Squamata

Remains of Mini 'Komodo Dragon' Found in GreeceLive Science

''' A long-lost relative of today's Komodo dragons lived in Europe as recently as 800,000 years ago. These reptilians were much smaller than the predatory Komodo dragons that live today in Indonesia.

But the discovery of their fossils at a site in Greece was a surprise, because monitor lizards were thought to have vanished in Europe around 2.5 million years ago as climate conditions gradually changed.

"It's a survivor, let's say," said Georgios Georgalis, a doctoral candidate in paleontology at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and the University of Torino in Italy.

Komodo dragon's extinct cousin from AthensEarth Archives

''' Two small bone fragments found in Athens represent the last known monitor lizard in Europe. This small lizard lived at the onset of the last Ice Age in the last warm refuge in Europe...

Fossils of the last known European monitor lizard have been discovered near Athens. The fossils are dated to the Middle Pleistocene, approximately 750,000 years ago.

They were found in a fissure fill deposit only a few kilometers from the Acropolis and are made up of fragmentary bones from the upper and lower jaws. The discovery was announced in May of 2017 by paleontologists Georgios Georgalis, Andrea Villa, and Massimo Delfino.

Monitor lizards, technically known as varanids, are almost all medium to large predators. The most famous member, the Komodo dragon, is the largest living lizards. Living monitors are known from warm areas of Africa, Asia, and Australia, but are also known from fossils throughout Europe.

These Greek fossils can be assigned to the living genus Varanus, but don't represent any living species. They seem to be least like varanids from Africa, and probably represent an Asian origin.

Over the last few million years, the Earth's climate has gotten colder, culminating in the Pleistocene with a series of ice ages.

At their greatest extent, massive continental glaciers covered much of northern Europe. The glaciers did not get as far as south as Greece, but the local climate was substantially cooler than today... '''

Prehistoric Komodo Dragon Relative Discovered Near Thessaloniki - GreekReporter.comGreekReporter.com

https://greekreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/komodo-dragon-thessaloniki-credit-amna-2-1392x783.jpg.webp

Unique conditions within the sediments prevented the bones from being fully destroyed. Credit: AMNA

If you missed the first part, I advise you look at it first: https://dinopedia.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000000142903

Evolution of Ornithomimus65’s Drawings (2018-2025) PART I | FandomI have been fascinated by dinosaurs since 2016,…dinopedia.fandom.com

Now, on with the art!

Utahraptor (?)

Okay… I’m not even sure if this was Utahraptor.

2018

Unlike the four drawings I sent last time, it seems that these original images were incomplete. They weren’t coloured in, and had so little detail that it is hard to identify what species they were. This Dromaeosaur (only identifiable by the sickle-shaped claw) was either intended to be Utahraptor or Velociraptor. I have portrayed it as the former. Like the Carnotaurus, it is very upright and is drawn in multiple parts.

2022

This is how I’ve drawn Utahraptor for a decent amount of time. It is amongst my more accurate 2022 drawings, possessing feathers. However, it has exposed teeth, and in accurate wrists.

2025

Gave it lips, and tried to fix the wrists. The main issue is that I cannot draw inwards-facing hands, as my drawings are all very much 2-dimensional. You’ll notice this issue with two other images in this post.

Lizard-eaters and Lizards

My original comic I included these species in was so vague that I cannot surely identify either of these species.

2018

The ‘Lizard Eater’ was either intended to be a larger reptile or a theropod, but I cannot tell. The original drawing was horrendously vague, and lacked any detail whatsoever. I think the less said about this creature, the better.

There were two lizards, one with a crest and one without. Like most other drawings from this time, they have sticks for legs, and circles for skulls. Their long tongues are also always exposed, even when their mouthes are closed.

Due to the vagueness of these species, I don’t have any 2022 depictions of them.

2025

I decided to draw the Lizard-Eater as a generic feathered theropod, likely a Compsognathid or Dromaeosaur. I gave it lips and the accurate wrists.

As for the lizards, I realised I cannot draw them. I had to use 2 reference images, and they still came out pretty bad. But hey, they are still better than the 2018 drawings. Right?

Tyrannosaurus

Now for the one you have all been waiting for… the Tyrant lizard himself. However, there were some things I did different about this as opposed to the previous images:

2018

Another giant generic theropod. I initially mistook it for a Mosasaur in one of my drawings where it is only seen as a head. Stick arms, upright posture, separate body parts… you get the idea.

2̶0̶2̶2̶ 2021

I was going to draw my 2022 depiction, but I realised just how little it has changed since then. So, I found a drawing I did in 2021 and tried to replicate that. It is like the halfway point between by modern drawings and these old ones. The arms are still sticks and the feet are drawn like the 2018 Carnotaurus, but the tail, body and head are all connected. Also for some reason, I shrink-wrapped some theropods slightly in 2021.

2025

I’ve drawn Tyrannosaurus multiple times recently, and wanted to give myself a challenge; giving it an open mouth. This is something I almost exclusively did in 2018, but have not done since, since, like drawing lizards, I cannot draw open dinosaur mouths. But I think the open mouth of this Tyrannosaur worked pretty well. Also, it has sparse feather covering, proper wrists, scars and is bulkier than my 2021 depiction.

What was your favourite species of Part II? Is there a specific species you want me to try and draw in these three styles? Do you want a notification for Part III? Let me know down below!