Raina DeVries
@rainapelta.bsky.social
Paleontologist working on digitally restoring fossils in the Sereno Lab at the University of Chicago.
Pinned
Raina DeVries
@rainapelta.bsky.social
· Nov 15
Most magicians pull a rabbit out of a hat, but l've managed to pull a dinosaur out of my pocket! This is a 1:1 scale model of a new
Ornithischian species and the star of my talk at SVP 2024.
Ornithischian species and the star of my talk at SVP 2024.
Reposted by Raina DeVries
#FossilFriday Upper Albian Texasites (=Pawpawsaurus) vs basal Cenomanian Animantarx and Cenomanian Sivasaurus. The nodosaurid Texasites shares the medial premaxillary plate (pig snout) with the edmontosaurines, while absent (or weak) in Silvisaurus as in ?Borealpelta. Love ventral view of premax!
April 18, 2025 at 6:59 PM
#FossilFriday Upper Albian Texasites (=Pawpawsaurus) vs basal Cenomanian Animantarx and Cenomanian Sivasaurus. The nodosaurid Texasites shares the medial premaxillary plate (pig snout) with the edmontosaurines, while absent (or weak) in Silvisaurus as in ?Borealpelta. Love ventral view of premax!
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Hello #PortfolioDay!
I illustrate extinct animals and their environments.
I illustrate extinct animals and their environments.
April 8, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Hello #PortfolioDay!
I illustrate extinct animals and their environments.
I illustrate extinct animals and their environments.
Reposted by Raina DeVries
It's Trilobite Tuesday! Modocia typicalis, a Middle Cambrian trilobite, can be found in an astonishing variety of calcified colors—like this red example. Beautifully preserved specimens have been found throughout Utah in vivid tones of black, red, brown, and tan.
March 4, 2025 at 3:09 PM
It's Trilobite Tuesday! Modocia typicalis, a Middle Cambrian trilobite, can be found in an astonishing variety of calcified colors—like this red example. Beautifully preserved specimens have been found throughout Utah in vivid tones of black, red, brown, and tan.
Reposted by Raina DeVries
It’s my Hatching Day!
(Art by Jenny Halstead)
(Art by Jenny Halstead)
March 2, 2025 at 9:51 PM
It’s my Hatching Day!
(Art by Jenny Halstead)
(Art by Jenny Halstead)
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Trilobite encounter. Ceraurus species in sterling silver on the left, bronze on the right. One of my earliest experiments that worked; both have a liver-of-sulfur patina, but as you can see, if you time it just right, silver will pick up an incredible blue. #sciart
March 2, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Trilobite encounter. Ceraurus species in sterling silver on the left, bronze on the right. One of my earliest experiments that worked; both have a liver-of-sulfur patina, but as you can see, if you time it just right, silver will pick up an incredible blue. #sciart
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Spinosaurus aegyptiacus
An animal difficult to do justice with an illustration.
An animal difficult to do justice with an illustration.
March 2, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Spinosaurus aegyptiacus
An animal difficult to do justice with an illustration.
An animal difficult to do justice with an illustration.
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Reposted by Raina DeVries
HOLY GUACAMOLE, Y'ALL
February 26, 2025 at 9:11 PM
HOLY GUACAMOLE, Y'ALL
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Spring is near I can feel it
February 25, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Spring is near I can feel it
Reposted by Raina DeVries
It’s Trilobite Tuesday! Utah’s Weeks Formation is known for its variety of well-preserved Middle Cambrian trilobites. This 1-in- (2.5-cm-) long Meniscopsia is a seldom-seen genus. After more than a century of exploration and digging at this location, less than 20 complete examples have been found.
February 25, 2025 at 3:00 PM
It’s Trilobite Tuesday! Utah’s Weeks Formation is known for its variety of well-preserved Middle Cambrian trilobites. This 1-in- (2.5-cm-) long Meniscopsia is a seldom-seen genus. After more than a century of exploration and digging at this location, less than 20 complete examples have been found.
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Introducing New Zealand's latest Bug of the Year- the magnificent Ngāokeoke / Velvet Worm!
NZ has two genera: one lays eggs (Ooperipatellus, 1st photo) and another gives live birth (Peripatoides, 2nd). They also deposit sperm which burrow through their partner's skin, but that's another story! 🧪
NZ has two genera: one lays eggs (Ooperipatellus, 1st photo) and another gives live birth (Peripatoides, 2nd). They also deposit sperm which burrow through their partner's skin, but that's another story! 🧪
February 24, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Introducing New Zealand's latest Bug of the Year- the magnificent Ngāokeoke / Velvet Worm!
