Mathison Museum of Natural History - Prehistoric Edition

[Halichoeres]

The name "vagus" refers to its geographical wanderings, but it might as well refer to its wandering around the phylogenetic tree of chasmosaurines.

[Gwangi]

The Safari Vagaceratops. I believe this was the first of Doug Watson's ceratopsians. The beginning of something great. I remember picking mine up at Michael's after a day of fossil hunting in Pennsylvania's Red Hills. Good times!

[SidB]

Thanks, B @bmathison1972,  for that description of it's cladistic locus.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Pentecopterus decorahensis Lamsdell et al., 2015

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Paleo-Creatures
Series: N/A
Year of Production: 2016
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding appendages) approximately 7.2 cm for a scale of 1:10.4-1:13.8, or a possible maximum scale of 1:23.6 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This model was made by forum member Jetoar. The eurypterid is removable from its base. The scale range of 1:10.4-1:13.8 above is based on an estimated body length of 75-100 cm based on limb specimens while the maximum scale of 1:23.6 is based on a possible maximum body length of 170 cm based on large tergite specimens.

About the Organism:
Geographic distribution: Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian) of present-day North America
Habitat: Shallow marine or brackish waters
Diet: Predaceous on soft-bodied animals
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: The shale where P. decorahensis fossils were discovered contained few other marine animals. Researches have speculated that the habitat the eurypterid lived in might have been shallow, brackish water near shore that was low in oxygen and inhospitable to other marine taxa.

[Halichoeres]

I keep hoping another Pentecopterus will be made, this is one of a few PaleoCreatures figures I missed out on. Cool that you've got one!

[bmathison1972]

I keep hoping another Pentecopterus will be made, this is one of a few PaleoCreatures figures I missed out on. Cool that you've got one!

Yes I was surprised to have not seen it in your collection thread. Back then, I jumped on all of Jetoar's arthropods as soon as they came out LOL.

[Halichoeres]

I keep hoping another Pentecopterus will be made, this is one of a few PaleoCreatures figures I missed out on. Cool that you've got one!

Yes I was surprised to have not seen it in your collection thread. Back then, I jumped on all of Jetoar's arthropods as soon as they came out LOL.

Yeah that was me with his fish! I didn't jump on his arthropods and I sometimes wish I had.

[BlueKrono]

I keep hoping another Pentecopterus will be made, this is one of a few PaleoCreatures figures I missed out on. Cool that you've got one!

Yes I was surprised to have not seen it in your collection thread. Back then, I jumped on all of Jetoar's arthropods as soon as they came out LOL.

Yeah that was me with his fish! I didn't jump on his arthropods and I sometimes wish I had.

There are many I wish I had been able to afford back then, especially the Gerrothorax. I hope he finds the time to resume production someday.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Titanochelon bolivari (Hernandez-Pacheco, 1917)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Signatustudio
Series: 1:20 Miocene Collection
Year of Production: 2022
Size/Scale: Carapace length approximately 9.5 cm for a scale of 1:16-1:21
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Most of the non-arthropod part of my collection is synoptic, so I don't have a lot to compare with this figure. However, the Colorata Aldabra giant tortoise and the CollectA 'Lonesome George' Pinta Island giant tortoise both scale with this model. The Schleich 2020 Galápagos tortoise might also scale well with it, depending what the species the collector chooses to have it represent.

About the Organism:
Geographic distribution: Miocene of the Iberian Peninsula
Habitat: Open woodlands, woody grasslands
Diet: Browser on low-growing vegetation
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Phylogenetic analyses place Titanochelon as being most-closely related to the African genus Stigmochelys, suggesting the genus has an African origin. There are 10 described species in the genus, plus several that remain undescribed. Fossils have been found through southern and central Europe dating from the early Miocene to the early Pleistocene. It is believed the genus became extinct early in the Pleistocene due to cooling brought on by glaciation.

[Concavenator]

Signatu Studio's figures really are something else.

[Halichoeres]

The world needs more prehistoric turtle figures! This is a good start.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Zuul crurivastator Arbour & Evans, 2017

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Dino Dana
Year of Production: 2022
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 19.0 cm for a scale of 1:32 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This was the first figure of this species, which was only described in 2017! In 2023, Kaiyodo produced a miniature (and it's skeleton). Also in late 2023, PNSO produced Zuul in the standard-sized range. While I am sure many would be quick to replace the Safari version with PNSO, I decided to keep the OG in my collection (especially since I tend to prefer Safari's style). The scale above was calculated based on an estimated size of 6.0 meters for the animal itself. Whether this figure represents the Keymaster or the Gatekeeper, is up to the collector (see below).

About the Organism:
Geographic distribution: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of present-day North America
Habitat: Temperate forests and associated riparian areas
Diet: Browser on low vegetation
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: In case this is not known to anyone in the dinosaur or dinosaur toy community, the genus Zuul was indeed named after the demon dogs from the Ghostbusters franchise. The species name comes from the Latin crus (shank or shin) and vastator (destroyer). So, while common names are not often used for dinosaurs as they are extant animals, one such option for this critter could be the Shin-crushing Demon Dog!



P.S. As many of you know, I draw these daily posts from a database that has all figures alphabetical by genus and species, regardless of higher taxonomic rank. One might think 'Zuul' would be last on that list. Nope. I have one species, and one figure of that species, that alphabetically comes after Zuul :-).

