Leyster's Collection (updated 29/03/24)

[Leyster]

@Concavenator yeah, the animal would've been like six meters long.

[Halichoeres]

I got a similar number based on limb elements. Were you using the skull?

[Leyster]

@Halichoeres yes, I was using the measurements of the skull from Theropod Database



Binomial name: Protoceratops andrewsi Granger & Gregory, 1923
Classification: Dinosauria->Ornithischia->Genasauria->Neornithischia->Marginocephalia->Ceratopsia->Neoceratopsia->Coronosauria->Protoceratopsidae
Time: Santonian- Campanian? Might even be Maastrichtian* (late Cretaceous)
Formation: Djadochta Formation (present day China)
Manifacturer and date of release: Kaiyodo, 2004
Sculptor: Seishi Yamamoto
Scale: 1:28

*recent studies suggest that the entire Nemegt, Barun Goyot and Djadochta might be more or less contemporaneous habitats instead of diachronous formations as preoviously suggested.

This is still the nicest looking Protoceratops around, if you ask me. Amazing paintjob for such a small figure.

[Leyster]

Binomial name: Livyatan melvillei Lambert et al, 2010
Classification: Placentalia->Boreoeutheria->Laurasiatheria->Scrotifera->Ferungulata->Paneuungulata->Ungulata->Artiodactyla->->Artiofabula->Cetruminantia->Whippomorpha->Cetacea->Odontoceti->Physeteroidea
Time: Tortonian-Zanclean (Late Miocene-Early Pliocene)
Formation: Pisco Formation (present-day Peru)
Manifacturer and date of release: PNSO, 2022
Sculptor: somebody in the atelier of Zhao Chuang
Scale: 1:42 based on the skull*

*there are some discussion on the exact shape of Livyatan, but based on other raptorial physeteroids it seems reasonable for it being a shorter and stockier animal than the one depicted by PNSO

[Leyster]

Binomial name: Yangchuanosaurus shangyouensis, Dong et al. 1978
Classification: Dinosauria->Saurischia->Theropoda->Neotheropoda->Averostra->Tetanurae->Carnosauria->Allosauroidea->Metriacanthosauridae
Time: Oxfordian (Late Jurassic)
Formation: Shangshaximiao/Upper Shaximiao Formation (present day China)
Manifacturer and date of release: PNSO, 2023
Sculptor: somebody in the atelier of Zhao Chuang
Scale: 1:32 for CV 00215.

[Leyster]

Binomial name: Yangchuanosaurus shangyouensis, Dong et al. 1978
Classification: Dinosauria->Saurischia->Theropoda->Neotheropoda->Averostra->Tetanurae->Carnosauria->Allosauroidea->Metriacanthosauridae
Time: Oxfordian (Late Jurassic)
Formation: Shangshaximiao/Upper Shaximiao Formation (present day China)
Manifacturer and date of release: PNSO, 2023
Sculptor: somebody in the atelier of Zhao Chuang
Scale: 1:31 for CV 00216.

[Leyster]

The two were split for indicization purpose. And here is my review of both of them.

[Leyster]

Binomial name: Eryops megacephalus Cope, 1877
Classification: Temnospondyli->Eutemnospondyli->Rhachitomi->Eryopiformes->Euskelia->Eryopoidea->Eryopidae
Time: Gzhelian-Kungurian (Late Carboniferous-Early Permian)
Formation:Admiral Formation,  El Cobre Canyon Formation (present-day USA)
Manifacturer and date of release: Kaiyodo, 2004
Sculptor: Naka Sugaya
Scale: 1:35

[Halichoeres]

This is the variant I prefer, too, although the pink one looks pretty good also. Kaiyodo's amphibians are hard to beat.

[Leyster]

@Halichoeres it was an hard choice, on one way, the pink one was more amphibian-like to me. On the other, I'm not sure modern amphibians are good analogues to such a removed relative, and I know some temnospondyls have a more keratinized skin than modern Caudates. Was the skin of Eryops (I know there are fossils of it) ever reviewed in recent years?



Binomial name: Yutyrannus huali Xu et al., 2012
Classification: Dinosauria->Theropoda->Neotheropoda->Averostra->Tetanurae->Coelurosauria->Tyrannoraptora->Tyrannosauroidea->Proceratosauridae?
Time: Aptian (early Cretaceous)
Formation: unknown member of the Yixian Formation (present day China)
Manifacturer and date of release: Creative Beast Studio, 2023
Sculptor: Jacob Baardse and David Silva
Scale: 1:18 for the largest specimen

And my review of this model.

[Concavenator]

Naish & Cau (2022) placed Yutyrannus outside of Proceratosauridae. Is that why you put a question mark at the end?

Also, it's unusual to see a BotM figure here! Do you plan on getting any more (or their Cyberzoic counterparts, for that matter)?

I still have to get this Yutyrannus before I worry of it becoming discontinued, because (ignoring it's articulated) it's the best depiction of the animal in figure form in my opinion, and it's been one of my absolute favorite dinosaurs since its description. And I really do not like the colors on the Cyberzoic one... 

[Leyster]

@Concavenator yes, the question mark is because of its uncertain position.

I agree that ATM the Yutyrannus is the best depiction of this animal in figure form (I like the Safari, too, but I haven't looked it too closely so I'm uncertain about its proportions, and anyway I don't like the abrupt transition between scaly head and feathery body).

About more BOTM... we'll see In the meantime...



