Mathison Museum of Natural History - Prehistoric Edition

[oscars_dinos]

@oscars_dinos Good luck waiting for a PNSO or HLG Atlasaurus, you'll need it!   

no rush, allows time for my shelves and wallet to breath lol

[Halichoeres]

@oscars_dinos Good luck waiting for a PNSO or HLG Atlasaurus, you'll need it!   

no rush, allows time for my shelves and wallet to breath lol

Ha ha yeah, first they have to make Oxalaia and Siamraptor.

[crazy8wizard]

Ha ha yeah, first they have to make Oxalaia and Siamraptor.

If they released those as minor retools of the Spinosaurus and Mapusaurus that would easily be the funniest thing PNSO could do

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Coelodonta antiquitatis (Blumenbach, 1799)
Common name(s): woolly rhinoceros

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Prehistoric World
Year of Production: 2019
Size/Scale: Height at shoulder approx. 7.5 cm for a scale of 1:19.3-1:21.3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is Safari's second standard-sized woolly rhino, following the Missing Link model from 1997. Another impressive figure is recent years in the 2023 rendition by Mojö Fun.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Middle Pleistocene–Late Pleistocene of northern Eurasia
Habitat: Mammoth steppe, lowlands, plateaus, river valleys
Diet: Grazer of grasses, sedges, flowers in the summer; browser of woody plants in the winter
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Extinction of C. antiquitatis is believed to have resulted from the Bølling–Allerød warming, when an increase in precipitation transformed the low-growing grass and herb environment into habitats dominated by trees and shrubs, thus diminishing food options. The habitat and climate changes also resulted in habitat fragmentation which may have lead to extensive inbreeding of smaller, isolated populations of the woolly rhino. Although early humans did hunt wooly rhinos, they probably did not play a major role in the animal's extinction. However, because of smaller rhino populations due to habitat fragmentation, hunting of these smaller populations could have lead to faster rate of extirpation which would have contributed to the overall extinction of the species.

[Halichoeres]

If they hadn't gone extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, you can bet we'd be doing them in now!

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Ardipithecus ramidus White et al., 1994

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Tama-Kyu
Series: Evolution of Humanity
Year of Production: 2023
Size/Scale: Height approx. 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:23.4-1:24.8
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The figure comes on a base with a lose-fitting placard with the ape's name in Japanese. The bases interconnect with others in the set. The ape is removable from the base, with the peg on the base, not the foot of the ape; however, the figure won't stand on its own. Normally I would have preferred to photograph the ape off of the base for the main pic, and show it on the base in an inset, but alas I couldn't get it to stand on its own.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Early Pliocene (Zanclean) of present-day East Africa
Habitat: Open woodlands, wooded grasslands
Diet: Primarily fruit and other plants; may have also hunted small animals or consumed carrion
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Ardipithecus ramidus probably behaved similarly to modern-day chimpanzees, spending time in both trees and on the ground. It is not known to have had specific tool use, but may have used rocks and sticks in ways similar to chimps today. The teeth of A. ramidus suggest an omnivorous diet, but lacking the speed and agility of chimps and baboons, animal meat was probably acquired from hunting easy prey or possibly from scavenging carcasses.

[Halichoeres]

I love when random companies I've never heard of put out figures like this. Glad you were able to get it!

[postsaurischian]

Very nice. I always like the "About the Animal" phrase when describing human ancestors.

Normally I would have preferred to photograph the ape off of the base for the main pic, and show it on the base in an inset, but alas I couldn't get it to stand on its own.

 Ever thought about using an inclined plane? Or does it fall to the side?

[bmathison1972]

Very nice. I always like the "About the Animal" phrase when describing human ancestors.

Normally I would have preferred to photograph the ape off of the base for the main pic, and show it on the base in an inset, but alas I couldn't get it to stand on its own.

 Ever thought about using an inclined plane? Or does it fall to the side?

It would still topple to one side.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Archaeopteryx lithographica Meyer, 1861

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Favorite Co. Ltd.
Series: Dinosaur Soft Models
Year of Production: 2014
Size/Scale: Body length approx. 12.0 cm for a scale of 1:4.2
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the third iteration of Archaeopteryx in my collection. The first was the mini version by PNSO, but I could never get the damn thing to stand properly. I replaced with the original Kaiyodo Dinotales figure (which still holds up well for being over 20 years old). However, when I was able to find today's Favorite version available online in North America, I snatched it up! The dinosaur is removable from its base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Jurassic (Tithonian) of present-day Europe
Habitat: Semi-arid, subtropical coastal islands
Diet: Small animals, including juvenile dinosaurs, small reptiles, and invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: There has been a lot of debate on the flight capability of Archaeopteryx. There have been a few studies which conclude that Archaeopteryx was incapable of flapping flight, but it probably had at least some gliding capabilities. Archaeopteryx is often depicted as an arboreal species and may have glided down to the ground or lower branches. However, fossil records seem to show that trees were sparse on the semi-arid islands that Archaeopteryx inhabited and the animal may have been primarily ground-dwelling. The wings could therefore be used for gliding off of the ground with a running start, perhaps to evade a would-be predator or maybe catch flying insect prey, or as extra lift if running across a body of water (not unlike a modern basilisk lizard).

[SidB]

Thanks for that write-up, B @bmathison1972 . Learned a couple of things.

[bmathison1972]

Thanks for that write-up, B @bmathison1972 . Learned a couple of things.

Thank you. My pleasure. I always learn a lot as I prepare these, as well.

[Halichoeres]

Thanks for that write-up, B @bmathison1972 . Learned a couple of things.

Thank you. My pleasure. I always learn a lot as I prepare these, as well.

That's one of my favorite parts of collecting, learning about the various organisms on my shelf.

[bmathison1972]

Thanks for that write-up, B @bmathison1972 . Learned a couple of things.

Thank you. My pleasure. I always learn a lot as I prepare these, as well.

That's one of my favorite parts of collecting, learning about the various organisms on my shelf.

Me too!!!!!

[Concavenator]

Did you ever consider Safari's Archaeopteryx?

[bmathison1972]

Did you ever consider Safari's Archaeopteryx?

No, Safari's just never appealed to me (which is odd as I tend to favor their style) and not sure why. I think a lot of it has to do with the pose.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Anomalocaris canadensis Whiteaves, 1892

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Colorata
Series: Paleozoic Creatures
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Total height (as displayed here) approx. 6.5 cm. Body length (excl. appendages) approx. 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:6.9-1:7.6.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the third time we've seen A. canadensis in the Museum. The animal is removable from its base. In evaluating the figure for this post, it is actually quite accurate for the year it was made.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Early to mid-Cambrian of present-day Canada
Habitat: Marine, pelagic
Diet: Presumably soft-bodied marine invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Anomalocaris canadensis is regarded as one of Earth's earliest alpha predators. However, there has been much research and debate on its feeding habits and prey preferences. The most recent studies suggest A. canadensis fed on soft-bodied animals based on such factors as the lack of wear and tear on their frontal appendages and having an oral cone that is smaller and irregular in shape, suggesting it was not capable of strong biting motions but rather indicated a suction-feeding behavior to suck up smaller, softer animals. It is also now believed Anomalocaris was a nektonic predator, feeding on other pelagic animals, and not a predator of benthic organisms on the sea floor.

[Halichoeres]

Best set Colorata ever made.

[crazy8wizard]

Best set Colorata ever made.

Sad they never made a Triassic set. Could you imagine...

[postsaurischian]

Best set Colorata ever made.

  Not the Fossil fish box?