PNSO: New For 2021

[sauroid]

wow the resting Winter Wilson, errr i mean "Andrea", looks great.

[Faras]

Yeah sorry that's mainland China price, my point is that when two figures have same Chinese price, they usually have same global price, this means new Mamenchisaurus would probably cost as much as old one

[sauroid]

also just a reminder that PNSO made a Huanghetitan and Euhelopus (and a prosauropod Lufengosaurus) during their early days.

[Flaffy]

Judging from this pics, this new model has a beak on premaxilla and part of maxilla which is why some teeth are exposed. iirc there's a recent study suggesting such beaks for sauropods.

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The theory that sauropods had keratinised beak-like structures is nothing new, but that being said, the only sauropod figure to incorporate this feature as of now is Doug Watson's Camarasaurus for Safari ltd.

While it's nice to see PNSO hop onto the "beaked"-sauropod train; "beaks" and concealed teeth should not be mutually exclusive in this family of dinosaurs. One can reconstruct a sauropod with both beaks and lips at the same time. A similar(?) analogy would be softshell turtles, fleshy "lips" at the back of the mouth, with a hard keratin beak at the front.

Examples of beaked + lipped sauropod reconstructions:

[SidB]

Does PNSO think that Mamenchisaurus and Amargasaurus are the only sauropods in existence?

I know right! Especially since CollectA just released a Mamenchisaurus (which is more affordable), followed by the numerous Amargasaurus' that exist in the market. Although I don't collect sauropods, I hope PNSO produce more than just these two.

It seems that there is a certain trend here, witness Wilson/ Andrea and indirectly the juvenile ("Nanotyrannus") and the possibly upcoming triceratops. I was irritated at first, but then I realized that there's a silver lining here, at least for diorama focussed collectors. The release of variations on a genus are an opportunity for such people, including myself.

[Faras]

@Flaffy Yeah dinos can probably have lips and beaks at same time on different parts of mouth, sorry I meant the teeth growing "on" the beaks specifically PNSO chose to make beaks short (probably cause the study mentioned half the teeth were buried in beaks, but ofc extended beaks can achieve that as well) is why those are exposed.

Hmm a bit of thought: short snouted dogs sometimes end up with jaw malformation which exposes some of their teeth - dogs can live many years without losing them, so I'm thinking maybe dry teeth wouldn't be too problematic for dinos?

[Flaffy]

@Flaffy Yeah dinos can probably have lips and beaks at same time on different parts of mouth, sorry I meant the teeth growing "on" the beaks specifically PNSO chose to make beaks short (probably cause the study mentioned half the teeth were buried in beaks, but ofc extended beaks can achieve that as well) is why those are exposed.

Hmm a bit of thought: short snouted dogs sometimes end up with jaw malformation which exposes some of their teeth - dogs can live many years without losing them, so I'm thinking maybe dry teeth wouldn't be too problematic for dinos?

Brachycephalic dogs that live under constant human care .
The rules are a bit different when comparing domesticated and wild animals.

[Faras]

Brachycephalic dogs that live under constant human care .
The rules are a bit different when comparing domesticated and wild animals.

Saw that a few times on fully grown adult street dogs too   and some ~3-6 years old semi-wild dogs (humans usually only provide food, water and shelter).

[Flaffy]

Brachycephalic dogs that live under constant human care .
The rules are a bit different when comparing domesticated and wild animals.

Saw that a few times on fully grown adult street dogs too   and some ~3-6 years old semi-wild dogs (humans usually only provide food, water and shelter).

Another consideration is the type of lips mammals have in contrast to reptilian lips. Mammalian lips are fleshy and highly flexible. Given the extensive sagging skin of most brachycephalic dogs, I wouldn't consider the exposed teeth condition to be permanent, as the teeth would continue to receive moisture from periodic lip covering, and yes, drool.

Reptilian lips are far more rigid, and in the case of PNSO's dinosaurs, sculpt extra-oral tissue in a way that leaves the teeth permanently exposed to dry air.

