In the last several years, the toy dinosaur community has seen an exponential increase in figures of dinosaurs discovered in China, driven mainly by the prolific China-based companies PNSO and Haolonggood. Today we looking at the first dinosaur seriously scientifically investigated from China, the sauropod Euhelopus zdanski of the early Cretaceous.
Author: bmathison1972
All reviews by this author
Review: Jaekelopterus (Prehistoric World by CollectA)
5 (7 votes)
The genus Jaekelopterus contains two species from the Early Devonian; fossils of J. rhenaniae were originally discovered in the Rhineland of Western Germany while those of J. howellii were originally discovered in Wyoming, USA. Jaekelopterus rhenaniae is not only the largest eurypterid, it is the largest known arthropod…EVER!
Review: Utahceratops (1:35 Science and Art Model by Haolonggood)
5 (5 votes)
Before I start this review, I would like to thank our generous friends at Happy Hen Toys for providing this review sample. Of all of Haolonggood’s 2024 releases, this is the one I was most excited for, so I am honored to have been able to receive it as a gift.
Review: Utahraptor (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)
3.9 (42 votes)
Review and photos by bmathison1972, edited by Suspsy.
In 2016, I moved from the hot and humid deciduous forests of Georgia to the hot and dry high deserts of Utah. It wasn’t a stark change for me, though, as I grew up in the hotter and drier Sonoran Desert of Arizona.
Review: Sinoceratops (Haolonggood)
4.8 (29 votes)
Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
Sinoceratops zhuchengensis is a centrosaurine ceratopsid that lived during the Late Cretaceous of present-day China. The holotype specimen was discovered in 2008 from the Hongtuya Formation in Shandong Province and was formally described in 2010.
Review: Dreadnoughtus (CollectA)
4.2 (53 votes)
Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
Dreadnoughtus schrani is a titanosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian to Maastrichtian) of present-day South America. Remains of only two individuals have been described to date, both from the Cerro Fortaleza Formation in Argentina.
Review: Evolution of Humanity (Tama-Kyu)
4 (22 votes)
Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
Prehistoric and primitive hominids are not rare in the animal toy market, but evolutionary sets of them are. The first, and probably the most popular, was called Evolution of Man, produced by Bullyland in 1999.
Review: Goticaris (Extinct Bath Bomb by Diamond Company)
3.9 (21 votes)
Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
Goticaris longispinosa is a tiny, enigmatic arthropod originally described from both immature and adult forms from the Orsten Lagerstätten (Upper Cambrian) of present day Sweden. It was originally described as an early offshoot of the clade Pancrustacea but is now considered stem-group Mandibulata outside of Pancrustacea.
Review: Ampelosaurus (1:35 Scientific Art and Model by Haolonggood)
4.3 (47 votes)
Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
Ampelosaurus atacis is a titanosaur described in 1995 from fossils from the Late Cretaceous (Early Maastrichtian) of present day France. Interestingly, in 2012 morphometric studies of titanosaur fossils from the area showed the presence of a second, currently undescribed species of titanosaur, bringing into question historic reconstructions of the animal (a little more on that later in the review).
Review: Tianzhenosaurus (1:35 Scientific Art Model by Haolonggood)
4.6 (46 votes)
Review and images by bmathison1972, edited by Suspsy
OK, here we are folks. My first review on the Dinosaur Toy Blog that is, well, actually a dinosaur! My previous reviews have consisted of a primate, a tortoise, and a bunch of invertebrates. I have to admit, despite collecting a wide variety of eukaryotic taxa, dinosaurs are the largest group for which I am least familiar.
Review: Callichimaera perplexa (Rheic Studio)
4.9 (53 votes)
Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
Callichimaera perlexa is an enigmatic crustacean from the Middle Cretaceous. Fossils have been found in the Churuvita Group in Colombia and the Frontier Formation in the United States. C. perlexa evolved during the Cretaceous Crab Revolution, which was a major diversification of ‘true’ crabs during the Cretaceous.
Review: Anomalocaris (CollectA)
4.7 (133 votes)
Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
In 2023, CollectA added Anomalocaris canadensis to its growing collection of Paleozoic invertebrates, following fellow arthropod Redlichia and mollusks Passaloteuthis, Pleuroceras, Orthoceras, Cooperoceras, and Pravitoceras (not to mention an extant nautilus and horseshoe crab).