Binomial name: Ectenosaurus clidastoides (Merriam, 1894)
Classification: Squamata->Mosasauroidea->Mosasauridae->Russellosaurina?*->Plioplatecarpinae
Time: Santonian (Late Cretaceous)
Formation: unable to find information about the exact location (anyway presentday USA)
Manifacturer and date of release: somebody in the atelier of Zhao Chuang
Sculptor: PNSO, 2019
Scale: 1:45

*as said with Tylosaurus, there are uncertainties about the Mosasaurs phylogeny.

[Leyster]

Binomial name: Smilodon sp. Lund, 1842*
Classification: Placentalia->Boreoeutheria->Laurasiatheria->Scrotifera->Ferungulata->Ferae->Carnivora->Feliformia->Felidae->Machairodontinae->Smilodontini
Time: Pleistocene
Formation: more or less all of present-day Americas south of Canada.
Manifacturer and date of release: Kaiyodo, 2001
Sculptor: Shinobu Matsumura
Scale: 1:33 for S. populator

*Not entirely sure of the model proportions and thus of the id. Also damn, comparing it with the more recent Wild Rush Shinobu Matsumura improved greatly the sculpture of felines!

[Leyster]

Binomial name: Gorgosaurus libratus Lambe, 1914
Classification:Dinosauria->Theropoda->Neotheropoda->Averostra->Tetanurae->Coelurosauria->Tyrannoraptora->Tyrannosauroidea->Tyrannosauridae->Albertosaurinae
Time: Campanian (Late Cretaceous)
Formation: Dinosaur Park Formation, Oldman Formation, Belly River Group (present-day Canada); Judith River Group (present-day USA)
Manifacturer and date of release: Vivid Toys, 2013
Sculptor: ?
Scale: 1:30 based on CMN 2120

[Concavenator]

The WWD Gorgosaurus definitely had a striking color scheme.

BTW L @Leyster do you know why several modern spinosaurid depictions have such short tongues? Like Dino Hazard's Irritator, Mesozoic Life's Spinosaurus, PNSO's Suchomimus, 2023 Spinosaurus (not sure if the 2020 one too) and Siamosaurus.

I have tried searching in the literature, but I can't find anything on the matter... It doesn't seem to be a random design choice.

[Halichoeres]

Is it specific to spinosaurids? I feel like papers like this one have led a lot of people to give shorter tongues to theropods generally.

[Leyster]

@Concavenator as far as I remember it's what @Halichoeres said.


Binomial name: Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis Azuma & Currie, 2000
Classification: Dinosauria->Theropoda->Neotheropoda->Averostra->Tetanurae->Coelurosauria*->Megaraptora
Time: Barremian? Aptian? (Early Cretaceous)
Formation: Kitadani Formation (present-day Japan)
Manifacturer and date of release: Qualia, 2023
Sculptor: ?
Scale: 1:33

*This looks like the most likely placement nowadays. It's still doubtful if they were Tyrannosauroidea or some other random basal Coelurosaur branch.

I reeeeally dislike the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum's reddish, Sinraptor-skulled restoration and onestly I'm a bit sick of seeing it everywhere Fukuiraptor pops up... really, there must be more Fukuiraptor figures than any other Megaraptoran combined together, and most of them are lookalikes of this restoration... but alas, it didn't feel right leving it out of my order of Qualias. Still it's a very well-made miniature and another genus I can tick off, at least.

[Concavenator]

@Halichoeres L @Leyster Thank you both.

Is it specific to spinosaurids? I feel like papers like this one have led a lot of people to give shorter tongues to theropods generally.

Indeed, according to that paper you referenced, it would not be just spinosaurids, but I've mostly noticed it in several spinosaurid figures. Other than those figures, I rarely see theropod figures with such short tongues. A few ones that I've seen have rather short tongues are Safari's Utahraptor and the BotM tyrannosaurs, but other than those, I have taken a look at several other random modern theropod figures (like PNSO's Meraxes, Gorgosaurus, Y. "magnus", Safari's Daspletosaurus, Qianzhousaurus, HLG's Megaraptor, etc) and they don't have particularly short tongues. I guess it is a detail that gets overlooked.

Yeah, you would have to tell me that figure is meant to represent a megaraptoran for me to believe it.  As you mention, it still appears to be well-done, especially for its size.

Megaraptorans are an odd group when it comes to figures because not only have they received quite a bit of attention for how poorly known they are, but the member with the (relatively) best remains (Megaraptor) is relatively overlooked compared to other relatives, like Australovenator, or the more basal Fukuiraptor. FWIW, the only good Megaraptor figure is HLG's (not that we need any more, either).

[Leyster]

@Concavenator about the apparent limitation to spinosaurids, it might be a case of meme, it simply catched up in spinosaurids and everyone copied it since then, while it still has to catch up in other clades (however it's begining to, as in the BOTM Tyrannosaurs you mentioned).



Binomial name: Australian brachaucheninae cf. Kronosaurus queenslandicus* Longman, 1924
Classification: Sauropterygia->Eosauropterygia->Pistosauria->Plesiosauria->Pliosauroidea-> Pliosauridae->Thalassophonea->Brachaucheninae
Time: Aptian-Albian (early Creteceous)
Formation:  Toolebuc Formation (present day USA)
Manifacturer and date of release: PNSO, 2021
Sculptor: somebody in the atelier of Zhao Chuang
Scale: 1:33

*until the mess around Kronosaurus' name is cleared, it seems pretty sure there was a big brachaucheninae in that formation, whichever name you give it.

A figure I think displays poorly with the provided stands, and looks better when inclined to one side as if steering, or with its tail raised as if diving.

[Bread]

I always enjoy reading your assessments Leyster!

A lot of people avoided this Kronosaurus because of its posture and tail. Would you argue this is the best Kronosaurus on the market, or are there way better interpretations out there?