Speculation makes up a lot of palaeontology. Often it’s behaviour, or diet, but sometimes it can be what the entire creature actually looked like, based on the fragments of bone found. Many a species has been erected based on the tiniest fragments. Here, we see one such example: Fulgurotherium, a dinosaur species based off a opalized femur from the Griman Creek formation of New South Wales, Australia.
Author: Indohyus
Growing up in the late 1990s and early 2000s was great for moulding me into a dino fan. Jurassic park films were fresh, and even better, the ‘Walking With’ trilogy was produced. I watched ‘Dinosaurs’ and then ‘Beasts’. Especially ‘Beasts’. From there, I went on digs across the U.K., and eventually got my degree in palaeontology from Portsmouth university. I am (at the time of writing this) doing my masters in anthropology and museum studies, hoping to become a curator. My love of plastic extinct animals is as strong as ever, and I dare say it will only get stronger!All reviews by this author
Review: Dinosaur Advent Calendar 2020 (Schleich)
3.3 (8 votes)
Well, the holiday season is nearly upon us. No matter what this time means to you and what holiday you celebrate, it is a time to spread joy. This year certainly seems to need some, with everything that happened. It is now the time when many will choose a calendar to count down the days til the 25th.
Review: Austrosaurus (Lost Kingdoms Series A by Yowie)
2.4 (5 votes)
Across the globe, the bones of mighty giants of the ancient world are waiting to be found. The largest of the land animals are the Titanosaurs, giant sauropods found across the globe. Here, we examine one early titan from Australia, Austrosaurus, a 5 metre tall sauropod found in the Albian rocks of Queensland.
Review: Diceratops (DinoWaurs Survival)
3.2 (10 votes)
Greetings DinoWaurriors!!! This line is like the science of palaeontology, full of surprises. It has several surprises, from lacking things like Velociraptor or it’s choice of pterosaurs. Here, we see a ceratopsian, and a nomen dubium: Dicaeratops. This animal is actually Nedoceratops, as named by Othniel Marsh, but he died before the work was completed, and it was named Diceratops later, though this was taken already, so was changed to Nedocaeratops.
Review: Megaloceros (Papo)
4.7 (13 votes)
2020 has been a bumper year for the Palaeozoic, Therapsids and minor creatures of the Mesozoic, but this has come at the expense of Cenozoic species, at least among the major toy lines, and the mammals only made half of this list. CollectA produced Megalodon, and Papo brought out the only mammal of 2020 from the major toy producers.
Review: Muttaburrasaurus (Lost Kingdoms Series A by Yowie)
2.2 (5 votes)
Of the various dinosaur clades, one of the most successful all were the Iguanodontids. Found on most continents in vast numbers, often found in large numbers and well articulated in terms of fossils. One of the most complete species in Australia is one of said clade, Muttaburrasaurus.
Review: Tyrannnosaurus (Jurassic Hunters by Geoworld)
1.7 (9 votes)
Feathered or scaly? Upright or vertical? Predator or scavenger? The king of the tyrant lizards has gone through a lot of changes over the last century, and I dare say will continue to alter as more discoveries are made. As a result, there are hundreds of figures, representing all the variations it could possibly have.
Review: Giant Penguin/ Anthropornis (Lost Kingdoms Series A by Yowie)
4.3 (4 votes)
Since their discovery in the Antarctic and other parts of the southern hemisphere, penguins are seen as rather adorable creatures. In the past, there were many large examples of this family, with even a subfamily featuring these giant examples. Here, we see a figure of one such species, Anthropornis.
Review: Cohen’s Thingodonta/ Yalkaparidon (Lost Kingdoms Series A by Yowie)
4 (4 votes)
There aren’t many animals in the world known by their scientific name as opposed to a common name, yet the palaeo world seems to only use them, unless they are particularly well known, like the Woolly Mammoth or T. rex. That’s why I love this particular model, of an animal named Yalkaparidon (from the Aboriginal word for boomerang, based on the animals molar shape), but referred to in the common lexicon as Cohen’s Thingadonta, which is a brilliant name.
Review: Marsupial Tapir/ Palorchestes (Lost Kingdoms Series A by Yowie)
4 (4 votes)
Interpreting fossils is never an easy task. Unless the animal was complete when found, or very well preserved, it can be hard to tell what an animal looked like. Prehistoric animals can be revised over and over as new information comes in about them. One animal that has been altered several times is Palorchestes, which was thought to be a kangaroo relative, then more tapir based as a result of the rostrum, and more recently, similar to a giant ground sloth.
Review: Prehistoric Animal Set (The Ark by Joy City)
3.8 (4 votes)
Every now and again, something rather interesting pops up that you wouldn’t expect to be as good as you’d think. The toy sets you would see at supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl, often seen as cheap item makers, having something worth getting. Here, we examine the Joy City line on prehistoric animals, a counterpoint to there Dinosaur wave, which seems more typical chinasaur.
Review: Diprotodon (Lost Kingdoms Series A by Yowie)
3.3 (4 votes)
Marsupials are a fascinating group of mammals. With the ability to have multiple young at once and pouches to keep them safe. They have been around for millions of years, now restricted to Australia and South America. Australia once had the largest member of this class: Diprotodon, a giant Wombat relative the size of rhinos, they died out 50,000 years ago, just as the first Aborigines came to Australia.
Review: Hawaiian ‘O’ o (Forgotten Friends Series A by Yowie)
3.5 (4 votes)
As a volcanic island chain, Hawaii is not known for it’s ancient fossil fauna, but it has a selection of modern extinct species. The ‘O’ o (or Moho, based on the scientific name) were a group of birds that were native to Hawaii, now all extinct, the last being recent enough to have recordings of it’s mating call (worth hearing, though prepare to be moved to tears).
Review: Redlichia rex trilobite (CollectA)
5 (14 votes)
In spite of their fame and importance to biostratigraphy, trilobites rarely ever get models made of them, outside of toobs and box sets with other Palaeozoic creatures. This year it seems CollectA is tackling the common creatures of the past that rarely get figures. And even better, they actually named their species: Redlichia rex.
Review: Dodo (Forgotten Friends Series A by yowie)
4.2 (5 votes)
The Dodo has quite the reputation among extinct animals, but the image has always been a bit skewed. Most portarits are based either on third or fourth hand accounts, and most European depictions are from obese specimens kept by gentry that didn’t know how to care for them properly.