Two years ago I wrote a blog article about the little known Nautilus-diversity in the post-cretaceous sea. That´s something many people - even those with a strong interest in zoology and paleontology - have never heard about. Especially that some of thse nautilids did not only looked considerably differnt from the modern species, but reached in some cases quite respectable sizes as well. I had the chance to see a nice collection of such nautilids at the Urwelt-Museum at Siegsdorf. This inspired me to make an illustration of Nautilus imperialis. This species reached about the diameter of a softball and had a much rounder shell shape than extant nautilids. This was admittedly my very first try of a digital painting, which I still made only with the moue at that time. In the background you can see the silhouette of an archaeocete, which just approaches another Nautilus. There´s even a theory that the rise of archaeocete was the origin for the decline of nautilid diversity.
You can read the original blog article here:
The amazing Nautilid Diversity of the Post-Cretaceous Seas | Bestiarium
You can read the original blog article here:
The amazing Nautilid Diversity of the Post-Cretaceous Seas | Bestiarium
