Crystal Palace Dinos
@cpdinosaurs.bsky.social
🦖 Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs (charity no. 1165231)
Since 2013, promoting the long-term conservation of the Victorian palaeontological statues and the larger Geological Court at Crystal Palace Park
📧 info@cpdinosaurs.org
https://linktr.ee/
Since 2013, promoting the long-term conservation of the Victorian palaeontological statues and the larger Geological Court at Crystal Palace Park
📧 info@cpdinosaurs.org
https://linktr.ee/
Pinned
A really interesting afternoon yesterday on Dinosaur Island, and the soon-to-be-reopened Crystal Palace Museum
We’re thrilled to be involved in some of the conservation work, and also something very secret and exciting 👇
We’re thrilled to be involved in some of the conservation work, and also something very secret and exciting 👇
Born OTD in 1807: Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, the designer and creator of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs!
Seen here, embossed in gold, on the 1875 book:
“Sketches of Creation : A Popular View of Some of the Grand Conclusions of the Sciences in Reference to the History of Matter and of Life”
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Seen here, embossed in gold, on the 1875 book:
“Sketches of Creation : A Popular View of Some of the Grand Conclusions of the Sciences in Reference to the History of Matter and of Life”
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February 8, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Born OTD in 1807: Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, the designer and creator of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs!
Seen here, embossed in gold, on the 1875 book:
“Sketches of Creation : A Popular View of Some of the Grand Conclusions of the Sciences in Reference to the History of Matter and of Life”
1/2
Seen here, embossed in gold, on the 1875 book:
“Sketches of Creation : A Popular View of Some of the Grand Conclusions of the Sciences in Reference to the History of Matter and of Life”
1/2
Reposted by Crystal Palace Dinos
Have been reading Bollocks to Alton Towers by @gralefrit.bsky.social & co - better late than never!
Much to love (& have visited many of the attractions), but the most interesting thing is the transformation in the fortunes of the Crystal Palace dinosaurs @cpdinosaurs.bsky.social over the 20 yrs.
Much to love (& have visited many of the attractions), but the most interesting thing is the transformation in the fortunes of the Crystal Palace dinosaurs @cpdinosaurs.bsky.social over the 20 yrs.
February 8, 2026 at 11:19 AM
Have been reading Bollocks to Alton Towers by @gralefrit.bsky.social & co - better late than never!
Much to love (& have visited many of the attractions), but the most interesting thing is the transformation in the fortunes of the Crystal Palace dinosaurs @cpdinosaurs.bsky.social over the 20 yrs.
Much to love (& have visited many of the attractions), but the most interesting thing is the transformation in the fortunes of the Crystal Palace dinosaurs @cpdinosaurs.bsky.social over the 20 yrs.
Yes, yes - we know - Iguanodon, Iguanodontid, etc - but we couldn't help ourselves
(original reconstruction by Fabio Manucci)
(original reconstruction by Fabio Manucci)
February 7, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Yes, yes - we know - Iguanodon, Iguanodontid, etc - but we couldn't help ourselves
(original reconstruction by Fabio Manucci)
(original reconstruction by Fabio Manucci)
Reposted by Crystal Palace Dinos
Finally, another fuzzy ornithischian: www.nature.com/articles/s41.... This is a big deal for dinosaur #paleoart, confirming some of what we've been doing for a while now, but also showing that we've probably underestimated how weird the integuments of these animals could be.
Cellular-level preservation of cutaneous spikes in an Early Cretaceous iguanodontian dinosaur - Nature Ecology & Evolution
A juvenile iguanodontian from the Lower Cretaceous of China preserves both spikes and scales in its skin that are different from integumentary structures in either non-avian dinosaurs or extant squama...
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 2:43 PM
Finally, another fuzzy ornithischian: www.nature.com/articles/s41.... This is a big deal for dinosaur #paleoart, confirming some of what we've been doing for a while now, but also showing that we've probably underestimated how weird the integuments of these animals could be.
Reposted by Crystal Palace Dinos
Art from a contemporary promotion for "THE LOST WORLD" (1925).
#kaiju #Sizesky #fantasy #silentmovie #dinosaur #movieposter
#kaiju #Sizesky #fantasy #silentmovie #dinosaur #movieposter
February 3, 2026 at 10:15 PM
Art from a contemporary promotion for "THE LOST WORLD" (1925).
#kaiju #Sizesky #fantasy #silentmovie #dinosaur #movieposter
#kaiju #Sizesky #fantasy #silentmovie #dinosaur #movieposter
Reposted by Crystal Palace Dinos
"As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill."
'Bleak House', Charles Dickens, 1852 #WyrdWednesday #BookChatWeekly
'Bleak House', Charles Dickens, 1852 #WyrdWednesday #BookChatWeekly
February 4, 2026 at 2:08 PM
"As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill."
'Bleak House', Charles Dickens, 1852 #WyrdWednesday #BookChatWeekly
'Bleak House', Charles Dickens, 1852 #WyrdWednesday #BookChatWeekly
“A Sawrian”, by John Scott, 1936. Gideon Mantell on a mantelpiece!!