NZ has two genera: one lays eggs (Ooperipatellus, 1st photo) and another gives live birth (Peripatoides, 2nd). They also deposit sperm which burrow through their partner's skin, but that's another story! 🧪
NZ has two genera: one lays eggs (Ooperipatellus, 1st photo) and another gives live birth (Peripatoides, 2nd). They also deposit sperm which burrow through their partner's skin, but that's another story! 🧪
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Welcome to Trilobite Tuesday! Pictured is the Devonian-age phacopid trilobite Erbenochile erbeni. Not only does this Moroccan species feature towering 0.8-in (2-cm-) high eye stacks—each topped by a unique shading brim—but it also has a row of intimidating spines that run along its axial lobe.
February 18, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Welcome to Trilobite Tuesday! Pictured is the Devonian-age phacopid trilobite Erbenochile erbeni. Not only does this Moroccan species feature towering 0.8-in (2-cm-) high eye stacks—each topped by a unique shading brim—but it also has a row of intimidating spines that run along its axial lobe.
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Hummingbirds of the World! Drawn a couple years ago in Procreate.
February 17, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Hummingbirds of the World! Drawn a couple years ago in Procreate.
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Let's checkout a few mesoeusuchian grade terrestrial crocs from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmerigian)and basal Cretaceous (Valanginian) of the Colorado Plateau. The new Yellow Cat croc is twice the size of the 2 Morrison taxa. They filled role of skunks and racoons in mid-Mesozoic landscape.
February 16, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Let's checkout a few mesoeusuchian grade terrestrial crocs from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmerigian)and basal Cretaceous (Valanginian) of the Colorado Plateau. The new Yellow Cat croc is twice the size of the 2 Morrison taxa. They filled role of skunks and racoons in mid-Mesozoic landscape.
February 14, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Reposted by Raina DeVries
A nice, pretty big lateral cervical spine from the basal Cretaceous polacathid n. sp. B was just prepared from a small jacket collected ~15 years ago at Jim's Place in the Doellings Bowl Bonebed about 15-20 m se of the other large polacanthid ("holotype") a second adult..?? #FossilFriday
February 8, 2025 at 3:30 AM
A nice, pretty big lateral cervical spine from the basal Cretaceous polacathid n. sp. B was just prepared from a small jacket collected ~15 years ago at Jim's Place in the Doellings Bowl Bonebed about 15-20 m se of the other large polacanthid ("holotype") a second adult..?? #FossilFriday
Reposted by Raina DeVries
3D printer at the museum. We can now do mass photogrammetry and printing of specimens for outreach and curation!
February 3, 2025 at 10:19 AM
3D printer at the museum. We can now do mass photogrammetry and printing of specimens for outreach and curation!
Reposted by Raina DeVries
#MesozoicLifeProject
Additional images of the Spinosaurus model shown in a video on Blayken's youtube channel!
Note the short sparse filaments on the Spinosaurus's neck and back!
Additional images of the Spinosaurus model shown in a video on Blayken's youtube channel!
Note the short sparse filaments on the Spinosaurus's neck and back!
February 2, 2025 at 7:37 AM
#MesozoicLifeProject
Additional images of the Spinosaurus model shown in a video on Blayken's youtube channel!
Note the short sparse filaments on the Spinosaurus's neck and back!
Additional images of the Spinosaurus model shown in a video on Blayken's youtube channel!
Note the short sparse filaments on the Spinosaurus's neck and back!
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Hungry Dilophosaurus
February 1, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Hungry Dilophosaurus
Reposted by Raina DeVries
#FossilFriday The Cretaceous Brazilian coelacanth Mawsonia at the University of Michigan Natural History Museum
January 31, 2025 at 1:21 PM
#FossilFriday The Cretaceous Brazilian coelacanth Mawsonia at the University of Michigan Natural History Museum
Reposted by Raina DeVries
Firefly squids (Watasenia scintillans) have an absolutely stunning display of bioluminescence. Their bodies are covered in blue and green photophores.
They are also the only squid species known to have colour vision.
They are also the only squid species known to have colour vision.
January 27, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Firefly squids (Watasenia scintillans) have an absolutely stunning display of bioluminescence. Their bodies are covered in blue and green photophores.
They are also the only squid species known to have colour vision.
They are also the only squid species known to have colour vision.
Reposted by Raina DeVries
We CT scanned thousands of vertebrates from US natural history collections and made them freely available. Countless people have used the data for research (>200 pubs) and to learn anatomy/morphology.
www.morphosource.org/projects/000...
www.morphosource.org/projects/000...
January 29, 2025 at 1:01 AM
We CT scanned thousands of vertebrates from US natural history collections and made them freely available. Countless people have used the data for research (>200 pubs) and to learn anatomy/morphology.
www.morphosource.org/projects/000...
www.morphosource.org/projects/000...