Psittacosaurus (DinoWaurs Survival)

The more I go into the DinoWaurs Survival line, the more I love the diversity of it. It’s not just the giants and often repeated species like Tyrannosaurus, but everything from Permian synapsids to plesiosaurs. Another thing I like is that they give the smaller species a chance to shine, such as today’s subject: Psittacosaurus, a genus so common that it is used as a bio marker in stratigraphy. Let’s take a closer look.

Standing at 1.1” high and 2.5” long, it is the same size as the rest of the figure in this line, but suitably small for other lines, especially for the smallest species, Sinensis. The colour does appear to change between each model, as I have two copies of the figure, one tan and less wrinkled, the other chocolate brown, with the wrinkles more pronounced. The pose is docile, lounging on all fours, seemingly safe on the ancient plains of Mongolia.

On to accuracy! Owing to the diversity between the different species of Psittacosaurus, the head is usually the most telling of what species it is meant to be, or at least best represents. It isn’t a horrendous skull, best suiting smaller species up to mongoliensis, but it is so short and lacking with features that it almost seems paedomorphic. This continues with the neck and tail, which seems rather short, and the body a bit podgy. The front limbs seem correctly short, though not short enough in my opinion, while the digits seem too short and one too few. While the addition of filaments on the tail is nice, these are rather lack lustre.

Ultimately, if you want an accurate incarnation of Psittacosaurus, this isn’t the answer, unless you want a decent facsimile of a juvenile. If you want it, eBay is your best bet, or a long hard hunt through blind bags. Good luck!