Age: Pliocene

Review: Prehistoric Mammal Skulls (Toob by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Arsinoitherium, Australopithecus, Coelodonta, Daeodon, Embolotherium, Mammut, Smilodon, Uintatherium, Woolly rhinoceros Brand: Safari Ltd. Classification: Cat, Elephant, Hominid, Mammal Age: Eocene, Miocene, Oligocene, Pleistocene, Pliocene Type: Set, Skeletal, Tube

4.7 (9 votes)

Prehistoric skulls, be they those of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, sea monsters, mammals, amphibians, or any other beasts, are always things of beauty and intrigue. Let us take a look at this interesting variety of mammal skulls from Safari Ltd. There are eight in total, all coloured medium brown with a pale brown wash, and all with their names printed on the undersides.

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Review: Deinotherium (Mojö Fun)

Genus: Deinotherium Brand: Mojö Fun Classification: Elephant, Mammal Age: Miocene, Pleistocene, Pliocene Type: Figurine

4.4 (14 votes)

The name Deinotherium means “terrible beast,” and this powerful pachyderm must have seemed like one to our early hominid ancestors who lived alongside it in Africa during the Pleistocene epoch. Standing around 4 metres tall and weighing anywhere from 10 to 13 tons, it was possibly the third largest proboscidean of all time after the 24-ton Asian straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon namadicus (the largest land mammal of all time!) and the 15-ton mastodon Mammut borsoni.

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Review: Thylacoleo (Southlands Replicas)

Genus: Thylacoleo Brand: Southlands Replicas Classification: Mammal Age: Pleistocene, Pliocene Type: Figurine

4.9 (11 votes)

Australia was home to many amazing beasts during the Pleistocene epoch. There were echidnas the size of sheep, lizards the size of crocodiles, wombats the size of hippos, giant flightless birds, and short-faced kangaroos that stood up to three metres tall. The thylacine was alive and flourishing.

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Review: Evolution of Man (Safariology by Safari Ltd)

Genus: Australopithecus, Cro-Magnon, Homo erectus, Homo habilis, Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens, Neanderthal Brand: Safari Ltd. Classification: Hominid, Mammal Age: Pleistocene, Pliocene Type: Set

4.7 (10 votes)

Review and Photographs by Quentin Brendel (aka Pachyrhinosaurus), edited by Suspsy
The main theme of Safari Ltd’s Safariology line is education. The line includes life cycle sets, fossil replicas, a solar system model, and other items to encourage children to learn more about nature.

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Review: Deinotherium (Starlux)

Genus: Deinotherium Brand: Starlux Classification: Elephant, Mammal Age: Miocene, Pleistocene, Pliocene Type: Figurine, Oldies

3.7 (11 votes)

Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy
Once again I find myself returning to the origins of dinosaur figurines, Starlux, to look at another animal reproduced long before other companies got to it. This time, it’s Deinotherium, the terrible beast!

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Review: Megatherium (Prehistoric Mammals by Schleich)

Genus: Megatherium Brand: Schleich Classification: Mammal Age: Pleistocene, Pliocene Type: Figurine

4.4 (8 votes)

Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy
In many ways, the giant ground sloths are similar to prosauropods in that they are a familiar group, but only one member gets love in toy form. The other group of giant xenarthrans, the glyptodonts, tend get at least get two representatives, but only Megatherium gets a toy form among giant ground sloths.

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Review: Monanthesia and Cycadeoidea (CollectA)

Genus: Cycadeoidea, Monanthesia Brand: CollectA Classification: Plant Age: Carboniferous, Cretaceous, Eocene, Jurassic, Miocene, Oligocene, Paleocene, Permian, Pleistocene, Pliocene, Triassic Type: Figurine

5 (14 votes)

Review and photos by Lanthanotus, edited by Suspsy
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!

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Review: Williamsonia (CollectA)

Genus: Williamsonia Brand: CollectA Classification: Plant Age: Cretaceous, Eocene, Jurassic, Miocene, Oligocene, Paleocene, Pleistocene, Pliocene, Triassic Type: Figurine

5 (15 votes)

Thought I’d take a stab at reviewing a prehistoric plant for the first time. Let’s take a look at Williamsonia, a member of the order of Bennettitales, or cycadeoids. Bennettitales were an order of seed plants that first arose during the Triassic and then flourished all the way until the end of the Cretaceous.

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Review: Metridiochoerus (Jurassic Hunters by Geoworld)

Genus: Metridiochoerus Brand: Geoworld, Jurassic Hunters Classification: Mammal Age: Pleistocene, Pliocene Type: Figurine

4.1 (9 votes)

Review and photos by Takama, edited by amargasaurus cazaui and Suspsy
Out of all the prehistoric creatures that could have been made by modern toy companies, I assume a Metridiochoerus is not something you might expect. Metridiochoerus was basically a type of warthog that lived in Africa during the late Pleistocene, and it competed for the same niche as its modern cousin Phacochoerus, the common warthog.

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Review: Prehistoric Landscapes Cycad by Safari Ltd.

Genus: Cycad Brand: Safari Ltd. Classification: Plant Age: Carboniferous, Cretaceous, Eocene, Jurassic, Miocene, Oligocene, Paleocene, Permian, Pleistocene, Pliocene, Triassic Type: Figurine

4.9 (11 votes)

Review and photographs by Lanthanotus, edited by Suspsy
Here comes another (unfortunately retired) one of the prehistoric plants produced by Safari Ltd, the other two being reviewed here. I did not include it in the first review as my usual retailer didn’t have it in stock anymore and it took some time to find one for a reasonable price.

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Review: Megatherium (Prehistoric Life Collection by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Megatherium Brand: Prehistoric Life, Wild Safari Classification: Mammal Age: Pleistocene, Pliocene Type: Figurine

4.8 (13 votes)

Back in the mid-2000’s Safari Ltd. released a series of mammals for what they dubbed the “Prehistoric Life Collection.” The series included popular animals like Smilodon and the woolly mammoth but also included some more obscure creatures like the Andrewsarchus, Arsinoitherium, Ambelodon, Doedicurus, and the giant sloth.

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Review: Prehistoric Plants (Safari Ltd)

Genus: Agathis, Araucaria, Tree fern Brand: Safari Ltd. Classification: Plant Age: Cretaceous, Eocene, Jurassic, Miocene, Oligocene, Paleocene, Pleistocene, Pliocene, Triassic Type: Figurine

4.9 (10 votes)

Review and photographs by Lanthanotus, edited by Suspsy
Plants and trees may not be a collector’s first choice of models to collect, and not only because there’s so few around. In general, humans feel more attracted to animals than towards plants despite the fact that we could still live well without keeping or even breeding (and feeding on) animals, but not without plants.

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