Titanochelon bolivari (1:20 Miocene Collection by Signatustudio)

Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy

Signatustudio is a line of animal replicas made by artist J. Miguel Aparicio out of Spain. Most of his models are in the 1:20 scale and represent the fauna of Eurasia, including the Iberian Peninsula, the Mediterranean, Tibetan Plateau, and Euro-Siberian regions. He also has produced several prehistoric birds and mammals from the Pleistocene and Miocene. In 2022, he produced a couple non-homeothermic Miocene animals, the shark Otodus megalodon, and the subject of today’s review, the tortoise Titanochelon bolivari.

Titanochelon is an extinct genus of tortoise of Mediterranean Europe and Asia Minor. Most species lived during the Miocene and Pliocene, but in 2017 the genus was documented from the early Pleistocene of Spain (from what I can tell, that species is still undescribed). Today’s figure, T. bolivari, the type species of the genus, is the only species formerly described from the Iberian Peninsula, from where the artist hails. It was originally described from Spain in 1917, but in 2016 additional fossils were described from Portugal.

The figure has a total length of 12.0 cm. The carapace length is approximately 9.5 cm for a scale of 1:16-1:21 (based on a carapace length of 1.5-2.0 meters in the actual animal).

As with all of Miguel’s figures, the sculpt is spectacular, with incredible detail to texture (for example the scales on the legs are individually sculpted, as are skin wrinkles and lines on the scutes). There are spikes sculpted on the posterior part of the tegument on either side of the tail, similar to the extant African spurred tortoise (Centrocheyls sulcata). The figure is sculpted as if in mid-stride, with the front-left leg gently swept back. Photos can describe the quality of this model a lot more than my words can!

The paint is neutral, and probably realistic to what the animal looked like in life. It is reminiscent of the desert tortoises I grew up with in Arizona.

This next pic shows it in comparison with Schleich’s Western Santa Cruz tortoise (Chelonoidis niger porter), CollectA’s ‘Lonesome George’ Pinta Island giant tortoise (C. n. abingdonii), and Colorata’s Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea). These figures are not necessarily to scale.

Overall, this is a fantastic rendition of an interesting taxon that to the best of my knowledge has yet to be represented in the form of a toy, figure, or model. I must admit, Signatustudio figures are not inexpensive, and many may be out of the price range for your everyday collector, but they are well worth acquiring if possible. This Titanochelon and Miguel’s other figures are available from his website.

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