Welcome to the home of John Conway's Palaeontography. I am an artist and illustrator specialising in prehistoric animals; Mesozoic reptiles mostly, and pterosaurs in particular. I have worked on projects for National Geographic, Discovery Channel and the American Museum of Natural History, among others (obviously I've only listed the dregs there). I run Ontograph Studios, which specialises in natural history museum exhibits and motion graphics.

Palaeontography is the reconstruction and depiction of fossil organisms (this is often called "palaeoart"—however, this is both pre-occupied by ancient art, and horribly mal-formed). My main interest is trying to formalise many of the methods for reconstructing fossil organisms, in an attempt to bring a cohesive and critique-able methodology to the field. I presented a poster on Methods of Palaeontological Reconstruction(PDF:1.8mb) at the 2009 SVP conference in Bristol, and I hope to expand upon this theme in the future.

All the artwork on this website is under a Creative Commons licence, meaning you can use it for non-profit purposes, as long as you don't alter it, and give me attribution. Some of my work is under an even more liberal GDFL licence, which can be found on my Wikipedia user page. You don't have to ask to use it, but I'd be interested to see if you do. If you would like to use my work for commercial purposes, or commission custom work, see the Ontograph Studios website, or email me directly at j.conway@ontographstudios.com.


Pterosaur Structure

The Structure

of a

Pterosaur

A multi-layered diagram of the main structural components of a pterosaur.
Pterosaur Structure
Dissecting Rhamphorhynchus

