Favorite’s take on the classic pre-dinosaur land predator offers a more modern image of the synapsid than most, for its time.
Dimetrodon is one of the quintessential figures in prehistoric life iconography. The sail-backed, quadrupedal carnivore is often mistaken for a dinosaur, but is in fact considered more ancestral to mammals.
The largest bird today is the Ostrich, and this is owing to it’s flightlessness. The recent past, however, provided greater flightless giants. One such came from New Zealand, in the form of the South island Giant Moa, Diornis robustus, with females able to reach up to 11ft 10″ if they stretched up, being 6ft 6″ on a horizontal plane.
Although this DK-inspired poseable figure is alright as a generic theropod toy, it’s a pretty weak depiction of the iconic genus it’s meant to represent.
Dinosaur toy history is a relatively new endeavor of study, be it researching the origins of the hobby in the famous Marx line, or trying to catalogue the onslaught of brand-new models from PNSO.
Although their figures are often confused with the famous Marx line of dinosaurs, Sinclair’s Ankylosaurs has its own share of unique features.
When we think of “retro” dinosaur depictions, many probably think first of tall theropods dragging their tails or the massive sloped shapes of lumbering sauropods.
The order sirenia has long been fascinating to me, the main herbivorous marine mammals that have survived throughout the Cenozoic. The one that interests me the most (even inspiring my ATB name Sirenia) is, unfortunately, no longer living, the Steller’s Sea Cow. These giant sirenians lived around Commander Island in the Bering sea, being hunted by locals.
Chialingosaurus kuani was a stegosaurian that lived 160 million years ago in China. It is one of the oldest species of stegosaurs known and would have resembled Kentrosaurus in appearance. You would be forgiven for having never heard of it, not many have.
In a last bid for survival, the smaller whale wrenches itself free from Requena’s grip and darts away, its mangled tail gushing thick clouds of red with each stroke. Requena immediately gives chase and in no time is closing in on her waning victim.
Kronosaurus could easily be called the comeback kid, having the distinction of being one of the first marine reptiles to ever be featured in toy form way back in the Marx sets only to be lost to obscurity for many decades after, then just recently came roaring back into the spotlight.Having fought (or swam) its way back into the top ten, this impressive giant surely is determined to edge out the mighty Mosasaurus.
One of my all-time favorite pieces of paleo-art is Douglas Henderson’s 1989 painting Tarbosaurus and Saurolophus which depicts a red-headed Tarbosaurus pursuing a herd of Saurolophus crossing a river. Like all the best paleo-art this piece serves as a time machine and as a kid I would stare at and study it.
Human greed is a catastrophic thing for the world. It results in pollution and destruction of the environment, and the loss of many, many amazing creatures. One such example is the Caribbean Monk Seal, a docile creature that lived around the Caribbean islands.
Tyrannosaurus rex is like that actor typecast and boxed in a very particular role. Sometimes you become so good or famous for that image or role that it becomes hard for your adoring fans to picture you in anything else. In the case of Mr.
Ah, another Dimetrodon! This Permian synapsid belongs to the group of usual suspects in the competition for the most popular prehistoric animal. It is well-known, highly popular and long ago iconic. So nothing has to be written about the species itself here anymore, I guess.
