As promised, here’s the follow up to the recent Bullyland “Belemnit” review, another take of German company Bullyland to prehistoric molluscs. Another, you’d ask? Yes, while most toy companies do not bother with prehistoric molluscs at all or just did so very recently (as Safari, Schleich or CollectA), Bullyland dashed out this, said “Belemnit” and yet another “Ammonit” as early as 1998.
Classification: Invertebrate
Ammonite (Bullyland)
5 (4 votes)
Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy
Ammonites are one of the most iconic of all fossil groups. Once thought to be snakes turned to stone in medieval times, these ancient cephalopods are known throughout the world, and are important fossils for many purposes, especially in dating as they are exceptional index fossils.
Ammonites are one of the most iconic of all fossil groups. Once thought to be snakes turned to stone in medieval times, these ancient cephalopods are known throughout the world, and are important fossils for many purposes, especially in dating as they are exceptional index fossils.
Ammonite (Wild Safari by Safari Ltd)
4.5 (12 votes)
The shelled cephalopods known as ammonites first appeared in the Devonian and then flourished all the way to the very end of the Cretaceous. They came in a wide variety of shapes and they ranged in size from ones you could hold in your palm to ones with shells measuring more than two metres in diameter.
Ammonoid (Paleozoic Pals)
4.7 (3 votes)
First off, just to get it out of the way, this is not an ammonite. This is an ammonoid, the broader group to which ammonites belong. While ammonites lived through the Jurassic and Cretaceous the group ammonoidea first appeared 400 million years ago in the Devonian. Thus, here we have a plush ammonoid, not an ammonite which would have no place in a line of toys representing Paleozoic fauna.
Ancient Fossils (Toob by Safari Ltd)
3.8 (10 votes)
Of all the product lines offered by stalwart manufacturer Safari Ltd, the “Toob®” line gives them the freest rein to explore unusual taxa. I’m personally fondest of the Toobs that furnish small versions of small animals that might scale well with Safari’s full-size figurines. We’ve reviewed some of their most interesting Toobs featuring “alive” animals here, here, here, here, and here.
Anomalocaris (CollectA)
4.7 (108 votes)
Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
In 2023, CollectA added Anomalocaris canadensis to its growing collection of Paleozoic invertebrates, following fellow arthropod Redlichia and mollusks Passaloteuthis, Pleuroceras, Orthoceras, Cooperoceras, and Pravitoceras (not to mention an extant nautilus and horseshoe crab). At this point A. canadensis probably doesn’t need much of an introduction on the Blog (I myself have reviewed it three times previously).
Anomalocaris (Dino Mecard by Sono Kong)
3.3 (4 votes)
Review and photos by bmathison1972, edited by Suspsy
This is a review of the Anomalocaris figure in the Dino Mecard line by the Korean company Sono Kong, in conjunction with Choirock. Figures in this line appear to be based on a TV show and corresponding card game, similar to Dinosaur King or Pokemon.
This is a review of the Anomalocaris figure in the Dino Mecard line by the Korean company Sono Kong, in conjunction with Choirock. Figures in this line appear to be based on a TV show and corresponding card game, similar to Dinosaur King or Pokemon.
Anomalocaris (Favorite Co. Ltd.)
4.7 (7 votes)
Review and photographs by Indohyus, edited by Suspsy
Imagine the weirdest alien you can think of. Give it as many tentacles, eyes, and other appendages as you like, but chances are they still aren’t as strange as anything from the Ediacaran or Cambrian Period, especially the latter. The Cambrian Explosion created some of the weirdest creatures imaginable, including this review’s topic: Anomalocaris, an anomalocarid arthropod predator found throughout the world from Canada to Australia and from Utah to China.
Imagine the weirdest alien you can think of. Give it as many tentacles, eyes, and other appendages as you like, but chances are they still aren’t as strange as anything from the Ediacaran or Cambrian Period, especially the latter. The Cambrian Explosion created some of the weirdest creatures imaginable, including this review’s topic: Anomalocaris, an anomalocarid arthropod predator found throughout the world from Canada to Australia and from Utah to China.
Anomalocaris (The Great Old Sea by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.)
4.4 (7 votes)
Review and photos by bmathison1972, edited by Suspsy
Today we are looking at Anomalocaris canadensis from the 2020 Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. set called The Great Old Sea. It is one of three figures in the set; the others being the trilobite Olenoides serratus and a coelacanth (which I presume is extant?). This is not the first review of Anomalocaris on the Dinosaur Toy Blog, not even the first by me, so I am going to forgo any lengthy discussion about the animal itself.
Anomalocaris (Yowie)
3.8 (5 votes)
Review and photos by Faelrin, edited by Suspsy
For my first review, I will be reviewing the Yowie Anomalocaris. Anomalocaris was one of the largest creatures of its time, growing up to around 1 meter long (or 3.2 feet), and is one of the many species preserved in the Burgess Shale.
For my first review, I will be reviewing the Yowie Anomalocaris. Anomalocaris was one of the largest creatures of its time, growing up to around 1 meter long (or 3.2 feet), and is one of the many species preserved in the Burgess Shale.
Arthropleura (Paleo-Creatures)
4.5 (4 votes)
Review and photographs by bmathison1972, edited by Dinotoyblog
Arthropleura armata is an extinct species of millipede that lived in North America and Europe during the Carboniferous Period. Millipede figures are rare in toy/model/figure form, and if you have all your fingers intact, you can count on one hand the number of such figures available!
Arthropleura armata is an extinct species of millipede that lived in North America and Europe during the Carboniferous Period. Millipede figures are rare in toy/model/figure form, and if you have all your fingers intact, you can count on one hand the number of such figures available!
Belemnit (Bullyland)
5 (5 votes)
Roughly 300 million years a successful group of invertebrate animals roamed Earth’s seas in such numbers, that their fossil remains are used by geologists as index fossils, yet, the world of toy figures is lacking this group of animals almost completely. Several years ago the German company Bullyland remedied this lack and “released the kraken”,… well, more or less….… while the general appearance of a belemnite is reminescent of a modern cuttlefish and therefore its’ bigger relatives the octopuses aswell, the extinct group of Belemnoidea shows some remarkable differences from those recent animals.
Belemnite (Prehistoric World by CollectA)
5 (10 votes)
CollectA has long been at the forefront of producing obscure toys of prehistoric animals but by and large they’ve all been tetrapods; four legged vertebrates and their descendants. This includes a variety of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, marine reptiles, and mammals. But this year CollectA has raised the bar and released four prehistoric invertebrate figures: a trilobite (Redlichia rex), Orthoceras, Pleuroceras ammonite, and a belemnite.
Brachiosaurus (Playmobil)
3.3 (6 votes)
The ground is shaking. Is it an earthquake? No, it’s just Brachiosaurus! This gentle giant is hungry and looking for his favourite fruit tree.
Not surprisingly, the Brachiosaurus is HUGE. It stands nearly 27 cm tall and measures 51 cm long, making it the largest animal figure in any Playmobil line.
Cambrian Creatures Mini Model Collection (Favorite Co. Ltd.)
4.9 (8 votes)
Review and photos by bmathison1972, edited by Suspsy
Today, we will be looking at an overview of the Cambrian Creatures Mini Model collection released by Favorite Co. Ltd. in 2016. It consists of eight smaller models representing primarily Cambrian invertebrates along with one chordate. All the species presented have been found in the Burgess Shale deposits in North America.