Caldey’s Zuniceratops Illustration

Our thanks to budding palaeo-artist Caldey who sent into Everything Dinosaur her illustration of the Beasts of the Mesozoic Zuniceratops figure and what a splendid illustration it is!  We have received numerous horned dinosaur drawings from Caldey in recent months, we can now add her Zuniceratops christopheri artwork to our collection.

Caldey’s Illustration of Zuniceratops christopheri

A beautiful illustration of the Late Cretaceous horned dinosaur Zuniceratops (Z. christopheri) by Caldey.  Previously, Caldey has dispatched to Everything Dinosaur drawings of Diabloceratops, Medusaceratops, Triceratops and other horned dinosaurs.

Picture credit: Caldey

Illustrating Zuniceratops

The colourful and enigmatic Z. christopheri with its vivid facial markings and flashes of blue is cleverly contrasted with the monochrome foreground and vegetation that Caldey has incorporated into her drawing.  A tuft of bristle-like hairs on the rump of this dinosaur has also been added.  Although there is no fossil evidence to indicate whether this ceratopsian possessed such a feature, it is known in other members of the Ceratopsia, such as Psittacosaurus, a dinosaur that Caldey has also illustrated.

Zuniceratops is regarded as a transitional form of horned dinosaur.  It roamed what was to become New Mexico around ninety million years ago and its fossil remains show a mix of primitive and more derived anatomical traits, so why not give it bristles too?

Caldey’s Illustration of Psittacosaurus

Caldey’s illustration of the early member of the Ceratopsia – Psittacosaurus.  There is evidence to suggest that this small, plant-eating dinosaur had a fan of bristle-like structures at the base of its tail.  Palaeontologists remain uncertain as to their function.

Picture credit: Caldey

These illustrations are based on horned dinosaur figures and models.  Specifically, these drawings have been inspired by the Beasts of the Mesozoic model range.

To view this range: Beasts of the Mesozoic Models and Figures.

The artist has carefully picked out and highlighted the individual scales on the Zuniceratops.  This is particularly evident on the head, where even the tiny jugal (cheek horn) has been illustrated.

A Close-up View of the Head of the Zuniceratops

The individual scales have been carefully picked out and highlighted by the artist.

Picture credit: Caldey

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“It is always a pleasure to receive artwork and we do get lots of pictures sent into us.  We do look at them all and we are really grateful for all that we receive.  Our congratulations to Caldey for her splendid drawing of Zuniceratops.”

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.