Archaeopteryx lithographica. Original artwork from Feathered Dinosaurs. Click here to buy
Schouten, Peter.
$2,850.00
Watercolour and gouache on Arches paper 656 x 424 mm, unframed, signed and dated by artist.
The ancient wing from the lithographic shales. The most famous of all early bird fossils, Archaeopteryx was first named from a single feather found in 1860 at Eichstatt in southern Germany. Since that time, some 10 specimens of Archaeopteryx have been found and studied in minute detail. We know it was a true bird with complex feather patterns, capable of powered flight, and that it could probably take off from a standing position. It had small teeth and a long tail with feathers fanning outwards. Its arms display asymmetrical flight feathers as occurs in modern birds. Detailed CT scans of its braincase confirm that, like modern birds, it had similar sensory developments to process information rapidly during flight. Archaeopteryx grew to about 70 centimetres in length with a 50 centimetres wingspan, but weighed less than one kilogram. It narrow, toothed beak suggests its was primarily an insect feeder. Artist's note: A good contemporary analogy for Archaeopteryx are rails, particularly those found on arid islands. Of equivalent size and capable of flight, rails are suited more to a life on the ground than in trees. Like these opportunistic birds, Archaeopteryx may have roamed the vegetation bordering watercourses or marshland in search of prey, taking to wing only when danger threatened. Inspired by the uniformly conservative appearance of the rails, Archaeopteryx has been endowed with a colour scheme of drab browns and grey, with some faint cryptic barring. Order: Archaeopterygiformes Family: Arch aeopterygidae Age: Late Jurassic Locality: Southern Germany (Solnhofen shales).
Caudipteryx zoui. Original artwork from Feathered Dinosaurs. Click here to buy
Schouten, Peter.
$2,450.00
Watercolour and gouache on Arches paper 350 x 610 mm, unframed, signed and dated by artist.
Winged-tail named in honour of Zou Jihua. The spectacular discovery in 1998 of the peacock-sized Caudipteryx demonstrated for the first time that a dinosaur could have well developed, branching feathers, like birds, but not be flying animals. The almost-complete skeleton adorned with feathers from Liaoning Province, China, bore the distinctive feature of a tail with a fan of large feathers radiating out from halfway along its length. Its short arms also bore well-developed feathers. Like that of other oviraptorosaurs, the skull of Caudipteryx is short, and shows a primitive state of having a few teeth in its jaws. Whereas most dinosaur experts regard Caudipteryx as an oviraptorosaur, some specialists hold that it could be a highly specialised flightless bird. The presence of stomach stones inside the gut suggests it ate plant material such as seeds. The well-developed feather fans on the arms and tail were most likely used for mating displays and no doubt bore impressive patterns and colours to attract a mate. Artist's note: I have reconstructed Caudipteryx in the act of courtship. The male is displaying his semaphore-like forelimb feathers as the female is signalling her readiness to mate with her raised tail. Male birds that adopt this form of display generally sport vibrant colours designed to stand out against the shadowy backdrop. Additionally they may use reflective or refractive feathers that scatter sunlight in a scintillating way. With its feathers unfurled and throat flap and wattles engorged, I have attempted to capture Caudipteryx in such a moment of intense display. Infraorder: Oviraptosauria Family: Caudipterygidae Age: Early Cretaceous Locality: Sihetun region, Beipiao, Liaoning Province, China.
Confuciusornis sanctus. Original artwork from Feathered Dinosaurs. Click here to buy
Schouten, Peter.
$2,450.00
Watercolour and gouache on Arches paper 656 x 424 mm, unframed, signed and dated by artist.
The sacred Confucius bird. Confuciusornis is one of the best known of all Mesozoic age birds, with over a thousand good specimens of complete, feathered individuals in Chinese museums. About the size of a modern crow, Confuciusornis differed principally from Archaeopteryx in having a toothless beak and lacking the latter's long reptilian tail. It also had a pygostyle, or shortened tail bone, a feature of modern birds that helps them to manoeuvre the tail in flight separately from the hind limbs. Its wrist shows partial fusion, a condition more specialised than occurs in Archaeopteryx, thus enabling a stronger wing design. The many complete specimens of Confuciusornis show some with long tail feathers and others without them, suggesting this feature was a difference exhibited between males and females. A recent review of Chinese fossil birds has revealed that Confuciusornis appeared to have leg feathers. Artist's note: With a short body, well-developed wings and a reduced tail, this was an animal that spent substantial time aloft. The large number of individuals found in fossil deposits indicate that Confuciusornis formed large flocks. With its aeronautical skills, it is possible that Confuciusornis could display whilst on the wing. The bright blue and reflective quality of the feathers have been influenced by the metallic starlings of Africa. These birds, as a flock and with their brilliant colouring, are able to confuse potential predators by presenting such a united, dazzling display that it becomes very difficult to isolate an individual. Family: Confuciusornithidae Age: Early Cretaceous Locality: Sihetun sites, near Beipiao city, Liaoning Province, China (Chaomidianzi Formation).