February 3, 2026 at 8:22 PM
“A Sawrian”, by John Scott, 1936. Gideon Mantell on a mantelpiece!!
Born on this day in 1790: Gideon Mantell!
Here, the Crystal Palace Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus gaze upon their most famous fossil specimens, and ponder what might have been - if the quarrymen had just placed the gunpowder a little bit to the left in each instance..
Here, the Crystal Palace Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus gaze upon their most famous fossil specimens, and ponder what might have been - if the quarrymen had just placed the gunpowder a little bit to the left in each instance..
February 3, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Born on this day in 1790: Gideon Mantell!
Here, the Crystal Palace Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus gaze upon their most famous fossil specimens, and ponder what might have been - if the quarrymen had just placed the gunpowder a little bit to the left in each instance..
Here, the Crystal Palace Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus gaze upon their most famous fossil specimens, and ponder what might have been - if the quarrymen had just placed the gunpowder a little bit to the left in each instance..
Reposted by Crystal Palace Dinos
February 3, 1790, birthday of British geologist Gideon Algernon Mantell, who was quite puzzled by strange fossils found in 1822, investing years o find out what it was
...
...
February 3, 2026 at 9:02 AM
February 3, 1790, birthday of British geologist Gideon Algernon Mantell, who was quite puzzled by strange fossils found in 1822, investing years o find out what it was
...
...
💖
I still really like how this megalosaurus i did awhile back turned out, just has a nice charm to it.
Based on the original reconstruction from the @cpdinosaurs.bsky.social
#paleoart
Based on the original reconstruction from the @cpdinosaurs.bsky.social
#paleoart
February 2, 2026 at 9:38 PM
💖
We’re obsessed with this Tylosaurus from the Saint-Vrain Zoological Park, South of Paris, that opened in the mid-1970s and closed in 1999.
The site has remained in an abandoned state, and it seems that this and various other prehistoric statues are still there!
The site has remained in an abandoned state, and it seems that this and various other prehistoric statues are still there!
February 1, 2026 at 9:12 PM
We’re obsessed with this Tylosaurus from the Saint-Vrain Zoological Park, South of Paris, that opened in the mid-1970s and closed in 1999.
The site has remained in an abandoned state, and it seems that this and various other prehistoric statues are still there!
The site has remained in an abandoned state, and it seems that this and various other prehistoric statues are still there!
A really interesting afternoon yesterday on Dinosaur Island, and the soon-to-be-reopened Crystal Palace Museum
We’re thrilled to be involved in some of the conservation work, and also something very secret and exciting 👇
We’re thrilled to be involved in some of the conservation work, and also something very secret and exciting 👇
January 31, 2026 at 11:30 AM
A really interesting afternoon yesterday on Dinosaur Island, and the soon-to-be-reopened Crystal Palace Museum
We’re thrilled to be involved in some of the conservation work, and also something very secret and exciting 👇
We’re thrilled to be involved in some of the conservation work, and also something very secret and exciting 👇
The Country of the Iguanodon 2: No Country for Old Iguanodons
January 26, 2026 at 4:43 PM
The Country of the Iguanodon 2: No Country for Old Iguanodons
An incredible, trippy daydream from 1889 - artist unknown(?) - from the book “The Story Of Man: A History Of The Human Race”, by J. W. Buel
There are a few Crystal Palace and Crystal Palace-adjacent creatures here, including the classic depiction of a horned Iguanodon from decades earlier!
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There are a few Crystal Palace and Crystal Palace-adjacent creatures here, including the classic depiction of a horned Iguanodon from decades earlier!
1/2
January 22, 2026 at 7:03 PM
An incredible, trippy daydream from 1889 - artist unknown(?) - from the book “The Story Of Man: A History Of The Human Race”, by J. W. Buel
There are a few Crystal Palace and Crystal Palace-adjacent creatures here, including the classic depiction of a horned Iguanodon from decades earlier!
1/2
There are a few Crystal Palace and Crystal Palace-adjacent creatures here, including the classic depiction of a horned Iguanodon from decades earlier!
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👇 A fantastic thread 👇
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
January 21, 2026 at 10:17 PM
👇 A fantastic thread 👇
Ah, old newspaper research..
The Leighton Buzzard Observer, 02/09/1890:
a worrying start, but ends with:
“However galling this conclusion may appear to man's self-esteem…it is with extreme pleasure that I find science proclaiming the intellectual superiority of the much calumniated sex - Woman”
The Leighton Buzzard Observer, 02/09/1890:
a worrying start, but ends with:
“However galling this conclusion may appear to man's self-esteem…it is with extreme pleasure that I find science proclaiming the intellectual superiority of the much calumniated sex - Woman”
January 21, 2026 at 1:27 PM
Ah, old newspaper research..
