The best figure of every species, according to Halichoeres

[Halichoeres]

Ha ha, I've never related to a JP character more than when Alan Grant is talking about how noisy and smelly kids are.

It's one of those things where 'fish' is going to have to mean different things in different contexts. It's an old word that has long been used to refer to aquatic things with vertebrae and fins, and scientists coming along and trying to restrict it to actinopterygians is never going to work except in very specific circumstances. Much easier, in my opinion, to just say tetrapods are also fish. Horrible abominations of fishdom, but fish nevertheless.

One can argue an animal is only a highly derived member of its common ancestor. As such, humans are land-dwelling, atmospheric air-breathing, bipedal, hairy, milk-producing fish LOL 

When you started this thread, I think it was called 'fish, bugs, and weeds' or something similar. I always thought you did that as most vertebrates are just highly derived fish     

Exactly right. Fish has a colloquial meaning broader OR narrower than its technical meaning. Bug has a colloquial meaning broader than its technical meaning (although I've never met an entomologist offended by someone calling spiders 'bugs'). And weed has no technical meaning at all. And I think dinosaur is the same way, actually. I think it has a legitimate metonymous usage that encompasses fossil animals of all kinds.

[SBell]

A taste of the Carboniferous, one of the most neglected periods of the Phanerozoic when it comes to figures.


3d printed Rhizodus
Scale: 1:35 - 1:45
Designer: Frans Mulkens (somnus on Thingiverse)
Early Carboniferous
Etymology: Gr. "root tooth"
Part of a group of freshwater fishes, related to tetrapods, that marauded the swamps and rivers of Carboniferous Earth. Think a cross between an eel and a crocodile, possibly 5 meters long. I've long wanted a figure of it, and @Primeval12 was kind enough to send this print along as a gift with our last trade. After trimming the supports, it looks like I was a bit too zealous around the anal fin, but in the end it looks pretty good, a slightly tattered vibe in keeping with its rough-and-tumble environment.

Took me some time to find it, but I've also printed that Rhizodus!

As well as a few others (the shoal has grown since the photo)



I had the same situation with the fins on mine! I'm finding I need to make adjustments on the fins for most fish, as they're designed very thin. Correct on the model, but tricky in a physical realm!

[Halichoeres]

Bilaterians of the Silurian! This includes the last Silurian animals from the Life... game. Only Cambrian and a handful of Devonian ones left.


Tenacious Toys Deiphon
Scale: about 7× life size
Sculptor: Weston Brownlee
"middle" Silurian
Etymology: [Edit: This is evidently another name for Demophon from Greek mythology, see post 270 below for his story.]
On a tip from a forum member, I got in touch with the maker of this and another trilobite (which will appear in my next update). This is a very strange trilobite, having a superficial similarity to fairy shrimps. The pleural portions are reduced to just spines, giving it this sort of cartoon-fish-skeleton vibe.


The genus was named in 1850 by French paleontologist Joachim Barrande, and I have not been able to hunt down the reference. Even if I did I'm not at all sure he would have said what inspired the name; people often didn't then. If Barrande had intended "voice of god," maybe he'd be more likely to use "Theophon." There are words in ancient Greek that look more like dei- but none of them seem obvious candidates for combining with "-phon." I might also just be dividing up the name wrong. Anybody have another idea?


I don't have very many things made to such a large scale, but Safari's Sanctacaris should do.


Oumcraft Phragmoceras
1:6
Designer: Oammararak Suchimonsri
Released: 2022
Late Silurian
Etymology: Gr. "palisaded/divided horn"
Not an ammonite, but a nautiloid whose shell is shaped like a fancy hat. Reconstructions differ with respect to the amount of soft animal that would protrude; this tends to the more generous side. The silhouette of the shell is spot-on, although the coloration is a bit conservative. Some fossils preserve parts of the pattern, and they had a variety of bold stripes, zigzags, and other markings. Those would have been a lot of work to render at this scale, though.


