The murky pond lays silently in the riparian forest of the Late Devonian, 365 mya. Dragonfly like insects soar and hunt for smaller airborne relatives, their quiet buzzing is the only sound disturbing the lethargic scene. A pair of those hunters engages is their distinct mating ritual, the “heart”.
Bothriolepis (Kaiyodo)
5 (7 votes)
Review and photographs by Tim Sosa
Some of the commonest vertebrates on earth during the Devonian period were the antiarchs, a group of armored fishes that lived all over the world while the ancestors of you, me, and Triceratops were just barely starting to crawl out of the water.
Some of the commonest vertebrates on earth during the Devonian period were the antiarchs, a group of armored fishes that lived all over the world while the ancestors of you, me, and Triceratops were just barely starting to crawl out of the water.
Bothriolepis (Paleozoo)
5 (3 votes)
The Dinosaur Toy Blog is more active than it has ever been. This year, to date, we’re averaging a review every day – January 2016 was our most prolific month ever with 30 reviews in as many days. For this I can take no credit but must instead extend my sincerest gratitude to the many blog authors and guest reviewers who have kept the blog full of life, as events in my own life (work and more work) make it increasingly difficult to find the time to contribute reviews myself.
Cephalaspis (Starlux)
4.9 (7 votes)
The earliest vertebrates didn’t have jaws, but once true jaws evolved the animals that had them quickly became more numerous and diverse. These days, the only jawless fishes left are a few dozen species of lampreys and hagfishes, but in the Early Devonian most fishes lacked jaws. One of those Early Devonian beasts was Cephalaspis, which despite its lack of jaws is more closely related to us than to lampreys.
Cladoselache (Kaiyodo series 1)
4.8 (9 votes)
Edited by Dinotoyblog, photos by Halichoeres
Ah, Cladoselache. The first shark! How exciting. Up for review today is the first rendition of the first shark, made by Kaiyodo.
Ah, Cladoselache. The first shark! How exciting. Up for review today is the first rendition of the first shark, made by Kaiyodo.
Cladoselache is believed to be a very agile and swift predator – this is very well represented in this replica. The smooth (and scaleless) skin, the large keels, and the thick caudal fin are all features of this replica that point to it being a swift predator.
Dunkleosteus (Chap Mei)
3 (6 votes)
In the past few years we’ve seen an explosion of Dunkleosteus figures from all kinds of companies, from masterpieces like Favorite Co’s rendition to worthy-but-flawed efforts like CollectA’s to fairly bad ones like the subject of today’s review. It’s the most popular prehistoric fish in plastic, eclipsing the huge but otherwise utterly boring C.
Dunkleosteus (Deluxe by CollectA)
4.6 (15 votes)
Throughout Earth’s lengthy history, there have been many horrifying sea monsters. Titanic sharks. Nightmare whales. Bloodthirsty mosasaurs. Savage plesiosaurs. But long before any of those brutes evolved, there was the dreaded Dunkleosteus. Measuring at least six metres long, weighing over a ton, and equipped with bone-slicing jaws, this ginormous placoderm ranged throughout the waters of the Late Devonian and fed on other armoured fish, early sharks, ammonites, and pretty much anything else it wanted.
Dunkleosteus (Favorite Co. Ltd)
5 (5 votes)
Review and photographs by Tim Sosa
In the Devonian period, the largest animals were arthrodires, huge armored fish informally referred to as placoderms. ‘Arthrodire’ means “joint-necked,” referring to the fact that there was a hinge in their armor between the thorax and the back of the head. One of the largest arthrodires was Dunkleosteus, a fish so ancient that when Tyrannosaurus rex was walking around, Dunkleosteus had already been extinct for almost 300 million years!
In the Devonian period, the largest animals were arthrodires, huge armored fish informally referred to as placoderms. ‘Arthrodire’ means “joint-necked,” referring to the fact that there was a hinge in their armor between the thorax and the back of the head. One of the largest arthrodires was Dunkleosteus, a fish so ancient that when Tyrannosaurus rex was walking around, Dunkleosteus had already been extinct for almost 300 million years!