The Leighton Buzzard Observer, 02/09/1890:
a worrying start, but ends with:
“However galling this conclusion may appear to man's self-esteem…it is with extreme pleasure that I find science proclaiming the intellectual superiority of the much calumniated sex - Woman”
The Leighton Buzzard Observer, 02/09/1890:
a worrying start, but ends with:
“However galling this conclusion may appear to man's self-esteem…it is with extreme pleasure that I find science proclaiming the intellectual superiority of the much calumniated sex - Woman”
Reposted by Crystal Palace Dinos
The book "Palaeontology in Public" is one year old today! 🦣🦖🦕🎂🎉
We've apparently had 7,756 downloads (!!), so many thanks to @uclpress.bsky.social for publishing it and making it open access, and to all the contributors, and to everyone who has read it so far
We've apparently had 7,756 downloads (!!), so many thanks to @uclpress.bsky.social for publishing it and making it open access, and to all the contributors, and to everyone who has read it so far
"Palaeontology in Public: Popular Science, Lost Creatures and Deep Time" is out today, and is freely downloadable as an open access pdf, published by @uclpress.bsky.social !
uclpress.co.uk/book/palaeon...
🎺🦕🦕🦕⚒️🎥🦖🦖🦖📖📰🦣🦣🦣🎺
uclpress.co.uk/book/palaeon...
🎺🦕🦕🦕⚒️🎥🦖🦖🦖📖📰🦣🦣🦣🎺
January 21, 2026 at 9:59 AM
The book "Palaeontology in Public" is one year old today! 🦣🦖🦕🎂🎉
We've apparently had 7,756 downloads (!!), so many thanks to @uclpress.bsky.social for publishing it and making it open access, and to all the contributors, and to everyone who has read it so far
We've apparently had 7,756 downloads (!!), so many thanks to @uclpress.bsky.social for publishing it and making it open access, and to all the contributors, and to everyone who has read it so far
Reposted by Crystal Palace Dinos
Today (Jan 21st) is the day... TWO DECADES of Tetrapod Zoology. We start with a review of what went down in 2025... it was quite a busy year. Huge thanks to everyone who visits, reads and leaves comments at Tet Zoo, and especially those who assist with efforts. tetzoo.com/blog/2026/1/...
January 21, 2026 at 1:38 AM
Today (Jan 21st) is the day... TWO DECADES of Tetrapod Zoology. We start with a review of what went down in 2025... it was quite a busy year. Huge thanks to everyone who visits, reads and leaves comments at Tet Zoo, and especially those who assist with efforts. tetzoo.com/blog/2026/1/...
Geology for the win!
👇👇👇
👇👇👇
An oasis of a read amid the rest of the news - a story about a walk and an app highlighting urban geology www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/...
Rock up to London: discovering stones and fossils from around the world on an urban geology tour
The city’s architecture travels through time and continents, incorporating everything from slabs of the Italian Alps to meteorites that hit southern Africa 2bn years ago
www.theguardian.com
January 21, 2026 at 8:42 AM
Geology for the win!
👇👇👇
👇👇👇
Last week, we had a high-vis and hard hat venture behind the restoration project fencing in Crystal Palace Park and saw the current state of affairs with some of the sculptures
As ever, the Crystal Palace Park Trust updates page has the latest:
www.crystalpalaceparktrust.org/pages/regene...
As ever, the Crystal Palace Park Trust updates page has the latest:
www.crystalpalaceparktrust.org/pages/regene...
January 20, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Last week, we had a high-vis and hard hat venture behind the restoration project fencing in Crystal Palace Park and saw the current state of affairs with some of the sculptures
As ever, the Crystal Palace Park Trust updates page has the latest:
www.crystalpalaceparktrust.org/pages/regene...
As ever, the Crystal Palace Park Trust updates page has the latest:
www.crystalpalaceparktrust.org/pages/regene...
Reposted by Crystal Palace Dinos
Coprolites aren't my favourite type of fossil, but they're a solid #2.
January 18, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Coprolites aren't my favourite type of fossil, but they're a solid #2.
A visit to the Grant Museum of Zoology was very cathartic today - a lot of the creatures appeared to be venting their frustrations with current affairs..
January 17, 2026 at 8:32 PM
A visit to the Grant Museum of Zoology was very cathartic today - a lot of the creatures appeared to be venting their frustrations with current affairs..
Reposted by Crystal Palace Dinos
Is it a bird?
Is it a plane?
No, it's Supermantellisaurus!
(if you want to get into all that...)
Is it a plane?
No, it's Supermantellisaurus!
(if you want to get into all that...)
January 15, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Is it a bird?
Is it a plane?
No, it's Supermantellisaurus!
(if you want to get into all that...)
Is it a plane?
No, it's Supermantellisaurus!
(if you want to get into all that...)
“They can be a great people, Igg-Don - they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way.
For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you...”
Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (probably), 1854
For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you...”
Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (probably), 1854
January 15, 2026 at 2:14 PM
“They can be a great people, Igg-Don - they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way.
For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you...”
Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (probably), 1854
For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you...”
Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (probably), 1854