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Already another 'clades' post, but this time one with a few more figures at least! This one will be Euchondrocephali--a group of shark-like chondrichthyan fish that are more closely related to the holocephalans (the modern ratfish Chimaera and elephantnose fish Callorhinchus). The funny thing is that for the longest time, these fish were assumed to be part of the true shark lineage (elasmobranchs)...or somehow basal to them, or a sister group to them. Then further research and some better fossil…
Today we have another 'Clades' and this time...it will take more explanation? When I revamped my database taxonomic details, I realized that some groups were very heavily lumped into one category--even though many groups fit in as ancestors to others, etc. Some groups were also more tightly defined than others, often based on how I focus in my collecting (so, lots of fish ones, very few arthropods...still true). I also realized that it could make a clades post really, really…
Another weird assortment today. Honestly, I'm going to keep these short. Not that they're not good figures in their ways, but sometimes there isn't much to say. Learning Curve "Dinosaur Train" The Old Spinosaurus This is a very strange depiction of Spinosaurus. It's cartoon accurate I suppose. First up, another Dinosaur Train figure from Takara. This time, it's their take on Spinosaurus from an episode called "The Old Spinosaurus and the Sea" featuring...a Spinosaurus. Next to the sea. As a…
This is going to be a look at another of one of my favorite kinds of figures--prehistoric mammals! And it's one of those figures that is weird in and of itself, of an animal that is pretty weird too. I am speaking of the AAA Entelodon, one of my quiet favorites, and a bit of an oddity as far as figures go. Here it is, coming right at you! In the tradition of many AAA figures, this one is well…
Today will be another set, this one featuring a fine set from Kaiyodo--their models made as souvenirs for DinoExpo 2002! This was when the figures were still part of the Chocola Saurs brand, partnered within the UHA lines. Except, for the DinoExpo sets, they would pull out a few stops. In later years, the models would get larger and made of more fragile resin; the early sets often featured repaints of existing figures. In this instance, there were also a…
We're back and with another 'Clades' post. This time, it will be a paraphyletic one, 'Eryopiformes'. This is a crown group of the Temnospondyls, and as the name implies, it consists of the famous big 'amphibian' Eryops, but also the rest of the 'Stereospondyls'--and this group may also include the Gymnophiona, the modern caecillians! As it is, when I revamped my database, I organized using grades, clades and useful (to me) breakdowns...so as a group, the Eryopiformes 'clade' consists of…
Starting the year with what might be described as...very random figures. Most of which are, at best, okay. But they're all part of larger sets so there's that. Let's get to it. Safari Ltd Endangered Species-Marine toob Great Hammerhead Shark Possibly one of the most popular shark species to be made as a figure, a hammerhead shark! It's pretty hard to mistake for anything else at least! First up, we have a Great Hammerhead shark toob figure from Safari Ltd.…
Happy New Year all! Today, to wrap up the year we're going to look at another great Bullyland Stuttgart Museum figure. This time, that classic beast of the Ice Age, the Woolly mammoth! And yes, coincidentally, we already visited a mammoth earlier this week, along with some other prehistoric mammals. It isn't planned, just kind of random. A very classic animal, in a very classic rendition. The Bullyland Woolly Mammoth is number 58355, and was among the earliest models made…
A new ToyTrion featuring three small figures of notable very large animals, all mammals this time! All extinct, and all with presence in the Pleistocene...Let's see what we have. Yowies Lost Kingdom Giant Short-faced Kangaroo Weird proportions and a short face on a kangaroo? It must be Procoptodon goliah, the giant short-faced kangaroo This first figure is an example of why the original Yowies Australia figures were so great. For the first two series, especially Lost Kingdoms A, they tried…
We've got another trio of figures for this week, and we're going fully aquatic again! And all featuring figures that have stories behind them, for very different reasons. Let's go swimming! Safari Ltd. Prehistoric Sharks toob Cretoxyrhina Something about prehistoric lamniforme sharks always look kind of similar. At least it's a different species. First up we have another figure from the sadly discontinued Safari Ltd Prehistoric Sharks toob, this time the Cretoxyrhina also known as the Ginsu Shark for it's…
It has been quite a while since I did a Clades post, and this one will be featuring a group that has lots of figures...but mostly one species. It is (as stated in the title) the placoderm group Arthrodira. Although pretty diverse overall, the most familiar would of course be Dunkleosteus, a giant predator of Devonian seas worldwide. But of course it lived alongside several relatives in those seas--the Arthrodira (as described in my database as a grade) includes the…
Keeping with this week's incidental them of prehistoric CollectA figures, today we have one of the big deluxe dinosaurs. Specifically, the 2014-released Carcharodontosaurus, item number 88642. This is a big figure, which is fitting given that Carcharodontosaurus was a big predator of Cretaceous North Africa (possibly longer than the might T. rex!) and really makes sense as a deluxe figure from CollectA. It is an impressive figure on the shelf, standing out well against the myriad of other big dinos…