Nearly all of my Silurian figures are from Oumcraft, so I have to reach tens of millions of years into the Upper Devonian for a more familiar scale comparison.


Oumcraft Andreolepis
Scale: 1:12
Designer: Oammararak Suchimonsri
Released: 2022
Late Silurian
Etymology: New L. "Anders [Martinsson's] scale"
A primitive bony fish, that much everyone agrees on. But there is disagreement whether it's closer to the actinopterygians, or equally close to both them and the sarcopterygians. It's difficult to be sure because some informative parts of the anatomy, like the jaw and braincase, are missing. But this is a reasonable guess at its appearance.


Another anachronistic comparison photo.

As well as a few others (the shoal has grown since the photo)

I had the same situation with the fins on mine! I'm finding I need to make adjustments on the fins for most fish, as they're designed very thin. Correct on the model, but tricky in a physical realm!

I see you've got some of Perotorum's! I have the Retodus and there are a couple more I'm planning to print. I'll keep the fin width in mind.

[Faelrin]

Really love that big trilobite. Also are there any images of those shell colorations (edit: or patterns) for the Phragmoceras? I had no idea any fossils of nautiloids had something like that.

[ceratopsian]

I'm baffled by the derivation of Deiphon. But I doubt it's "voice of god". It looks nicely Greek (on the lines of eg Deiphobos) but doesn't easily give up its secrets once you try to break it apart.

[bmathison1972]

OK @Halichoeres - would you message or email me about how to get the Deiphon and (possibly) others? Thanks

[SBell]

As well as a few others (the shoal has grown since the photo)

I had the same situation with the fins on mine! I'm finding I need to make adjustments on the fins for most fish, as they're designed very thin. Correct on the model, but tricky in a physical realm!

I see you've got some of Perotorum's! I have the Retodus and there are a couple more I'm planning to print. I'll keep the fin width in mind.

Yeah, I usually need to widen the model in the slicer laterally a little so fins aren't so thin.  Doesn't always work though. Might need to learn how to actually work with a 3d program to adjust them properly for filament prints

[Halichoeres]

Thanks for visiting, everyone!

Really love that big trilobite. Also are there any images of those shell colorations (edit: or patterns) for the Phragmoceras? I had no idea any fossils of nautiloids had something like that.

Yes indeed! Here's one from a paper on it:


You can see more here: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Schematic-reconstruction-of-coloured-shells-of-Phragmoceras-Phragmoceras-imbricatum_fig8_270213931

I'm baffled by the derivation of Deiphon. But I doubt it's "voice of god". It looks nicely Greek (on the lines of eg Deiphobos) but doesn't easily give up its secrets once you try to break it apart.

I think you're right that 'voice of god' doesn't make much sense here. My new pet hypothesis is that it was a misprint of deipnon (evening meal), because it looks like a little like a fish that has already been eaten. (I'm sure I'm wrong again, but I have no better guess.)

OK @Halichoeres - would you message or email me about how to get the Deiphon and (possibly) others? Thanks

Done!

[Faelrin]

That's absolutely striking. Reminds me of the extant nautilus. Thanks for sharing the paper as well. Will certainly give that a look.

[Crackington]

Fascinating post @Halichoeres with great models as usual.

Was pondering if "Deiphon" might have meant "terrible sound", the first part relating to "Deinonychus" and "Dinosaur"? It's missing the "no" syllable but could be some kind of contraction. However, no idea why that name would fit the trilobite, if it was a conch maybe!

Is the model detailed underneath too? Be good to see the Alien "face hugger" pic if so!

Like @Faelrin, also a big thanks for the info on the Phragmoceras shell colouration. This is my favourite Oumcraft figure and in the unlikely event I ever try to paint mine (it's way to small for my myopic vision), it will be a good reference.

[Halichoeres]

@Crackington I should have thought to photograph the underside, I will do when I get home (I'm out of town at the moment). It doesn't have all the appendages and gills and so forth that you'd expect on, for example, a Kaiyodo trilobite, though.