Moreover, artificially bred, domesticated breeds like short faced dogs should not be the benchmark for terrestrial tetrapod integument.

[Faras]

Another consideration is the type of lips mammals have in contrast to reptilian lips. Mammalian lips are fleshy and highly flexible. Given the extensive sagging skin of most brachycephalic dogs, I wouldn't consider the exposed teeth condition to be permanent, as the teeth would continue to receive moisture from periodic lip covering, and yes, drool.

Reptilian lips are far more rigid, and in the case of PNSO's dinosaurs, sculpt extra-oral tissue in a way that leaves the teeth permanently exposed to dry air.

Moreover, artificially bred, domesticated breeds like short faced dogs should not be the benchmark for terrestrial tetrapod integument.

*scratches head* seems we are thinking about different kinds of dogs:

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Dinosaur teeth could probably receive moisture from drool, licking and water drinking (without lips they might have to put whole mouth in water). Well if teeth not evolved to be exposed can last several years in the air, then I'd imagine dinos losing teeth from biting before dryness destroys them. Also decaying of teeth is influenced by humidity, dead mammal teeth barely crack in regions with ~1000mm annual rainfall while with 300mm they need to be oiled weekly

[Flaffy]

Another consideration is the type of lips mammals have in contrast to reptilian lips. Mammalian lips are fleshy and highly flexible. Given the extensive sagging skin of most brachycephalic dogs, I wouldn't consider the exposed teeth condition to be permanent, as the teeth would continue to receive moisture from periodic lip covering, and yes, drool.

Reptilian lips are far more rigid, and in the case of PNSO's dinosaurs, sculpt extra-oral tissue in a way that leaves the teeth permanently exposed to dry air.

Moreover, artificially bred, domesticated breeds like short faced dogs should not be the benchmark for terrestrial tetrapod integument.

*scratches head* seems we are thinking about different kinds of dogs:

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Dinosaur teeth could probably receive moisture from drool, licking and water drinking (without lips they might have to put whole mouth in water). Well if teeth not evolved to be exposed can last several years in the air, then I'd imagine dinos losing teeth from biting before dryness destroys them. Also decaying of teeth is influenced by humidity, dead mammal teeth barely crack in regions with ~1000mm annual rainfall while with 300mm they need to be oiled weekly

Oh yeah definitely different. Dunno how healthy those teeth are for the animal though given how crooked and worn down they are.

Since sauropods also replaced teeth regularly, I wonder if exposed teeth isn't as much an issue on dinosaurs compared to other non-tooth-replacing tetrapods. Regardless, I lean more towards the conservative side of keeping lips on dinosaurs, as this is the default condition for terrestrial tetrapods in general. (I personally find concealed teeth more appealing too, so that might be a factor in my judgement)

[Faras]

Oh yeah definitely different. Dunno how healthy those teeth are for the animal though given how crooked and worn down they are.

Since sauropods also replaced teeth regularly, I wonder if exposed teeth isn't as much an issue on dinosaurs compared to other non-tooth-replacing tetrapods. Regardless, I lean more towards the conservative side of keeping lips on dinosaurs, as this is the default condition for terrestrial tetrapods in general. (I personally find concealed teeth more appealing too, so that might be a factor in my judgement)

Hmm judging from the look they can't even use those teeth Kinda weird how this malformation often (something like 1 in 10? from my experience) appear on dogs that breed without much human interference in China... selection against it isn't strong enough somehow.

Yeah honestly when the animal does some chewing and have upper jaw that can't cover lower jaw, it would need some sort of lips to keep food in mouth which is probably why all PNSO ceratopsians and hadrosaurids have lips. For those that don't chew, I guess either way works so it's down to personal preference

[Bokisaurus]

Ah, yes, a sauropod finally! Looks amazing and would be a good companion to the first version.
With all the PNSO drawings videos showing sauropod lately, I hope we finally start to see some soon😃

[Bokisaurus]

also just a reminder that PNSO made a Huanghetitan and Euhelopus (and a prosauropod Lufengosaurus) during their early days.