Dissecting

Rhamphorhynchus

Pterosaur Structure
Colour Life Restorations
27 of 27 objects ordered by title, order by: date | title
Anhanguera piscator
Anhanguera piscator
The great pterosaur Anhanguera [...]
anhanguera cretaceous pterodactyloids pterosaurs south america anhanguera piscator
Corythosaurs casuarius
Corythosaurs casuarius
cretaceous dinosaurs duckbilled dinosaurs hadrosaurs north america ornithischians corythosaurs casuarius
Dead Velociraptor mongoliensis
Dead Velociraptor mongoliensis
This Velociraptor is dead. As, in [...]
cretaceous dinosaurs dromaeosaurs late cretaceous mongolia theropods velociraptor dead velociraptor mongoliensis
Deinonychus antirrhopus
Deinonychus antirrhopus
cretaceous deinonychus dinosaurs dromaeosaurs early cretaceous north america theropods deinonychus antirrhopus
Deinonychus antirrhopus Pair
Deinonychus antirrhopus Pair
A pair of Deinonychus antirrhopus [...]
cretaceous deinonychus dinosaurs dromaeosaurs early cretaceous north america theropods deinonychus antirrhopus pair
Diplodocus longus and Stegosaurus stenops
Diplodocus longus and Stegosaurus stenops
When I was about fourteen or fifteen, I went [...]
charles knight dinosaur renaissance dinosaurs diplodocids diplodocus jurassic meta-palaeontography sauropods diplodocus longus and stegosaurus stenops
Germanodactylus cristatus
Germanodactylus cristatus
A pair of Germanodactylus peruse some [...]
germanodactylus jurassic pterodactyloids pterosaurs rockpools solnhofen germanodactylus cristatus
Gryposaurus notabilis and Struthiomimus altus
Gryposaurus notabilis and Struthiomimus altus
A Late Creataceous pastoral.
dinosaurs duckbilled dinosaurs gryposaurus hadrosaur north america ornithischians ornithomimids struthiomimus theropods gryposaurus notabilis and struthiomimus altus
Incubating Gallimimus bullatus
Incubating Gallimimus bullatus
A Gallimimus bullatus sit on its nest [...]
cretaceous dinosaurs mongolia nest ornithomimids theropods incubating gallimimus bullatus
Kakuru
Kakuru
Kakuru is a poorly-known theropod [...]
australia avimimus cretaceous dinosaurs kakuru nest theropods kakuru
Kronosaurus and Leptocleidus
Kronosaurus and Leptocleidus
Kronosaurus takes a [...]
australia kronosaurus leptocleidus plesiosaur pliosaur kronosaurus and leptocleidus
Kronosaurus queenslandicus
Kronosaurus queenslandicus
The great Australian pliosaur Kronosaurus [...]
aquatic australia kronosaurus plesiosaurs pliosaurs kronosaurus queenslandicus
Muzquizopteryx cohuilensis
Muzquizopteryx cohuilensis
Muzquizopteryx cohuilensis based on the
cretaceous pterodactyloids pterosaurs south america muzquizopteryx cohuilensis
Nemicolopterus crypticus
Nemicolopterus crypticus
Aw, what a tweet liddle tweedy bird! I want [...]
china cretaceous nemicolopterus pterodactyloids pterosaurs nemicolopterus crypticus
Night Birds
Night Birds
Two nyctosaurs soaring about in the clouds, [...]
cretaceous north america nyctosaurus pterodactyloids pterosaurs night birds
Nyctosaurus
Nyctosaurus
For those who don't know, this is the rather [...]
cretaceous north america nyctosaurus pterodactyloids pterosaurs nyctosaurus
Nyctosaurus and Elasmosaurus
Nyctosaurus and Elasmosaurus
Nyctosaurus bonneri over an [...]
cretaceous elasmosaurus north america nyctosaurus plesiosaurs pterodactyloids pterosaurs nyctosaurus and elasmosaurus
Parasaurolophus and Troodon
Parasaurolophus and Troodon
A trio of Parasaurolophus walkeri [...]
cretaceous dinosaurs duckbilled dinosaurs hadrosaurs north america ornithischians theropods parasaurolophus and troodon
Pteranodon longiceps
Pteranodon longiceps
The ridiculously pretty Pteranodon [...]
cretaceous north america pteranodon pterodactyloids pterosaurs pteranodon longiceps
Pteranodon sternbergi
Pteranodon sternbergi
The great P. sternbergi flying over [...]
cretaceous north america pteranodon pterodactyloids pterosaurs pteranodon sternbergi
Pteranodon sternbergi
Pteranodon sternbergi
Pteranodon sternbergi, a 6-8m [...]
cretaceous north america pteranodon pterodactyloids pterosaurs pteranodon sternbergi
Pterodactylus kochi
Pterodactylus kochi
A little pterodactyl, landing on a log in [...]
jurassic pterodactyloids pterodactylus pterosaurs solnhofen pterodactylus kochi
Quetzalcoatlus sp.
Quetzalcoatlus sp.
cretaceous late cretaceous north america pterodactyloids pterosaurs quetzalcoatlus quetzalcoatlus sp.
Sinopterus dongi
Sinopterus dongi
china cretaceous pterodactyloids pterosaurs sinopterus sinopterus dongi
Tropeognathus mesembrinus
Tropeognathus mesembrinus
Nemo [...]
cretaceous pterodactyloids pterosaurs south america tropeognathus tropeognathus mesembrinus
Tupandactylus imperator
Tupandactylus imperator
Tupandactylus imperator, a pretty big [...]
cretaceous pterodactyloids pterosaurs south america tupandactylus tupandactylus imperator
Woolungosaurus
Woolungosaurus
The Australian elasmosaur [...]
aquatic australia camoflage elasmosaur plesiosaur woolungosaurus woolungosaurus
Recent Items
3 of 74 objects ordered by date, order by: date | title
Pteranodon longiceps
Pteranodon longiceps
