Paleoart


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Udanoceratops tschizhovi

Watercolour, colour pencil. 2023.

This is a highly speculative reconstruction of the animal, and as such many details are fabricated.

The known anatomy of this leptocertopsid is very strange, featuring a massive jaw on an animal which is often depicted in paleoart as comparatively lithe - this is because it shared a habitat with tyrannosaurid predators, and the consensus was that it should be able to outrun them. This speculative interpretation goes in a different direction - what if it didn’t have to outrun them? Tyrannosaurs favoured the neck muscles of ceratopsians, so here I have added sharp armoured osteoderms (though it is worth noting this specific type of osteoderm is unseen in ceratopsids) inspired by round scutes found in ceratopsid skin impressions (which are also present in the illustration). The tail quills, found in related Psittacosaurus, have extended to sit above the hip and form a threatening display. This Udanoceratops has a more parrot or turtle-like extended rictal plate covering its back teeth rather than true cheeks.
©2024 Seth Statham