Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy.
It may seem odd to think that whales are artiodactyls, or even-toed ungulates, the group of mammals that includes hippos, pigs, antelopes, deer, giraffes, sheep, goats, and cows. Obviously, modern whales don’t walk around on land, but, around 50 million years ago, their ancestors did.
Despite the progress we have made as a species, there is one fact we cannot change: extinction is forever. As a result of our hubris, many spectacular species have been wiped from the face of the earth. Takara have created quite an exquisite set, showing a selection of the species that have been lost of the centuries, each with a stand stating scientific names and year of extinction.
When people talk of dinosaurs, a few will always spring instantly to mind. Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus and Diplodocus are usually mentioned, along with Dimetrodon. However, Dimetrodon is not a dinosaur, but a synapsid, a mammal-like reptile, that died out 40 million years before the first dinosaurs.
Since it’s first discovery in 1788, Megatherium has garnered much attention, not just from scientists but by the general public, it’s large size and fearsome claws drawing in many. In spite of the discovery of larger creatures over the centuries, this gargantuan xenarthran still has it’s fair share of art and models dedicated to it.
Animals can adapt to their environment in many different ways, resulting in many interesting species. but the more interesting case is when two distinctly different species, not even closely related, evolve similar or the same adaptation, known as convergent evolution. Such is the example whit this review: Thylacosmilus, which may look like a sabre toothed cat, but is in fact a sprassodont, a marsupial from South America.
When most hear the words “sabre tooth”, they would think of Smilodon and no others. But no species gains anything as unique as sabre teeth that large over night. It takes millennia of evolution from one species to another, and many of the steps can be found in the fossil record.
The isolation of South America during much of the Cenozoic era resulted in the evolution of many odd and unique creatures, like the Liptotern Macrauchenia. This odd ungulate has fascinated many since it’s discovery by Charles Darwin, and has been the subject of many art peices and toys.
Dino riders is a much cherished series by many, who eagerly looked to get all the figures of the line. The first two lines are large, full of various dinosaurs, while the latter two lines are smaller and often rarer than the first two.
The pungent stench of masuclinity crawls along the edge of the forest. Leaves rustling softly as a vicious looking creatures ambles through the undergrowth. The young Deinotherium male looks up and hesitates as the potential adversary strides onto the grassy clearing.
Review and images by bmathison1972, edited by Suspsy
In 1967, Disney released a feature-length animated movie of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book series. One of the most iconic characters from that film was the singing and dancing orangutan, King Louie. Interestingly, Louie never appeared in any of Kipling’s original works.
Photos and review by Bokisaurus
Hello Dinofans! This review marks my 40th review for the blog! It took years to get to this number. So I wanted to celebrate the occasion by doing something different, fun and really silly, but also relevant to the blog.Choosing a subject for the occasion was hard, but I ultimately decided to highlight our little furry friend.
Review and images by PhilSauria, edited by Suspsy
There are not too many of the major brands given to recreating prehistoric fauna in plastic that have not had a woolly mammoth in their range at one time or another, but the number of woolly rhino figures out there might be lucky to crack the double figure mark if a tally were taken.