Microraptor gui. Original artwork from Feathered Dinosaurs. Click here to buy
Schouten, Peter.
$1,850.00
Watercolour and gouache on Arches paper 465 x 618 mm, unframed, signed and dated by artist.
Little robber named in honour of Mr Gu Zhiwei. One of the most spectacular fossil discoveries announced in 2003 was the four-winged dinosaur Microraptor gui, from the famous Liaoning sites of north-eastern China. At only 77 centimetres in length, this dinosaur is one of the smallest adult species of theropod known. It had well developed pennaceous flight feathers on both its arms and legs, along with a typical reptilian tail that also sported a fan of broad feathers. The feathered arms and legs may have helped it to glide down from the trees but its legs could not have been employed in flapping motions because its hip joints had limited flexibility. Perhaps it folded its feathered legs underneath itself to form a biplane arrangement when gliding. Microraptor gui was clearly an opportunistic predator that chased insects and other small prey, and used its gliding abilities to avoid being caught by the larger predatory dinosaurs. Artist's note: Here Microraptor is in mid-glide, with forewings widely spread and hind limbs drawn underneath its body. The asymmetrical flight feathers provide lift, while the contour feathers of the wings and tail provide stability and pitch control. The edges and tips of the flight feathers are strengthened by a high level of the black pigment, melanin. Sexual display features are visible in the brightly coloured throat sac, cheek patch and feathered crest. The mottled black, brown and white colours enabled Microraptor to blend with the moss- and lichen-covered branches of its canopy home. Infraorder: Coelurosauria Family: Dromaeosauridae Age: Early Cretaceous Locality: Sihetun region, Beipiao, Liaoning Province, China.
Sinosauropteryx prima. Original artwork from Feathered Dinosaurs. Click here to buy
Schouten, Peter.
$2,450.00
Watercolour and gouache on Arches paper 350 x 605 mm, unframed, signed and dated by artist.
The first Chinese lizard wing. Sinosauropteryx was the first dinosaur ever found with proto-feathers preserved on the body and is now known from three near-complete skeletons. A recent study alternatively suggests it had a stiff fibrous ridge on its back. The first specimen totally astounded the palaeontological world because, in addition to having hair-like feathers, there were the remains of a mammal in its gut and what were thought to be eggs in its oviduct. Sinosauropteryx was about 1.2 metres in length and hunted small mammals and other creatures that lived alongside the ancient Liaoning lake systems. Its body was covered in a fine down of short hair-like feathers which are now known to be the first stage of development in longer, more complex feathers that occur on dinosaurs and birds. It was very much like other compsognathids differing only in the proportions of its skull and limb bones. Artist's note: The exquisite fossil of this dinosaur leaves no question about the presence of feathers on these small dinosaurs. Even the faint outline of coloured barring is evident along its tail. As this is a female, I have avoided strong ornament and colour around the head and throat. The large orbit for the eye and the presence of a recently ingested mammal in the gut indicates an animal that probably hunted in the shadows or at night. A high contrast barring of black and white helps to disguise the body outline in such conditions. Infraorder: Coelurosauria Family: Compsognathidae Age: Early Cretaceous Locality: Sihetun region, near Beipiao, Liaoning Province, China (Yixian Formation).
Bulldog Rat Rattus nativiatatis. Original artwork from A Gap in Nature. Click here to buy
Schouten, Peter.
$1,250.00
Watercolour and gouache on Arches paper, 315 x 620mm, framed, signed and dated by artist.
Last Record: about 1903. Distribution: Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. The higher hills and denser forests of Christmas Island once supported a most peculiar rodent. The bulldog rat had a short tail, and its back was covered in a layer of fat two centimetres thick. It lived in small colonies, in burrows among the roots of trees or under hollow logs in primary forest. It was a sluggish creature that never climbed and, according to an observer, when `exposed to daylight, seems to be in a half-dazed condition'. Almost nothing else is known of the habits of this unusual rat. It is certainly extinct, and we can only assume that it was carried off by the great murid epidemic that also destroyed Maclear's rat.