Fighting apatosaur art #7: the world speaks!
October 22, 2015
I’d hoped that we’d see a flood of BRONTOSMASH-themed artwork, but that’s not quite happened. We’ve seen a trickle, though, and that’s still exciting. Here are the ones I know about. If anyone knows of more, please let me know and I will update this post.
First, in a comment on the post with my own awful attempts, Darius posted this sketch of a BROTOSMASH-themed intimidation display:
And in close-up:
Very elegant, and it’s nice to see an extension of our original hypothesis into other behaviours.
The next thing I saw was Mark Witton’s beautiful piece, described on his own site (in a post which coined the term BRONTOSMASH):
And in close-up:
I love the sense of bulk here — something of the elephant-seal extant analogue comes through — and the subdued colour scheme. Also, the Knight-style inclusion in the background of the individual in the swamp. (No, sauropods were not swamp-bound; but no doubt, like elephants, they spent at least some time in water.)
And finally (for now, at least) we have Matthew Inabinett’s piece, simply titled BRONTOSMASH:
I love the use of traditional materials here — yes, it still happens! — and I like the addition of the dorsal midline spike row to give us a full on TOBLERONE OF DOOM. (Also: the heads just look right. I wish I could do that. Maybe one day.)
Update (Monday 26 October)
Here is Oliver Demuth’s sketch, as pointed out by him in a comment.
Thanks, Oliver! Nice to see the ventral-on-dorsal combat style getting some love.
So that’s where we are, folks. Did I miss any? Is anyone working on new pieces on this theme? Post ’em in the comments!
Sauropod Vertebra Picture of the Week 
October 23, 2015 at 12:40 am
in the planning stages for one but may take some time… what is the likely number of rugose cervical battle points that would potentially show?
October 23, 2015 at 7:15 am
Do I see a stinkin’ theropod cowering in the undergrowth in the Mark Witton piece?
Amazing again. Those necks do make me think of beetle grubs though.
October 23, 2015 at 8:20 am
Duane, that is great news. There were fifteen cervicals, but the first two or three wouldn’t have had ribs coming down low enough to show, and the last one or two might have been lost inside the anterior torso. So something like eleven visible ventral spikes on each side is probably about right.
October 23, 2015 at 8:31 am
That is an energetic scene. I don’t recall ever even thinking about seeing a Bront standing up to fight with another.
October 23, 2015 at 10:33 pm
Hello. I love the pictures and I think this website is really cool. I will keep coming back every week to check out the new information. I am a big dinosaur fan and want to be a Paleontologist when I am older. Thank you! Jordan (8 years old)
October 24, 2015 at 10:56 pm
I made a small sketch as well. It seems that I forgot to post it here. Anyway, here it is, taken with my lousy cameraphone:
I need to scan it properly, I’ll update this comment as soon as I get time to scan it.
Looking at the drawing now, it seems that the neck of the lower one is bit too long.
October 26, 2015 at 11:35 am
Thanks, Jordan, we love it that someone your age enjoys our site! Keep up the hard work at school: palaeo is a hard field to get into, and you’ll need to be at the top of your game.
November 10, 2015 at 4:32 pm
Completed!! I added some new layers of abuse and violence to the #brontosmash scenario. Feel free to use any of my art. #Brontosmash Now more Hyperviolent, Brutal, and Disturbing Than Ever
November 10, 2015 at 9:37 pm
Very nice! Thanks for both the art and the words.
November 13, 2015 at 1:26 pm
I like how the paired spikes on the ventral surface of the neck make it look like a big ol’ caterpillar.
April 3, 2016 at 5:36 pm
I’ve made a drawing of BRONTOSMASH here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xy2unxhrwocfu1b/2016-03-26%2023.20.36.jpg?dl=0
Basically two male Brontosaurus excelsus fight over mating rights, while a troodontid belonging in the same species as “Lori” watches from a distance in Late Jurassic Wyoming. Maybe not so good or accurate as other’s, but I hope everyone like’s it :D
Not really finished, so still WIP.
October 27, 2016 at 10:02 pm
[…] with the previously-produced, static visual images of neck-fighting apatosaurs (links collected here), you’ll see a lot of those specific poses and moments recreated as transient poses in the […]