Mathison Museum of Natural History - Prehistoric Edition

[bmathison1972]

The 1997 and 2007 Safari Carnotaurus figures are from the Carnegie Collection, not Wild Safari.

ok thanks; I didn't realize the Carnegie collection was that old.

[Sim]

According to Toy animal wiki it started in 1988!: https://toyanimalwiki.mywikis.wiki/wiki/Safari_Ltd_Carnegie_Collection

[bmathison1972]

According to Toy animal wiki it started in 1988!: https://toyanimalwiki.mywikis.wiki/wiki/Safari_Ltd_Carnegie_Collection

I edited the post accordinly.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Triadobatrachus massinoti (Piveteau, 1936)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Prehistoric Amphibians
Year of Production: 1998
Size/Scale: Snout-to-vent length approx. 3.5 cm for a scale of 1:2.9
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Figures in this set appear to be based on illustrations in the Macmillan Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals from 1988.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Early Triassic of present-day Madagascar
Habitat: Swamps, ponds, and other still freshwater habitats
Diet: Small arthropods
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Morphologically similar to extant frogs, T. massinoti retained many primitive characteristics, such as at least 26 vertebrae (modern anurans have 4-9), and the terminal 10 or so formed a short tail. It probably spent time between land and water. It could not hop, but probably used its powerful hind legs for propulsion in the water.

[ceratopsian]

That is an exceptionally appealing photo of Triadobatrachus.

[bmathison1972]

That is an exceptionally appealing photo of Triadobatrachus.

Thank you; I am very pleased with how it turned out!

[bmathison1972]

Well, it has been nearly two months to the date since the random number generator landing on anything pertinent to this forum, but alas here we are:

Species: †Tianzhenosaurus youngi Pang & Cheng, 1998

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Haolonggood
Series: 1:35 Science and Art Model
Year of Production: 2023
Size/Scale: Figure length approx. 15.0 cm. Using skull length as a metric (n=1.5 cm) scales comes to approx. 1:18.7
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique (as a sculpt)
Miscellaneous Notes: Like other Haolonggood dinosaurs, this figure came in two colors; mine is 'green' while the other is 'red'. This figure scales larger than the advertised 1:35.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Campanian) of present-day China
Habitat: Open woodlands, semi-arid plains
Diet: Vegetation
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: In less than a year after T. youngi was described, it was suggested that Tianzhenosaurus (and Shanxia) be considered junior synonyms of Saichania based on overall morphology. This was supported by another study in 2015. In 2024, a new species was described, T. chengi, whose cranial characters seem to show sufficient distinction from other Asian ankylosaurids, such as Saichania and Shanxia. Tianzhenosaurus chengi was found in the same rock layers as T. youngi, so time will tell if they turn out to be conspecific.

[SidB]

As a 1/35 collector (primarily), I would have preferred that HLG had manufactured this Tianzhenosaurus in true 1/35 scale , which would have reduced its length to around 7.5 cm. Pretty unlikely that HLG would have made such a small figure, of course, but even a 1/25 scale piece would have been better. Still, it's part of my ensemble, and I'm certainly not anticipating a true-to- 1/35er any time soon.

[Halichoeres]

HLG has definitely gotten better about scaling; some of their early ones, like Pentaceratops, were way off-scale. That said, this one has a comfy home among my ~1:18 figures. I also chose this color scheme!

[SidB]

I've resorted to calling my HLG Pentaceratops a Titanoceratops/Pentaceratops to hedge my bet and get it closer to 1/30.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Citipati osmolskae Clark et al., 2001

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Prehistoric World
Year of Production: 2019
Size/Scale: Body length approx. 19.0 cm for a scale of 1:13.2-1:15.3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare or possibly unique (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: Only a couple figures have been formally marketed as Citipati, but today's by Safari Ltd. might be the only one based specifically on C. osmolskae. Several figures previously marketed as Oviraptor or Citipati appear to be based on specimen MPC-D 100/42 (the 'Zamyn Khondt oviraptorid'), an unnamed genus of oviraptorid from Mongolia that has been referred to as Citipati in some papers. Among them include Oviraptor figures produced by Schleich, Kaiyodo, Colorata, and Safari Ltd. (Carnegie) and Citipati figures produced by Nakasato/Kanna. The upcoming Bandai Desktop Models Citipati also appears to be based on MPC-D 100/42, at least based on initial promotional pics (thanks for forum members Sim and Flaffy for helping elucidate several of these). Note the PNSO support in the pic; it didn't take long for my Citipati to stop standing on its own!

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Cretaceous of present-day East Asia
Habitat: Semi-arid dunes and dune fields
Diet: Plants
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Citipati osmolskae is one of the few dinosaurs for which we have learned about its nesting habits, thanks to the fossilization of several nests, including two with the adults in situ. Fossils of the small troodontid Byronosaurus have been found associated with Citipati nests. The skulls of the troodontid appear to represent juveniles and it has been proposed that Byronosaurus may have used the nest of Citipati as an act of brood parasitism. It is also possible the troodontids were just food for the Citipati hatchlings or possibly the parents themselves; some extant primarily plant-feeding birds switch to animal-based protein during the breeding season.

[Concavenator]

I had that Citipati too. Initially mine stood fine, but ended up losing its stability. Out of curiosity, did you momentarily borrow that PNSO stand, or is it a duplicate? If it's a duplicate, how did you get it? I've tried asking PNSO for extra stands more than once but they never want to include one more for me.