I like your thinking on the name, although a new piece of evidence has surfaced thanks to F @Fellschnuffel: http://www.zeno.org/Hederich-1770/A/Deiphon. It looks to be another name for Demophon, a child of Celeus and Metanira. Demeter tried to make him immortal by ritually burning off his mortal parts in a fireplace. Interrupted by an alarmed Metanira, she lost her temper and just burned him altogether. The fact that the link above refers to Demeter as Ceres makes me think Deiphon might be an alternate name, maybe Roman? All the English-language mythology sites I could find refer to this character as Demophon. I'm still not certain why Barrande chose this name for the trilobite, maybe because it looks like what you'd be left with if you burned off the mortal bits of a trilobite?

[Gigantospinotyrannus]

@Halichoeres I think that the name being the Roman equivalent is unlikely. It looks to be distinctly Greek and not of native Roman construction. If it were loaned in Roman as it was in Greek, the phonological change of demo to dei is also highly unlikely. I can only conclude that (if it is indeed another name for Demophon) it was an alternative form in Greek.

After some research I arrived at the words δάϊος (daios), δάϊς (dais) and δαίω（daio), which mean destructive/burning, battle and torch respectively, which I think fits the name very well (with the child being burnt and all), and the alternative form of the former, δήῐ̈ος (deios) which fits better phonologically with Deiphon confirms this suspicion further.

[Halichoeres]

Arthropods of the Cambrian! (Mostly trilobites)


Tenacious Toys Peltura
Scale: about 7× life size, although there's a lot of variation
Sculptor: Weston Brownlee
Upper Cambrian
Etymology: Gr. "shield tail"
I ordered this one alongside my Deiphon; together, they give a bit of an idea of the variation possible in trilobites! Thanks again to the friend who clued me in to their existence; this would have been completely off my radar otherwise.


There were some delays in getting these produced and delivered, some of which were my own fault rather than Brownlee's. Nevertheless, he included some bonus color versions by way of apology.


The Deiphon doesn't have much detail on its underside, but the Peltura does!


A more familiar scale reference.


Oumcraft Saperion
Scale: life size
Designer: Oammararak Suchimonsri
Lower Cambrian
Etymology: According to its description, this is a Greek word for an animal of unidentified species.
This was a small, somewhat trilobite-like animal with its tergites (upper exoskeletal elements) fused into one big shield, with its face and two dozen limbs hidden underneath.


Oumcraft Kleptothule
Scale: life size
Designer: Oammararak Suchimonsri
Lower Cambrian
Etymology: Gr. "thief of Greenland"
Believe it or not, this is just a looooong trilobite. It just has a profusion of thoracic segments (and legs), giving it the appearance of an armored annelid. I'm not sure why it was named for crime, since I haven't been able to access the paper describing it. Anyway, one more example of how well Oammararak did in selecting trilobites; her figures explore the great majority of trilobite morphospace.


Next to these guys, Tricrepicephalus looks totally normal.


Oumcraft Xandarella
Scale: 1:2 - 1:3
Designer: Oammararak Suchimonsri
Lower Cambrian
Etymology: according to its description, the diminutive form of a fantastical sea monster called Xandaros, which I have never heard of and know nothing about. A sea star is similarly named and swamps search results.
Another relative of trilobites, and contemporary with the earliest true trilobites. You can kind of see the resemblance, although Xandarella had an ordinary chitin exoskeleton like that of a horseshoe crab, not a mineralized one like a trilobite or a true crab. That limits the fossil settings that it or its relatives can be preserved in, so they might have been more widespread than we know.