Yeah, they are so impressive and people forget that those are PNSO, and they even have some in their mini figures as well.

[Faras]

Translation of new Mamenchisaurus crowdfunding page (rip wallet )

Link: https://zhongchou.modian.com/item/115252.html?_ga=2.183594470.1989907482.1627378329-931696121.1624481727#projectDetail

2021 new reconstruction
PNSO early bird price: 149 RMB (limited to 199 pcs)
PNSO naturalist price: 169 RMB (unlimited)

PS:
Listing price for old Mamenchisaurus is 199 RMB (often going dropping to ~170 with discount)
Two models having same Chinese prices usually mean they'd same global prices. So new Mamenchisaurus will probably cost as much as old one - $59.99.

Judging from this pics, this new model has a beak on premaxilla and part of maxilla which is why some teeth are exposed. iirc there's a recent study suggesting such beaks for sauropods.

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This work is Zhao Chuang and Yang Yang's solution for Creative Activities in Children's Space

This work includes -

A set of sci-art figure:
Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 1:45 sci-art model x1
Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 1:45 sci-art model base x1 (which is the package box, pfffft)

A sci-art exhibition:

sci-art posters (printed on art paper) 18pcs:
Musculature of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 98 x 34cm 1pc
Size comparison of Mamenchisarus 98 x 34cm 1pc
Life image of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 98 x 34cm 1pc
Mamenchisarus fauna 98 x 34cm 1pc
Life image of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 45.5 x 30.5cm 4pcs
Partial details of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 17.8 x 12.7cm 10pcs
Painting device for young Mamenchisarus 1pc (?)

Drawing cards 7pcs (?):
Children's creative drawing cards 45.5 x 30.5cm 2pcs
Children's creative drawing cards 17.8 x 12.7cm 5pcs

Exhibition labels 27pcs:
Sci-artwork exhibition labels 12.7 x 8.9cm 19pcs
Children's creative work and group information exhibition labels 12.7 x 8.9cm 8pcs

Eight demo videos:
Creation story video of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 1:45 sci-art model 1 episode
Demo video of drawing a Mamenchisarus with Zhao chuang 7 episodes
PS: scan the QR code inside package to watch videos.

One volume of activity manual:
Activity 1: PNSO dinosaur museum Er-ma the Mamenchisarus sci-art exhibition, explore a sci-art exhibition
Activity 2: PNSO dinosaur museum Er-ma the Mamenchisarus sci-art exhibition, joint creation of a sci-art exhibition

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Having one's own dinosaur museum is an extradentary thing

Partial view of "PNSO dinosaur museum Er-ma the Mamenchisarus sci-art exhibition" arranged with this work
PS: frames are not provided in this work

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PNSO dinosaur museum
Solution for creative activities in children's space
(Or excuses for buying this model  )

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PNSO dinosaur museum solution for creative activities in children's space - Er-ma the Mamenchisarus sci-art exhibition is part of  "PNSO's new art education plan - create wounderful stories of earth with Zhao Chuang and Yang Yang" which mainly targets primary school students 6 - 12 years old. In this solution, we provide two sci-art activities, activity one: PNSO dinosaur museum Er-ma the Mamenchisarus sci-art exhibition - explore a sci-art exhibition; activity two: PNSO dinosaur museum Er-ma the Mamenchisarus sci-art exhibition - joint creation of a sci-art exhibition. Children participating the activities can explore and take part in procedures of an exhibition including planning, preparing, arranging and displaying. We combined science and art nicely with a special sci-art activity - exhibition. This gives children gain basic knowledge on classification in biology, and help them understand laws of evolution, differences between individuals and objective reasons for mutual distinctions, so they can do analogy following certain patterns, have basic understanding of role building and show their thoughts via artistic means - exhibition. PNSO dinosaur museum solution for creative activities in children's space - Er-ma the Mamenchisarus sci-art exhibition can develop scientific literacy, artistic accomplishment, logical literacy, skill accomplishment and expression literacy in 6 - 12 years old children, and in turn improve their  cognitive ability, thinking ability and practical ability.


