In the fifteenth episode of the LITC podcast, Niels, Natee and Marc tackle some controversial subjects. We start with the end of the world, and things go downhill from there. Today’s palaeoart subject is the inimitable and insufferable genius of Konstantin Flyorov, and Natee interviews the wonderful Levi Hastings. Did we really have to choose this month to be talking about Russian palaeoart? Which dinosaur can bite your hand off? Are Natee and Levi kindred spirits? What does Niels mean when he calls someone “a character”? And can we get one of Bex Groom’s new Dearc plushies, pretty please?
The episode was recorded before Greg Paul’s most recent paper came out, so expect no tyrannosaur three-ways.
In the News
- Springtime apocalypse! Melanie During et al have used the annual cycle of fossilized sturgeons to determine with some precision that the meteor impact which caused the Cretaceous extinction must have occurred when the northern hemisphere was experiencing spring. The paper can be read here.
- Luke Meade et al have looked at the bite force of several species of oviraptorid dinosaurs, and have dermined that they had powerful bites. Citipati could totally bite your hand off. Proceed at your own risk here.
- Dearc schiathanach is a new Middle-Jurassic pterosaur from the Isle of Skye, described by our good friend Natalia Jagielska et al. It is the largest Jurassic pterosaur yet found, and the largest pterosaur from the United Kingdom. The paper can be found here, and Natalia can be seen hanging out with Rebecca Groom’s plushie reconstruction of Dearc here.
Vintage Dinosaur Art
With reluctant timeliness we discuss the work of Russia’s greatest palaeoartist Konstantin Flyorov, his bold imagination, his problematic personality, his amazing versatility and his sometimes blatant disregard for scientific accuracy.

Tarbosaurus, 1954

Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus, 1938

Sauropod and stegosaur, 1938

Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, 1939 or 1940

Saurolophus, date unknown

Saurolophus, date unknown

Indricotheres, 1939
Interview
Natee chats with the esteemed illustrator Levi Hastings about the essence of dinosaurs, his obsession with Franz Nopsca, the poetry of Douglas Henderson and Queer culture, and they bond a bit over hadrosaurs. Levi’s personal website is here.
Thank you for listening to the podcast! Our music was generously provided by Rohan Long. You can purchase his music at Bandcamp, and follow him at Twitter.
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