shin-red-dear:

i-draws-dinosaurs:

panickedpaladin:

i-draws-dinosaurs:

just-shower-thoughts:

If giraffes were predators they would look both hilarious and terrifying while sneaking up on their prey

I’m afraid you’ve missed the predatory giraffes by about 66 million years mate.

These guys are Azhdarchid pterosaurs, and they were some of the strangest reptiles to ever exist. They were perfectly capable of flight, but their physiology suggests that they may have spent a significant portion of their lives hunting on the ground. 

The largest of them could reach over 5 metres tall while standing, and had a 10-metre wingspan. They varied greatly in body type, from the tall, spindly forms of Quetzalcoatlus and Arambourgiania (images 4 and 1-2 respectively) to the heavy brute strength of Hatzegopteryz, a species that may have used its head to bludgeon its prey (images 2 and 3).

There has never been another flying animal before or since to have reached such incredible sizes, nor any predator so intimidatingly tall. Well, not any that we know of yet.

All of these illustrations are by Mark Witton, a palaeontologist and artist who specialises in pterosaurs. This is his blog about palaeontology and the science of reconstructing extinct species. You can find out more about each of these images here, here and here.

(Oh, and by the way … these are NOT dinosaurs)

What the hell these are so intimidating, why aren’t these in any dinosaur movies

Just imagine it … 

The protagonists and a few disposable minor characters are walking carefully through a forest at night, covered by a thick fog. They know there are dinosaurs everywhere, but they can’t see more than three metres in front of their own faces.

Eventually they stop near a small cluster of trees to rest. As they sit there, exhausted, one of the trees begins to move. Everyone freezes, terrified. They have no idea what this thing is.

Then a massive beak slams down, longer than a person is tall, and plucks one of the minor characters off his feet and into the air.

The small group erupts into movement, frantically running away from whatever those things are. There’s two of them now, and as the fog begins to clear the group are able to make out more of their shape. They are huge, with long, spindly necks topped with a massive, daggerlike head. The long legs that they once mistook for trees have an almost mechanical movement as the giant creatures stalk towards them. And then comes the next terrible surprise.

These things can run.

I just got goosebumps reading your scene pitch, @i-draws-dinosaurs! Someone in Hollywood MUST see the potential of Azhdarchids as terrifying antagonists! Or else we will!

1. floating-plants liked this
2. angeluslupus liked this
3. ascatteredmuseforming reblogged this from mortavita
4. ascatteredmuseforming liked this
5. mortavita reblogged this from joycesully
6. shagormatha reblogged this from born-potty
7. monibymoni liked this
8. herides reblogged this from diseonfire
9. whitetulipforkim liked this
10. oliveismine liked this
11. nofundodacampina liked this
12. dragon-in-a-sheeps-skin reblogged this from joycesully
13. satanic-owl-caffeine reblogged this from starstrucklucky
14. teaandinanity liked this
15. starstrucklucky reblogged this from joycesully
16. caristia liked this
17. joycesully reblogged this from helah
18. somerandomperson8567 liked this
19. breaching-the-sugar-bowl liked this
20. jayybirds reblogged this from thatfluffybabyduck
21. jayybirds liked this
22. thatfluffybabyduck reblogged this from pvmproblems
23. amanda-enigma-references reblogged this from cutecleffa
24. jackshithere liked this
25. timesarealwayschanging liked this
26. nix-marine liked this
27. studio-villain reblogged this from emmabebe0906
28. studio-villain liked this
29. emmabebe0906 reblogged this from finch-wing
30. sweetbutshylady3ug reblogged this from bathtimefunduck
31. weird-squish-cube reblogged this from holywritingpromptsbatbruh
32. obeekris reblogged this from holywritingpromptsbatbruh
33. weird-squish-cube liked this
34. holywritingpromptsbatbruh reblogged this from starfleetrambo
35. holywritingpromptsbatbruh liked this
36. leavinggallifrey reblogged this from dragonsftw
37. funfactsfromhistory reblogged this from x-cetra
38. badpinkuplines reblogged this from shoopbadoop
39. auntieblossom liked this
40. glitchtechscience reblogged this from dovekie
41. ye-olde-reblog-blog liked this
42. greenwingspino32 liked this
43. importantcatfox-the-second reblogged this from noonslullabies
44. importantcatfox-the-second liked this
45. fenhedis-vastivas liked this
46. stylishanachronism reblogged this from noonslullabies
47. noonslullabies reblogged this from starfleetrambo
48. noonslullabies liked this
49. leonorwatkins liked this
50. just-shower-thoughts posted this
51. Show more notesLoading...