Described in 2012, Ichthyovenator is the first definitive spinosaurid to be discovered in Southeast Asia. Its name means, appropriately, ‘fish hunter.’ Even for a spinosaurid, it was particularly weird-looking due to the fact that it had not one, but two sails on its back. CollectA’s 2014 Ichthyovenator measures 18 cm long. The main colour is dark green with a beige...
Swift, maneuverable, and equipped with narrow jaws full of sharp teeth, Dolichorhynchops was a pitiless predator of Cretaceous fish. But size counted for a lot back then, and this short-necked plesiosaur would have been a delicious dinner for large sharks and even larger mosasaurs. Indeed, one mosasaur specimen discovered in 1918 had the remains of a Dolichorhynchops in its stomach!...
Medusaceratops lokii is the oldest known chasmosaurine ceratopsid. The unique profile of its frill led to its awesome-sounding name, which refers to the Greek gorgon Medusa and the Marvel supervillain Loki. In a perfect world then, its archenemy would be a tyrannosaurid called Perseussaurus thori. This 2015 toy, which measures about 14.5 cm long, is the very first plastic representation...
CollectA, the master of obscure dinosaur toys, reached in to their menagerie of extinct animals and choose to produce a truly interesting Proceratosaurus. The identity shifting Proceratosaurus received its name due to it originally being thought as an ancestor of Ceratosaurus due to its nasal crest. Now, this theropod is thought to be a coelurosaur, and an early member...
Nasutoceratops was a large centrosaurine ceratopsid from the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous. It is distinguished by a particularly fat snout and brow horns that greatly resemble those of extant cattle. The 2015 Nasutoceratops measures 13 cm long. Its body is medium grey with black legs, light brown claws, and a light grey underbelly. The bushy row of speculative...
I have heard it said that good things come in small packages, and the 2008 CollectA‘s Amargasaurus is certainly a diminutive figure. This was CollectA’s first attempt at the highly distinguishable sauropod, before releasing a deluxe figure a few years later. Of course, this strange early cretaceous dicraeosaurid was small by sauropod standards reaching 10 meters (33 feet) long and...
Discovered in China in 2006, the tiger-sized Xiongguanlong represents a “missing link” of sorts between diminutive tyrannosauroids like Dilong and gargantuan tyrannosaurids like T. rex. The 2015 CollectA Xiongguanlong measures 10 cm long and is 6 cm tall including the raised tail. This makes it by far the smallest figure in the 2015 assortment. Its body is covered in a...
The magnificent titan lumbers across the plains with the measured pace of a beast that knows he is in charge. Fully grown and in the prime of his life, he has little to fear from predators. As he approaches the crowded water hole, he sounds a warning and the smaller animals quickly give way. Satisfied, the titan lowers his head...
During the Cretaceous, Paralititan and its kin were some of the biggest creatures to ever exist on the planet. Paralititan stromeri or tidal giant lived 95 million years ago in an intertidal mangrove biome. The mangroves were along the southern shore of the Tethy’s sea, which is now modern Egypt. Its size certainly fires up the imagination and...
Propelled by her four massive flippers, the leviathan explodes from the depths like a nightmare come to life. As she homes in on her target, her two-metre long head splits apart to reveal enormous pointed teeth. With decisive force, her jaws slam shut on . . . nothing. Her intended prey, an ichthyosaur, sensed the danger and bolted in the...
Review and photographs by Tallin, edited by Plesiosauria. As one of the largest of the dromaeosaurids, Utahraptor ostrommaysorum perhaps first garnered significant public attention after starring in the 1999 animated documentary, Walking with Dinosaurs. Since this time, the scientifically accepted appearance of this 7m theropod has changed considerably, as more evidence has been unearthed supporting the idea that this creature...
History: Saurophaganax is not a well known theropod dinosaur from the late Jurassic, even though it was originally found in the early 1930’s. Considering how large this dinosaur was, which has been estimated to be around 43 feet long, you would think it would get a little more press. In size it would be comparable to Tyrannosaurus Rex, in looks;...
