CollectA--New for 2021

[Jose S.M.]

I wonder if the hump-back look is due to the figure's body being posed in an arch, rather than an actual humpback.
Do plesiosaur torsos have enough flexibility to perform minor arches?

I was thinking the same! But don't know enough of plesiosaur anatomy so I'm not sure if they can.

[DinoToyForum]

I wonder if the hump-back look is due to the figure's body being posed in an arch, rather than an actual humpback.
Do plesiosaur torsos have enough flexibility to perform minor arches?

Nope. Plesiosaur torsos were inflexible, they had to be sturdy for their limb-based swimming. Functionally, they were something like a turtle or penguin.

The arched back probably comes from Andrews 1910 seminal works on the marine reptiles from the Oxford Clay. He restored Cryptoclidus, Muraenosaurus, and Peloneustes with hump backs, and that took hold in pop culture. Nobody seemed to question it.

Andrews (1010)


However, going back to Cope for Elasmosaurus and Conybeare for Plesiosaurus, they reconstructed the animals with a straight spine.

Cope (1869)


Conybeare (1824)


And correctly so, for if you look at articulated plesiosaur skeletons preserved in lateral aspect, they have straight spines. Such skeletons are rare because plesiosaur torsos were dorsoventrally compressed, so the corpses tended to settle on their backs or bellies, not their sides. But a few do exist. Also, if you try to articulate dorsal vertebrae they naturally form a straight series, with a slight curve in the pectoral region.

[Shonisaurus]

@dinotoyforum By the way, do you know what the tail of the plesiosaurids looked like? As you say, that tail is speculative and I am honestly not convinced by this interpretation of the tail of the elasmosaurus from Collecta.

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

Does anyone know whether the mini Oviraptor will be 1:35 to 1:40 scale?

[DinoToyForum]

@dinotoyforum By the way, do you know what the tail of the plesiosaurids looked like? As you say, that tail is speculative and I am honestly not convinced by this interpretation of the tail of the elasmosaurus from Collecta.

Here's my contribution to the topic: https://plesiosauria.com/pdf/smith_2013_plesiosaur_tail_fin.pdf At that time there was no evidence one way or the other for elasmosaurids, but since then some elasmosaurids have been described with fused distal tail vertebrae and other odd things going on in he tail. Some seem to be dorsoventrally compressed, which is why you'll see some elasmosaurids (and cryptoclidids) depicted with horizontal tail flukes. I'm not convinced by that as is seems to contradict other evidence for a vertical tail fin, but I haven't seen the material for myself to comment with authority. Maybe different plesiosaurs has very different tails.

[Kapitaenosavrvs]

Oh boy! I love both Figures and the Minis! I am really looking forward for more photos or Videos. Yay, more Marine Reptiles!

@dinotoyforum Thanks for explaining. It is so great to have so much knowledge here at the Forum.

(I did not know about Hydrotherosaurus and the Bones look a lot more like what i used for my Elasmosaurus sculpt. A short Google told me, that it was also late Cretacious and lived in now northern America on the Westcoast. Like Tylosaurus proriger. Could Hydrotherosaurus be possible prey to Tylosaurus? The estimated Length of 7.8m also fits roughly my scale, because i always thought of a younger Elasmosaurus. Sorry, if this does not fit into this Topic, but i was so blown away how the Proportions fit (Big Flippers and shorter Neck).)

[MLMjp]

Thats a nice Elasmosaurus, but at 24 cm is a bit too small.

Finally a Xiphactinus! And perfect size! That only leaves Leedsichthys to receive a proper toy from the 3 non-shark prehistoric fish (Dunkleosteus, Leedsichthys & Xiphactinus) that I care about.

[DinoToyForum]

Oh boy! I love both Figures and the Minis! I am really looking forward for more photos or Videos. Yay, more Marine Reptiles!

@dinotoyforum Thanks for explaining. It is so great to have so much knowledge here at the Forum.

(I did not know about Hydrotherosaurus and the Bones look a lot more like what i used for my Elasmosaurus sculpt. A short Google told me, that it was also late Cretacious and lived in now northern America on the Westcoast. Like Tylosaurus proriger. Could Hydrotherosaurus be possible prey to Tylosaurus? The estimated Length of 7.8m also fits roughly my scale, because i always thought of a younger Elasmosaurus. Sorry, if this does not fit into this Topic, but i was so blown away how the Proportions fit (Big Flippers and shorter Neck).)

Yes, we're inadvertently turning this into the plesiosaur thread. I can always split the topic if we continue.

Hydrotherosaurus is Maastrichtian while Elasmosaurus is slightly older, Campanian. Tylosaurus the genus spans both these stages as well as the Santonian, but T. proriger the species is only Santonian to Campanian, not Maastrichtian, as far as I know.

