Anomalocaris (Dino Mecard by Sono Kong)

Review and photos by bmathison1972, edited by Suspsy

This is a review of the Anomalocaris figure in the Dino Mecard line by the Korean company Sono Kong, in conjunction with Choirock. Figures in this line appear to be based on a TV show and corresponding card game, similar to Dinosaur King or Pokemon. I must admit, I collected this figure for taxonomic reasons, and I am not familiar with the line, card game, or TV show.

At this point on the blog, Anomalocaris probably does not need much of an introduction. So, to be brief, it is a genus of Cambrian animals that are part of a sister group to, or more likely, nestled along the arthropods. They were believed to be predators and specialized on trilobites and other hard-bodied marine invertebrates. For several years, the only representatives of this genus in toy form were the original Kaiyodo Dinotales figure and the Lost Kingdom Figure by Cadbury for the Yowies line. Since 2013, several other figures have hit the market including those by Safari Ltd, an additional figure by Kaiyodo, and Favorite Co. Ltd.

This Anomalocaris is one of the miniatures in the line and comes in a blister pack with two ‘mecards’ and a plastic egg that contains the paper describing the figure/animal. The figure itself is articulated at the head, lobes, and tail and can fold into the egg (I wonder if other figures in the line have this same collapsible feature?).

The figure itself is highly stylized, but it is something a completist like myself cannot turn down. It is small, measuring 6.0 cm long not including the mouth parts (see the last image for a comparison with similarly-sized figures). It is made of a hard plastic and comes pre-assembled. The colors are rather gaudy and unnatural, but for some reason appealing to me (such colors on a more realistic model might come across as less desirable but it works given the stylized nature of the figure).

This figure is probably best for completists of certain taxonomic groups, or general collectors of unusual taxa. If you are selective in the quality of the figures you collect, there are better representatives of Anomalocaris out there.