Guanlingsaurus is a genus of late Triassic ichthyosaur from China. It is a member of the Shastasauridae family and for a time it was assigned to the Shastasaurus genus. It is known from the Xiaowa Formation and lived alongside Guizhouichthyosaurus, which was also once assigned to Shastasaurus. PNSO has made models of both genera. I previously reviewed the Guizhouichthyosaurus and...
In the wake of PNSO’s run of ceratopsians it appears as though they’ve moved on to a new succession of prehistoric animal figures, marine reptiles. Not just any marine reptiles though, Triassic marine reptiles known from China. This has dashed the hopes of those wishing for a new Mosasaurus or long-necked plesiosaur and those who focus solely on dinosaurs are...
Review and images by Kikimalou, edited by Suspsy This is the very first time I’ve submitted a review for DTB and I thought that the new 2023 CollectA Shastasaurus would do the trick. What attracted me to this new ichthyosaur is the black and white interpretation. I like it when a creature from the past smells of convergent evolution. In...
Most of us, if we’re familiar with Italian toy company Geoworld, are familiar with the extensive “Jurassic Hunters” line of dinosaur and Cenozoic mammal figures, or perhaps the “Jurassic Action” line of articulated figures. Many collectors have a low opinion of these figures due to their crude sculpts, uncredited accompanying artwork, or garish paint jobs. What if I told you...
It was a hot July day. To beat the heat and to stay cool I headed off to a nearby creek to sit by the water. I found a tall tree by the water and walked into the shade. I slumped back onto the trunk, closed my eyes, and let my bare feet extend past the bank and dangle over...
During the Toarcian age of the Lower Jurassic, early sauropods like Tazoudasaurus and early thyreophorans like Emausaurus were walking around on land. In the ocean, hildoceratid and dactylioceratid ammonites, plesiosaurs, and marine crocodiles were swimming around. It was also the heyday of ichthyosaurs, one of which was the large, long-snouted Eurhinosaurus longirostris (loosely, “long-beaked lizard well-equipped in the nose department”)....
Review and images by PhilSauria, edited by Suspsy As if we didn’t know, PNSO is back! So too are the BIG figures that they made their name with and had collectors sitting up and taking notice. Of the five new figures available to buy since they’ve sorted out their behind-the-scenes issues and returned to retail, two are in the upper...
In part 1 of this review we looked at 12 dinosaur toys (and one pterosaur) from Panini’s Prehistoric Animals line. In part 2 we pick up where we left off to complete the full set of 24 toys. Figure numbers 13 to 15 are a trio of marine reptiles, and their dark blue colour works very well for aquatic animals....
Most kids love dinosaurs, this is a fact. Other prehistoric creatures too but as we know many non-dinosaurs are still called dinosaurs, so the umbrella term here is dinosaurs. Kids love dinosaurs. Most adults however end up losing this interest, it’s a shame really. Who decided that dinosaurs were kid stuff anyway? Well as it turns out, I am an...
Excalibosaurus lived during the early Jurassic about 190 million years ago and at 22 feet (7 meters) long, it was a decent sized fellow. Looking much like a modern sword fish, it was named after the sword Excalibur of Autherian legend. This marine reptile is characterized by the extreme elongation of the rostrum, in which...
Kids perspective by, William and Erin By day the squid lurk in the deep waters were only the brave dive into the unknown. It is in these murky depths were they hide from the predators above. When the sun goes down and the moon arrives they come up from down below to the surface to feed. Awaiting...
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. Despite featuring prominently in an episode of the BBC’s famous Walking ...