I have Bandai's Citipati coming, so it's interesting info that it may not represent Citipati proper.

[bmathison1972]

I had that Citipati too. Initially mine stood fine, but ended up losing its stability. Out of curiosity, did you momentarily borrow that PNSO stand, or is it a duplicate? If it's a duplicate, how did you get it? I've tried asking PNSO for extra stands more than once but they never want to include one more for me.

I have Bandai's Citipati coming, so it's interesting info that it may not represent Citipati proper.

@Concavenator - it is temporarily 'borrowed' from the Lufengosaurus. On my shelves, the Citipati leans against the back wall to stand.

[Sim]

There's been an update regarding the presence of baby Byronosaurus in a Citipati nest.  From the Byronosaurus Wikipedia page:

The presence of tiny Byronosaurus skulls in an oviraptorid nest was considered an enigma. Hypotheses explaining how they came to be there included that they were the prey of the adult oviraptorid, that they were there to prey on oviraptorid hatchlings, or that an adult Byronosaurus may have laid eggs in a Citipati nest (see nest parasite).[14] However, these interpretations have all been shown to not be the case. In 2011, Norell stated that the Byronosaurus nest was found two metres uphill from the oviraptorid nest, with the oviraptorid nest at the end of a drainage course from the Byronosaurus nest, suggesting that the baby Byronosaurus skulls must have been washed from one nest to the other.[16] This claim has been already confirmed in 2005 by Gerald Grellet-Tinner who noted the presence of a troodontid nest (IGM 100/1003x) close to the Citipati nest containing the juvenile troodontid skulls.[17] Norell is officially preparing to publish this information with more important details.[16]

Since the holotype of Oviraptor was found to have consumed a lizard, I'm not sure about Citipati being considered a herbivore.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Centrosaurus apertus Lambe, 1904

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: PNSO
Series/Collection: Prehistoric Animal Models
Year of Production: 2021
Size/Scale: Body length approx. 17.0 cm for a scale of 1:29-1:32
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Given the knowledge we have of this animal, it's surprising so few figures of it have been produced. Even including figures marketed as 'Monoclonius', I can't think of more than ten.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of present-day of western North America (Laramidia)
Habitat: Humid forests and woodlands and adjacent riparian areas
Diet: Plants
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: The position of the nasal horn on C. apertus changed throughout life. In younger specimens, the horn was directed backwards, but changed to point anteriorly in mature specimens.

[Gwangi]

I like this figure a lot and was thrilled to finally get a Centrosaurus on my shelf but I'm still curious to see what one from Haolonggood and Safari would look like.

[Halichoeres]

It is odd how few there are in light of the wealth of specimens. Happily, this one is pretty nice!

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Anomalocaris canadensis Whiteaves, 1892

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series/Collection: Dinotales Series 2
Year of Production: 2001
Size/Scale: Body length (excl. appendages) approx. 5.5 cm for a scale of 1:6.2-1:6.9
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the fifth time we've seen A. canadensis in the Museum. Being one of the original Dinotales figures, some assembly is required and the animal is removable from its base. Nice for the era it which it was made, there are a few anatomical errors based on our current understanding of the animal, including too few side flaps on the main body (11, should be 13), an oral cone divided into four sections (should be triradiate), paired spines on the terminal body segment, and a lack of a frontal sclerite.

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 was first described in 1892 based on its anterior appendage, which was perceived to be the body of a phyllopod crustacean! Various other partial anomalocaridid structures have been described as jellyfish, sea cucumbers, and polychaete worms. It wasn't until 1979 that the original structure the animal was described from was recognized as the feeding appendage of a larger arthropod.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Desmatosuchus spurensis Case, 1921

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Schleich
Series/Collection: Replicas Saurus 1:40
Year of Production: 2004
Size/Scale: Body length approx. 12.5 cm long for a scale of 1:36-1:40 Using skull as a metric (n=1.7 cm) scale comes to approx. 1:22 (see below).
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Being a product of its era, this is an outdated reconstruction of the species. Among other things, the characteristic shoulder spikes are now believed to point posteriorly, rather than anteriorly as shown here. Using body length vs. skull results in quite different scale; the head is probably a little large in relation to the rest of the body.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Triassic of present-day western North America
Habitat: Cycad and fern forests, marshland, swampland
Diet: Presumably plants; possibly insects or other invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Desmatosuchus  had blunt, bulbous, slightly recurved teeth, possibly with homodont dentation. This in combination with a shovel-like snout has lead some authorities to suggest that the animal dug up subterranean plants for food. However, Desmatosuchus  also lacked teeth in the premaxilla, which has led some to believe that it may have feed on subterranean invertebrates, much like extant armadillos. Another synapomorphy with armadillos is the heavily armored body.

[SidB]

Kinda nostalgic to see this figure, B @bmathison1972 . It was one of the prehistoric pieces (and a Schleich at that) that I picked up from thrift shop rummaging when I first started collecting, even before I found the DTF. Good quality dinosaurs and their allies, such as this one, were much more common in the thrift shop environment 'back in the day'. Now there are still lots of dinosaurs, but they are all hollow cheaposaurs, at least here in Toronto. Seeing this Desmatosuchus brings back lots of fun memories.