Inostrancevia (Jurassic World: Rebirth, Strike Attack by Mattel)

I first heard of Inostrancevia in a 1994 episode of Paleo-World titled “Tale of the Sail”, about the synapsids that dominated the Permian period. It has been one of my favorite prehistoric animal names ever since, with a pleasant mouthfeel even if the name sounds cooler than it is. The name means “after Inostrantsev”, in honor of the geologist Alexander Inostrantsev who was the teacher of Vladimir Prokhorovich Amalitskii, the man who described Inostrancevia as well as Scutosaurus. Inostrancevia lived during the Late Permian in what is now western Russia and southern Africa. It is the largest known gorgonopsian, a clade of saber-toothed therapsids. It lived alongside Scutosaurus and the two are commonly depicted together.

Perhaps it’s because Inostrancevia was a contemporary of Scutosaurus that Mattel decided to include one in their Jurassic World toy line. It could also be that Mattel is making a nod towards Kenner with this toy, since Kenner made a Lycaenops (another gorgonopsian) for their Jurassic Park line. Whatever the reason, we’re thankful for it! This Inostrancevia and Safari’s are the only two toys of the genus.

Mattel’s Inostrancevia is part of their Strike Attack line, which means it is a smaller figure but larger than the Frenzy Pack toys and includes a biting action feature. Pushing down on the tail opens the jaws. The legs can swing forward and back but the range of motion is limited, and the joints are rather stiff.

The toy measures 7.25” (18.42 cm) long and stands 2.75” (6.99 cm) tall at the shoulder. The largest Inostrancevia specimens measure 9.8’ (3 meters) with the skulls alone measuring 20” (50 cm). But there’s a skull from I. latifrons that measures 24” (60 cm) suggesting a body length of 11’ (3.5 meters). This puts the toy in the 1/16-1/18 scale range. Using head length we get a scale of 1/10-1/12, illustrating Mattel’s often wonky proportions.

The toy presents Inostrancevia as a lipless, hairless animal, and while we don’t know if Inostrancevia had either, most modern reconstructions give it both. I can understand omitting them, however, as applying lips to this cheap kid’s toy while leaving the saber-teeth exposed would be difficult. And there’s no denying that the toy looks cool as-is.

The teeth are rubbery, soft, and pliable but look sharp and fierce with faint grooves etched into the largest teeth. They seem somewhat delicate though, so I foresee a day when a specimen of this toy with the teeth intact is a high demand commodity. I didn’t dig too deep into the accuracy of the dentition, but the toy does include post-canine teeth on the lower jaw that shouldn’t be there.

The head shape is largely accurate, but it looks like Mattel forgot that this isn’t a dinosaur and shrink-wrapped the head to show the outline of its antorbital fenestrae, which shouldn’t be there. The bare skin is detailed with leathery cracks and wrinkles which look appropriate in leu of hair. Deep battle wounds are cut into the legs. Bird-like tarsal scutes run down the fingers and toes. Oops! Again, this is not a dinosaur. The figure possesses muscular shoulders, a deep chest, sunken belly, and short tail. The limbs are all bent, presenting the figure in a low, stalking pose. It should have five digits per limb but only has four.

The figure is beige colored with a dark brown and orange head and neck. A brown stripe runs from the canines, across the eye, along the flanks, and then terminates over the hips. Brown stripes also run down the lower jaw and along the throat. It’s a nice color combination that seems appropriate for an animal living in arid environments but with no paint apps on the limbs or tail it feels incomplete, as usual. The eyes are yellow with dark brown pupils, the teeth are white, and the inside of the mouth is pink.

Under scrutiny we find a lot of inaccuracies with Mattel’s Inostrancevia, and there’s certainly more that I didn’t mention but I try not to judge Mattel toys too harshly. What’s important is that this toy clearly represents Inotrancevia and looks pretty rad as well. And with so few gorgonopsians available it is a very welcome addition to the line. Hopefully this cool critter will also help introduce kids to prehistoric fauna they may not have otherwise heard of. This is one of Mattel’s best and most interesting small sized toys of the year. The Mattel Inostrancevia is currently available wherever Jurassic World toys are sold and retails for about $12.