Post AnIGps5bqiZTArMuvo by palaeotaku@sauropods.win
(DIR) More posts by palaeotaku@sauropods.win
(DIR) Post #AnIGpZIjhgmWu4MdFo by palaeotaku@sauropods.win
2024-10-21T06:19:00Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
In most paleoarts, insects are mostly treated as prey of dinosaurs or pterosaurs, and most of them are dragonflies. But if you give some differences, you could make your artwork more interesting.I will present a short guide for paleo(entomology)art.
(DIR) Post #AnIGpcj4yCdVWdiDEO by palaeotaku@sauropods.win
2024-10-21T06:20:08Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Unlike dinosaurs, we have plenty lot of references for drawing insects. They are alive, living anywhere. Lots of fossils are beautifully preserved in amber.So, in this case, less speculation will be needed.But there is an important thing when you are trying to draw fossil insects.
(DIR) Post #AnIGpgDK0DbsLIsuHo by palaeotaku@sauropods.win
2024-10-21T06:20:46Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Because some artworks depicting Titanopera, a group of large-sized predatory insects related to the Orthoptera, I've seen before in the Deviantart, people draw the wrong numbers of tarsal segments and antennal segments. This is not different from drawing T. rex with 5 fingers.
(DIR) Post #AnIGpjnafpP7SesPjc by palaeotaku@sauropods.win
2024-10-21T06:21:07Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Also, the general composition of entomofauna has been changed during the early Late Cretaceous, and lots of members have been extinct or less diversified during that time.This is related to the radiation of angiosperms. But we don't know about a specific time, or did it happened simultaneously or not.
(DIR) Post #AnIGpnYUhthn6zqPlA by palaeotaku@sauropods.win
2024-10-21T06:21:24Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
In this case, then, what kind of insects would be suitable while drawing the landscape of the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, except dragonflies or roaches? And how could we depict them in artworks, except by making them as prey materials?
(DIR) Post #AnIGps5bqiZTArMuvo by palaeotaku@sauropods.win
2024-10-21T06:22:10Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
1. MecopteraThis group with unique proboscis, related to flies and fleas(Perhaps includes the latter) was very diversified until the mid-Cretaceous, and it is suggested that they took an important role in the pollination of gymnosperms, before the bees or butterflies.
(DIR) Post #AnIGpx0pXuieRUAfg0 by palaeotaku@sauropods.win
2024-10-21T06:22:49Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
2. Chresmodidae This enigmatic group looks similar to water striders, but not closely related to each other. Although they disappeared during the mid-Cretaceous, some groups of water striders coexisted with this group since the Early Cretaceous. Maybe competition was not a reason for extinction.
(DIR) Post #AnIGq2DQCWlIZz6IUq by palaeotaku@sauropods.win
2024-10-21T06:23:32Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
3. KaligrammatidaeAlthough it looks like some butterflies, this group is placed in the Neuroptera(lacewings). This group was thought to be a pollinator of Bennettitaleans and some gymnosperms based on their mouthparts, which is unique because most of the other neuropterans are predatory.
(DIR) Post #AnIGq7sj8Nm09XSr4a by palaeotaku@sauropods.win
2024-10-21T06:24:18Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
4. PalaeontinidaeThis group is one of the most diverse groups among lots of extinct stem cicadas. Although they were similar to modern cicadas in size and phytophagous diet, this group couldn't make sounds, unlike their extant cousins.
(DIR) Post #AnIGqFN7HnF1Nojiue by palaeotaku@sauropods.win
2024-10-21T06:26:13Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
5. And others...I cannot present every clade of insects that thrived in the Mesozoic but are now less diversified or extinct. The world of fossil insects is overlooked by lots of enthusiasts because they are small and similar to modern relatives, but it's much more interesting than we expected.