Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus
Late Cretaceous, North Africa

An image inspired by the recent paper by Dr. David Hone and Dr. Thomas Holtz, Jr., "Evaluating the ecology of Spinosaurus: shoreline generalist or aquatic pursuit specialist?" published in Palaeontologia Electronica, January 2021:
https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2021/3219-the-ecology-of-spinosaurus

I tried to depict the Spinosaurus here using its sail both for intraspecific display and to cast shadows on the water as some modern herons and egrets do in a behavior known as "canopy feeding". Above, a large azhdarchid and two ornithocheirid pterosaurs cruise by, and in the water a Neoceratodus lungfish is about to become the next meal for the Spinosaurus.

Dr. Hone has a great podcast, in which you can learn more about the history and current ideas about Spinosaurus:
https://terriblelizards.libsyn.com/s03e01-spinosaurus-megasode

Digital painting done with Photoshop and a Wacom tablet, 2021.