Rauisuchus is a genus of pseudosuchian that lived in the late Triassic of what is now Brazil. It is also the latest pseudosuchian and Triassic taxa offered from Mattel, who has miraculously produced more of these animals than any other toy company I can think of. Moreso than their mega theropods, gigantic sauropods, or even many of the offerings in the Hammond Collection, these obscure Triassic animals are what excite me the most. The Triassic is one of my favorite geologic periods and I never would have thought that a line of Jurassic World action figures would be at the forefront of popularizing this generally overlooked period and its unique fauna.
Rauisuchus is known from the Santa Maria Formation, which is the same formation that Prestosuchus is known from. Mattel made a Prestosuchus too but with its gnarly oversized head and eel tail I had no interest in acquiring it. This Rauisuchus is significantly better and more inline with Mattel’s better Triassic offerings, such as the Poposaurus and Herrerasaurus.
Rauisuchus is estimated to have reached a length of 13’ (5 meters) and a height of 35” (90 cm) at the hips. The Mattel toy measures about 8” long and stands 3” tall at the hips. This puts it at about 1/19 in scale. There’s no action feature with this toy, just some basic articulation. The jaw can open and close, the head and neck can lift up and down and rotate around, and the legs can rotate around. The legs are soft and pliable which means they warp easy, mine cannot stand with all four feet flat on the ground.
One of the things I like most about this figure is its posture. It’s in a forward moving quadrupedal pose but the hindquarters are longer than the front, with the base of the tail lifted particularly high and then sharply drooping back down and to the left. It seems to suggest that this rauisuchian can adopt a bipedal posture. While some rauisuchians were quadrupedal, others were bipedal, and some could probably switch between the two modes of locomotion. I don’t know what the consensus about Rauisuchus is and I’ve seen it depicted both ways.
The toy has a rough and scaly texture all over, with crocodile-like osteoderms running down the neck, back, and tail. Those on the tail are the tallest which creates a visually cool mohawk-like appearance. These osteoderms are detailed with rough grooves. Scales of various sizes and shapes can be seen on different parts of the body. Those on the belly are flat and plate-like. The torso has a lean build to it and along with the muscular legs gives it an athletic form.
The figure is painted drab green and dark turquoise, with the turquoise running down along the back, covering the entire tail, and then running back across a portion of the belly. The eyes are orange with slit pupils that are the same color as the turquoise the cranium is molded in. The roof of the mouth is also turquoise while the tongue is pink, and the teeth are white. Beware of sloppy paint application. I was so focused on the eyes when I got my copy that I didn’t notice the milk mustache on one side and the visible turquoise along the gum line on the other! Also worth pointing out is that the color of the tail differs slightly from the color elsewhere on the body.
The Mattel Rauisuchus has a lot going for it. It’s the first toy of its genus and being a Triassic pseudosuchian gives it a lot of appeal to a large subset of collectors. That it’s reasonably accurate and doesn’t exhibit too many of Mattel’s goofier inclinations works greatly in its favor too. The Mattel Rauisuchus is currently available and retails for about $8.
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Neat! I don’t collect Mattel but this is one of the nicer ones I have seen (meaning, one that appeals to me more)!