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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton
@markwitton.bsky.social
12K followers 380 following 700 posts
Palaeoartist, palaeontologist, author, documentary consultant and creature designer. Not necessarily in that order. More about me at markwitton.co.uk.
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 1h
I don't have a book sale function on my website - Dave may, though. But this might be making work for everyone: it's not going to be hard to get. It's published by one of the biggest publishers in the world, and any book retailer will be able to order copies.
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 2h
It's going to be available from major book retailers, so maybe someone can facilitate that.
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 4h
We're only just starting to discuss PR, though: I wouldn't be surprised if a talk or two doesn't pop up somewhere.
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 6h
Why look: a box of some sort of newish, bookish things arrived this morning. Seems to be about spinosaurid #dinosaurs... coauthored with @davehone.bsky.social... and published by Bloomsbury. Available 6th of November In the UK; then worldwide in early 2026.
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 1d
"Watch this, guys, I'm gonna confuse the hell out of whoever finds this in 160 million years' time."
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 1d
I hope you enjoy the book as well as the cover!
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 1d
I was thrilled to help to excavate more of this huge Oxfordshire dinosaur track site earlier this year. The BBC's new article has a ton of fantastic images and graphics that bring the tracks to life, including a moment where a sauropod paused to... do something?
richardjbutler.bsky.social
Richard Butler @richardjbutler.bsky.social · 1d
Back in June we were back on the Oxfordshire “dinosaur highway”, excavating more dinosaur tracks with our teams from the Universities of Birmingham, Oxford & Liverpool John Moores. The BBC have a story out today about our work at the site:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...
In the footsteps of giants - BBC News
One of the longest sets of dinosaur footprints in the world has been discovered in a limestone quary near Bicester, in Oxfordshire, England.
www.bbc.co.uk
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 1d
A heads up that I'm talking at @NewScientist Live this weekend (Sunday 19th October) about my book, King Tyrant: A Natural History of Tyrannosaurus rex. Details, tickets etc. can be found here: live.newscientist.com/nsl-london-2... #dinosaur #fossils #scicomm #paleontology #books
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Reposted by Mark Witton
princetonupress.bsky.social
Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 2d
Next week, on Oct 19, see @markwitton.bsky.social at @newscientist.com Live to discuss his book, King Tyrant: A Natural History of Tyrannosaurus rex. Stop by Our Planet stage at 11:55 am BST to hear about his fascinating research on the world's most famous dinosaur!

