Our thanks to dinosaur model fan and artist Caldey who sent into Everything Dinosaur a very colourful and striking illustration of a horned dinosaur. Caldey has been inspired by the paint schemes of several of the Beasts of the Mesozoic ceratopsians and we think that Caldey’s most recent artwork has been influenced by the Styracosaurus albertensis in this range.

The skin covering the fenestrae in the fill have been coloured crimson and their colour almost matches the vivid tree depicted in the background.

An Impressive Horned Dinosaur Drawing

As crocodilians and birds which are the closest living relatives to the Dinosauria, have colour vision, most scientists are confident in the assertion that dinosaurs had colour vision too. The bold patterns and colours chosen by the illustrator would certainly make this horned dinosaur conspicuous, but if you want to attract a mate, or to obtain high social status within a herd, having a striking appearance is one way to go about it. Caldey’s colour scheme is bold with the white flashes on the flanks in stark contrast to the russet tones and greys of the rest of the body.

The dinosaur also sports a tuft of bristles from the end of the ribs running towards the base of the tail, a nod to the integumentary covering associated with the distantly related Psittacosaurus which Caldey has also illustrated (see below).

When commenting upon Caldey’s latest, colourful ceratopsian a spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur stated:

“It is always a pleasure to receive illustrations and drawings from dinosaur fans. We have been very impressed with the artwork that we have been sent by Caldey. Thanks to Caldey we have received artwork featuring several horned dinosaurs including Triceratops and Diabloceratops. We know that she has been inspired previously by the Beasts of the Mesozoic models, so we think her latest drawing was influenced by the Beasts of the Mesozoic Styracosaurus figure.”

To view the Beasts of the Mesozoic model range: Beasts of the Mesozoic Models.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Our thanks once again to Caldey for sending into Everything Dinosaur her prehistoric animal drawing.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.