Gurney's Sleeping Dragon

At his blog Gurney Journey, James Gurney recently wrote a couple of posts dedicated to his illustration of the small Chinese troodontid Mei long for Ranger Rick Magazine. Remember Ranger Rick? I had no idea it was still around. One of my favorites from the old days.

Anyhow, Gurney decided to depict Mei in a sleeping posture. The holotype of Mei - the fossil from which it was first named and described - is a remarkably complete and intact full-body specimen, curled up as if asleep. Gurney studied the way living birds sleep. Learning that most sleep standing on one leg, he chose that as his pose. I love the flamingo-like coloration.


Mei long, copyright James Gurney