Saltasaurus – the little armoured titanosaur that might – was a staple of fashionable dinosaur books within the ’80s and ’90s, following its naming in 1980. Sadly, since then, it has largely disappeared from view – displaced, little question, by sure a lot, a lot bigger different South American titanosaurs. In fact, I’ve mentioned all this earlier than, to not point out hosted an artwork competitors primarily based round a horrible pun, nevertheless it stays as true immediately because it was 11 years in the past. Alas, poor Salty. At the very least we nonetheless have all that media from again within the day, like this 1992 entry within the Dinosaur e book collection from The Baby’s World (for extra on which, learn my earlier Megalosaurus submit). A great deal of Saltasaurus right here!
This e book was illustrated by Betty Raskin, and the dinosaurs have the standard closely Normanpedia-inspired look that one got here to count on within the early ’90s. I don’t consider there are fairly any direct copies right here, however the shapes of the limbs, sure particulars (just like the ft), and common wrinkliness are all very Nineteen Eighties Sibbick. Saltasaurus appeared as soon as within the Normanpedia and was notably rearing up, making any direct copies straightforward to identify (after all, Sibbick may properly himself have been cribbing from a Mark Hallett sketch from a couple of years prior). There’s loads of rearing Saltasaurus motion available right here, however the cowl star is pictured merely feeding on a tree, trying a bit of like a mashup of some completely different Sibbick sauropods.
Saltasaurus is most well-known for the bony nodules in its pores and skin, which have been presumably a type of armour, and so the e book first seems at ways in which herbivorous dinosaurs might need protected themselves. This contains whipping their whippy tails, as seen within the above illustration, by which a diplodocid-lookin’ man lashes out at a really dramatically posed theropod. How precisely the theropod contorted itself into that place is a little bit of a thriller (as is what occurred to its shoulders), nevertheless it’s going to profit from it by being as camp as potential. “How DARE you!”
Different herbivorous dinosaurs had huge stabby thumbs that they may plunge into the weak fleshy elements of their adversaries. Whereas Iguanodon stabbing a unusually inert theropod within the neck grew to become a little bit of a trope, right here the sail-backed predator (Altispinax?) is throwing itself about in a equally dramatic trend to the allosaur (I presume) within the earlier piece. It’s simply that it so occurs, in its flailing, to have ended up within the excellent place for Iguanodon to stab it proper within the neck. Not once more! I respect the blood spurts, and the assured, virtually dismissive look on Iguanodon‘s face. Prefer it’s instructing the theropod a lesson.
However you already know what the very best factor about Saltasaurus was? It might whack with its tail and stab with its thumbs! And it had armour, too! (There’s an illustration of an ankylosaur to make the purpose about armour, however I left it out. Sorry.) Why, it was like some form of super-dinosaur. A Tremendous-saurus if you’ll, though, y’know, not that. Within the above piece, Salty provides a tyrannosaur a very good seeing to. Presumably, the artist wasn’t given a lot indication as to what sort of theropod to incorporate; at the least she went with one thing Late Cretaceous. It’s respectable sufficient in a 1992-kids’-book type of method, though Salty’s tail appears to lack any sense of motion; there’s little indication of the pressure flinging such an enormous appendage by way of the air, and it virtually seems as if it’s merely resting towards the tyrannosaur. At the very least Salty seems suitably livid.
Now this is extra prefer it – Salty stabbing a theropod proper within the neck (why is it at all times the neck?) with its vicious, lethal thumb claws. It’s our first rearing Saltasaurus, too. Nothing like a little bit of drama, and I do respect that the dinosaurs have a reasonably constant look and anatomy between illustrations (thoughts you, I’ve been a whole lot of Tony Gibbons artwork lately).
In addition to stabbing theropods, Salty was ready to withstand their high-kickin’ karate assaults with its bony plates and bumps, as seen above. Why a tyrannosaur would hassle kicking something like this when it had an enormous, bone crushing mouth caught up entrance is anybody’s guess, however it’s impressively athletic. Pretty brushwork, too, though Salty’s head appears to be a bit of askew.
It’s not all predator defence in Saltasaurus: The E book although; we’re additionally handled to some extra uncommon depictions of (hypothetical) saltasaur behaviour. Within the above piece, a Saltasaurus nudges the soil with its mouth with a purpose to higher shield its eggs. Nonetheless, one ought to word that the e book’s textual content (by Janet Riehecky) is cautious to keep away from suggesting that they essentially indulged in a whole lot of parental care, leaving the precise nature of what’s happening within the above piece open to interpretation. It may very well be that this mom saltasaur is solely forming an acceptable mound earlier than wandering off. It’s somewhat cute, in any case.
This e book’s additionally noteworthy for Raskin’s depictions of complete herds of Saltasaurus, with the bigger adults seemingly dragging their tails alongside in a really mid-’80s-Sibbick method, albeit with out leaving any drag marks. (Possibly all of them simply lowered their tails at this exact second?) As I’ve talked about earlier than, whereas different dinosaurs had lengthy since had a tail-lift, tail-dragging sauropods appear to have endured in artwork properly into the ’90s, seemingly as a result of affect of Sibbick’s Normanpedia work (particularly) and the truth that they have been nonetheless (justifiably) seen as extra lumbering and sluggish.
You’ve received to marvel the place this lot are wandering off too, although. I like the gentle, picture-book high quality of the dunes on the best, however why are they leaving such lush, verdant feeding grounds behind? Possibly there’s a standard nesting website over there a la Prehistoric Planet.
And eventually…one other herd of Saltasaurus, this time hanging out within the woods, with no fewer than TWO rearing people! The one on the best straightforwardly resembles Sibbick’s, whereas the one on the left has shades of Sibbick’s rearing Plateosaurus. That man within the center does look acquainted, too, however I’m having a more durable time inserting it (these forelimbs do point out a brachiosaur affect). Nonetheless, it’s price noting that none of those are direct copies, with the artist placing her personal spin on issues, inserting the animals in a fairly pleasingly painted forest clearing. For a youngsters’ e book from 1992, illustrated by a generalist, it’s actually not all that unhealthy. Keep in mind, it would at all times have been one other Gibbons.
Subsequent time: Ornithomimus!
