Eurwentala

Another blog post published and a new series started: animal behaviour for paleoartists! It's a common idea that the lives of wild animals are horribly brutish, full of violence and suffering, as if they lived in a constant horror movie. Though predation and aggression are obviously an important part of animal behaviour, a closer look reveals that for the most part, animals live what we might call a normal life - they spend far more of their time resting, eating, grooming and socializing than fighting, killing or actively avoiding being killed. Read more: https://hummingdinosaur.wordpress.com/2023/01/28/were-dinosaur-lives-brutish-and-violent-animal-behaviour-for-paleoartists-part-i/

Hi there! After a ridiculous four year pause (!!) my blog, The Humming Dinosaur, finally has a new post (and several more lined up). As before, it's mostly thought as a resource and source of inspiration for paleoartists and wildlife artists, but might be worth reading to anyone with a passing interest in animal colouration. Paleoartists sometimes depict prehistoric animals that are either albinos or melanistic. But there are many more possible colour mutations of animals, and they often occur repeatedly in distantly related animals. Have you ever wondered what a Siamese sabertooth cat might look? Or a piebald tyrannosaur? Well, now you have! Link to my post: https://hummingdinosaur.wordpress.com/2023/01/18/the-odd-ones-out-zoology-for-paleoartists-part-iv/

Hi everyone! I finished the third part of my Zoology for Paleoartists blog posts. While the last two were concerned on which colours are possible in non-avian dinosaurs, this one discusses what kind of colours are ecologically plausible - that is, how evolution shapes animal colour. The needs to camouflage, impress mates or warn off predators are different for each species, producing the incredible diversity of colours and patterns in the animal kingdom. Link to the article: https://hummingdinosaur.wordpress.com/2018/07/30/ecology-of-colour-zoology-for-paleoartists-part-iii/ Includes original artwork!