PNSO dinosaur museum solution for creative activities in children's space - Er-ma the Mamenchisarus sci-art exhibition activity one: explore a sci-art exhibition

Let childrens gain basic knowledge of constituent elements and presentation modes of exhibition, understand how to create via sci-art methods and explore the whole process of holding an exhibition while experiencing the beauty of science and art via visiting PNSO dinosaur museum solution for creative activities in children's space - Er-ma the Mamenchisarus sci-art exhibition and watching authors' sci-art model creation story videos

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Figure and exhibition base
Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 1:45 sci-art model x1
Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 1:45 sci-art model base x1

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Model base: package box (seriously?)

Er-ma the Mamenchisarus
Model size: 48cm x 4.5cm x 14cm
Package size: 53.6cm x 16.6cm x 9cm
Figure matieral: eco PVC
Surface treatment: hand painted

Model design: sci-artist Zhao Chuang

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Head and neck details
Tail details

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Life image of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 45.5 x 30.5cm 4pcs
Folded once, packed in case.

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Partial details of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 17.8 x 12.7cm 10pcs
Packed in sealing bag

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Painting device for young Mamenchisarus 1pc (inside package box)

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Sci-artwork exhibition labels 12.7 x 8.9cm 19pcs
(Damn small words hurt my eyes "..." means I can't make out what's written there or it's covered)
(Some paragraphs are reposted later with images, so I'll put those in spoilers here as reading them next to pics is probably better )

Forewords

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Welcome to PNSO dinosaur museum solution for creative activities in children's space - Er-ma the Mamenchisarus sci-art exhibition. In this exhibition you will know a friend from 160 millions of years ago - Er-ma the Mamenchisarus, and walk into a mysterious era of giant dinosaurs. As one of the biggest terrestrial animals used to roam the earth, Er-ma the Mamenchisarus had appearance features, body structures and living conditions that for us are hard to imagine. In this exhibition, we present Er-ma the Mamenchisarus comprehensively in sci-art way. Let us explore the earth from millions of years ago via Er-ma's gigantic and mysterious body.

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Discovery of Mamenchisarus 01
Fossils of Mamenchisarus was discovered in Yibin city, Sichuan province, China in 1952. instead of scientists, workers from highway construction made the discovery (PS: this one is type species M. constructus). This wasn't a rare case, as people around the world build houses, highways, reservoirs, and even ... discovered fossils buried deep in the earth. ...

Who is Er-ma the Mamenchisarus? 02

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Er-ma is a Mamenchisarus hochuanensis. Fossils of M. hochuanensis was first unearthed in Hechuan distinct of Chongqing city. It's a specimen with nearly complete vertebra and missing some structures such as skull, shoulders and forelimbs which gave people deep understanding of this huge dinosaur. Therefore M. hochuanensis is the most famous Mamenchisarus species despite being discovered later than M. constructus. It caused a stir as the biggest Asian dinosaur at the time of discovery.

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How big is Er-ma the Mamenchisarus? 03

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Since the discovery of first Mamenchisarus specimen in Yibin, Sichuan, people unearthed many Mamenchisarus fossils in other regions of Sichuan province, Gansu province, Xinjiang province and Yunnan province. This makes Mamenchisarus the most varied and widest distributed sauropod taxon in China (PS: and most famous in China, which is probably why they chose to make a new one). Family of Er-ma includes M. constructus, M. hochuanensis, M. sinocanadorum, M. youngi, M. jingyanensis etc. Each species has different sizes, smallest M. youngi is about 15m in length, biggest M. sinocanadorum is about 35m in length, M. hochuanensis can count as big guy in the family, reaching 22m in total length with a 11m neck.