Way back in 2008, I was working on a skeletal reconstruction of Pteranodon longiceps, sourced mostly from Chris Bennett's (1991) dissertation. It included a dorsal and a lateral view, and all I had left to do were the feet (feet are fiddly, annoying, and somewhat boring). While I was procrastinating about the feet, Mike Hanson beat me to the punch, and produced a skeletal reconstruction based on the same source. It wasn't just that he got there first, but it was better than mine to boot, with more views, and a more carefully drawn skull. So I gave up, and left my still footless Pteranodon to go mouldy on my hard drive. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to revisit my Pteranodon skeletal, to see if it was in a fit state to be incorporated into a new project. I also wanted to include the suggestion made by Claessens et al (2009) that the sternum sloped ventrally, rather than dorsally or flat and usually shown. As I started tweaking things, especially as I was working on an anterior view, I realised there was something quite wrong with my Pteranodon... the scapulocoracoid, when drawn in anterior view, was dorsoventrally way too short. I couldn't get the coracoid to articulate with the sternum, not by a long shot. My drawing matched Bennett's (1991), Hanson's (2008), Claessens et al (2009), and other drawings pretty well. So, if mine was wrong, then there was something wrong with a lot of the Pteranodon reconstructions out there. Moving the sternum up posed something of a problem, however, because the ribs didn't seem to fit. Looking into this more closely, it appears Bennett's drawings show the ribs flattened toward the viewer. In other words, there is little accounting for curvature and foreshortening, which has the effect of making the ribcage far too deep. Comparing different people's drawings, something quite interesting emerged, Pteranodon is nearly always reconstructed with a teardrop shaped trunk. Bennett's original 1991 drawing and Hanson's closely related 2008 drawing both have the error of an overly deep ribcage and scapulocoracoid. They also have the sternum sloping dorsally. These things combined give a strong teardrop shape. Greg Paul's (2002) drawing has a similar shape, but it achieves this in a completely different way.* Paul seems to have the depth of the ribcage and scapulocoracoid right, and even has a gentle ventral slope to the sternum, but he also adds a deep keel to the sternum, which I presume is meant to be cartilaginous (it isn't preserved in pterosaurs I've seen). So again, a classic teardrop shape. Claessens et al (2009) has a more pronounced ventral slope to the sternum, but it also has the overly deep ribs and scapulocoracoid; which makes for a slightly more portly teardrop. If we combine a (keel-less) ventrally sloping sternum, and make the ribcage and scapulocoracoid shallower as I think they ought to be, we end up with a different sort of shape for Pteranodon's trunk. A distinctly pot-bellied one: Sloping the sternum ventrally would make most pterosaurs deeper in the mid-trunk than we are used to drawing them, so I am looking forward to seeing whether other pterosaurs will turn out to be so hilariously shaped. *Greg Paul's reconstruction seems to have radically different proportions to the others, this could be because it is based on different specimens. References Bennett, S.C., 1991. Morphology of the Late Cretaceous pterosaur Pterandon and systematics of the Pterodactyloidea. PhD. dissertation, University of Kansas. Claessens, L.P.A.M., O'Connor, P.M., and Unwin, D.M., 2009. Respiratory Evolution Facilitated the Origin of Pterosaur Flight and Aerial Gigantism. PLoS ONE vol. 4 (2) pp. e4497 Online Hanson, M., 2008. Pteranodon Skeletals. Online Paul, G.S., 2002. Dinosaurs of the Air. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
Dead Velociraptor mongoliensis
Dead Velociraptor mongoliensis
This Velociraptor is dead. As, in fact, they all are. Based on Scott Hartman's skeletal
Tupandactylus imperator
Tupandactylus imperator
Tupandactylus imperator, a pretty big cretaceous pterosaur, with a crazyinsane head crest of megaepic proportions.
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Skeletals
6 of 6 objects ordered by title, order by: date | title
Anhanguera piscator
Anhanguera piscator
Striple indicates hypotheical diverticular [...]
air sacs anatomy anhanguera diagram pterosaurs skeletals anhanguera piscator
Nemicolopterus crypticus Skeletal
Nemicolopterus crypticus Skeletal
A preliminary skeletal of the new (and [...]
nemicolopterus pterodactyloids pterosaurs skeletals south america nemicolopterus crypticus skeletal
Pteranodon longiceps
Pteranodon longiceps
Way back in 2008, I was working on a [...]
pteranodon pterosaurs skeletals pteranodon longiceps
Pterodactylus kochi Skeletal
Pterodactylus kochi Skeletal
White is bone, black muscle, dark grey [...]
air sacs anatomy diagram pterodactylus pterosaurs skeletals pterodactylus kochi skeletal
Sinopterus dongi
Sinopterus dongi
Bnes are in white, muscles and cartilage in [...]
air sacs anatomy diagram pterosaurs sinopterus skeletals sinopterus dongi
Zhejiangopterus linhaiensis
Zhejiangopterus linhaiensis
air sacs anatomy diagram pterosaurs skeletals zhejiangopterus zhejiangopterus linhaiensis
Diagrams
3 of 3 objects ordered by title, order by: date | title
Comparitive Forelimb Muscle Attachments - Dorsal
