Mathison Museum of Natural History - Prehistoric Edition

[Gwangi]

One of my all time favorite Safari dinosaurs.

When I started adding dinosaurs to my collection, it is one of the first I snatched up! But then again, I am partial to ornithischians, especially ceratopsians and ankylosaurs, and most especially those sculpted by Doug Watson

I'm a Doug Watson fanboy too, especially for his ceratopsians. It's sad that we haven't gotten any ceratopsians from Safari for a couple years now.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Acutiramus macrophthalmus Hall, 1859

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Colorata
Series: Paleozoic Creatures
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Body length 7.0 cm for a scale of 1:24-1:35
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: While several other sea scorpion figures are attributable to the genus Acutiramus, including the Great Old Sea figures by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. and two 'Pterygotus' by Kaiyodo, this may be the only one specifically marketed as such. The animal is removable from its base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Silurian of present-day eastern North America
Habitat: Marine, benthic; probably in shallow waters offshore
Diet: Soft-bodied animals, including marine invertebrates and possibly fish
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: For years, Acutiramus was classified as a subgenus of Pterygotus. Separation of the genera can be done as follows: Acutiramus has a straight moveable finger on the chelae (claws) with the terminal tooth at an acute angle relative to the rest of the claw, and a paddle-shaped telson (terminal abdominal segment) with a serrated margin and a row of knobs running down its center; Pterygotus has the moveable finger of the chelae curved inwards and a paddle-shaped telson with a smooth margin and dorsal keel running down its center.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Copepteryx hexeris Olson & Hasegawa, 1996

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Dinotales Series 3
Year of Production: 2002
Size/Scale: Total figure height 6.2 cm. Scale difficult to calculate, but using the mandible (lower beak) as a metric (n=1.0 cm), the scale comes to approximately 1:23 for one of the paratypes of C. hexeris.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Assembly is required and part of the bird's feet are part of the base. Kaiyodo only marketed this figure as Copepteryx. Since both known species were described in the same paper, and since both species were endemic to Japan, it could represent either (see below). I chose mine to represent C. hexeris since that species is better represented in the fossil record and it is the type species for the genus.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Oligocene of Japan
Habitat: Rocky marine shores
Diet: Fish; possibly also cephalopods
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: In 1996, Olson and Hasegawa described two species of Copepteryx from the Late Oligocene of Japan. The type species, C. hexeris, is known from several fossils collected on the Ainoshima, Kyushu, and Honshu Islands. The second species, C. titan, is known only from a left femur from Ainoshima Island and differs from C. hexeris only in size (being much larger as the species epithet titan suggests).

[Halichoeres]

The golden age of Dinotales. I can't imagine them releasing 24 different sculpts in a single year now!

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Bathyurus ingalli Raymond, 1913

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Ancient Fossils TOOB; Safariology - Ancient Fossils
Years of Production: 2009; 2012
Size/Scale: Body length of TOOB figure 4.5 cm, within scale 1:1. Body length of Safariology figure 11.5 cm for a scale of approximately 2:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare (unique as a pair)
Miscellaneous Notes: The TOOB figure was produced in 2009; the larger Safariology figure was produced in 2012. Safari Ltd. marketed the TOOB figure as Raymondites, which is now considered a subgenus of Bathyurus. The Safariology figure wasn't marketed at the genus level, but is clearly just a larger version of the TOOB figure. The species-level identification is my own, based on images online, including one of a specimen from the AMNH, that may have been the influence for the original TOOB figure. At some point the TOOB was re-released with slight alterations in the paint color; in the newer set the rock matrix around the trilobite was painted tan rather than grey.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Ordovician of present-day northeastern North America (Ontario, Wisconsin)
Habitat: Benthic; in shallow, peritidal waters
Diet: Deposit feeder of organic material in marine sediment
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Raymondites was originally described as a subgenus of Bathyurus in 1944. In 1953 and then again in 1959, Raymondites was elevated to the genus level to include non-spinose species. A phylogenetic analysis in 2015 showed that Raymondites is probably best left as a subgenus of Bathyurus, with the two taxa united by the loss of the anterior border on the frontal area (with a reversal in one species). Other characters in common with both taxa are the presence of a tuberculate structure on the glabella, a relatively short palebral lobe with a length less than half of preoccipital glabellar length, and a pygidial outline that is rounded posteriorly. Most species possess occipital spines and axial pygidial spines (in species where the pygidium has been recovered).

