Mark Witton
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton
@markwitton.bsky.social
Palaeoartist, palaeontologist, author, documentary consultant and creature designer. Affiliated with the University of Portsmouth, UK; views and opinions are my own.

More about me at markwitton.co.uk.
Support my work at www.patreon.com/markwitton
Just took delivery of a signed Peter Scott snow geese print from 1939. It joins van Grouw and Conway to make our hallway a small natural history art gallery. Starting to wish we had more walls. With @gizz47.bsky.social.
January 16, 2026 at 4:06 PM
SPPOOOSSSHHH... PHHHFFFFFFF... SSSSSSHHHHHHHH...

To paraphrase Bob Ross, you have to make the noises when looking at #paleoart, otherwise it doesn't work.

2018 illustration of giant Triassic ichthyosaurs Shonisaurus, surfacing in waters that once covered Nevada. #art #fossil #paleontology #sciart
January 16, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by Mark Witton
"Rethinking the strangest dinosaurs ever found"
With @markwitton.bsky.social
It's about Spinosaurus and its relatives (25min10s)
www.kpcw.org/podcast/cool...
Rethinking the strangest dinosaurs ever found
Spinosaurus is one of the most famous and least understood dinosaurs of all time. New research and reconstructions reveal how fragmentary fossils, lost specimens and evolving science have shaped what ...
www.kpcw.org
January 15, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Spending the week on commissions for museums and realised that - now we're in 2026 - I've been creating #paleoart for other scientists and researchers for 20 years (actual anniversary is July). Here's my first "professional" gig: thalassodromid ontogeny for Dave Martill and @tetzoo.bsky.social.
January 14, 2026 at 9:37 PM
All plesiosaurs today for #FossilFriday, in tribute to our departed friend Richard Forrest.
January 9, 2026 at 11:32 AM
Just learned that Richard Forrest, one of the pillars of British vert palaeo, has passed away unexpectedly. Richard was such a friendly, welcoming person, an expert on British marine reptiles, and the unofficial custodian of SVPCA. We spent many hours chatting in various pubs. He will be missed.
January 9, 2026 at 11:19 AM
Book authors get their own breed of spam email. But some spammers are more competent than others.
January 6, 2026 at 3:07 PM
First new #paleoart piece finished for 2026: a super modern, 100% accurate take on Mosasaurus and a plesiosaur.

In unrelated news, I had the spirit of the early 19th-century palaeoartist John Martin exorcised from my house over the weekend.

#paleontology #fossil #sciart #retropaleoart #art
January 6, 2026 at 9:48 AM
Current Caudipteryx #paleoart WIP, coinciding with how everyone in Britain felt when they left the house this morning.

#sciart #fossil #art #paleontology #ohmygodthere'saninchofsnowwe'reallgoingtodie
January 5, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Mark Witton
While I'm laid up, I'm catching up on reading and note-taking. Here's what I jotted down from chapters 2-4 of @markwitton.bsky.social's "King Tyrant" before I had to take it back to the library.
January 4, 2026 at 12:19 AM
For a moment, a plane flying past the full moon on a clear night became a still from a sci-fi movie only I was watching.
January 4, 2026 at 12:09 AM
First #FossilFriday of 2026: here's #paleoart of Dromaeosaurus atop a half-eaten juvenile Chasmosaurus. Dromaeosaurus was no Velociraptor clone, but a relatively robust and probably hard-biting raptorial dinosaur. Painted... two years ago now, I guess, in 2024. #fossil #paleontology #dinosaur
January 2, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Getting up to tend to our chickens revealed that 2026 started in quiet but spectacular fashion.
January 1, 2026 at 8:12 AM
Reposted by Mark Witton
My Review on Spinosaur Tales (10/10)!
This new dinosaur book by @davehone.bsky.social and @markwitton.bsky.social is the best one about Spinosaurus and its relatives to date for sure!
I highly recommend it to any dinosaur enthusiast, or spinosaur enthusiast.
December 31, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Some new #paleoart to see out 2025: a Hybodus shark attacks a squadron of belemnites (Passaloteuthis), which respond by deploying ink decoys of themselves and jetting to safety. Cephalopod ink use is amazingly sophisticated; it's not just a smokescreen! #HappyNewYear, everybody! #sciart #fossil
December 31, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Mark Witton
My in-laws got me King Tyrant by @markwitton.bsky.social for Christmas. What a beautiful book! The perfect gift for any dinosaur nerd/enthusiast.
December 27, 2025 at 3:32 AM
It's #ChristmasEve, so I depicted Parasaurolophus under UV light, lit up like a Christmas tree - you can check out the rationale of this #paleoart on my #Patreon if you're already bored of holiday TV. Oh, and Happy Christmas to those who celebrate! #sciart #fossils

www.patreon.com/posts/146578...
December 24, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Brundle's Christmas present came early. With @gizz47.bsky.social.
December 24, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Spent #FossilFriday tweaking my Anchiornis colour reconstruction. The black+white+red intepretation does entirely match the melanosome data recorded for this species, as there's evidence of phaeomelanin (= rufous hues) on the arm, and lots of grey across the body. #paleoart #sciart #paleontology
December 19, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Reposted by Mark Witton
Magnificent artwork from projects with which I was involved in 2025, by @sketchy-raptor.bsky.social @markwitton.bsky.social @maijakarala.bsky.social
December 19, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Reposted by Mark Witton
Some cool early christmas presents are here finally. Spinosaur tales by @davehone.bsky.social and @markwitton.bsky.social , Mesozoic art II by @tetzoo.bsky.social and @sharkbitesteve.bsky.social
December 17, 2025 at 9:44 AM
This is really gross: a book full of plagiarised #paleoart published by a legit UK publisher. As if we don't have enough problems with AI! There is no excuse for the author/artist not knowing better, either: this isn't the first time they've been caught committing major acts of plagiarism.
it appears plagiorizer William Toosey tries his shit again, that's my Propalorchestes in his "Journey through the Cenozoic".
I suspect this is just the tip of it. Many of these are just other people's work with a new texture slapped on top.
Lots of JRC art here.
December 16, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Fresh off the digital canvas, my take on the Carboniferous verte... arthro... mollu... er... bilaterally symmetrical animal Tullimonstrum gregarium. Tully monsters are true palaeontological enigmas: 70 years after they were named, we still don't know what they are. #paleoart #sciart #fossil
December 12, 2025 at 6:29 PM
New #paleoart on #FossilFriday: #Tiktaalik sees the world. Discussions of early #tetrapods often focus on limbs and lungs, but major changes also took place in their eyes. Seeing further and clearer than any animal before, they were the first to clearly see sunsets, stars, and the moon. #sciart
December 12, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Tetrapoda*: how it started vs. how it's going.

*OK, OK: stem-Tetrapoda. But it's not as snappy.
December 9, 2025 at 10:49 PM