tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post312379427054578441..comments2024-03-23T12:02:36.626-07:00Comments on Mark P. Witton's Blog: Another Pterosaurs preview, and the soft bits of TupandactylusMark Wittonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02524696111911168322noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-69783107635318713142013-06-06T02:40:17.788-07:002013-06-06T02:40:17.788-07:00Hi Evan,
Sorry for the delay in replying. Good qu...Hi Evan,<br /><br />Sorry for the delay in replying. Good question about soft-tissue translucency. The short answer is the we probably don't really know based on fossils alone, and have to rely on modern analogues. Here, I've imagined the crest being fairly tough and rigid - there's not much bony support for it, really - and thus opaque in even direct sunlight. The wing membranes may have been more translucent than shown here as they are fairly thin (although not of uniform thickness across the wing), but I think I can get away with it in this poorly-lit, shady image.Mark Wittonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02524696111911168322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-79357222690154785262013-06-06T02:30:18.501-07:002013-06-06T02:30:18.501-07:00Looks like a Kindle version does exist. Behold!Looks like a Kindle version does exist. <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pterosaurs-ebook/dp/B00CZ85O88/ref=tmm_kin_title_0" rel="nofollow">Behold!</a><br /><br />Mark Wittonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02524696111911168322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-46978965993877364192013-05-28T16:52:51.994-07:002013-05-28T16:52:51.994-07:00Great work as always! Really looking forward to th...Great work as always! Really looking forward to the book. I have it pre-ordered.<br /><br />I was curious as to your thought process behind how you depicted the soft tissue crest in particular. On a lot of heavily-backlit illustrations, soft bits like wing membranes tend to be depicted with a translucent "subsurface scattering" type of effect - much like what you have with his glorious pycnofiber mane. I noticed that you depicted the crest fairly solid without any light coming through, and was wondering if there is any support one way or another for how to tell if a soft bit such as a crest or wing membrane was likely to be translucent or not?Evan Boucherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02091543962628328716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-64939990375370464102013-05-26T11:28:11.978-07:002013-05-26T11:28:11.978-07:00The pycnofibres on pterosaur fossils are frequentl...The pycnofibres on pterosaur fossils are frequently gently curved and randomly orientated, much like preserved fur on fossil mammals, and their density also seems pretty similar. We can't count fibres per square centimetres because their fossils are squashed flat, but we get the same matted, roadkill-like fibrous 'halos' around pterosaur skeletons that we see in fossil mammals and birds. From that, it seems probable that pterosaurs were pretty densely covered in fibres. Put the flexible nature of their individual strands together with their density, and I imagine the result would feel much like mammal fur or downy feathers. Mark Wittonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02524696111911168322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-8368761622356408372013-05-25T15:29:27.994-07:002013-05-25T15:29:27.994-07:00I had the same question (but not the wit to ask it...I had the same question (but not the wit to ask it). It might be different even on the same animal. Cats' fur and whiskers are essentially the same but the whiskers are far stiffer. Maybe a pterosaur would have tougher fibres on its back and softer on its tummy, ideal for rubbing!<br /><br />Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07174422312354863164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-52346517661927343082013-05-24T21:55:39.209-07:002013-05-24T21:55:39.209-07:00Thanks for that pointer-- I have pressed the butto...Thanks for that pointer-- I have pressed the button! Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03968539146840489973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-29593047069418153672013-05-24T21:55:06.223-07:002013-05-24T21:55:06.223-07:00I have a frivolous question: what would a pterosau...I have a frivolous question: what would a pterosaur's pycnofibres feel like? Silky soft, or bristly rough? (I expect it would vary between species, though.) Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03968539146840489973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-65964916017765070152013-05-24T20:02:15.210-07:002013-05-24T20:02:15.210-07:00"I imagine it takes like chicken (the Tupanda..."I imagine it takes like chicken (the Tupandactylus that is, not the book)."<br /><br />Could be the book if the comparison is to industrial chicken.<br /><br />Great art as usual. You should give the chap who does it for you a good pat on the back, but don't wrench your shoulder doing it, eh.