As we have already seen in previous reviews, Mattel has vastly succeeded where Hasbro failed.
With Mattel taking over the Jurassic World franchise from Hasbro, it has produced better toys when you compare the two lines. As for the Imaginext vs the Playschool Heroes Jurassic World lines they come across much closer in quality and style. With their ridiculous big feet to aid in stability, and the simple, yet overdone accessories the Imaginext series is intended for preschoolers.
Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy.
The first fossils of the Late Triassic sauropodomorph Mussaurus were discovered in the ’70s by an expedition led by the late Jose Bonaparte in Argentina. These consisted of eggs and juveniles small enough to fit in your hands; hence the name, meaning “Mouse Lizard.” However, this name isn’t particularly fitting given that in 2013, the first adult specimens of Mussaurus were described and estimated to reach up 20 feet in length.
Nasutoceratops was a centrosaurine ceratopsian dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous in the south-western United States. Only having been described in 2013 this very unique looking dinosaur has gained a bit of popularity with toys released from both Safari and CollectA in 2015, and now from Mattel for their Jurassic World line.
Nigersaurus is a genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod that was discovered in the Elrhaz Formation in Niger, Africa. It lived during the middle Cretaceous and is notable for its small size (by sauropod standards), short neck, and bizarrely shaped broad muzzle packed with over 500 teeth.
Nothosaurus is a genus of Triassic marine reptile that belongs to the Sauropterygia clade, along with other weirdos like placodonts and plesiosaurs. Aside from the plesiosaurs all members of the clade would go extinct by the end of the Triassic. Looking at Nothosaurus it is easy to see the relationship between it and plesiosaurs but nothosaurs were a distinct group with their own unique features and did not give rise to plesiosaurs.
Review and images by Cretaceous Crab, edited by Suspsy
Since the release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in 2018, Mattel has practically exploded in terms of the diversity of prehistoric genera it has offered, many of which are the first of their kind to be represented in toy or figure form.
Well, for my next magic tr…I mean 50th review, I will address Mattel’s strange choices when it comes to making figures based on my new favorite group of ancient reptiles: pterosauria. Ornithocheirus is a name that has been in paleo literature since the 1870’s, though the genus had become kind of a wastebasket taxon through the early 1900’s and onward.
With its tall neural spines similar to those of Spinosaurus, Ouranosaurus is one of the most unique and visually distinct species of ornithopods, and yet has remained relatively obscure. Many figures of the genus do exist with notable ones by Recur, CollectA, Schleich, and Starlux but they aren’t of particularly high quality or accuracy.
Finally! Roughly 6 months after acquiring it I’m getting around to reviewing the Hammond Collection Pachycephalosaurus. In this review you’ll see outdoor pictures that were taken in March, when I originally wanted to review it! They’ve been sitting on my computer, taunting me, reminding me to get around to this toy.
There is no shortage of Pachyrhinosaurus toys. As ceratopsian toys go it is only outnumbered by Triceratops and Styracosaurus, which have been more popular for far longer than Pachyrhinosaurus. But here’s the thing, all those Pachyrhinosaurus toys represent the same species, P.