[Halichoeres]

I've always thought Safari should make a Good Luck Mini trilobite. Maybe one that looks alive.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Patagotitan mayorum Carballido et al., 2017

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Prehistoric World
Year of Production: 2022
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 47.0 cm for a scale of 1:78 based on an estimated natural length of 37 meters. Using the front femur as a metric (n=3.5 cm), the scale comes to about 1:68 based on specimen MPEF-PV 3399/44.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: I don't have a lot to say about this figure, since it's currently unique for its species with nothing to compare it to and I don't have a strong base of knowledge about sauropods. Some concerns others have had include an extra claw on the hind foot and that proportionally, the head might be too big (based on other titanosaurs; as far as I know, the head of Patagotitan remains undiscovered). Some people criticized the posture, prefering titanosaurs to be more upright. I can see that argument for a neutral standing or walking posture, but this figure's posture could be realistic for a variety of scenarios, such as browsing low vegetation, tending to young, or possibly engaging a would-be predator.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Early Cretaceous (Albian) of present-day Argentina
Habitat: Open coniferous forests and adjacent floodplains
Diet: Plants, probably primarily conifers and cypress
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Plant fossils recovered around P. mayorum suggest a habitat of forest dominated by conifers and cypress, with angiosperms being rare, adjacent to floodplains. Adult P. mayorum probably had few if any natural predators, but it may have shared its habitat and range with theropods Tyrannotitan and Genyodectes which may have hunted juvenile, weak, or sick Patagotitan.

[Paleo Flo]

I like the figure, but for me it's nit a must-have

[SidB]

This was my favorite Safari release of the year. Yes, I know that many don't like the posture, but what's wrong with the occasional sculpt in an unconventional, but possible pose. Why have every figure in a standard position? No need to penalize it on this account IMO. The color is in the usual Safari tones, but they work on and for this animal. It's hefty enough, so that's good. It's unique and that's also fine. I use mine as a subadult, so it integrates well into my Safari/ Carnegie Safari dioramas. 

[bmathison1972]

This was my favorite Safari release of the year. Yes, I know that many don't like the posture, but what's wrong with the occasional sculpt in an unconventional, but possible pose. Why have every figure in a standard position? No need to penalize it on this account IMO. The color is in the usual Safari tones, but they work on and for this animal. It's hefty enough, so that's good. It's unique and that's also fine. I use mine as a subadult, so it integrates well into my Safari/ Carnegie Safari dioramas. 

It was my favorite Safari dinosaur release in 2022 and maybe my favorite dinosaur (sensu stricto,, not including prehistoric mammals and invertebrates) release overall in 2022 (the salmon shark was probably my favorite Safari release overall in 2022)! I actually had a statement about that under the Misc. Notes for the figure, but removed it prior to posting. Personally I also like Safari's (and often PNSO's) drabber tones; they are probably more along the lines of what some of these animals may have looked like in life!

[bmathison1972]

It's been over a month since the Random Number Generator landed on something appropriate for the DTF, but here we are:



Species: †Ursus spelaeus Rosenmüller, 1794
Common name(s): cave bear

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Papo
Series: Dinosaurs
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 10.0 cm for a scale of 1:20-1:30 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: There are not many figures of U. spelaeus and even fewer one might consider good. Others by Bullyland, Geoworld, and Schleich are almost downright silly-looking. This Papo version is pretty nice, but I could see myself replacing it if a better version became available. I had trouble finding consistent references on the size of U. spelaeus and the scale above is calculated based on a body length of 2-3 meters.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Middle to Late Pleistocene of Europe, western Asia, Middle East
Habitat: Woodlands, forest margins; often in mountainous areas rich in limestone caves
Diet: Primarily plant material; occasionally supplemented diet with animal material, possibly via scavenging
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [Prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Ursus spelaeus is believed to be descended from the Etruscan bear (U. etruscus) and Deninger's bear (U. deninggeri), having diverged from the latter during the last interglacial. Ursus spelaeus is believed to be more closely related to brown bears (U. arctos) and polar bears (U. maritimus) than American black bears (U. americanus) and split from the brown bear lineage about 1.2-1.4 Mya before eastern and western lineages of brown bears diversified and before the split of brown bears and polar bears. The cause of extinction of U. spelaeus is not known but overhunting by and competition for habitat and resources with early modern humans is believed to be the main factor. The rate of decline in cave bear populations does not seem to correlate with natural habitat or climate change.

