Dinosaur Imagery

The Science of Lost Worlds and Jurassic Art: The Lanzendorf Collection

John J. Lanzendorf

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2000
• Print ISBN: 9780124365902
• eBook ISBN: 9780080530420
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Ecology
• Index: Biological Sciences

The art of natural history is often both compelling and emotive, as well as emblematic of society's view of the world. This art reflects the messages that scientists hope to send to a general audience as a part of their effort to influence how public funds are spent in support of science. The art is the medium AND the message. The public fascination over dinosaurs has been fueled by images that eloquently illustrate current scientific theories about dinosaur behavior, physiology, locomotion, and reproduction. The evidence for many of these theories is very good. The art of dinosaur depiction is firmly rooted in the processes of scientific inquiry. Because the paintings and sculptures that illustrate dinosaur science are so powerful, collectors vie for this art paying top dollar to acquire it and display it. One of the largest personal collections is held by John Lanzendorf--over 100 superlative paintings and drawings, 40 significant sculptures (bronze), many other small pieces, drawings, figurines, action figures, and more. Artists represented in this unparalleled collection are the best illustrators, painters, sculptors and movie-magicians.Key Features* Art from the John Lanzendorf collection - the world's best* Contributions from 20 leading paleontologists - each have written a short commentary on a certain piece of art* Eye-pleasing layout - full pages of art are complemented by an accompanying page of commentary

CHAPTER I

Extinct—but not Dinosaurs

By virtue of its dramatic sail, Dimetrodon is perhaps the best-known nondinosaurian vertebrate fossil. In fact, its popularity has caused its erroneous yet welcome inclusion in most collections of dinosaur toys. As an early member of the basal amniote lineage Synapsida, Dimetrodon is known from Early Permian Age sediments, approximately 280 million years before present. Numerous species have been described, from the size of a house cat to that of a full-grown alligator.

Synapsids are actually more closely related to living mammals than most other subjects in the Lanzendorf collection. They have been designated as “pelycosaurs,” or “mammal-like reptiles.” Research since 1980 has demonstrated convincingly that synapsids probably represent the earliest lineage of amniotes, the group that includes living mammals, reptiles, birds, as well as dinosaurs and other extinct groups. As these mammalian first cousins are no longer thought by experts to be derived directly from primitive reptiles, the term “mammal-like reptile” is falling out of use, but the popularity of the unusually shaped Dimetrodon persists.

This rendering by Debus reflects the prevailing interpretation of the habits of this mammalian relative for most of the twentieth century. Debus represents Dimetrodon as a large, top-level carnivore—but one that was constrained to a sluggish, sedentary lifestyle. The bronze reflects a mosaic of early and more recent expert opinion. The skull in particular evokes a current interpretation of the landmark shapes that define the animal. Particularly characteristic is the step in the upper maxillary jawline, the wedge-shaped cranium, and the aggressively carnivorous dentition. The hind-foot and other elements of the limbs have since been reinterpreted as our understanding of Dimetrodon as a moderately agile terrestrial predator has emerged. The characteristic webbed sail supported by elongate bony vertebral spines is strikingly conveyed.

Early functional suggestions for the sail in Dimetrodon (and its parallel development in other pelycosaurs) ranged from physiological to that of a behavioral signaling device. One went so far as to suggest it as an expression of male sexual dimorphism, with the lack of sail (in a form known as Sphenacodon) believed to be the female characteristic. However provocative, such hypotheses didn’t take into account the fact that Dimetrodon and Sphenacodon were almost never found together—a situation that would have rendered mating rather difficult! Currently, the sail’s function tends to be recognized as an aid in thermal regulation. Its webbing was well-vascularized and appears to have been suited to transmitting radiant heat to the body if turned perpendicular to the sunlight, or dumping heat if shaded or turned edge-wise into the direction of incident light. Although initially and best known from a number of North American localities such as Utah, New Mexico, and north-central Texas, the last year of the twentieth century has revealed the presence of a small species of Dimetrodon in central Germany as well. This suggests that the distribution of Dimetrodon in the Lower Permian is much greater than originally thought, and that its international popularity will likely continue happily unchecked.

