Scientific illustration is a very niche type of art. Its history goes back hundreds of years, to the times before the advent of photography. Before we could capture instant images of the world around us, scientists needed skilled artists to render still images of animals and plants to study them. This profession was extremely important for all fields of human knowledge.
After instant photography was invented, the need for this type of art went down, but it’s still a very important profession for a lot of fields of science such as archeology and paleontology. These fields require artists to figure out what the remnants of animal and plants would have looked like when they thrived on Earth. Sometimes we get things like the T-Rex, and sometimes we get things like a cute Micropachycephalosaurus that, despite its unpronounceable name, looks so cute you just want to hug it and smother it with love until it goes extinct again.
1. Bambiraptor
Illustration: @_paleolove_
Let’s start with this one that’s not only cute, but also has the cutest name. This creature was named in honor of the ultimate incarnation of cute, Bambi the white-tailed deer, and it was called that way because of its small size. However, the name translates as “Bambi thief,” so, make of that what you will.
2. Alvarezsaurus
Illustration: @subbduction
I mean, look at that face. This cross between a cotton candy ball and a chicken was named in honor of Argentinean historian Gregorio Álvarez.
3. Epidendrosaurus
Illustration: @pnsozcyy
This “lizard in the tree,” as its Greek name tells us, looks a bit like the Roadrunner, doesn’t it? It was tiny, too: it only weighed a few ounces and was barely 6 inches tall. Also, it has been forgotten by history in favor of its much larger cousin, the Archaeopteryx, but the Epidendrosaurus was the first reptile to be closer to a bird than to a dinosaur.
4. Josephoartigasia
Not much to say about this uber-capybara. It was basically a 2000 lb. capybara. I love capybaras.
Illustration: wikimediaCommons
5. Nuralagus Rex
Illustration: @wdspaleo
Donnie Darko, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Wallace and Grommit, Harvey, Inland Empire… What do these movies all have in common? Giant rabbits! Or, as those in the know like to call them, Nuralagus Rex. Not really, but Nuralagus looked a lot like a giant modern rabbit.
6. Hadrocodium
Illustration: sciencemag.org
This tiny rodent is our earliest known mammal ancestor, and its name means “large head,” but the name only refers to its head in relation to its body: the Hadrocodium weighed about 2 grams and measured 13 millimeters from head to toe.
7. Archicebus
Illustration: @pskhun
This tiny primate lived in modern-day China and had an approximate weight of 20 grams. Look at those eyes! Don’t let that fancy name fool you, though, it only means “ancient monkey with a long tail.”
Cover Photo: @paleontologic
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