After the woolly mammoth and Smilodon, the third most famous prehistoric mammal is arguably Megatherium americanum, the original giant ground sloth of Pleistocene South America. Discovered in 1787 and named in 1796 by none other than George Cuvier himself, Megatherium was of the most popular museum draws during the 19th century–until it was muscled out of the spotlight by dinosaurs....
This year, the Jurassic World Reimagined series will include the Estemmenosuchus & Claire Dearing with Gyrosphere Escape Pack. Neon green camo is the way to go when dealing with life or death situations. The Estemmenosuchus is a rather impressive beast. The colour scheme is clearly a homage to the unreleased Kenner version. And here is the Reimagined Quetzalcoatlus. The poseable...
In some past reviews, as well as on the Dinosaur Toy Forum, I have confessed that I find carcharodontosaurids somewhat dull, at least when compared to other large theropods, such as tyrannosaurids, spinosaurids, or abelisaurids. Carcharodontosaurids are mostly basic in form and virtually identical to each other, to my eye. As I learn more about them though, I’m coming to...
Released back in 2024 is this interesting little Danger Pack set consisting of Eoraptor and Stegouros for the Mattel Jurassic World Epic Evolution line. Both dinosaurs were from what is now South America, with Eoraptor hailing from the Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina, and Stegouros from the Dorotea Formation of Chile. However they couldn’t have been more far apart, as Eoraptor...
Edaphosaurus was a sail-backed genus of synapsid that lived during the late Carboniferous and early Permian periods in what is now the famous Texas Red Beds in North America. Remains have also been found in West Virginia, Ohio, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Fragmentary remains found in Germany have also been attributed to Edaphosaurus. The Texas Red Beds are also known...
Boundless World is a relatively new company that’s worth paying attention to. They’ve already released an impressive Tarbosaurus. Now check out their Shantungosaurus. Looks like it’ll give the Haolonggood one a run for its money....
The megalosaur Torvosaurus and the pliosaur Liopleurodon are joining the Jurassic World Gigantic Thrashers line. But while they are popular animals and look fun to play with, they also look downright bizarre due to Mattel’s creative liberties. The Torvosaurus‘ tail looks like that of an eel’s turned sideways. And here’s Liopleurodon. Those are very nice colours, but what’s up with...
This is definitely a good year for the woolly rhinoceros Coelodonta. First there was the reveal of the Haolonggood toy last month. And now here’s the painted prototype for the upcoming 1/18 scale action figure by Creative Beast Studio. What a beauty indeed! And here’s the equally beautiful package art by Julia Soares D’Oliveira....
”Tiantaiosaurus/Tiantaisaurus sifengensis“ is the informal name of an undescribed Early Cretaceous therizinosaur from the Laijia or Liangtoutang Formation of Zhejiang Province, China. Discovered in 2005, the specimen is said to consist of an ischium, an incomplete pubis and ilium, a femur, a tibia, a talus, and a good many vertebrae from across the body. Not a large amount of fossil material, but it’s actually pretty much par for...
Haolonggood’s second reveal this month is a pair of Sarcosuchuses with chomping jaws. The green and brown colour schemes are very realistic and similar to those of modern crocodilians....
If you grew up between the 1960’s and 1990’s you no doubt had at least a few Diener brand erasers in your toybox or backpack. They were ubiquitous through the latter half of the 20th century. Launching in 1955 with Disney themed pencil-top erasers, Diener Industries would go on to produce novelty erasers representing all manner of animals, mythological creatures,...
I’ll be honest, I initially planned to skip this figure back when it was originally announced in 2020 due to the animal in question’s fragmentary nature currently consisting of hind limb material for the most part. That’s despite the beautiful prototype it got later on, which was certainly tempting. Enter the “dragon prince” Khankhuuluu mongoliensis described just last year, which...