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Tylosaurus proriger Cope, 1869

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Prehistoric World
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Figure length approximately 26.0 cm long. Using skull as a metric (n=4.5 cm), scale comes to 1:38 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: While a fantastic sculpt, this color scheme is probably not realistic for a large marine predator. The natural color was more likely to be dark dorsally with a lighter venter. The scale above is calculated based on KUVP 5033 ('Bunker' specimen).

About the Organism:
Geographic distribution: Late Cretaceous (Upper Santonian to Middle Campanian) of present-day North America in the Western Interior Seaway
Habitat: Marine, pelagic
Diet: Apex predator on other animals, including other mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, turtles, birds, bony fish, sharks
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Tylosaurus proriger is one of the mosasaurs. Cladistic analysis places Mosasauria nested within Squamata, and as such, mosasaurs are essentially giant, marine 'true' lizards. There are four main hypotheses on the relationship between mosasaurs and other squamates. One, the stem-scleroglossan hypothesis, places the mosasaurs as basal Scleroglossa (monitor lizards, beaded lizards, snakes and kin) and with Scleroglossa the sister group to Iguania. Two of the hypotheses show the mosasaurs as having snake affinities:  the pythonomorph hypothesis places mosasaurs next to Serpentes while the ophiiomorph hypothesis places Mosasauria as a clade containing the snakes. One of the more recent hypothesis, the varanoid hypothesis, places Mosasauria within Anguimorpha and sister group to Varanoidea (monitor lizards and their extinct kin).

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Pikaia gracilens Walcott, 1911

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Favorite Co.
Series: Cambrian Creatures Mini Model - Burgess Shale Series
Year of Production: 2016
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 11.0 cm for a scale of 3:1-2.2:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The animal is removable from its base. Other figures of this enigmatic species were produced by COG Ltd. and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Early to Middle Cambrian (Stage 3 to Wuliuan) of present-day North America
Habitat: Marine, nektobenthic
Diet: Microorganisms, organic debris
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: While P. gracilens is an early chordate, a series of unique features believed to already-divergent specializations suggests it was not a basal chordate and that complex animals occurred much earlier than thought. The presence of contemporary chordates, such as the agnathan-like Metaspriggina, lends support to this theory.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Olenoides serratus (Röminger, 1887)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Favorite Co. Ltd.
Series: Cambrian Creatures Mini Model - Burgess Shale Series
Year of Production: 2016
Size/Scale: Body length (exclusive of appendages) approximately 7.0 cm, within scale 1:1 for a smaller adult specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: While no genera or species of trilobites are commonly made, this seems to be the go-to species for companies to make in the last decade or so. Others in my collection alone are by the Royal Ontario Museum (2000), Colorata (2017), CollectA (2017), and Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. (2020). The Takara figure was reissued in 2022 and possibly at least once more.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Middle to Upper Cambrian of present-day North America
Habitat: Marine, nektobenthic
Diet: Benthic invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Olenoides serratus is one of the few trilobite species that has fossil specimens demonstrating soft tissue preservation. Some specimens have their cerci preserved, and to date O. serratus is the only species known to have had such structures (although is is highly likely others did as well).

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Edaphosaurus pogonias Cope, 1882

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: CollectA
Series: Prehistoric Life
Year of Production: 2019
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 21.0 cm for a scale of 1:2.4-1:16.7 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: CollectA did not market this figure at the species level, and the identification is mine as I tend to go with the type species, unless there is other evidence to the contrary. The sails of different Edaphosaurus species vary in their height, the curvature of the spines, and the shape of the crossbars, and the more gradual sloping of the sail from the head also seems to support E. pogonias. The scale above is calculated based on the genus, as I had trouble finding metrics specifically for E. pogonias. For E. pogonias specifically, I wouldn't be surprised if it scaled in the 1:15-1:16 range.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Early Permian of southwestern North America
Habitat: Swamp forests
Diet: Terrestrial plants
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: The function of Edaphosaurus' sail is still a matter of debate; it was not an uncommon morphologic feature among other Permian animals, including Dimetrodon, Secodontosaurus, and the amphibian Platyhystrix. Possible functions include camouflage, wind-powered sailing over water, anchoring for extra muscle support and rigidity for the backbone, protection against would-be predators, fat-storage, body-temperature control, and sexual display and species recognition.

[Halichoeres]

That Edaphosaurus is superb. CollectA once again making the cool stuff that nobody else will.

[SidB]

Yet another reason to support this company. It took me a couple of years for me to get around to acquiring this fellow, but it's now a favorite.

[bmathison1972]

Thanks all!  Next up:


Species: †Miragaia longicollum Mateus et al., 2009

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: PNSO
Series: Prehistoric Animal Models
Year of Production: 2020
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 22.0 cm for a scale of 1:27.3-1:30
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure took a radical turn from past reconstructions of Miragaia and appears to be based on upcoming works related to The Miragaia Project (which I cannot really follow as I am not on social media). I searched, but to the best of my knowledge, this reconstruction hasn't appeared in a peer-reviewed format yet. If anyone has updates, I'd be interested to hear!

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Jurassic (Tithonian) of present-day Europe
Habitat: Open woodlands and adjacent riparian areas, coastal plains
Diet: Plants
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: One of the most interesting features of Miragaia among stegosaurs is its elongated neck, which consists of at least 17 vertebrae. Paleontologists speculate the long neck is the result of back vertebrae becoming incorporated into the neck. Among stegosaurs, the number of presacral vertebrae seems fairly conserved, but with Miragaia and related, there appears to be a clear transformation of dorsal vertebrae in the back becoming 'cervacalized' into cervical (neck) vertebrae.

[ceratopsian]

Such a handsome figure. I remember how excited I was when it came out.