Mark Paul Witton is a British vertebrate

palaeontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

, author, and palaeoartist best known for his research and illustrations concerning

pterosaur Pterosaurs are an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 million to 66 million years ago). Pterosaurs are the earli ...

s, the extinct flying reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs. He has worked with museums and universities around the world to reconstruct extinct animals, including as consultant to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''

Walking with Dinosaurs ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' is a 1999 six-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Tim Haines and produced by the BBC Science Unit, the Discovery Channel and BBC Worldwide, in association with TV Asahi, ProSieben and France 3. ...

'' franchise, ''

Planet Dinosaur ''Planet Dinosaur'', is a six-part documentary television series created by Nigel Paterson and Phil Dobree, produced by the BBC, and narrated by John Hurt. It first aired in the United Kingdom in 2011, with VFX studio Jellyfish Pictures as it ...

,'' and ''

Prehistoric Planet ''Prehistoric Planet'' is a British–American nature documentary television series about dinosaurs, that premiered on Apple TV+ beginning May 23, 2022. It is produced by the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, with Jon Favreau as showrunner, vis ...

'', and has published several critically acclaimed books on palaeontology and palaeoart. Witton obtained a Bachelor's degree in

Palaeobiology Paleobiology (or palaeobiology) is an interdisciplinary field that combines the methods and findings found in both the earth sciences and the life sciences. An investigator in this field is known as a paleobiologist. Paleobiology is closely rel ...

Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

and his PhD from the

University of Portsmouth The University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a public university in Portsmouth, England. Comprising five Faculty (division), faculties, the university offers a wide range of academic disciplines. in 2022, with around 28,280 students enrolled in Unde ...

. Witton's scientific research has revolved largely around the habits, behaviours, systematics, and nomenclature of pterosaurs. His 2013 book ''Pterosaurs: Natural History, Evolution, Anatomy'' explores the anatomy, ecology and extinction of pterosaurs, in addition to being fully illustrated. Witton's palaeoart is regarded as part of the modern, '"anatomically-rigorous" movement. He has published a book detailing his experience of reconstructing extinct animals in art, and he also published a "handbook" on the interaction of science and art to produce palaeoart, which was released in August 2018.

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Twitter {{DEFAULTSORT:Witton, Mark P. Living people Paleoartists Academics of the University of Portsmouth British palaeontologists Year of birth missing (living people)