Author: Suspsy

Suspsy has lived in Canada all his life. One day when he was in kindergarten, his teacher did a lesson on dinosaurs and put up some giant cutouts on the wall. Suspsy immediately began pretending to be a Tyrannosaurus rex at playtime, and continued to do so for many subsequent playtimes. Since then, he has acquired two degrees, worked many different jobs, travelled to many fantastic locations, fallen in love, gotten married, and settled down to raise a family, but his passion for dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals has never waned.

All reviews by this author

Review: Dunkleosteus (Deluxe by CollectA)

Genus: Dunkleosteus Brand: CollectA Classification: Fish Age: Devonian Type: Figurine

4.7 (25 votes)

Throughout Earth’s lengthy history, there have been many horrifying sea monsters. Titanic sharks. Nightmare whales. Bloodthirsty mosasaurs. Savage plesiosaurs. But long before any of those brutes evolved, there was the dreaded Dunkleosteus. Measuring at least six metres long, weighing over a ton, and equipped with bone-slicing jaws, this ginormous placoderm ranged throughout the waters of the Late Devonian and fed on other armoured fish, early sharks, ammonites, and pretty much anything else it wanted.

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Review: Iguanodon (Deluxe by CollectA)

Genus: Iguanodon Brand: CollectA Classification: Iguanodont (basal), Ornithopod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

4.8 (39 votes)

As CollectA enters their twelfth year of operation, their products continue to improve by leaps and bounds. Last year, they released a sterling Styracosaurus that utterly eclipsed the original one. Now it’s time to see what their new 2018 Deluxe Iguanodon is all about.

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Review: Carnotaurus (Mini)(Papo)

Genus: Carnotaurus Brand: Papo Classification: Ceratosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

1.4 (16 votes)

Carnotaurus is hardly one of the largest theropods, or even the largest member of its family, the abelisaurs. But with its short snout, large brow horns, and teeny weeny arms, it has become one of the most instantly recognizable dinosaurs. It featured as a villain in the 2000 Disney film Dinosaur and in the animatronic adventure ride of the same name at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park in Orlando, Florida.

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Review: Megacerops (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Megacerops Brand: Safari Ltd, Wild Safari Classification: Mammal Age: Eocene Type: Figurine

4.9 (21 votes)

Fighting for the ultimate prize, Lunk deals a heavy blow to his opponent’s flank in an attempt to end the battle. But the other male responds in turn, and Lunk experiences a sudden surge of pain as a couple of his ribs shatter.

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Review: Giganotosaurus (Mini)(Papo)

Genus: Giganotosaurus Brand: Papo Classification: Allosaur, Theropod Age: Cretaceous Type: Figurine

1.6 (17 votes)

Not to be outdone by CollectA and Safari, Papo began releasing its own series of miniature prehistoric figures back in 2014. They then took things a step further by re-releasing these miniatures for individual sale with new colour schemes.

This Giganotosaurus is one such example.

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Review: American Mastodon (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd.)

Genus: Mammut Brand: Safari Ltd, Wild Safari Classification: Elephant, Mammal Age: Miocene, Pleistocene, Pliocene Type: Figurine

4.6 (42 votes)

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.

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Review: Woolly Mammoth (“Winston” by Jellycat)

Genus: Mammuthus, Woolly mammoth Brand: Jellycat Classification: Elephant, Mammal Age: Pleistocene Type: Plush

4.2 (9 votes)

Jellycat is a highly successful maker of delightfully soft and cuddly plush animals that are especially appealing to babies and toddlers. Most of these critters consist of the usual cuties: puppies, kittens, bunnies, monkeys, etc, but there are also a number of prehistoric characters.

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Review: Ornitholestes (Mini)(Chap Mei)

Genus: Ornitholestes Brand: Chap Mei Classification: Theropod Age: Jurassic Type: Action Figure

2.4 (15 votes)

North America during the Late Jurassic was terrorized by a number of large and lethal theropods such as Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus, and Torvosaurus. But there were also much some smaller meat eaters roaming around such as Ornitholestes.

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Review: Scaphonyx AKA Hyperodapedon (Kid Galaxy by Xidi)

Genus: Hyperodapedon, Scaphonyx Brand: Kid Galaxy, Xidi Classification: Reptile (other) Age: Triassic Type: Action Figure

3 (8 votes)

Dinosaurs and other archosaurs were but one of a number of fascinating groups of animals that existed during the Triassic Period. Another such group consisted of the rhynchosaurs. These herbivorous reptiles had stocky, lizard-like bodies and powerful jaws that functioned much like scissors.

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Review: Ophthalmosaurus (Mini)(Chap Mei)

Genus: Ophthalmosaurus Brand: Chap Mei Classification: Ichthyosaur Age: Jurassic

4.3 (10 votes)

Ophthalmosaurus is one of the more recognizable ichthyosaurs thanks to its enormous eyes, which, at approximately 23 cm in diameter, rivalled those of the much larger Temnodontosaurus. Such peepers would have ideal for hunting squid in the depths of the Jurassic seas, or spotting dangerous predators such as Liopleurodon.

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

Genus: Arsinoitherium, Australopithecus, Daeodon, Embolotherium, Mammut, Smilodon, Uintatherium, Woolly rhinoceros Brand: Safari Ltd Classification: Cat, 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: Ankylosaurus (Mini)(Chap Mei)

Genus: Ankylosaurus Brand: Chap Mei Classification: Ankylosaur, Ankylosaurid, Thyreophoran Age: Cretaceous Type: Action Figure

1.8 (16 votes)

The various Ankylosaurus toys that have been reviewed here on the DTB over the years range from the truly superb to the decidedly subpar. But the one I’ve got to review today may well be the most hideous of them all.

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