The family of Baobabs is one of the most distinct and recognizable trees in the world. Eight species exist under the genus Adansonia, they are native to Subsaharaian Africa, Madagascar and Australia. The natural history of Baobabs is somewhat clouded and methods as molecular clocking yield debatable results.
Age: Pliocene
Review: American Mastodon (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)
The American mastodon, Mammut americanum, is one of the very best-known prehistoric mammals. Many complete skeletons have been found throughout the North American continent, from this one-tusked male at the Royal Ontario Museum to this female and calf from the La Brea Tar Pits of California.
Review: Australopithecus (Paranthropus) boisei (Kaiyodo Dinotales Series 2)
Review: Australopithecus male and female (Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd.)
1974 was an important year in the understanding of human evolution. In the Awash Valley in Ethiopia, a set of bones were found that displayed ape and human characteristics, including bipedalism. This ‘missing link’ in human evolution was named Australopithecus afarensis, although the specimen itself was named Lucy, after the Beatles song “Lucy in the sky with diamonds”.
Review: Ceratogaulus (MPC)
A truly rare genus in the hobby to this day, MPC’s vintage figurine marks a bold move from a company most famous for its imitations – although the toy is perhaps showing its age with some design choices.
MPC (Multiple Products Corporation) is a well-known brand among experienced dinosaur collectors; their prehistoric line from 1961 and 1962 was widely sold through stores and catalogs for decades.
Review: Deinotherium (Bullyland)
It is a highly sought after figure, not yet a myth, but quite close. This is due to the relatively little number of Deinotheriums that have been produced and delivered.
Deinotherium (“terrible beast”) was a large prehistoric relative of modern-day elephants that appeared in the Middle Miocene and continued until the Early Pleistocene.
Review: Deinotherium (Deluxe Collection by CollectA)
Review: Deinotherium (Eofauna)
Review: Deinotherium (Mojö Fun)
Review: Deinotherium (Starlux)
Review: Dromornis (Yowies Lost Kingdom)
Travelling through the wonderful world of Oz (as the Aussies tend to call their country) one sure plans some things before starting. I deceided to cramp a few toy figures into a box to take on the chance to shoot some of them in their “natural environment” – at least kind of, Australia sure changed a fair bit since most of the represented animals went extinct.