The Jurassic and Cretaceous periods featured tetrapod lineages exploring minor evolutionary variations on a handful of themes. But during the Triassic period, tetrapods evolved into all kinds of strange forms, some of which looked like slightly wrong versions of later animals. One of these is Shringasaurus, which has some features of a sauropod, a ceratopsian, and an iguana, without being particularly closely related to any of them.
Classification: Reptile (other)
Review: Set of Dinosaurs by Linde
4.6 (8 votes)
Right to begin with, yes, three figures by Linde are already thoroughly represented on this blog, the Tyrannosaurus, Sphenacodon and Dimetrodon. But for the sake of completeness I include those three in this review aswell.
Review: Atopodentatus (Age of the Dinosaurs by PNSO)
3.9 (21 votes)
Review and photos by Ravonium, edited by Suspsy
In 2014, a group of Chinese paleontologists working in Yunnan Province discovered a near complete skeleton of Atopodentatus, a new genus (and likely, lineage) of Sauropterygia (the main group of Mesozoic marine reptiles) with an odd and somewhat creepy skull unlike that of any other known vertebrate.
Review: Moschops (Marx)
4.7 (12 votes)
Given that I counted correctly, this here will be my 50th review for the DTB. On the search for a worthy entry for that occasion, I decided to add some figures to my collection that will provide the chance to combine the jubilee with a premiere cause to my big surprise I found that the American company Marx, despite its significance for our hobby, has not a single entry on the blog as of yet….
Review: Odontochelys (Age of the Dinosaurs by PNSO)
4.8 (12 votes)
Review and photographs by stemturtle, edited by Suspsy
Odontochelys semitestacea was a Triassic stem turtle whose fossils from 220 mya were found in Guizhou, China. It is the testudine equivalent of Archaeopteryx, transitional between Pappochelys and Proganochelys.
Odontochelys semitestacea was a Triassic stem turtle whose fossils from 220 mya were found in Guizhou, China. It is the testudine equivalent of Archaeopteryx, transitional between Pappochelys and Proganochelys.
Review: Keichousaurus (Age of the Dinosaurs by PNSO)
4.3 (16 votes)
Review and photos by Ravonium, edited by Suspsy
Apart from the ever-famous Plesiosauria, the superorder Sauropterygia also contains a significant number of lesser-known taxa. Despite the diverse morphology of these reptiles, they are pretty rarely represented as toy figures. Thankfully, PNSO has made a (relatively speaking) sizeable number of these oddballs for their line of minis, including a Glyphoderma in 2016, and this year, an Atopodentatus and the subject of this review: a Keichousaurus.
Apart from the ever-famous Plesiosauria, the superorder Sauropterygia also contains a significant number of lesser-known taxa. Despite the diverse morphology of these reptiles, they are pretty rarely represented as toy figures. Thankfully, PNSO has made a (relatively speaking) sizeable number of these oddballs for their line of minis, including a Glyphoderma in 2016, and this year, an Atopodentatus and the subject of this review: a Keichousaurus.
Review: Scaphonyx AKA Hyperodapedon (Kid Galaxy by Xidi)
3 (8 votes)
Dinosaurs and other archosaurs were but one of a number of fascinating groups of animals that existed during the Triassic Period. Another such group consisted of the rhynchosaurs. These herbivorous reptiles had stocky, lizard-like bodies and powerful jaws that functioned much like scissors.
Review: Glyphoderma (Age of the Dinosaurs by PNSO)
4.9 (16 votes)
Who here loves basal sauropterygians!? The Sauropterygia is a group of marine reptiles that include the well-known plesiosaurs and several other smaller-bodied groups, including nothosaurs and placodonts, which tend to receive far less attention. This is especially the case in toy form, which is unjust because these are fascinatingly weird creatures, well-deserving of a figure or two.
Review: Nothosaurus (Margarinefiguren by Wagner)
1.4 (49 votes)
In my former review of the Wagner/Shreddies Pareiasaurus I announced some unusual species choices. Did I promise too much when I now introduce to you their Nothosaurus?
Nothosaurus was no dinosaur. Its name means “false lizard”, unfortunately I do not know which circumstances this name refers to.
Review: Wangensaurier (Pareiasaurus) (Margarinefiguren by Wagner)
4.2 (6 votes)
Today I would like to introduce to you the „Wangensaurier“ (literally meaning „cheek lizard“) from the “Wagner Margarinefiguren” series. When these figures were released sixty or so years ago, it was quite common in Germany to give prehistoric creatures German names and not to use the common species name.
Review: Tanystropheus (Carnegie Collection by Safari Ltd.)
4.3 (14 votes)
One of my favorite critters from the Triassic period has to be Tanystropheus. In a period renowned for its strange non-dinosaur Archosauromorphs the Tanystropheus is certainly among the strangest. Superficially similar to a plesiosaur this animal appears to have been semi-aquatic, with webbed feet instead of flippers.
Review: Deinonychus and Velociraptors (Playmobil)
2.7 (14 votes)
The Velociraptor pack has come across an unguarded nest of eggs. But a hungry Deinonychus has also found the nest, and he’s not in the mood to share!
The Playmobil Deinonychus is a small figure, standing only up to 9 cm tall and measuring 14 cm long.