<br /><br />It's tough times for lots of budding scientists. I have a friend who started her PhD in marine biology (at U of Queensland) last September and has been picking up some modest but nice grants for conferences and the like. But, as a foreign student in Australia, money was a big issue and it took her more than two years of on and off paid and volunteer work at the marine biology lab there to get accepted and funded. It helped that her fiancé is a PhD student in the much better funded physics, but was a very tough grind and its not like they're living big now, just not starving so much.<br /><br />I hugely admire her and folk like you and Darren who've taken what is a hard path indeed.<br /><br />Mike from Ottawa<br /><br /><br />Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07174422312354863164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-83547600331362008622013-05-24T01:25:15.727-07:002013-05-24T01:25:15.727-07:00Thanks Emily. I try hard to make pterosaurs look l...Thanks Emily. I try hard to make pterosaurs look like actual animals and not weird movie monsters. Their fossils don't always make that very easy, though! <br /><br />I'm not aware of any plans for the book to be on Kindle. Amazon does, of course, have the <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/digital/fiona/detail/request-kindle-edition/ref=dtp_dp_su_0691150613?ie=UTF8&a=0691150613" rel="nofollow">request Kindle edition button</a>, which may generate a Kindle version if enough people press it.Mark Wittonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02524696111911168322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-41296088833965849152013-05-23T09:06:57.698-07:002013-05-23T09:06:57.698-07:00Your artwork is gorgeous! It really shows how stra...Your artwork is gorgeous! It really shows how strange pterosaurs actually were, and how unlike the scaly bat-lizards of popular culture. <br /><br />I'm looking forward to the book. Will it be on Kindle, by any chance? Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03968539146840489973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-81416532837369905402013-05-23T07:04:37.852-07:002013-05-23T07:04:37.852-07:00Hi Oliver,
Don't be too disheartened: there&#...Hi Oliver,<br /><br />Don't be too disheartened: there's still a vibrant field in palaeontology, but it's undoubtedly harder than ever to get into. The harsh reality is that young scientists need to be prepared to work like crazy, weather a period of little financial and professional security and perhaps put off things like starting a family for a while if you want to find that dream job somewhere. So it <i>is</i> possible, and I would encourage anyone who is extremely determined to find a job in palaeontology to chase one, but it's only fair that people should know how tough it can be at times.Mark Wittonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02524696111911168322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-49174714224939364122013-05-23T06:19:56.592-07:002013-05-23T06:19:56.592-07:0023 June is too far !
It seems that the paleontolog...23 June is too far !<br />It seems that the paleontology branch is doomed,every postgraduates told me to let down,which is very sad.<br />The crisis will kill the research field...<br /><br />OliverAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-90037135150257895722013-05-23T05:01:59.060-07:002013-05-23T05:01:59.060-07:00I imagine it takes like chicken (the Tupandactylus...I imagine it takes like chicken (the <i>Tupandactylus</i> that is, not the book).Mark Wittonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02524696111911168322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-7531455365366496772013-05-23T05:01:19.201-07:002013-05-23T05:01:19.201-07:00Of course, how silly of me. Post corrected. Being ...Of course, how silly of me. Post corrected. Being fairly close to the Naish/Martill camp mean I've heard several discussions of names derived from 'Ingrid', and I guess 'Ingridius' was one of them. Another name has been shortlisted as a likely replacement if that ever happens, but I naturally can't say anything about that here.Mark Wittonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02524696111911168322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-63014966464140251562013-05-23T04:46:29.434-07:002013-05-23T04:46:29.434-07:00Can't wait for mine!
(the book, that is. thoug...Can't wait for mine!<br />(the book, that is. though I wouldn't mind some Tupandactylus)davidmaashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16696298300141402317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3653345901774701895.post-55584812927392076892013-05-23T04:10:22.549-07:002013-05-23T04:10:22.549-07:00That would be Ingridia, not "Ingridius."...That would be <i>Ingridia</i>, not "Ingridius." Note that Darren tried to suggest that this name could be adapted for use of <i>navigans</i>, but of course that's never going to be possible as it was proposed specifically for <i>imperator</i>.Jaime Headdenhttp://qilong.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com