Oumcraft Alalcomenaeus
Scale: 1:3
Designer: Oammararak Suchimonsri
Lower Cambrian
Etymology: Gr., after Alalcomenae, a town in Greece that is the legendary home of Athena
Alalcomenaeus received one of the most thorough makeovers in the entire line; when I first went looking for it for picture day, I thought I must have lost it because I didn't recognize it based on the stock photo that's still on Oumcraft's web site. The final figure is a significant improvement in accuracy, for which we probably have Flaffy to thank, as he provided some useful feedback that Suchimonsri was good enough to take on board.


Anomalocaris, the bane of smaller arthropods, probably.


Oumcraft Helmetia
Scale: 1:17
Designer: Oammararak Suchimonsri
Lower Cambrian
Etymology: after helmets, but not in the way you think--it's named after Helmet Mountain in Canada, which in turn is named after its supposed helmet shape
Another trilobite with an aberrant shape, and a rather large one at that. Despite its size, it might have been a swimming plankton feeder. I guess its broad shape might have helped keep it afloat.


I don't have a lot from the Cambrian at this scale, so this Carboniferous stem-ratfish will have to do!

Halichoeres I think that the name being the Roman equivalent is unlikely. It looks to be distinctly Greek and not of native Roman construction. If it were loaned in Roman as it was in Greek, the phonological change of demo to dei is also highly unlikely. I can only conclude that (if it is indeed another name for Demophon) it was an alternative form in Greek.

After some research I arrived at the words δάϊος (daios), δάϊς (dais) and δαίω（daio), which mean destructive/burning, battle and torch respectively, which I think fits the name very well (with the child being burnt and all), and the alternative form of the former, δήῐ̈ος (deios) which fits better phonologically with Deiphon confirms this suspicion further.

Thank you for going to the trouble of hunting down some possible roots. I think you're right that a Roman equivalent is not likely, but rather an alternate name in Greek.

[Concavenator]

As per usual, this thread is great for getting to know taxa one didn't know about!

[Halichoeres]

Page 1 reference list updated.

As per usual, this thread is great for getting to know taxa one didn't know about!

I'm glad that there are a few people interested in getting to know such taxa!

[triceratops83]

Page 1 reference list updated.

As per usual, this thread is great for getting to know taxa one didn't know about!

I'm glad that there are a few people interested in getting to know such taxa!

Have you got a photographic memory for recalling the names of these obscure genera, or do you need a reference handy?

[Halichoeres]

Page 1 reference list updated.

As per usual, this thread is great for getting to know taxa one didn't know about!

I'm glad that there are a few people interested in getting to know such taxa!

Have you got a photographic memory for recalling the names of these obscure genera, or do you need a reference handy?

Have you ever made flash cards for a class? I always found that the act of making them tended to make them irrelevant, because just writing things out reinforced it in my memory. Taking these photos and looking up papers for them has the same effect. Once I've posted a figure here, I'm very unlikely to forget its name. But I've also been a taxonomy nut since before I knew the word "taxonomy." And I'm generally good with names; when I teach, I know all my students' names by the end of the second week.

[triceratops83]

I'm the opposite - there are people I've worked with for years who I still address as "Hey, you!"

[SidB]

Then there is the Babe Ruth approach. He addressed everyone as "Kiddo".

[Concavenator]

Have you ever made flash cards for a class? I always found that the act of making them tended to make them irrelevant, because just writing things out reinforced it in my memory.

I can relate to that, I also find that writing down stuff helps memorizing it. Pronouncing the taxon's name (in this case) could also help.

Since it was a Kickstarter, I don't think I can cancel my preorder. I'll compare them when I have them both in hand and make a decision then. Of course, by then there will be other Dilophosaurus figures!

Hey you were right, there have indeed been more Dilophosaurus figures! Firstly, the Recur one, which, based on what we've seen of it, looks like it could beat HLG's in the accuracy department by virtue of possessing a (seemingly) more elongated torso. And then the new Schleich, which, as bad as it is, still appears to have a relatively long torso and lips, which the HLG doesn't (of course, it doesn't even come close otherwise  ).

And BTW, I'm very much looking forward to your HLG/Cyberzoic Dilophosaurus comparison!