Tianyulong (Age of the Dinosaurs by PNSO)

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A lot of ornithischian dinosaurs lacked teeth in the front of the mouth, having only cheek teeth that ground up food, and often a beak for clipping vegetation. The family Heterodontosauridae (“different-toothed lizards”) was unusual among ornithischians in having three different kinds of teeth in different parts of the mouth. Having different teeth to divide the labor of food processing is called heterodonty, a trait common in mammals, but not as widespread among sauropsids (reptiles). The heterodontosaurids are very unusual in this respect, but despite their distinctiveness, are rarely made as toys. Starting in the early 1970’s, one toy of the type genus Heterodontosaurus was made roughly every 20 years–none very good from an artistic or accuracy perspective, and none so far reviewed on this blog.

Enter PNSO, who in 2018 included the Chinese heterodontosaurid Tianyulong confuciusi in their second series of miniatures. Despite having a nearly global distribution and a very long temporal range, heterodontosaurids are rare in the fossil record, so the description of Tianyulong (“Tianyu dragon,” after a museum in China) in 2009 was a pretty big deal. To the best of my knowledge, it was the first heterodontosaurid found with any preserved integument, and it showed well-developed filamentous structures arising from the skin, which looked rather like the primitive feathers found on various theropod dinosaurs. This figurine from PNSO goes to some lengths to highlight the integument, with a fuzzy coat over most of the body and a stiff ridge of fibers along the dorsal midline. Curiously, whereas the body is painted in a fairly bold stripey turquoise pattern, the crest is a comparatively subdued brown and yellow. The overall effect is vaguely skunk-like, although of course with different colors.

The head of the figure shows the very large eye of Tianyulong, which no doubt would have made the animal unbearably cute in life. The protruding canine-like teeth that give heterodontosaurids their name are well-sculpted, although the paint job doesn’t really show them to greatest effect, leaving them the same tawny color as the rest of the snout. Tianyulong probably still had a beak like other ornithischians, and this is clearly present as well.

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The overall stance is one of an alert small animal (Tianyulong was roughly the size of a fox), with the tail up. The figure is around 10 cm long measured along the spine, so it comes in around 1:6 scale. The position of the tail is probably a concession to the squarish packaging in which PNSO’s miniatures are usually sold, but it works, at least at first. I have found, after a few months owning this figure, that it tends to pitch forward at its pliable ankles, as the tail in this position is unable to counter the weight of the torso and head.

The base is simple but attractive, with a bit of detail showing loose rocks in what looks like a somewhat muddy soil.

The underside of the base shows a 2016 copyright, although these were released in 2018. During PNSO’s tumultuous 2017, this figure and others in their second miniature series lay in wait, with none of us collectors any the wiser!

I like PNSO best when they make figures to represent relatively obscure animals–dinosaurs and otherwise–whose fossils have been found in China and neighboring countries. I also generally like small figures to represent small animals. On both of those criteria, then, this figure is a home run. The fact that it tends to pitch forward is mildly annoying, but easily solved with a short length of clear acrylic dowel. I’d recommend this to every fan of ancient animals, and all but the youngest children. I hope it won’t be 20 more years until we get a good, updated version of its relative Heterodontosaurus.