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Mamenchisarus sinocanadorum 04
M. sinocanadorum is the biggest of currently discovered Mamenchisarus species with body length reaching 35m and neck length of 15m. M. sinocanadorum fossils were discovered in Xinjiang, including skull and four neck vertebra. There were many dinosaurs where M. sinocanadorum lived, for example ... stegosaurids such as ...

Mamenchisarus jingyanensis 05
M. jingyanensis was discovered in Jingyan city of Sichuan province. Fossils discovered include skull and some other bones. M. jingyanensis lived in early Jurassic and had relatively primate body structures, some of which are a bit similar to Omeisaurus' from middle Jurassic. M. jingyanensis is 20-26m in length with ~12m neck. Because of mass ... need to eat 200kg plant to satisfy ...

Head of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 06
Er-ma the Mamenchisarus has tiny head compared to the massive body. It has short snout and a beak at frontal part of the mouth. Solid mouth can protect its mouth from ... when it pulls branches hard to get leaves. Nostrils of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus are located on the sides of the head, ... good sight, combined with ... find where delicious food is located ...

Skull of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 07

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Sauropods have two types of skulls: one is short and long, teeth in shape of nails only grow on first half of maxilla and mandible, nostrils are located at top of the head. Best representative of this skull type is Diplodocus, so this one is called Diplodocus type. The other one has short snout, tall skull, many spoon shaped teeth and nostrils on the upper sides of the skull. This is called Camarasaurus type as Camarasaurus is
the representative.
Because skull of early M. hochuanensis discoveries were fractured, people installed a Diplodocus head on Mamenchisarus body. Since the discovery of complete M. youngi skull we can be sure that Mamenchisarus have Camarasaurus type skull. Er-ma the Mamenchisarus has short, tall and light skull with many big holes.

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Teeth of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 08
Er-ma the Mamenchisarus have lots of teeth and long dentition. These teeth are spoon-shaped, very different from nail-shaped Diplodocus teeth. Tip of teeth tilt backwards with increasing inclination towards end of mouth. Teeth on maxilla are bigger than those on mandible and more loosely arranged than lower teeth. Er-ma has plenty of teeth but they could only be used for vertical cutting and almost don't support any grinding function. Because of its massive size, Er-ma the Mamenchisarus need to eat loads of plants daily so its teeth wear off fastDon't worry, worn teeth can be quickly replaced by new ones.

Packed in sealing bag

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PNSO dinosaur museum solution for creative activities in children's space - Er-ma the Mamenchisarus sci-art exhibition Creation story video of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus 1:45 sci-art model
Be the first to explore part of the exhibition, watch how Zhao Chuang and Yang Yang created Er-ma the Mamenchisarus

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Translations in the pic

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Forewords
Welcome to PNSO dinosaur museum solution for creative activities in children's space - Er-ma the Mamenchisarus sci-art exhibition. In this exhibition you will know a friend from 160 millions of years ago - Er-ma the Mamenchisarus, and walk into a mysterious era of giant dinosaurs. As one of the biggest terrestrial animals used to roam the earth, Er-ma the Mamenchisarus had appearance features, body structures and living conditions that for us are hard to imagine. In this exhibition, we present Er-ma the Mamenchisarus comprehensively in sci-art way. Let us explore the earth from millions of years ago via Er-ma's gigantic and mysterious body.

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Who is Er-ma the Mamenchisarus?
Er-ma is a Mamenchisarus hochuanensis. Fossils of M. hochuanensis was first unearthed in Hechuan distinct of Chongqing city. It's a specimen with nearly complete vertebra and missing some structures such as skull, shoulders and forelimbs which gave people deep understanding of this huge dinosaur. Therefore M. hochuanensis is the most famous Mamenchisarus species despite being discovered later than M. constructus. It caused a stir as the biggest Asian dinosaur at the time of discovery.

