CollectA Spinosaurus Models (2015)

There is a saying that good things come in threes, a bit like the manual unguals (claws) on a Spinosaurus and thanks to CollectA, dinosaur fans have now got three new models of this super-sized predator to savour.  Three Spinosaurus models are coming into stock.  Everything Dinosaur have just taken in stock of the CollectA Deluxe 1:40 scale Spinosaurus and the two smaller Spinosaurus models, one showing the quadruped pose and one depicting this north African dinosaur swimming.

The CollectA Deluxe 1:40 Spinosaurus Replica

Available from Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: CollectA

CollectA Spinosaurus Models

We note there has been some debate as to the scale of this replica.  This is a little difficult to estimate, given that all three Spinosaurus models are based on the 2014 interpretation published by Ibrahim et al.

The new interpretation caused a lot of controversy and discussion in academic circles, particularly over scaling in relation to the hind limbs and so forth, but the authors still depicted Spinosaurus in excess of sixteen metres long.  If we take the curve of the tail into account and measure the CollectA Deluxe replica from nose to tail it is an impressive 38 centimetres long, perhaps a fraction longer.  So, if we compare this replica to the scale used by Ibrahim and colleagues, we do get an approximate 1:40 scale for this beastie.

To view the CollectA Deluxe Spinosaurus at Everything Dinosaur: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animal Models.

 A Pair of Spinosaurus Models (CollectA Swimming and CollectA Walking Spinosaurus Dinosaurs)

CollectA Spinosaurus available from Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Spinosaurus Models

Just like their bigger counterpart, the two smaller models (both around 23 centimetres in length or so), are very well made.  Lots of detail has been added and it is really pleasing to see those cranial crests given prominence.  You can really imagine that these two little chaps had the dense bones as proposed in the September 2014 paper*, indicative that here was a theropod with several adaptations to an aquatic lifestyle.  Of particular note are the very crocodilian tails of these two models, the base of each tail is broad and deep, providing propulsion through the water just like an extant crocodile today.

The CollectA Swimming Spinosaurus Dinosaur Model

The CollectA swimming Spinosaurus dinosaur model.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The Scientific Paper

The scientific paper certainly attracted a great deal of attention when it first was published, twelve months on, the debate continues, only recently another review of spinosaurid material from North Africa was published.  This review challenged many of the earlier findings, it even added an extra dimension with the inclusion of further studies related to the vertebrae assigned to Sigilmassasaurus, these Kem Kem fossils (Morocco), really have muddied the waters even further when it comes to a reassessment of all things spinosaurid.

To view the not to scale Spinosaurus models from CollectA: CollectA Dinosaurs.

The “Spinosaurus Re-boot” as it has been termed, is going to rumble on, in the meantime, we can enjoy these new dinosaur models.

The full title of the September 2014 paper is “Semi-aquatic Adaptations in a Giant Predatory Dinosaur”, it was published in the journal “Science”.

List of authors: Nizar Ibrahim, Paul C. Sereno, Cristiano Dal Sasso, Simone Maganuco, Matteo Fabbri, David M. Martill, Samir Zouhri, Nathan Myhrvold and Dawid A. Iurino

Getting Along “Swimmingly” – A Pair of CollectA Spinosaurus Models

A pair of CollectA Spinosaurus dinosaur models.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur