My introduction to Estemmenosuchus came from the 1994 episode of Paleo-World titled “Tail of a Sail”, which was about Dimetrodon and other synapsids, their evolution, and how they relate to mammals. Estemmenosuchus was only featured briefly via images of its skull and a couple pieces of paleoart but that was enough for me to become enamored with this animal and to help broaden my appreciation for prehistoric life beyond the Mesozoic.
Age: Permian
Review: Guanlong vs. Lystrosaurus (Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, Epic Evolution Danger Pack by Mattel)
Recently, Mattel has started dabbling with small-figure two packs, first with an Eoraptor vs. Stegouros pairing and then with the set we’re looking at today, Guanlong vs. Lystrosaurus. I think these two packs are a fantastic idea and hope that Mattel will produce more of them in the future.
Review: Helicoprion (Prehistoric Animal Models by PNSO)
This stand was purchased separately and is not included with the model.
270 million years before orcas, 250 million years before megalodon sharks, 170 million years before even the mosasaurs, the largest macropredators in the ocean were probably eugeneodontids, large fishes with bizarre tooth arrangements and cartilaginous skeletons.
Review: Helicoprion (Unknown)
In today’s global internet market, searching for a particular figure could prove daunting and often overwhelming especially if information about that particular item is scarce. Online site such as ebay, Aliexpress, and even Amazon are like the vast abyss with thousands of items flooding our senses.This figure we are reviewing today is a gem that I was not really looking for but came up as an amazon suggestion based on my “searches”.
Review: Inostrancevia (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)
Review: Keratocephalus (DinoWaurs Survival by One2Play)
Review and photos by Angel Vega (paleoteen13), edited by Suspsy
When it comes to synapsids, Dimetrodon is the animal that make its appearance in toy form the most. Many figures of this animal have been appeared over the years, but other few synapsids have been produced by toy companies.
Review: Leaps in Evolution (Kaiyodo)
From July-October 2015, the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo hosted an exhibit called “Leaps in Evolution: Tracing the Path of Vertebrate Evolution.” To commemorate the exhibit, Kaiyodo made a set of five vending machine capsule figures, most representing a stage in the evolution of vertebrates.
Review: Lycaenops (Jurassic Park, Series 2 by Kenner)
Lycaenops was a three foot long mammal-like reptile, or Therapsid from Southern Africa during the Late Permian. It’s a distant later relative of the much more famous sail-backed, Dimetrodon. Its name means “Wolf Face” rightfully so due to its canine-like fangs on its upper and lower jaws.
Review: Lystrosaurus (Jurassic World: Dominion, Captivz by ToyMonster)
One of the positive outcomes from the release of Jurassic World: Dominion was its launching of the generally obscure Lystrosaurus to stardom. Although relegated to what was basically a cameo appearance in the film it was enough to give the little synapsid far more public attention than it would have otherwise received.
Review: Lystrosaurus and Velociraptor ‘Beta’ (Jurassic World by Mattel)
Review and photos by Faelrin, edited by Suspsy
In 2022, the last of the Jurassic World films was released, ending the trilogy that started back in 2015, for better or worse. While I didn’t enjoy the film overall, I did enjoy some aspects of it, one of those being the batch of new creatures.
Review: Medusa (Bullyland)
Today I want you to introduce you to one of those creatures everybody knows, but knows almost nothing about, a jellyfish. Jellyfish are a very very old group of animals, they date back to the famous Ediacarian, more than 600 mya.
Review: Monanthesia and Cycadeoidea (CollectA)
Greens, stems, and leaves, but no teeth, no blood, no gore . . . no wonder plants seldom provide more than background for movies or our dinosaur collections. Day of the Triffids (1962) is the classic plant horror film par excellence, where seemingly harmless plants attack and kill humans and charge to take over world domination within days (for those of you that can’t stand classic B-movies or modern semi-quality TV adaptations of them, Splinter may be a more thrilling choice, though the antagonist is !SPOILER ALERT!