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PNSO size comparison of different Mamenchisarus species
M. hochuanensis
M. jingyanensis
M. sinocanadorum
M. anyuensis
M. youngi
M. constructus
M. guanyuanensis
Adult male human
Small car
Small helicopter

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How big is Er-ma the Mamenchisarus?
Since the discovery of first Mamenchisarus specimen in Yibin, Sichuan, people unearthed many Mamenchisarus fossils in other regions of Sichuan province, Gansu province, Xinjiang province and Yunnan province. This makes Mamenchisarus the most varied and widest distributed sauropod taxon in China (PS: and most famous in China, which is probably why they chose to make a new one). Family of Er-ma includes M. constructus, M. hochuanensis, M. sinocanadorum, M. youngi, M. jingyanensis etc. Each species has different sizes, smallest M. youngi is about 15m in length, biggest M. sinocanadorum is about 35m in length, M. hochuanensis can count as big guy in the family, reaching 22m in total length with a 11m neck.

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Skull of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus
Sauropods have two types of skulls: one is short and long, teeth in shape of nails only grow on first half of maxilla and mandible, nostrils are located at top of the head. Best representative of this skull type is Diplodocus, so this one is called Diplodocus type. The other one has short snout, tall skull, many spoon shaped teeth and nostrils on the upper sides of the skull. This is called Camarasaurus type as Camarasaurus is
the representative.
Because skull of early M. hochuanensis discoveries were fractured, people installed a Diplodocus head on Mamenchisarus body. Since the discovery of complete M. youngi skull we can be sure that Mamenchisarus have Camarasaurus type skull. Er-ma the Mamenchisarus has short, tall and light skull with many big holes.

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Tail of Er-ma the Mamenchisarus
Holotype of M. hochuanensis only preserved 35 tail vertebra, so study on its tail is based on a specimen unearthed in Huidong distinct, Zigong city, Sichuan Province. This specimen has 50 tail vertebra. In the past people believe 4 vertebra at tip of tail of this specimen merge into a special form which is different from lash like tail of Diplodocus and spindle tail club of Shunosaurus, but later studies suggest those 4 vertebra are not located at the end of tail - there are more vertebra behind these 4 that form a spindle club similar to Shunosaurus' Therefore, Er-ma the Mamenchisarus has big tail club at the tip.

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Rest are mostly duplicate info

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Exhibition manual - size: 21 x 14cm 48 pages

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Edit: nearly everyone in comment section of crowdfunding page is complaining about 1:45 scale and asking for 1:35, wonder what PNSO would do about this.

[Kapitaenosavrvs]

@Faras You Machine! :D What an amount of work. Thank you very much for the effort and translation and all that. These long Posts take a while.

[Faras]

@FarasThank you very much for the effort and translation and all that. These long Posts take a while.

My pleasure Think next time I might skip on exhibition for children part (smart marketing, parents tend to be more generous when toys are "good for children"), and maybe the scientific labels (ugh too small, plus they'd provide English version with far better translations in the box) since now we know what to expect if they release more museum line figures with similar additions 

[Flaffy]

First video review of the Kronosaurus.

Link: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV16f4y157S6?from=search&seid=4680041597956630735

The tail bend looks less dramatic than the promo pics suggest, and the back flippers seem longer than the front pair. Teeth are reconstructed in the outdated fashion still unfortunately. And the manatee-like paddle is an odd design choice.

[ceratopsian]

Thanks you @Faras for all your work!  And thanks for confirming that there is an English version of the labels - I was curious about this.  In general, PNSO provide good English translations.

@FarasThank you very much for the effort and translation and all that. These long Posts take a while.

My pleasure Think next time I might skip on exhibition for children part (smart marketing, parents tend to be more generous when toys are "good for children"), and maybe the scientific labels (ugh too small, plus they'd provide English version with far better translations in the box) since now we know what to expect if they release more museum line figures with similar additions 

[suspsy]

Yes, thanks for the translation. Must've been a pain.