In 2003, a new species of African pterosaur was unveiled by paleontologist Paul Sereno. Discovered in the southern Sahara, the animal’s 16-foot wingspan and sharp teeth enabled it to soar down from the skies and snatch up fish some 110 million years ago. But annoyingly, despite the fact that we are now rapidly approaching the year 2017, this pterosaur still has not been given a bionomial species name.
Safari released a toy based on this African pterosaur back in 2006. With a length of slightly under 11 cm and a wingspan of 18 cm, it’s considerably smaller than the other flyers. It is sculpted with its wings fully spread, its head turned to the left, and its mouth open to reveal lots of fish-spearing teeth.
As you can see, this is a pretty colourful animal. The body is medium brown on top and beige on the bottom. The wings are light brown with speckles of black along the edges, giving them a ragged appearance. The bill is yellow with airbrushed red at the tips. The inside of the mouth is dull pink, the teeth are beige, and there is a reddish brown streak on top of the head. Finally, black is used for the eyes, the markings on the head and neck, and the claws. All these colours go together very well and the result is a very sharp-looking beast.
The sculpting is also very impressive. Save for the bill, the pterosaur’s body is covered in a fine coat of pycnofibres. The teeth are blunted, but still manage to look vicious. The wings have a wrinkled, leathery feel on both sides and possess all the correct parts. There is propatagium between the shoulders and the wrists, the brachiopatagium connects to the ankles, which in turn connect to the tail vane courtesy of the uropatagium. Oh, and the pterosaur has a visible throat pouch, which would be essential for a piscivore.
This is a really good pterosaur toy, one of the better ones currently available. Attractive colours, fine sculpting job, and a ferocious appearance. If the animal ever does receive a proper name, I’ll be sure to update this review with it. In the mean time, you could always pretend it’s an Anhanguera. There is a strong resemblance, and Africa and South America were still connected 110 million years ago. It’s your call.
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did it ever get a name?
Not so far.
I don’t display all my dinosaurs at once; I usually rotate out various themes, usually based on specific eras or formations. Whenever I get this guy out, I just use it to represent any large ornithocheirid that happens to fit the theme. 🙂
Huh. I’ve been calling it Siroccopteryx, although that was published a few years before the article you linked to.
Siroccopteryx also works.
Was this one sponsored by Nike?
LOL Now I can’t unsee!
That aside, this is one of the nicest pteros I’ve seen lately.