CollectA Ichthyovenator – A Video Review

Ichthyovenator laosensis, the “fish hunter from Laos is the only member of the Spinosauridae known from Asia.  Prior to this dinosaur’s discovery in 2010, fossil teeth from Asia had been ascribed to a spinosaur and this dinosaur was tentatively named Siamosaurus.  Teeth that could have potentially belonged to a spinosaur have been found in several locations in south-east Asia, most notably Thailand, hence the name Siamosaurus “lizard from Siam”, but the validity of this genus remains under dispute.

CollectA Ichthyovenator Dinosaur Model

Ichthyovenator remains, for the moment, as the only unambiguous member of the Spinosauridae from Asia.  In this short video (6.06), team members at Everything Dinosaur compare the new CollectA dinosaur model with the fossil material.

A Video Review of the CollectA Ichthyovenator Dinosaur Model

Video credit: Everything Dinosaur

Bizarre Twin Sails

Although the video covers the bizarre twin sails on the back of this theropod, it is not known why this dinosaur may have possessed such a strange anatomical feature.  Palaeontologists cannot even be sure what these structures looked like, or indeed how long they were.  As to their function, a number of theories have been put forward, for example, the first sail at the front may have played a role in visual communication, whilst the second structure, positioned over the hips, may actually have been a fleshy hump where food reserves could be stored, rather like the hump of a bison or the humps seen in extant camels today.

To view the Ichthyovenator dinosaur model at Everything Dinosaur and to see the complete range of CollectA prehistoric animals stocked: CollectA Prehistoric Animal Models.