed is 20 miles per hour. And despite his horrifying appearance, he's a prankster. He loves to sneak up on people and surprise them. He especially likes messing with a new intern by rolling his eyes to the back of his head. He can be found in "Ravenous Rivers" exhibit in the freshwater section of the park. And he can also slither on land using his fins to drag himself forward and can spend three hours on land.

The second lobe-finned fish is Hanny, a Hyneria Defumembri. Her species name means "Missing Limb from Hyner". The reason why her species name is like that is because for some reason that hasn't been explained yet, this species of Hyneria lacks most of the fins found in it's prehistoric relatives. Like Ricky, she has an armored head but it's longer, she has big eyes that have night vision, she has long, sharp fins, and a large tail. She has three stripes on her sides, with a bunch of diamond shaped markings on her body, her tail has a star shaped marking. She isn't as terrifying as she looks. She's more like a diva, one who doesn't like it when people don't get her good side. She can be found in the "Superstar Grotto" exhibit in the freshwater section. Like Ricky, she's also mainly an ambush predator and can slither on land for three hours. She is 17 feet long and 1.5 feet tall

Lastly, we have the park's resident speed demon, Jet the Opthalmosaurus Nasuferrum. His species name translates to "Eye Lizard Blade Nose". He was named after the fact that if this species of Opthalmosaurus ever closes it's jaws, it can use it's snout as a sword like a needlefish and stab targets. He can also whack his targets like a sawfish. He also has superior night vision compared to everyone else. He's thinner than a Jurassic Opthalmosaurus, his fins look more like shark fins and his tail looks more like a shark tail. All traits come from convergent evolution, to gain more speed. His patterns on his main body are based on several dolphin species, he has wavy stripes on his fins, and he has a saddle in the middle. The middle of that saddle has a zipper that is locked when the saddle is on. And on the top part, you can see some oddly shaped structures there, those are actually where people are supposed to put their arms and legs in while riding him. You see, Jet is unique in that he's one of the only animals in the park that the guests can ride. He's flamboyant, and confident, and very popular with kids because of the ride feature. He's 20 feet long, and 7 feet tall at the dorsal fin. He lives in the "Jetstream Speedway" exhibit in the saltwater section. And his enclosure is meant to resemble a race track, but it's not exactly built like one since he still needs to swim normally. Hoops come out of compartments all over the tank if he wants to go fast and swim through them. And on occasions, he's actually transferred to the Plesisoaurus paddock to perform with the Plesiosaurus Triplets, Marko, Peppa and Leido who he gets along with very well. His top speed is 60 miles per hour and he can maintain it for a long time, and he also has echolocation.

What do you think?

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Made this in MS paint btw

The Reptile-Dolphin (Erpetodelphinus Polychroma) is an Icthyosaur (probably an Ophthalmosaurid). The colors were inspired by various types of fish that live in tropical waters.

This animal is fairly small. Next, will be a gigantic Mosasaur, which is the exact opposite.

@DinoDude112 @SiatsPyro07 @SheepAlt @Ankysareawesome @BigDumFish99

I linked Ophtalmosaurus and similars because we appearentky lack of a Arthropterygius page

Toraton = Argentinosaurus

(Brachiosaurus, Indricothere considered)

Lurkfish = Dunkleosteus

(Hybodus, Hyneria considered)

Swampus = Brontoscorpio

(Hynerpeton considered)

Ocean Phantom = Jellyfish

(realy no comparison...)

Reef Glider = Ophthalmosaurus

Spindletrooper = Haikouichthys

(Mesthelae considered)

What are your thought? Which animals would have been better comparisons?

Thankfully, this didn't take anywhere near as long to make as the Tyrannosaurus I made yesterday. Because I decided to make a non-dinosaur today, my next drawing will also probably be of a Non-Dinosaurian animal.

Professor Ichthyosaurus by Sir Henry de la Beche

I wanna see the same thing but Professor Tyrannosaurus Rex holding a Woolly Mammoth skull and a bunch of theropods (Eoraptor, Herrerasaurus, Eodromaeus, Procompsognathus, Coelophysis, Megapnosaurus, Zupaysaurus, Dilophosaurus, Megalosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Cryolophosaurus, Allosaurus, Yangchuanosaurus, Saurophaganax, Torvosaurus, Monolophosaurus, Guanlong, Compsognathus, Ornitholestes, Archaeopteryx, Ornithomimus, Gallimimus, Pelecanimimus, Struthiomimus, Carnotaurus, Baryonyx, Suchomimus, Spinosaurus, Acrocanthosaurus, Siats, Concavenator, Carcharodontosaurus, Giganotosaurus, Beipiaosaurus, Alxasaurus, Falcarius, Therizinosaurus, Caudipteryx, Microvenator, Anzu, Gigantoraptor, Oviraptor, Lythronax, Yutyrannus, Dryptosaurus, Albertosaurus, Sinosauropteryx, Mononykus, Sinornithoides, Microraptor, Sinornithosaurus, Velociraptor, Deinonychus, Utahraptor, Troodon, Gansus, Hesperornis and Avisaurus in my imagination) and the caption "This primitive animal, known as a Woolly Mammoth, but I like to call it a "Stupid Animal that Nobody Even Cares a Fukuivenator about", is one of the animals that we theropods are about to wipe out from existence"