The Curious Compendium 2023-2025: The end!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Allosaurus!



This is another one that I love dearly. The Ballad of Big Al was my favorite VHS video way back when- I got it for my 6th birthday and used to watch it all the time. Once I got to be an adult I googled him and found out a mounted copy of his remains is on display at the University of Wyoming Geology Museum- the local college in Laramie Wyoming where my oldest sister lives and her kids go to school there now. The first time I visited I was so star struck even though it was "just a copy" (I believe the original specimen is in Montana). Anyway, allosaurus will always be a fond favorite!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Mixed ceratopsians!



This photo holds many of my favorite ceratopsian species- Styracosaurus was my first love, followed by pachyrhinosaurus, diabloceratops, pentaceratops, and psittacosaurus. All the different shields, crests, and horns just make them all so intriguing to contemplate- especially to imagine the selective pressure behind all the variety.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Sorry I missed a day- I'm developing a cold so once I got to bed last night I passed out. Here is a double post to make up for it.



Mixed therapods!



I don't have a strong connection to any of these besides being newly enamored by the ones presented in Apple's Prehistoric Planet series. They were all gorgeously done and very intriguing to watch on tv for the first time.



And the infamous T rex!









Again, because of the gross over use of this species it rarely gets me thrilled anymore. However, as a young kid I was so fortunate to be able to attend Sue's traveling exhibit on two different occassions. I got several souvenirs (a small stuffed rex and a keychain that I still have, and a red t shirt I long grew out of) but ever since Sue and her story is very nostalgic for me. So of course, when Eofauna's model came out based on her I fell in love all over again!

[bmathison1972]

Careful, the pedants are going to be quick to point out that the Nanotyrannus should be in the pic with the T. rex...
            

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Yeah I know! They can pedant away.  

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Last of the ceratopsians!



Again, I love this family! I think the most significant tie I have with this batch is in regards to the mythology of the griffin. There are several facets that tie it in, but the basics is that fossils of protoceratops found along the silk road in the Gobi Desert may be the original inspiration for the European griffin myths. Who knows if its true, but at the very least I find this a wonderfully intriguing tale!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

And now for the "tickle chickens"!





These are all just such wonderfully odd animals! There isn't much more to say when you are looking at animals with 3 foot claws! I just can't get enough of the Safari "oviraptor" mother and their Beipiaosaurus!

[bmathison1972]

The pose similarities in the first row is striking. Like a dance troupe LOL

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Ornithopods!


Again, Parasaurolophus isn't too terribly exciting to me anymore given its token status as the rep for this group- but like the ceratopsians I enjoy the crests and variety of body type of this family. Funnily enough though- I think Iguanodon is my favorite (a species with very little frills evidently). 

P.S. I would really like to add more Crystal Palace sculpture type figures to my collection- if anyone knows of a brand or independant artist please drop me the details!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Raptor friends!


These I think are some of the most intriguing species in terms of plumage potential- I really enjoy seeing paleoartists go crazy with art inspired by modern day birds and if you look around long enough there is art for all sorts of mixes and matches! These are my favorites to peruse for hours on end...

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Stegosauria!


Again- a group I lost interest in due to its oft used visage but 2 recent events have re-piqued my interest in them. Firstly, all that publicity about Apex made me realize just how huge they could be as well as got me to research the specimens and species better, and then I discovered a Youtube channel for the Royal Tyrrell Museum and have been watching their guest speaker series; there was one I watched recently that discussed what we do and don't know about them, and in truth the whole family is pretty mysterious still!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Averaptora!

This is another pretty fond group for me- colorful feathers, sprouting of teeth in beak like mouths, there is a lot to look at in this one photo. I think of these, the WWD movie alexornis is my favorite (if not for how long it took me to find one).

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Spinosaurus!




This is my very favorite species of dinosaur due to its uniqur look, incredible history, and mysteries extending into the modern day. I personally don't buy into certain theories of this being a strict piscivore and marine predator- but I certainly think that this animal and its relatives has a ton of surprises still to share.

[Shane]

Spinosaurus is super fascinating and interesting to me, and I feel like the figures released through the years are an interesting snapshot of scientific understanding of the dinosaur at any given time.

However, it gets a little tiring these days where we seem to have warring paleontologists who each seem to be trying to one-up each other with their latest Spinosaurus findings, each teasing major breakthroughs and things that counteract the previous major revelation.

It gets exhausting.

[bmathison1972]

I got the larger 2019 Safari swimming Spinosaurus and told myself I wasn't going to replace it. I am not a pedant that needs to swap out a figure everything a theory or interpretation of a feature shifts. However, when PNSO released their newest in 2023 I broke down and swapped it out. I think it's a good balance and is a more probably reconstruction. Safari's theropods are my favorite so the chances of me swapping one out is rare LOL.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Thank you both!

@Shane, I 100% agree with you that I really enjoy the revolutionary science and biology that is coming to us with these animals, but the highly competitive and super antagonistic atmosphere that it has created is exhausting. I'm not against alternative theories on such things but I personally think the spinosaurus family tree has a lot of twists ahead for us all.

@bmathison1972, I like that spino model but I'm not the biggest fan of the paint scheme for that one. The smaller aqua blue one is gorgeous from them! Spino is probably the only dino species I'd consider getting nicer versions of from PNSO or Haolongood but so far I have resisted...

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Ankylosauria!


This is a group that didn't intrigue me much until recently- likely because of the old fashioned way they were presented to be dull and contentious but the discoveries about their armor and the well preserved specimens are simply gorgeous to look at! There is a lot more diversity in this group as well (like the ceratopsians they are largely the same body plan, but the plating and spikes are uniquely intriguing to me).

[Saarlooswolfhound]

And this is the last of the proper dinosaurs to present:

The supposed headbutters always interested me and they still do- but  my flock does need to grow a bit. The scelidosaurus is a more recent acquisition and I love it. And the Tianyulong is a miniature piece of art as far as I am concerned.

[NSD Bashe]

I think pachycephalosaurus was pretty much my favorite dinosaur

[Saarlooswolfhound]

And now we have the subcategory for mammals! We will kick off with the poster child- the Woolly Mammoth (and a friend from the Steppes).


I have gotten a smidge obsessed with these elephantine ancestors over the last 2 years. I had a few in my herd but it has swelled since Eofauna and TNG started producing their other species. Which woolly mammoth is your favorite model?
I love the Eofauna Steppe and the Safari Carnegie.