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Martins' non-project art
Topic Started: Dec 8 2014, 10:26 AM (2,487 Views)
Martin
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This is the place where I'll post my non-spec art, comics and more.

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A young male gorgosaurus libratus, looking for food in the Canadian fern prairie of the late Cretaceous 75 mya.

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A male psittacosaurus sibiricus calling to attract a possible partner.

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A female trinisaura santamartaensis resting under a coniferous bush.
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Martin
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So lately I've been pretty busy with school and such, seeing as it's the last month (well about a month) and all, so working on my major projects is much harder, but I still wanna keep uploading new drawings and such so I've decided to do a series of relatively random future critters. Of course I'll return to my main works (The guide and Prodigia) after school ends.

One of such critters is this one, a large mustelid descendant from 72 myh, the end of the age of mammals and also the time of the largest terrestrial mammals to ever walk the Earth. This species has adapted to hunt some of the largest herbivores of it's time, filling a similar niche to the extinct carcharodontosaurids. The shoulder and neck muscles are large to support the large head and almost bear-like forelimbs, with massive semi-retractable claws used to hold on to the prey, while their teeth create deep wounds, causing major blood loss, slowly tiring the prey, until easy to kill. Being much smaller than their prey, they hunt in packs, taking down animals the size of the largest hadrosaurs, while the much smaller, yet still quite large megafauna (think rhino and bison sized) are hunted by another predator, which shall be revealed later.
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Martin
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The new scansoriopterygid with bat-like wings that stretch from one of their fingers and a whole new kind of bone.
http://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/29/chinese-dinosaur-had-bat-like-wings-and-feathers/
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Martin
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The second drawing of the random future critters series is one that depicts some of the most interesting reptiles of their time, the varanoids of 72 myh, well at least the ones descended from varanids. It's the last time the mammals will rule the Earth on their own, but for now they're thriving, leaving reptiles in the shadows. The almost Maastrichtian climate makes the perfect habitat for reptiles though, making them highly diverse and common.
From the top:

1- Glutopulmidae is one of the three families descended from monitor lizards at the time, getting their name from their special breathing mechanism. Certain parts of their anatomy, make most squamates unable to breathe while running, an issue which modern varanids solve via gular pumping, which while helpful, is still not very efficient. Glutopulmids have taken this to the next level and turned their throats into lung-like organs, pumping air to the lungs with ease and are even able to absorb oxygen through their specialized throats' skin, though to a far lesser extant. This special organ has become disconnected from the esophagus, allowing glutopulmids to breathe while eating, like a mammal. The organ is also partially protected by the rib cage and partially by derived osteoderms, which form a sort of segmented armor under the lizards' throat. Glutoplumids are also more intelligent than modern monitors, often being as smart as a mongoose or a ferret. They also often sport large colorful crests supported by cartilage and used for controlling body temperature and even as display. Glutoplumids live in all continents but the great southern continent (South America+Antarctica) and range in size from 30 cm to 5 m titans that roam Madagascar.
Species shown here is the Indian fireback (Ignotergus spliotus).

2- Crociostilionidae aka the croaking lizards are a family of generalist varanoids living from Australia to Eurasia and Africa. They're usually small, the largest species being the combat monitors, which can grow up to 50 cm at most. The family gets its' name from the croaking sounds which they produce via large gular pouches, not unlike those of anurans. The pouches can be used for various purposes, from communication, to displays (both through colors and songs) and even managing their body temperature to an extent.
Species shown here: From the top: Dunes' combat monitor (Certatovaranus album), Iberian mouth-brooding lizard (Crociostilion luracoratum) and the Rat-tailed reptoad (Stiliobufo musocauda).

3- Pistrixosauridae is the last family of the marine monitor lineage, having its' roots around 50 mya when the ice caps were melting for the second time since the modern day and the continents were starting to become covered by global forests. As the climate got colder and drier 20 mya cetaceans finally disappeared from Earth, allowing pinnipeds to take full control, which wasn't good news for the monitors. Now most species live in freshwater or coastal areas, living similar lifestyles to modern lamniformes. In a world of harsh competition pistrixosaurids make a living as highly aggressive predators of large fish and marine tetrapods, with some species feeding on shelled prey.
Species shown here is the Spotted robber (Praemiatosaurus infensus).
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Martin
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The Hbong'ar are a race of alien sophonts from Tau Ceti e, a large rocky world orbiting the nearby star, Tau Ceti. Unlike humans though, their level of civilization is much more primitive, being more similar to that of the native Americans, except for a large empire, similar to the Roman one. The four smaller pictures show certain distinct parts of the creatures' body:

A- What seem to be the creatures limbs and lower jaw, are actually a highly derived lower jaw, with the lower parts being used for walking and the upper part, which used to be a bunch of small bones behind the lower jaw, to which muscles that move the jaw forward were attached, is now used as a lower jaw, each "limb" having two such parts that together work as one lower jaw.

B- Originating as radula-like organs in each side of the lower jaw, two long tentacles have evolved and are used as the main manipulators.

C- While Hbong'ars do have eyes, their main sense is echolocation. A beam of sonar is produced by the pneumatic muscles located in the upper jaw, which after hitting an object, bounces back to the creature, which then senses the nearby object via it's sensitive snout and ears located behind the limb-like lower jaws.

D- The aquatic ancestors of the Hbong'ar used their skin to breathe, similarly to some modern day amphibians, though as they moved to land, their skin evolved into a lung-like organ behind the head.
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Martin
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I originally posted this in my SE blog ( http://s1.zetaboards.com/Conceptual_Evolution/blog/main/1983361/ ), but since then I've decided to use my blog for sketches (well at least most of the time) and instead, keep posting my actual drawings in here.


The drawing depicts a roughly gazelle-sized ungulate rodent from around 100 myh, in what is now South America (though in this time, South America has collided with Antarctica, forming a new nameless continent). The tentacle-like structures on the rodents face are derived from its ancestors split upper lip, while the horns are derived from the eyebrow bones. In the background you can see a large passerine, a couple of bushes, a few tree-like bamboos, as well as grass, grass, and more grass.
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Martin
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~Some recent paleoart~


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Monster
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I like the more painterly approach to these latest ones
Flashlights, nightmares, sudden explosions.

'active'
{tumblr}
{Veles}
{10 Million Years of Rain]

Commissions: Open.



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Paleo_Specs
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I really like your art- wait, you're the great martiitram?


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Quote:
 
a species of canid that's always male because the females are in Hell, that commits blood rituals on unborn souls, and assimilates others into its flesh belongs in a competition meant to foster a sensible and mature discussion of evolution.
Nanotyrannus, COM 2016
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