[Halichoeres]

If I had a cave bear, it would be this one. Promo images seemed to show strong print lines, are those evident in-hand?

I suppose it's not surprising there are so few figures of the species; it's really hard to differentiate from ordinary bears. Chances are, there are grizzly figures that comport better with the proportions of U. spelaeus.

[bmathison1972]

If I had a cave bear, it would be this one. Promo images seemed to show strong print lines, are those evident in-hand?

I suppose it's not surprising there are so few figures of the species; it's really hard to differentiate from ordinary bears. Chances are, there are grizzly figures that comport better with the proportions of U. spelaeus.

No, print or seam lines are not evident, at least not that I recall! I didn't even know that was a possible concern until you mentioned it. I feel the figure looks much better in-hand than it does in promo pics or other pics on blogs and forums.

[SidB]

If I had a cave bear, it would be this one. Promo images seemed to show strong print lines, are those evident in-hand?

I suppose it's not surprising there are so few figures of the species; it's really hard to differentiate from ordinary bears. Chances are, there are grizzly figures that comport better with the proportions of U. spelaeus.

No, print or seam lines are not evident, at least not that I recall! I didn't even know that was a possible concern until you mentioned it. I feel the figure looks much better in-hand than it does in promo pics or other pics on blogs and forums.

I have one and agree on both counts.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Shastasaurus pacificus Merriam, 1895

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: CollectA
Series: Prehistoric Life
Year of Production: 2023
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 26 cm for a scale of 1:27 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: CollectA didn't indicate which species this figure represents. Without evidence to the contrary, I am considering it the type species, S. pacificus, at least for the purposes of my collection. CollectA discussed S. sikanniensis in promotional material, but made no specific claim that the figure was intended to represent that species. The scale above is calculated based on an estimated body length of 7 meters for the actual animal. If this figure was to represent the larger S. sikanniensis, the scale would be closer to 1:80. However, it should be noted that S. sikanniensis may actually be better attributed to the genus Shonisaurus or another genus all together.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian) of present-day western North America
Habitat: Pelagic
Diet: Presumably primarily cephalopods; also fish, marine reptiles
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Shastasaurus pacificus had a long, toothless mouth, suggesting it may have been a suction feeder that fed primarily on soft-bodied cephalopods that lacked a protective shell.

[Halichoeres]

I landed in the same place on its taxonomy. Now as an arthropod expert, were you able to identify its barnacles? 

[bmathison1972]

I landed in the same place on its taxonomy. Now as an arthropod expert, were you able to identify its barnacles? 

Microbalanus syntheticus   

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Monolophosaurus jiangi Zhao & Currie, 1993

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Prehistoric World
Year of Production: 2014
Size/Scale: Figure length approximately 19.5 cm. Skull approximately 3.0 cm for a scale of 1:27 based on the holotype IVPP 84019.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: My figure has lost stability in the ~2 years (or less) since I have acquired it; not sure if this is a common phenomenon with this model or not.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Middle Jurassic (Callovian) of present-day China
Habitat: Coniferous mesic forest, alluvial plains, marshland
Diet: Predator on other vertebrate animals, including sauropods
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Monolophosaurus jiangi is known from a single, nearly complete specimen. Its generic name translates to 'single-crested lizard' for said single crest that runs about 3/4 of the length of the skull, from the front of the nose to the base of the eye sockets. The function of the crest is not known, but because it contained large air chambers, it may have functioned as a resonating chamber to amplify vocalizations. In life, the crest may have been brightly colored, and with bright colors in combination with vocalizations, may have been used for sexual communication or selection. It has also been suggested that the crest was hollow for nothing more than making the skull lighter, so the animal would have more maneuverability with its head.

[Paleo Flo]

Still a nice figure.

[Halichoeres]

I landed in the same place on its taxonomy. Now as an arthropod expert, were you able to identify its barnacles? 

Microbalanus syntheticus   

Sounds legit.

My Monolophosaurus still stands after almost 8 years. With bipeds it's really the luck of the draw. Funny coincidence that this is the same scale as your previous entry!