[LeapingLaelaps]

Oh I love that Elasmosaurus! So pretty

[Nanuqsaurus]

That Elasmosaurus looks great! A very unique looking modern rendition of a classic plesiosaur, definitely gonna get that one. The Xiphactinus is nice as well, we could use more prehistoric fish in toy form.

[Shonisaurus]

That Elasmosaurus looks great! A very unique looking modern rendition of a classic plesiosaur, definitely gonna get that one. The Xiphactinus is nice as well, we could use more prehistoric fish in toy form.

We need a Deluxe scale leedsichthys problematicus next year.

[Nanuqsaurus]

That Elasmosaurus looks great! A very unique looking modern rendition of a classic plesiosaur, definitely gonna get that one. The Xiphactinus is nice as well, we could use more prehistoric fish in toy form.

We need a Deluxe scale leedsichthys problematicus next year.

I very much agree with you on that! Despite it's huge size and unique appareance, Leedsichthys is a very underrepresented animal in toy form.

[Halichoeres]

The thing is, this figure would be picked apart by everyone in a pile on if it was a dinosaur, but because it is a plesiosaur folks don't know any better!

This is kind of how I felt when the CollectA Dunkleosteus came out. It has many, many problems, but a lot of people proclaimed it the best Dunk on the market. Similarly, in my review of the PaleoZoo Remigolepis, I attributed the genus to entirely the wrong formation, and it went uncontested for an entire year until I noticed the problem and corrected it. If I'd attributed a theropod dinosaur to the wrong formation, imagine the howling that would ensue!

Thankfully, this Xiphactinus looks much better than the Dunkleosteus, assuming, of course, that its proportions are a product of foreshortening in the photograph, and don't reflect an actually chunky sculpt. When I saw ED's poll earlier this year, I assumed this would come out in 2022 at the earliest--this was a quick turnaround!

[Gwangi]

The thing is, this figure would be picked apart by everyone in a pile on if it was a dinosaur, but because it is a plesiosaur folks don't know any better!

This is kind of how I felt when the CollectA Dunkleosteus came out. It has many, many problems, but a lot of people proclaimed it the best Dunk on the market. Similarly, in my review of the PaleoZoo Remigolepis, I attributed the genus to entirely the wrong formation, and it went uncontested for an entire year until I noticed the problem and corrected it. If I'd attributed a theropod dinosaur to the wrong formation, imagine the howling that would ensue!

Thankfully, this Xiphactinus looks much better than the Dunkleosteus, assuming, of course, that its proportions are a product of foreshortening in the photograph, and don't reflect an actually chunky sculpt. When I saw ED's poll earlier this year, I assumed this would come out in 2022 at the earliest--this was a quick turnaround!

Don't you guys know? It is absolutely imperative to scientific literacy that the masses are exposed to only the most accurate dinosaurs. No one cares about a marine reptile, let alone a fish.

[Renecito]

I'm glad to see they made the Xiphactinus, that was on my hope & dreams list.

[Brontozaurus]

I wonder if the hump-back look is due to the figure's body being posed in an arch, rather than an actual humpback.
Do plesiosaur torsos have enough flexibility to perform minor arches?

I don't think it's posed in an arch; it's a little hard to see because of the colour of the underside and the background blending into each other, but its belly is flat while the back looks arched.

Could it be though that it's actually bending to one side and it looks humpbacked because of the angle of the photo?

Regardless I think it's a lovely looking model and with the Megalosaurus it's a must-buy for me from this year's assortment so far.

[DinoToyForum]

I wonder if the hump-back look is due to the figure's body being posed in an arch, rather than an actual humpback.
Do plesiosaur torsos have enough flexibility to perform minor arches?

I don't think it's posed in an arch; it's a little hard to see because of the colour of the underside and the background blending into each other, but its belly is flat while the back looks arched.

Could it be though that it's actually bending to one side and it looks humpbacked because of the angle of the photo?

Regardless I think it's a lovely looking model and with the Megalosaurus it's a must-buy for me from this year's assortment so far.

I don't think so, and in any case, plesiosaurs couldn't bend from side to side much either, if at all. Functionally, their torsos were about as stiff as a turtle or maybe had a modicum of flexibility like a penguin.

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

Does anyone know whether the mini Oviraptor will be 1:35 to 1:40 scale?

That would be nice. I want the tube just for the Guidraco, so my PNSO version can have a grounded counterpart. If the Oviraptor is in a similar scale, that would be one more reason for me to purchase the set.

[Stuckasaurus (Dino Dad Reviews)]

So excited for the Xiphactinus! The Elasmosaurus looks really nice, too.
Was this the last reveal? Everything Dinosaur usually seems to save the mini sets for the final grouping.

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

So excited for the Xiphactinus! The Elasmosaurus looks really nice, too.
Was this the last reveal? Everything Dinosaur usually seems to save the mini sets for the final grouping.

the final reveal is Friday 27th. One more left