#platecarpus

[bobnichollsart]

Today's marine reptile artwork features Platecarpus hunting Enchodus. It was commissioned by the The Children's Museum of Indianapolis in 2021.

[tff-praefectus]

Mosasaur

(PDF) Select Specimens from the Mosasaur Collections at the University of Colorado Boulder

PDF | Routine maintenance and re-housing of the paleontological collections at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History (UCM) pe

[radishcellar]

Mosasaurs

these are redraws of my old mosasaur arts. originals are lower.

i made jormungandr with that "hainosaurus" (now one of the tylosaurus species) pattern.

without background versions!!!

[dromaeosaurid]

Pectoral limbs of a Platecarpus sp., Ichthyosaurus conybeari, and Ichthyosaurus intermedius from A Guide to the Fossil Reptiles and Fishes in the Department of Geology and Paleontology in the British Museum (Natural History), 1896.

[thecreaturecodex]

Platecarpus

Image © Gabriel Ugueto, accessed on his twitter here

[Paizo's record with prehistoric reptiles is, I would say, "enthusiastic but mixed". The dinosaur art in the 1e Bestiary was frankly hideous, but later books and the new edition improved the quality of their art immensely. The art for the mosasaur genus Tylosaurus in 1e, is much better than the 2e art. And as far as accuracy goes, neither version has the streamline shape and lobed tails that we know that mosasaurs have. And in both 1e and 2e, the mosasaur statistics include a land speed, which would be impossible for derived mosasaurs (early members of the group were probably amphibious). So this version of the platecarpus is based on the 2e version, only with more attempts at accuracy. The real Platecarpus was more like a pilot whale and less like a killer whale as far as its diet and behavior, as far as we know. But Pathfinder animals at least have the excuse of Lamashtu for them to be violently disposed towards player characters.]

Platecarpus CR 4 N Animal This creature looks like a cross between a whale and a lizard, with a low triangular head and four broad flippers. Its tail has a vertical fluke, the lower lobe much longer than the upper.

The platecarpus is an example of the group of animals known as mosasaurs. Mosasaurs are lizards that have evolved a fully aquatic lifestyle, and their bodies converge on the shapes of whales. Unlike most other lizards, mosasaurs give birth to live young. Platecarpuses cannot support their own weight on land and tend to live in warm, shallow seas. A platecarpus is mid-sized by the standards of mosasaurs, and fills a niche as a mesocarnivore. They eat primarily fish and squid, and are themselves fed on by large sharks and larger mosasaurs. Platecarpuses occasionally eat larger prey, as their jaws are jointed and can expand to swallow fairly sizable morsels. They do not attack ships or groups of humanoids, but a lone humanoid may be seen as possible prey by a hungry platecarpus.

Platecarpus as Animal Companions A platecarpus companion uses the statistics of a tylosaurus companion (for a more realistic take, remove the land speed of the animal).                                                               

Platecarpus    CR 4 XP 1,200 N Large animal Init +3; Senses low-light vision, Perception +7, scent Defense AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (-1 size, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +4 natural) hp 45 (6d8+18) Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +4 Offense Speed 40 ft. Melee bite +8 (1d12+7 plus grab) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Statistics Str 20, Dex 16, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 7 Base Atk +4; CMB +10 (+14 grapple); CMD 24 Feats Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack Skills Perception +7, Stealth +8, Swim +18; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth SQ hold breath, mobile grappler Ecology Environment warm and temperate oceans Organization solitary, pair or pod (3-8) Treasure none Special Abilities Mobile Grappler (Ex) A platecarpus can move at up to its full speed when it makes a combat maneuver check to move while maintaining a grapple.

[veloci-raptor]

A Day in Niobrara

1. Hesperornis regalis 2. Nyctosaurus gracilis 3. Pteranodon longiceps 4. Claosaurus agilis 5. Niobrarasaurus coleii 6. Gillicus arcuantus 7. Enchodus petrosus 8. Platecarpus tympaniticus 9. Dolichorhynchops osborni 10. Protostega gigas 11. Clidastes prophython 12. Tylosaurus proriger 13. Bonnerichthys gladius 14. Ptychodus mortoni 15. Styxosaurus snowii 16. Xiphactinus audax 17. Cretoxyrhina mantelli

[just9art]

Inktober days 9-12 Swing: Miragaia and Lourinhanosaurus Pattern: Platecarpus and Tusoteuthis Snow: Nanuqsaurus Dragon: Cryodrakon Definitely a little late finishing and posting these but was bogged down by work a bit.

[dread-doughnuts]

Two mosasaur specimens from the exhibit “Sea Monsters Unearthed: Life in Angola’s Ancient Seas” at the National Museum of Natural History. The first is the skull of “Platecarpus” ptychodon, a fish eating mosasaur that has been dated to 72 million years ago; the second is Angolasaurus bocagei, the oldest known mosasaur from the Southern Hemisphere, dated to 88 million years ago. Mosasaurs were large marine reptiles from the same order as modern snakes, lizards, and amphisbaenians. They’re common in late Cretaceous fossil deposits and has several adaptations for their marine environment, including a streamlined body and crescent-shaped tail flukes in later species. They became extinct during the K-Pg event 66 million years ago.