Dunkleosteus (Like Hobby by ThinkArt)
4.3 (4 votes)
If somebody has heard of just one Paleozoic fish, it’s probably Dunkleosteus, designated yesterday as Ohio’s official state fossil fish! Toy companies have made more than a dozen different versions over the years, and several higher-end models exist as well. Earlier this year, a Thai studio called Like Hobby/ThinkArt released one of the latter.
Dunkleosteus (Mojö Fun)
3.5 (6 votes)
350 million years before the advent of humans, reindeer, or consumerism, our distant gnathostome forebears celebrated Fishmas. Fishmas originated when Santa Claus turned the wrong dial on the time machine he uses to travel to every house in the same night, landing him in the Devonian and the gaping maw of a Dunkleosteus.
Dunkleosteus (Paleozoic Pals)
5 (4 votes)
Armored placoderm fishes have never been so cuddly! Manufactured by Jaag Plush and commissioned by the Paleontological Research Institute (PRI) comes this 16” long most famous of prehistoric fishes, Dunkleosteus. Ol’ Dunk is a popular fish, about as popular as a prehistoric fish can get anyway. As such it has been reproduced by a few different toy companies already but this is the first plush Dunkleosteus that I’m aware of.
Dunkleosteus (The First Giants by Schleich)
3.8 (21 votes)
Review and photos by Tim Sosa, edited by Suspsy
It isn’t often that a toy company offers us a prehistoric fish, but when they do, it’s usually Dunkleosteus. Small wonder, since this gigantic arthrodire was imposing and distinctive, reaching 8 meters in length. It was probably the largest animal alive during the Devonian period, 100 million years before the first dinosaurs.
It isn’t often that a toy company offers us a prehistoric fish, but when they do, it’s usually Dunkleosteus. Small wonder, since this gigantic arthrodire was imposing and distinctive, reaching 8 meters in length. It was probably the largest animal alive during the Devonian period, 100 million years before the first dinosaurs.
Dunkleosteus (Vinyl Model Series by Favorite)
3.6 (5 votes)
Next to the giant shark Megalodon, the armored Devonian placoderm Dunkleosteus is probably the most famous prehistoric fish, featuring frequently in publications and other media. Naturally, many toy and model companies have given the great fish a go at least once. Favorite Collection, which released one Dunkleosteus in 2014 under their Soft Model line, produced another figure of the genus under the Vinyl Model series.
Dunkleosteus (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd)
4.1 (16 votes)
Review by Tomhet, photographs by Dinotoyblog
As of late, Safari’s newcomers really have become something to look forward to, even more so if one of those newcomers is a late Devonian Placoderm (Placodermi are an exotic but fertile terrain only Kaiyodo, Prehistoric Panorama and Starlux had dared to explore) The Dunkleosteus is a fresh idea from Safari, and as such, it’s had a warm welcome among collectors.
As of late, Safari’s newcomers really have become something to look forward to, even more so if one of those newcomers is a late Devonian Placoderm (Placodermi are an exotic but fertile terrain only Kaiyodo, Prehistoric Panorama and Starlux had dared to explore) The Dunkleosteus is a fresh idea from Safari, and as such, it’s had a warm welcome among collectors.
Elginerpeton (Shyaruru Palette by TST Advance Inc.)
4.3 (3 votes)
Review and photographs by Rebecca Groom, edited by Plesiosauria.
Recently my attention was drawn to a Japanese soft toy company known as TST Advance. They have an extensive range of animal toys named “Shyaruru Palette”. This range consists of many creatures rarely depicted in toy form including Helicoprion, Marrella, Ichthyostega, a coelacanth, as well as some extant ones such as a Komodo dragon and a stag beetle.
Recently my attention was drawn to a Japanese soft toy company known as TST Advance. They have an extensive range of animal toys named “Shyaruru Palette”. This range consists of many creatures rarely depicted in toy form including Helicoprion, Marrella, Ichthyostega, a coelacanth, as well as some extant ones such as a Komodo dragon and a stag beetle.