6 & 7 - Cretaceous Marine Life

Reptiles Return to the Sea by Rudolph Zallinger, reproduced from The World We Live In

Artists: Rudolph Zallinger & Ray Troll
Years: 1955 & 2018
One of Zallinger's lesser-known paintings occupies a much less prominent spot in Yale's fossil hall, but I've always had a soft spot for it. The clarity of its animals and the land-, sea-, and skyscapes they occupy are classic Zallinger and mirror the more monumental Age of Reptiles across the room. In this depiction of the continental sea that covered Cretaceous Kansas, though, there's more of a sense of movement, particularly in both the long- and short-necked plesiosaurs at the center. As with many works of paleoart, this scene is unnaturally crowded with animals, to better illustrate the diversity of the shallow seas. If you like crowded, vibrant reconstructions of past ecosystems, though, look no further than Ray Troll's illustration of another Cretaceous ocean, this one in what is now Vancouver Island. Plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, turtles, and a bewildering diversity of fish and cephalopods wend past and among one another, along with Troll's characteristic use of brilliant color imparting vitality to the 80-million-year-old seascape. Long-necked elasmosaurs occupy featured roles in both paintings, and the differences between them reflect our changing understanding of these bizarre marine reptiles. The Vancouver Island elasmosaurs are shown with stiff necks, not the serpentine, mobile necks depicted by Zallinger (and many other artists of his era). Also look at the flippers on the elasmosaur to the right of the Troll painting: its forward flippers are raised while its rear flippers are lowered, "flying" through the water in the way suggested by recent biomechanical research.
Want to see more? A version of Zallinger's painting is on display for another few weeks at Yale's Peabody Museum before its exhibits close for renovation. Troll's seascape, along with several others, is featured in his fantastic book with Kirk Johnson, Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline, and as always you can see an overview of his work at trollart.com.

North Pacific Cretaceous Marine Life by Ray Troll