Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy
There’s been a trend in Mattel’s Jurassic World line to not only include the various species from the films, but also ones that have only appeared in the books. This explains the inclusion of the obscure Callovosaurus, a dryosaurid known from fragmentary remains found in England.
Review and photographs by Loon, edited by Suspsy.
The first fossils of the Late Triassic sauropodomorph Mussaurus were discovered in the ’70s by an expedition led by the late Jose Bonaparte in Argentina. These consisted of eggs and juveniles small enough to fit in your hands; hence the name, meaning “Mouse Lizard.” However, this name isn’t particularly fitting given that in 2013, the first adult specimens of Mussaurus were described and estimated to reach up 20 feet in length.
The Jurassic and Cretaceous periods featured tetrapod lineages exploring minor evolutionary variations on a handful of themes. But during the Triassic period, tetrapods evolved into all kinds of strange forms, some of which looked like slightly wrong versions of later animals. One of these is Shringasaurus, which has some features of a sauropod, a ceratopsian, and an iguana, without being particularly closely related to any of them.
Kaiyodo has to be one of the best prehistoric animal lines out there. At a small size, they gave us a wide spread of species from across earth history in glorious detail and beautiful paint schemes. Today’s review shows just this: Pterygotus, a Silurian Sea Scorpion, one of the largest arthropods ever known, reaching a body length of 5.7 ft.
Review and photos by Patrx, edited by Suspsy
Deinonychus is kind of a big deal. Its inescapably bird-like skeleton is part of what led paleontologists of the early 1970s to re-examine old ideas about the origin of birds, and the nature of dinosaurs as a group.
Review and photographs by Charles Peckham, edited by Suspsy
Before we get into talking about this toy, I think it’s worthwhile to discuss the history of the genus that we’re calling Anatosaurus, especially since this is the first review of a toy labeled with that genus on this website.
Ancient fish, with the exception of sharks, are a rarity in toy lines. Perhaps most believe they are all small and aren’t noteworthy. This is far from the case, as many ancient fish were large and bizarre enough to contend with dinosaurs. Fortunately, our own Jetoar has been able to prove they are worth making with figures like this: Hyneria, a Devonian Sarcopterygian from Pennsylvania, a 12 ft fish that would have terrorised all creatures smaller than it.
Goodness, but it’s been quite awhile since the last time I did a Recur review. The company still appears to be struggling to break out of the Asian market, as their products are not available at any of the most popular online stores like EverythingDinosaur or MiniZoo or Dan’s Dinosaurs.
In spite of the discoveries since Starlux closed down, I feel that the old line could be fantastically varied in comparison to some modern line, producing vast numbers of species, not just familiar dinosaurs, but those that existed alongside them. Here, for example, the giant amphibian Mastodonsaurus from the late Triassic, which reached lengths of 13-20 feet long.
Review and photos by bermudasaurus 303, edited by Suspsy
We currently live in a perfect time for every dinosaur enthusiast, with figures all over the market, from old companies like Safari Ltd. and Schleich, to newer companies like Eofauna, or the subject of this review, the Wildpast Protoceratops.
Review and photos by Loon, edited by Suspsy
Concavenator was an Early Cretaceous carcharodontosaur hailing from Spain. The beautifully preserved holotype fossil possessed a set of extended vertebrae that formed a triangular ridge in front of the hips. This bizarre feature has caused the species’ star to grow quickly, causing it to receive several toys and even cameo in the second Jurassic World movie.