Learn more here: buff.ly/4YBFj1U
King Tyrant: A Natural History of Tyrannosaurus rex by Mark P. Witton Mark P. Witton
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 5d
Quick #FossilFriday #paleoart post: a 2025 redo of my 2019 take on the giant #deer Megaloceros. Palaeolithic art captures some aspects of Megaloceros appearance but the details are not unambiguous: when is a line across a body a stripe, when is it a boundary between colour regions?
Three Megaloceros, a stag, doe and fawn, in front of an ice age landscape, painted in 2025. The bodies of the adults have large blocks of colour, without prominent stripes. Three Megaloceros, a stag, doe and fawn, in front of an ice age landscape, painted in 2019. The body of the stag has a dark stripe extending from the shoulder to the thigh.
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Reposted by Mark Witton
davehone.bsky.social
Dr Dave Hone @davehone.bsky.social · 5d
In advance of the publication of my new book with @markwitton.bsky.social, "Spinosaur Tales" (Nov 6th), for #FossilFriday, here's a nice close up of a tooth of Baryonyx sitting in the jaw of the holotype. More spinosaur goodness coming in the next weeks as I desperately try to promote the book.
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 7d
A superb explanation about why artists by and large detest AI imagery, from @theoatmeal.bsky.social: theoatmeal.com/comics/ai_art
A cartoonist's review of AI art - The Oatmeal
This is a comic about AI art.
theoatmeal.com
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 8d
Preview of my latest #paleoart piece: a baby bison flees the deadliest predator of Ice Age Europe. Harrowing, harrowing stuff.
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Reposted by Mark Witton
stevebrusatte.bsky.social
Steve Brusatte @stevebrusatte.bsky.social · 9d
If you want to know the real Spinosaurus, the animal behind the myths, check out this upcoming book by @davehone.bsky.social & @markwitton.bsky.social !!
davehone.bsky.social
Dr Dave Hone @davehone.bsky.social · 9d
And here's what @stevebrusatte.bsky.social had to say about it:
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Reposted by Mark Witton
davehone.bsky.social
Dr Dave Hone @davehone.bsky.social · 9d
My new book with @markwitton.bsky.social on Spinosaurus and their relatives is out a month today! It's available for preorder, so now is the time to get in on this amazing and well-illustrated book on these oddest of #dinosaurs. But don't take our word for it, here's what others have to say:
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 9d
He was successful in many respects, but he was also born into wealth and privilege, and thus destined to be impactful. In many aspects he was awful: arrogant and difficult to work with, he abused his position at the AMNH to promote a racist agenda and openly admired Adolf Hitler.
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 9d
Worth remembering that he actively wanted T. rex to be a dinosaur the public adored so they'd visit his museum. Everything about the early history of Tyrannosaurus was about making it the biggest and best dinosaur ever, and the name was part of that. Same with "Dynamosaurus".
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 10d
#Tyrannosaurus rex was named 120 years ago today (Oct 4, 1905). If you want to know all there is to know about the world's most iconic #dinosaur, the word is that my book "King Tyrant", published a few months back, is a good start. #fossils #paleontology #paleoart press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
The cover of the book "King Tyrant: a natural history of Tyrannosaurus rex" covered with gleaming review comments and a load of 5 star (or nearly so) ratings. Do you not have a copy yet? You can get them wherever books are sold. I mean, I'm just an alt text caption so my judgment on this anything beyond image description is limited, but I hear Mark worked incredibly hard on this project and thinks it's the best thing he's ever published. He'd be really happy if you bought a copy, and perhaps additional ones for friends and family so you could have very informed conversations about T. rex and all the dinosaur biology it's revealed to us.
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 12d
Dorsal sails aren't _that_ common in fossil animals: we disproportionately represent them in palaeo media because they're cool. We have Hydrosaurus and some finbacked chamelons today, and plenty of animals with dewlaps, so I reckon we're on track for species with dorsal/ventral midline extensions.
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 12d
Thanks! I don't think there's much trick to what I do: I just use brushes that leave obvious strokes.
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 12d
...as there was evidently much variation in appendage size and length in these animals. The form used in most reconstructions is that of the smaller holotype specimen (left), but much larger, sickle-shaped examples are also known (right). Photos to scale, from Spiekman et al. 2025.
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 12d
To brighten up a wet and rainy #FossilFriday, here's my take on the recently described drepanosaur Mirasaura grauvogeli. It's shown among the conifer Voltzia, a plant found in abundance in the same beds as Mirasaura. The pointed sail shape is based on fossil data...

#sciart #fossils #paleontology
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 12d
Whether a print of an iPad drawing should be sold for >£80K is another question, but it's great to see digital art being given mainstream recognition. As an exclusively digital artist, I often feel like a second-class creative, but maybe attitudes are changing.

www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
David Hockney iPad drawings of Yorkshire Wolds to be sold at auction
Seventeen prints from The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate are largest group of Hockney’s iPad works to come to market
www.theguardian.com
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 14d
This wallowing Tyrannosaurus certainly agrees.
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markwitton.bsky.social
Mark Witton @markwitton.bsky.social · 14d
Indeed, and this reconstruction does have some sparse filaments that recall elephant fuzz. Obviously all this is best guesses at the moment, pending more fossil data or models that help us gauge heat shedding in big dinosaurs.
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