Pterygotus was a member of the order Eurypterida, often known as sea scorpions. More than a dozen species have been described, with the very largest, P. grandidentatus, being around 1.75 metres long and the smallest, P. kopaninensis, only growing to around 50 cm long. They were a very successful lot, lasting from the Middle Silurian to the Late Devonian and...
I wasn’t originally planning to review back-to-back Titanosaurus toys but then late last week I caught wind of this large plush “pillow buddy” and knew I had to track it down for my youngest as a Christmas present. This also gave me the fun opportunity to review another Titanosaurus immediately following my last one. Since we discussed the actual Titanosaurus,...
The Canadian Burgess Shale is one of the most important fossil deposits in the world due to the exceptional preservation of its fossils. Located within the Stephen Formation in British Columbia, it was deposited during the middle of the Cambrian period (or the Miaolingian, about 508 Ma). It was once home to a number of strange creatures including many types...
The Cambrian was the very first period of the Paleozoic Era, beginning a little over 538 million years ago and lasting until the start of the Ordovician period 486 million years ago. And during those nearly 52 million years, all manner of weird and wonderful life evolved in the seas. Scores of trilobites, Microdictyon, and Wiwaxia crept along the sandy beds. Swimming above...
I, Emperor Dinobot, am also fond of plush prehistoric fauna. When I read that Little Softs were offering a quirky, newly described Scottish rhamphorhynchid, I had to jump into it. It is very bittersweet for me to be writing this review, though, and I will explain so later. My dear Dearc came in a plastic baggie to avoid dirt (I...
It’s rare for me to audibly gasp from surprise, but that was exactly how I reacted in 2019 when I rounded the corner to the Chicago Field Museum’s “Evolving Planet” exhibit, and came face-to-face with the colossus now standing guard outside the exhibit entrance. When preparation began for installing Maximo the Patagotitan in the Field’s main hall, while Sue the...
In life, Wiwaxia was covered in spines and scales that would have made it about as cuddly as a sea urchin, an animal it resembled but was not related to. Good thing then that Paleozoic Pals made this plush Wiwaxia to snuggle with instead. Wiwaxia lived during the early and middle Cambrian which is famously known as the period in...
This solidly-built stuffed toy represents The Field Museum’s star dinosaur attraction at its latest, biggest and best. The ubiquitous dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex has seen many incarnations and reconstructions in the two centuries since its discovery by human scientists – and plenty of merchandise has been produced to match. One particular specimen – the famous Sue of the Chicago Field Museum...
Dilophosaur fans of multiple varieties get the best deal with this pair of charmingly well-constructed plush predators of semi-anonymous origin. The realm of gray-market (dinosaur) toys is full of, well, gray areas to be cautiously navigated; in an online age it’s especially easy to get lost in a malaise of sketchy knockoffs and bootleg toys from unknown sources. Amidst the...
Paleozoic Pals is a line of plush toys commissioned by the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) and sold at the Museum of the Earth, located in Ithaca, New York. Since its launch in 2015 the line has done quite well, and now has 13 distinct plush toys to its name (as well as slippers, a body pillow, and other merchandise) with...
A Swiss company which produces outdoor clothing and equipment named itself „Mammut“ after the iconic Mammoth, probably because the prehistoric giants were as well equipped against cold and rainy weather conditions as you are supposed to be if you wear a Mammut product. The company even leads a black mammoth in their logo. What an appealing marketing idea! You can...
However you look at it, Opabinia was a remarkably odd-looking creature – so it’s a natural choice for a big cuddly plush toy, right? I’m guessing most people wouldn’t look at a five-eyed worm with a snaggle-toothed trunk and react with, “Aw, how cute!” Granted, most people aren’t paleontology nerds, either, so your mileage may vary in...
