Lufengosaurus (2024) (PNSO)

Many of us will recall the old days when the term “prosauropods” was used to describe the likes of Plateosaurus, Massospondylus, Melanorosaurus, and other early long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs thought to be the ancestors of the great sauropods like Brachiosaurus, Brontosaurus, and Diplodocus. But due to the perpetually changing nature of science, the clade Prosauropoda is no more and now the earliest members of the clade Sauropodomorpha are simply referred to as basal or early sauropodomorphs. One such example is Lufengosaurus, which lived in China between 195 and 190 million years during the Early Jurassic. At up to 9 metres long and 1.9 tons in weight, it was one of the largest known massospondylids. And according to a study published in September 2024, it was a devoted parent that fed its young until they were old enough and strong enough to forage for themselves.

Here is Yiran the Lufengosaurus, released by PNSO in 2024. This is their second stab at the genus; the first one was released back in 2016, their inaugural year, and it was quite a large and rather shrink-wrapped beast. The only other representations of Lufengosaurus so far are the 2010 CollectA toy and a 1/15 scale resin statue from Vitae that you can still acquire for a few hundred bucks if you’re lucky. Early sauropodomorphs have historically gotten short shrift from prehistoric toy companies; even Plateosaurus, probably the most famous of them all, and certainly with the most toys to its name, hasn’t gotten a new one in more than a decade. And while I’ve written well over 200 reviews for the DTB, this is only the first time I’ve covered an early sauropodomorph. That alone makes Yiran something very special indeed.

Yiran is posed in an active walking stance. His head is turned sharply to look to his left and his mouth is wide open. His arms are spread wide apart and the left hand is bent at the wrist. Yiran’s left leg is planted on the ground and his right one is extended back with the foot stretched out. Finally, his long tail is swinging to the right. He definitely looks as though he’s been startled or frightened by something. Or perhaps he is being attacked by a predator. Lufengosaurus is known to have coexisted with Sinosaurus, a 6 metre long, double-crested theropod, so one could easily envision it as the reason for Yiran’s aglifft state.

While it is a wonderful pose, it’s not entirely stable. When I first acquired this toy a few months ago, it would not stand up by itself at all and I had to rely on the included support rod. Time spent in a cool basement den has improved its stability, as you can see. Nevertheless, it can still fall over easily and I always keep it displayed on the shelf with the rod in place. It measures a little under 11 cm tall and 25 cm long.

PNSO has long been criticized, justifiably in my opinion, for decking out dinosaurs in decidedly dull shades of brown. But they’ve gotten better with their colour schemes more recently and Yiran stands as solid proof. His main colour is light green with brown airbrushing all down his neck, back, and tail. Dark green stripes adorn the length of his frame and his underbelly is pale beige. His hands and feet are blue-grey with light pink wash and dull brown claws and the end of his tail is an attractive shade of teal, conceivably for display or courtship purposes. Finally, his head is brown and beige with orange eyes, a dark pink mouth, and white teeth. It all looks rather pleasing.

Yiran’s teeth are terribly tiny, yet when one runs their fingernail across them gently, a rough texture can still be discerned. Impressive. His skin is pleasingly scaly and wrinkled, and features lots of tiny, round, and flattened osteoderms. His hands and feet appear particularly scaly due to the pink wash and his palms and the soles of his feet are very well done. He is also very well-muscled, especially his arms and shoulders. And finally, his foreclaws are large, curved, and sharp. Yiran looks like he’d be a tough customer for any Early Jurassic theropod.

Lufengosaurus is known from around thirty specimens, including juveniles and adults. Its skeleton is fully known and even has the distinction of being the first complete dinosaur ever to be mounted in China. PNSO therefore had little to no excuse for any glaring anatomical errors. And indeed, they appear to have made none. Yiran has a small, rectangular-shaped head with a curved snout at the end of a long neck. His torso and tail are both long and his hind legs are relatively stout. His hands have three large clawed digits and two atrophied ones, while his feet have four visible toes (the tiny fifth one would have been covered over with tissue), with the one ending in a curved sharp claw. Early sauropodomorphs were once regularly depicted as being capable of walking on two legs or all fours, but we now know that the hands of Lufengosaurus, Plateosaurus, Massospondylus, and many other genera could not be positioned for a quadrupedal stance. They were obligate bipeds just like Yiran here.

Yiran’s accompanying booklet includes the usual contents: a biography, a skeletal drawing of Lufengosaurus, photos of the toy, a how-to-draw section, and a very fine two-page spread by Zhao Chuang of a pair of Lufengosaurus being shadowed by a Sinosaurus. The foldout poster, shown on the bedroom wall of my younger son, is a closeup of the same artwork, but with the Sinosaurus and the first Lufengosaurus removed.

Wonderfully sculpted, scientifically accurate, beautifully painted, and definitely uncommon, Yiran the Lufengosaurus is hands down the best early sauropodomorph toy to date. Like any PNSO product, he doesn’t exactly come cheap, but he is worth it. And it is hoped that PNSO, and other companies as well, will produce other such animals in the future. Goodness knows we’re long overdue for a new Plateosaurus.

This has been a particularly significant review for me, as November 2024 marks my tenth year as a reviewer for the Dinosaur Toy Blog. I must confess that I did not at all anticipate any such accomplishment when I submitted my first review to the blog back in 2014, but life’s just full of surprises, ain’t it? Hearty thanks go out to blog owner Dr. Adam S. Smith, to my fellow reviewers, and to all who have enjoyed reading my reviews. I reckon it certainly has been a most enjoyable and rewarding journey. And it goes on.