Science popularizer and YouTuber Willy Guasti of Zoosparkle showed on his Twitch three new paleoartistic reproductions made by 3DTech Production (Hibou Coop) under his supervision. Here is the live unboxing video.
The first novelty is Diplocaulus, a well-known Permian amphibian with a characteristic “boomerang” head. This reconstruction was based on the idea that head and body were connected by an extended portion of soft tissue, and the proposed color pattern is inspired by the Salamandrina genus, with an aggressive display on the belly to deter predators.
Both the aggressive belly pattern and the camouflage pattern of the back are well represented in the splendid illustration by Sante Mazzei, in which a pair of Diplocaulus playfully swims.
We continue with Thylacosmilus, a predator related to marsupials that has developed saber teeth as in Smilodon. It is interesting to note how refined the texture of the hair is.
The coloring is a mix of numbat, thylacine and quoll, and Sante’s artwork shows some specimens fighting each other for possession of a carcass.
Finally, the first model made so far of the North American ceratopsid Navajoceratops, among other things the first ceratopsid of the line. The parietal area of the collar, a distinctive feature of this animal, is based on the only fossil find available and also maintains its asymmetry, while the general appearance is inspired by similar chasmosaurine ceratopsids such as Pentaceratops, with particular attention to anatomical details.
At a chromatic level, Willy’s directives were imaginative while maintaining a certain plausibility, as did Sante in choosing the scene to represent in the artwork: an adult male trampling juveniles, a common occurrence among some animals today when the pack leader wants to get rid of children not belonging to them and make the female fertile again. This cruel scene also becomes a way to show sexual dimorphism and ontogenesis.
You can order the models, along with the previous releases, here.