The Papo Stygimoloch Dinosaur Model

In stock at Everything Dinosaur is the last dinosaur model to be introduced by the French figure and replica manufacturer Papo for 2020, the Papo Stygimoloch.  This model represents a genus of bone-headed dinosaur that was formally named and described back in 1983 (Galton and Sues), from very fragmentary fossils associated with the Hell Creek Formation of North America.

The Papo Stygimoloch Figure

The New for 2020 Papo Stygimoloch Dinosaur Model

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Stygimoloch spinifer – Nomen dubium

The fragmentary remains that led to the erection of this genus included an unusual, piece of a left squamosal (bone from the top part of the back of the skull).  This partial squamosal was ornamented by “three or four massive horn cores”.  In their scientific paper describing S. spinifer, Galton and Sues referred other fragmentary pieces to this new genus including a skull bone that had previously thought to have come from a Triceratops.

As many pachycephalosaurs have been described based on very poorly preserved and extremely fragmentary remains this has led to the original interpretations being challenged by other academics.  When dealing with small pieces of bone, a more cautious approach is usually taken, palaeontologists being all too aware of founding a new genus on a paucity of fossil remains.

Stygimoloch in Everything Dinosaur’s Studio

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

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A number of reviews of the taxonomy and phylogeny of the pachycephalosaurs have taken place.  Confusion has arisen as it is thought that these dinosaurs changed radically in appearance as they grew up and matured.  Many palaeontologists regard Stygimoloch as a Nomen dubium, a genus of dinosaur whose validity is doubted.  It is thought that the fossils associated with S. spinifer represent material from juvenile Pachycephalosaurus specimens (Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis).

The Papo Stygimoloch figure measures approximately thirteen centimetres long and it stands a little over eight centimetres high.

Popular Due to the Film “Jurassic World – Fallen Kingdom”

With such spectacular head gear, Stygimoloch continues to be a firm favourite amongst model collectors and fans of the Dinosauria.  Stygimoloch found a whole generation of new admirers when a pachycephalosaur resembling it made a dramatic appearance in the 2018 film release “Jurassic World – Fallen Kingdom”.  This highly successful film grossed more than $1.3 billion USD in cinema ticket sales worldwide.  The film features a short scene in which a pachycephalosaur breaks down a wall, thus permitting the main protagonists of the film, Owen Grady (played by Chris Pratt) and Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), to escape their captors.

To purchase the Papo Stygimoloch dinosaur model and the rest of the Papo model range: Papo Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animal Models.