No one knows when precisely humans first discovered the fossilized remains of dinosaurs. Indigenous North Americans probably came across them in places now called Alberta or South Dakota or Utah. In China, “dragon bones” were recorded as being discovered all the way back during the Western Jin Dynasty between 265 and 316 AD. And for all we know, Neanderthals were...
While the popular image of Pteranodon will always be P. longiceps with its long, blade-like crest jutting out from the back of its skull, P. sternbergi was even larger and arguably much better-looking. That is, if it can be said to have actually existed. A 2010 research paper concluded that sternbergi was distinct enough from longiceps to justify renaming it...
The two valid species of the North American hadrosaur Edmontosaurus, E. annectens and E. regalis, are known from multiple fossil specimens. Taken together, they make the genus “fully known.” But while a complete skeleton can give us a reasonable idea about an animal’s appearance in life, it is not necessarily a full or accurate one. This was made abundantly clear to us back in...
For collectors of prehistoric fishes 2021 has been a banner year, it saw the release of several toy fishes and two of them weren’t an O. megalodon or Dunkleosteus. Astonishing! Of course, we got those too. Papo tackled the meg. and PNSO released their own Dunkleosteus. But the real headliners were the Helicoprion by PNSO and the subject of today’s...
Thanks to its appearance in Jurassic Park, Dilophosaurus is, in the words of one paleontologist, “pretty much the best, worst-known dinosaur.” Even if you’re well aware that it wasn’t small and didn’t spit venom and didn’t have a frill around its neck, you probably grew up reading about how fragile its twin crests were and how relatively weak its bite...
The island nation of Japan is usually not on the top of the list when it comes to dinosaur discoveries, but in the last few years, that quickly changed as more dinosaur fossils are found especially those from the Cretaceous.One of the most recent and exciting discovery from the Land of The Rising Suns is a nearly complete hadrosaur skeleton,...
Elasmosaurus is a genus of long neck plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous and lived in what is known today as North America in one of the most famous ancient sea, the Western Interior Seaway.It rivals Plesiosaurus itself in both fame and name recognition, as well as being one of the most produced marine reptiles in toy form. It also enjoyed...
Orthocones, conical fossil shells belonging to extinct cephalopods, are among the most popular and easily obtained fossils. So abundant are they that they’re often included in mass produced fossil dig kits for children, made into jewelry, or sold as souvenirs in museum gift shops. Orthocones are found around the world with most of the specimens being sold coming from Morocco....
Review and photos by Patrx It pains me to admit this, friends, but the truth is that Allosaurus never made much of an impact on me when I was younger. I had many books on the subject of dinosaurs, (and other prehistoric animals™) but most of those seemed unsure of what to do with this particular beast. The local museum...
Famous for their long necks, even longer tails, and being one of the largest land animals ever to walk the earth, Sauropods are some of the most famous dinosaurs of all time. It is no surprise that some of these giants reached iconic status and are perennial favorites among toy figure companies. Like all animals, the group also came in all...
Big or small, powerful or weak, smart or stupid, all things succumb to the ravages of time and battle. This goes for the mighty dinosaurs too, though this doesn’t often receive much attention in figure series. Enter CollectA to change this, as they have throughout the years. This year sees the release of another corpse for predators to eat and...
Weighing up to more than two tons, Doedicurus clavicaudatus, sometimes known as the morning star-tailed glyptodon, was one of the last and largest members of its family. Like most other prehistoric jumbo armadillos, it featured a heavy domed carapace and an armoured tail, but in its case, the tail was extra long and terminated in a thick club that probably...
