Monday, June 30, 2008

Odobenodon, or, the Walrodont


This is a part of a little project that Will Baird and I are cooking up. Scott Elyard might also lend a hand. What you're looking at is Odobenodon bairdii, a large member of the Odobenodontidae, which itself nests in the larger Phocicheiria. Our idea is that, had the Permio-Triassic extinction simply failed to occur, non-mammalian synapsids might have evolved in strange and unique ways. The Phocicheiria seems to be an offshoot of the dicynodonts.
But perhaps I've said too much. This project is Will's baby, after all. Look for more at The Dragon's Tales in the coming days! Life restorations, skeletal details, and should the Lords of Kobal grant it, a beach scene.

2 comments:

Neil said...

Excellent concept! incidentally, why no marine synapsids until the Eocene?

I'll get around to those hellasaurs this week...maybe!

Glendon Mellow said...

oooo, I like this one!

When I first glanced at this earlier today, I thought it was some prehistoric creature I was unfamiliar with.

It makes me think of the irradiated walrusish people in Dinner at Deviant's Palace by Tim Powers.

I look forward to seeing this develop.