STUART S. SUMIDA

California State University, San Bernardino

Dimetrodon Artist: Allen Debus Medium: Painted Resin Date: 1995 Dimensions: 15″L × 8-1/2″H

GARY STAAB

Gary Staab works from Golden, Colorado, where he sculpts and paints dinosaurs as well as other modern natural history subjects. Contributing to many books, his most recent painting is the cover of Allison Jolly’s book entitled Lucy’s Legacy (1999, Harvard University Press).

His web site (www.staabstudios.com) illustrates the breadth of his interest in natural history art.

Lystrosaurus, from the Early Triassic, is not actually a dinosaur. It is a dicynodont, a lineage of the so-called mammal-like reptiles (Synapsida: Therapsida). The widespread distribution of Lystrosaurus fossils throughout many southern hemisphere landmasses played a key early role as biological evidence corroborating the theory of continental drift.

Lystrosaurus Artist: Gary Staab Medium: Acrylic on Masonite Date: 1996 Dimensions: 10“W × 10”H

Flight among vertebrates has evolved more than once. The Pterosauria are capable of flight and were contemporaries of dinosaurs, although not dinosaurs themselves. Pteranodon sternbergi was named after the Sternberg family, well known fossil collectors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Pteranodon sternbergi Artist: Michael Skrepnick Medium: Acrylic on Masonite Date: 1994 × 7-1/2”H

STEPHEN & SYLVIA CZERKAS

Stephen and Sylvia Czerkas with their latest clay sculpture of Tyrannosaurus rex. Stephen has created many versions and this one reflects his latest research. This new look includes large fleshy lips completely covering the teeth. These glandular lips might have resembled those of a Komodo dragon or monitor lizard. The above clay version will be cast in bronze for John’s collection, and they dedicate it to him. Life-size dinosaurs sculpted by Stephen and Sylvia are on display at many museums world wide including Chicago’s Field Museum, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. Stephen is currently Director of The Dinosaur Museum and also Head of Research and Fossil Excavations. The web site of the museum (www.dinosaur-museum.org) attests to the commitment made by both these artists/scientists.

The first common image of Tyrannosaurus rex was created by Charles R. Knight, in 1906 for the American Museum of Natural History. Knight portrayed T. rex in side view confronting two large Triceratops protecting a smaller juvenile. Like so many of Knight’s remarkable works, this image was the original source for illustrating the scientific information that was available. It was his version which then became popularized in books, magazines, and especially motion pictures.

Surprisingly, the Tyrannosaurus in the 1925 silent movie version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, was no different than one of many Allosaurus created for the film. The talented model maker, Marcel Delgado, made all of the miniature models faithfully based on the classic paintings by C. R. Knight. These amazing sculptures were articulated and positionable so that they could be animated one frame at a time, and brought to life by the hands of special effects genius, Willis H. O’Brien. These dinosaurs were among the first to be convincingly portrayed for the general public. Nevertheless, Knight’s classic image T. rex was not presented in all of its glory until the original 1933 motion picture, King Kong.

The team of O’Brien and Delgado presented in King Kong even more impressive restorations of what living, breathing dinosaurs may have looked like. Along with a flying Pteranodon and aquatic snake-necked Elasmosaurus, there was the classic swamp dwelling Brontosaurus and an O. C. Marsh version of a Stegosaurus ungulatus with ex...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• DINOSAUR IMAGERY
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Editor’s Note
• Contributors
• Chapter I: Extinct—but not Dinosaurs
• Chapter II: “Fearfully Great Lizards” of the Triassic
• Chapter III: Jurassic Art
• Chapter IV: A Cretaceous End to a Lost World
• Epilogue
• Related References
• Credits & Contact Information