New Papo Prehistoric Animal Model Measurements (Part 2)

Everything Dinosaur recently published the official measurements for two of the brand new prehistoric animal models from Papo.  Today, we conclude our blog posts in relation to the measurement of the brand new Papo prehistoric animal figures and our comments on scaling these models by publishing the official measurements for the Papo Stygimoloch dinosaur model and the Papo Megaloceros.

Papo Prehistoric Animal Figures

Whilst Papo may not produce scale models of prehistoric animals, we know how keen dinosaur fans and model collectors are for any guidance as to the approximate scale of a replica.  To this end we have put together this short blog posts that concludes our foray into this area.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s earlier post about the Papo Chilesaurus and the Papo Giganotosaurus dinosaur models: New Papo Prehistoric Animal Model Measurements (Part 1).

The Official Model Measurements for the New Papo Stygimoloch Dinosaur Model

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Papo Stygimoloch – Tale of the Tape

Everything Dinosaur has been informed that this new model stands around eight centimetres tall and that it is approximately seven centimetres in length.  Calculating the scale for this pachycephalosaur (bone-headed) dinosaur is a little tricky, as most palaeontologists believe the fossils ascribed to Stygimoloch (S. spirifer), actually represent, juvenile, immature specimens of Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis.

Dracorex (D. hogwartsia) and Stygimoloch (S. spirifer) are regarded as “nomina dubia“, that is to say, that the validity of both these two genera are now in doubt.

The Dracorex and Stygimoloch Debate

The reasons for the uncertainty of the Dracorex and Stygimoloch taxa can be summarised as follows:

• In 2007, at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP), palaeontologist John R. Horner (Jack Horner), presented evidence that the holotype Dracorex specimen might represent Stygimoloch.  He further proposed that Dracorex and Stygimoloch represented juvenile or possible female P. wyomingensis specimens.
• In 2009, Horner in collaboration with Mark Goodwin, published further evidence suggesting that the cranial spikes and bumps on the skulls of these three dinosaurs showed considerable variation but within a range expected for a single species.  In addition, they concluded that whilst P. wyomingensis was known from adult specimens, both Dracorex and Stygimoloch fossil material represent juveniles.  As all three “species” are known from the Hell Creek Formation, then all the pachycephalosaur fossils could be associated with a single genus.  As these types of dinosaurs grew and matured they lost their spikes and developed thick, dome-shaped skulls.
•  More recently, other scientific papers have been published that conclude that the so-called “unique” characteristics of Stygimoloch and Dracorex are morphologically consistent traits that would be expected if a Pachycephalosaurus growth curve was plotted.

Calculating the Scale for the Papo Stygimoloch Model

If it is proposed that Stygimoloch represents a juvenile specimen of Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis, then what growth stage does this model represent?  If we assume that the Papo figure represents a half-grown animal, then we can speculate that the body length would be around two to three metres.  Based on these assumptions, a model that is seven centimetres long would be in scale 1:28.5 for a two-metre-long animal or approximately 1:42 scale for a three-metre-long animal.

One of the Prototype Production Models (Papo Stygimoloch)

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

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The Official Model Measurements for the Papo Megaloceros Model

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Papo Megaloceros Model – Tale of the Tape

The Papo Megaloceros model is the only non-dinosaur figure to be introduced by Papo in 2020.  The information received by Everything Dinosaur indicates that this figure will measure some 16 centimetres in length, stand around 6 cm high at the shoulders with an overall height of 13.5 cm.  When all the new Papo figures are in stock, Everything Dinosaur team members will carefully measure each model and publish the details in the “additional information” section of the relevant product pages.

If it is assumed that this figure represents an example of the largest species of Megaloceros (M. giganteus), then with the type species having an estimated body length of 3.2 metres this figure could be in 1:20 scale.

A Papo Megalosaurus Figure on Display

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Delays in Production due to the COVID-19 Outbreak

As Papo’s production is based in China, the company is currently experiencing difficulties scheduling manufacturing due to the continuing COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak.  Everything Dinosaur will keep social media followers and our blog readers informed of developments and when more information becomes available regarding the availability of these models, we will publish it.

To see the range of Papo dinosaurs and prehistoric animal models in stock at Everything Dinosaur: Papo Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animal Models.