Comparitive Forelimb Muscle Attachments - Dorsal
The dorsal forelimb muscle attachment sites [...]
anatomy anhanguera diagrams musculature pterosaurs comparitive forelimb muscle attachments - dorsal
Comparitive Forelimb Muscle Attachments - Ventral
Comparitive Forelimb Muscle Attachments - Ventral
The ventral forelimb muscle attachment sites [...]
anatomy anhanguera diagrams musculature pterosaurs comparitive forelimb muscle attachments - ventral
Narrow Wing
Narrow Wing
Anhanguera sporting a hip-attached [...]
aerodynamics anatomy anhanguera biomechanics narrow wing pterodactyloids pterosaurs narrow wing
Greyscale Life Restorations
30 of 36 objects ordered by title, order by: date | title
Andalgalornis
Andalgalornis
Terror bird! From South America, the latest [...]
birds south america terror-birds theropods andalgalornis
Camarasaurus grandis and Camptosaurus dispar
Camarasaurus grandis and Camptosaurus dispar
This owes a lot to a drawing by Gregory Paul [...]
dinosaurs jurassic north america ornithischians ornithopods sauropods camarasaurus grandis and camptosaurus dispar
Cardioderma cor
Cardioderma cor
An oldie but an allrighty - Cardioderma [...]
bats mammals non-palaeo cardioderma cor
Ceratorsaurus nasicornis and Stegosaurus stenops
Ceratorsaurus nasicornis and Stegosaurus stenops
Dancing dinosaurs: Ceratosaurus [...]
ceratosaurus fighting jurassic north america ornithischians stegosaurs stegosaurus theropods ceratorsaurus nasicornis and stegosaurus stenops
Compsognathus longipes
Compsognathus longipes
This is a digital re-working of a fairly old [...]
compsognathus dinosaurs jurassic solnhofen theropods compsognathus longipes
Cryolophosaurus
Cryolophosaurus
Cryolophosaurus, from Antarctica.
antartica crests dinosaurs theropods cryolophosaurus
Deinonychus antirrhopus
Deinonychus antirrhopus
A birdy restoration of Deinonychus [...]
cretaceous deinonychus dinosaurs dromaeosaurs early cretaceous north america theropods deinonychus antirrhopus
Dilophosaurus wethrelli
Dilophosaurus wethrelli
There's one word for Dilophosaurus: [...]
coelophysoids dilophosaurus early jurassic jurassic theropods dilophosaurus wethrelli
Dimorphodon macronyx
Dimorphodon macronyx
Dimorphodon macronyx with obligatory [...]
dimorphodon europe jurassic pterosaurs dimorphodon macronyx
Dolichorhynchops osborni
Dolichorhynchops osborni
The head of the plesiosaur [...]
dolichorhynchops plesiosaurs dolichorhynchops osborni
Edaphosaurus cruciger
Edaphosaurus cruciger
The Permian finbacked synapsid. More closely [...]
edaphosaurus finback permian synapsids edaphosaurus cruciger
Giganotosaurus
Giganotosaurus
The great South American theropod roaring [...]
allosaurs dinosaurs south america theropods giganotosaurus
Gryposaurus notabilis
Gryposaurus notabilis
A pair of Gryposaurus notabilis in a [...]
cretaceous dinosaurs duckbilled dinosaurs gryposaurus hadrosaurs north america ornithischians gryposaurus notabilis
Gryposaurus notabilis
Gryposaurus notabilis
A boring duckbilled dinosaur I am [...]
cretaceous dinosaurs duckbilled dinosaurs gryposaurus hadrosaurs north america ornithischians gryposaurus notabilis
Herrerasaurus
Herrerasaurus
A pair of itchy herrerasaurs.
dinosaurs itchy triassic herrerasaurus
Hesperornis regalis
Hesperornis regalis
aquatic birds cretaceous theropods hesperornis regalis
Ichthyosaurus
Ichthyosaurus
The original fish-lizard.
aquatic fish-lizards ichthyosaurs jurassic ichthyosaurus
Indricotherium
Indricotherium
Indricotherium was a rhinoceros [...]
mammals tertiary indricotherium
Lagosuchus tempaliensis
Lagosuchus tempaliensis
Lagosuchus a tiny little bunny [...]
bunny-croc dinosaurs lagosuchus south america lagosuchus tempaliensis
Leptoceratops
Leptoceratops
Leptoceratops under a magnolia.
ceratopsians cretaceous dinosaurs late cretaceous north america leptoceratops
Minmi paravertebra
Minmi paravertebra
ankylosaurs australia dinosaurs minmi ornithischians minmi paravertebra
Monolophosaurus
Monolophosaurus
The theropod Monolophosaurus and its [...]
china dinosaurs jurassic theropods monolophosaurus
Pachyrhinosaurus canadiensis
Pachyrhinosaurus canadiensis
"Thick-nosed lizard". How apt.
ceratopsians cretaceous dinosaurs north america ornithischians pachyrhinosaurus pachyrhinosaurus canadiensis
Peleycornis
Peleycornis
Terror bird!
birds terror-birds theropods peleycornis
Psittacosaurus
Psittacosaurus
Psittacosaurus sporting the tail [...]
asia ceratopsians cretaceous psittacosaurus psittacosaurus
Pterodactylus kochi
Pterodactylus kochi
Pterodactylus kochi probing for grubs.
jurassic pterodactyloids pterodactylus pterosaurs solnhofen pterodactylus kochi
Sauropelta
Sauropelta
ankylosaurs cretaceous dinosaurs early cretaceous north america sauropelta sauropelta
Scansoriopteryx
Scansoriopteryx
Crazy little baby dino-bird with a very long [...]
china cretaceous dinosaurs feathered theropods scansoriopteryx
Sinornithoides
Sinornithoides
The birdlike troodont Sinornithoides [...]
cretaceous dinosaurs nest theropods troodontid sinornithoides
Sinosauropteryx
Sinosauropteryx
An itchy Sinosauropteryx.
china compsognathid cretaceous dinosaurs early cretaceous feathered itchy sinosauropteryx theropods sinosauropteryx
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