Review and images by bmathison1972; edited by Suspsy
Callichimaera perlexa is an enigmatic crustacean from the Middle Cretaceous. Fossils have been found in the Churuvita Group in Colombia and the Frontier Formation in the United States. C. perlexa evolved during the Cretaceous Crab Revolution, which was a major diversification of ‘true’ crabs during the Cretaceous.
Review and photos by Faelrin, edited by Suspsy
In 1965, during part of a Polish-Mongolian expedition, a pair of giant enigmatic arms were discovered. The owner of these arms was then deemed Deinocheirus, meaning “terrible hand.” It wouldn’t be until 2014, nearly 50 years after the “terrible hand” was initially discovered when new, more complete material was described, showing the species was stranger than what had previously been envisioned for it.
Review and photographs by Ikessauro, edited by Suspsy
Oh boy, I can’t believe I’m writing a review of the legendary Toyway Ornithocheirus for the Dinosaur Toy Blog. It was thanks to the DTF that I first became aware of this figure some 13 years ago.
Before we begin the review, I would like to thank Happy Hen Toys for sending this figure along as a review sample. Happy Hen Toys is a U.S. distributor of animal figures, including some that are otherwise hard to come by in the United States. I highly recommend that you check out their selection.
My introduction to Estemmenosuchus came from the 1994 episode of Paleo-World titled “Tail of a Sail”, which was about Dimetrodon and other synapsids, their evolution, and how they relate to mammals. Estemmenosuchus was only featured briefly via images of its skull and a couple pieces of paleoart but that was enough for me to become enamored with this animal and to help broaden my appreciation for prehistoric life beyond the Mesozoic.
Review and photos by Kikimalou, edited by Suspsy
An emblematic figure of prehistory, almost as much as the Tyrannosaurus rex, the woolly mammoth has survived many extinctions in the toy world. The first versions are probably those cast in lead by CBG Mignot and in composition by Chilau.
My sincere thanks to Happy Hen Toys for furnishing this review sample.
Several other companies have made Mapusaurus figures before, including Bandai, Playmates, and CollectA. So far, however, we’ve only reviewed CollectA’s four (!!!) versions on the blog. A brief re-introduction might be useful, then: Mapusaurus hails from the Huincul Formation (English approximation: “ween-COOL”) in Argentina, just like its recently described relative Meraxes and the famous Argentinosaurus.
Gallimimus from the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia is the largest known ornithomimid at around 6 metres/20 feet in length and 450 kg/1000 lbs in mass. It is also arguably the most famous thanks to its appearances in the Jurassic Park franchise.
Hello, who’s this?
Takara Tomy is a prolific toy manufacturer which has produced a number of dinosaur-related toys in the past. Most of these toys have been released under the ANIA (sometimes “Animal Adventure”) line, but some have received more unique lines of their own.
I first learned about Stygimoloch back in the late 1980s when I came across a painting of it by the late paleoartist Ely Kish in a dinosaur book, and I distinctly recall being rather excited at the prospect of another North American pachycephalosaur besides Pachycephalosaurus itself and Stegoceras.
It has been 27 years since the release of the undisputed best figure of Ouranosaurus ever made, the Battat Ouranosaurus, produced in 1996 for the Boston Museum of Science. And although other Ouranosaurus figures have come along over those 27 years none of them came close to matching the craftsmanship, accuracy, and paintwork of that figure.
Sauropods are typically famous for their immense size and shape; genera like Mamenchisaurus, Brachiosaurus, and Patagotitan were among the very longest, most massive animals ever to walk the Earth. Every rule has its exception, though. One group of sauropods, the dicraeosaurids, have garnered attention from scientists for being almost the exact opposite of their more famous relatives.
Before we start this review I would like to inform all of you loyal reader that this will be my last review for a while. Simply put: I am taking a break. This review was written and finished before events happened in my life that changed everything.
Mattel isn’t the only company producing Jurassic World toys and for this review we’re changing things up and introducing Captivz by ToyMonster to the blog. The Jurassic World Captivz are blind bag style toys originally released in Australia that started showing up in the US a couple years ago, with their Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous set.
During the Late Cretaceous, the region currently known as the harsh Gobi Desert of Mongolia was a rich expanse of floodplains, mudflats, and shallow lakes. Here one would find abundant titanosaurs, hadrosaurs, ankylosaurs, and pachycephalosaurs, although no known ceratopsids to date.
