New CollectA Models for 2021 (Fourth and Final Part)

Today, we complete our look at the new for 2021 prehistoric animal models that are coming out from CollectA.  In collaboration with CollectA Everything Dinosaur announces a further three new figures, they are an iconic prehistoric mammal, an updated version of perhaps the most extensively studied Early Jurassic theropod and an amazing Late Cretaceous ammonite with an incredible shell.

  • A CollectA Deluxe 1:20 scale Doedicurus – a wonderful replica of a prehistoric mammal.
  • CollectA Deluxe 1:40 scale Dilophosaurus – a model of an Early Jurassic theropod.
  • A CollectA Pravitoceras model – a stunning replica of a heteromorph ammonoid known from the Late Cretaceous of Japan.

All three figures will be available from Everything Dinosaur around the middle of 2021.

The New for 2021 CollectA Deluxe Doedicurus Replica

CollectA Deluxe Doedicurus model.
The CollectA Deluxe 1:20 scale Doedicurus model.

CollectA Deluxe Doedicurus Model

This is a stunning replica of the South American giant, distantly related to sloths and anteaters.  First described by the famous English anatomist Richard Owen in 1847.  Once assigned to the genus Glyptodon, Doedicurus was placed in its own separate genus in 1874 following an extensive revision of glyptodont fossil material.

Model designer Anthony Beeson commented:

“I wanted to get away from the rather cartoonish appearance of some of the Doedicurus models on the market.  I have rejected the idea of long spikes on the club as these would be in danger of snapping and not so practical in what was probably its main purpose in mating conflicts between males where the idea is to show strength and not to kill rivals.  One can give a harder blow with a knobbly club. although no doubt used as well in defence, the limited movement afforded to the head would rather limit the animal’s ability to use the club effectively against an attacker.”

The CollectA Deluxe 1:40 Scale Dilophosaurus

CollectA 1:40 scale Dilophosaurus dinosaur model.
The new for 2021 CollectA Age of Dinosaurs 1:40 scale Dilophosaurus dinosaur model.

CollectA Deluxe 1:40 Scale Dilophosaurus Dinosaur Model

The last new for 2021 dinosaur figure to be announced by CollectA is a colourful, updated version of this Early Jurassic carnivore.  A recently published paper (Marsh and Rowe 2020), revised how scientists viewed this theropod.  The shape of those famous double crests changed and Dilophosaurus was depicted as a much more robust and powerful predator.  The perception that this was a weak-jawed scavenger was replaced with the view that Dilophosaurus represents the largest terrestrial vertebrate known from the Early Jurassic of North America. 

Our congratulations to CollectA for producing a new Dilophosaurus replica so quickly after the publication of the research.

With the introduction of this Dilophosaurus scale model, the Age of Dinosaurs Popular Dilophosaurus figure will be retired.

The CollectA Pravitoceras Model

CollectA Pravitoceras model.
The colourful heteromorph ammonoid model – CollectA Pravitoceras.

CollectA Prehistoric Animal Figures

The final new for 2021 CollectA figure is this spectacular model of the Late Cretaceous heteromorph ammonite Pravitoceras.  This colourful model extends the number of invertebrates featured in the CollectA range following the introduction of a horseshoe crab, Orthoceras, a belemnite, a trilobite, the nautilus (N. pompilius) and an ammonite with a regularly coiled shell – Pleuroceras, in 2020.

Whilst members of the public might be quite familiar with those types of ammonites with tightly coiled shells, as epitomised by the CollectA Pleuroceras (an example of a homomorph shell), in the Late Jurassic a number of new types of marine cephalopod began to appear in the fossil record with varying degrees of uncoiled shells.

We congratulate CollectA for their new ammonite model.

These ammonites became increasingly abundant during the Cretaceous. By the Late Cretaceous they were widespread and extremely diverse with a myriad of different types of shell.  So numerous were these ammonites, that just like their coiled relatives, many genera have become important zonal fossils assisting with the relative dating of strata.

A Heteromorph Ammonite Fossil

Heteromorph ammonite.
A heteromorph ammonite fossil part of an exhibit showing the huge variety of ammonite shells at the Manchester Museum. Most heteromorph ammonites evolved in the Cretaceous. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Bizarre Shells

Unlike some of the more bizarre shells of other heteromorphic ammonites, the final shell coil of Pravitoceras forms a distinctive “S” shape and the body chamber is folded back on itself to form a retroversal hook.  Pravitoceras would have been able to swim with a minimal amount of drag due to its shell shape, whereas other more irregularly coiled ammonites with much more complicated shell configurations would have been encumbered by their shells when attempting to swim.

Palaeontologists speculate that these types of ammonites were either entirely epifaunal (dwelling on the sea floor), perhaps scavenging or hunting slow moving animals such as bivalves or snails, or they floated passively in the water column, like many types of extant jellyfish, feeding on zooplankton.

Whatever, part of the Cretaceous marine ecosystem Pravitoceras occupied it makes a great addition to the CollectA portfolio.

Model Measurements

  • A CollectA Deluxe 1:20 scale Doedicurus – length 18 cm, height of the carapace 7.6 cm, width 7.6 cm.
  • CollectA Deluxe 1:40 scale Dilophosaurus – length 18.4 cm, height 7.1 cm.
  • A CollectA Pravitoceras model – length 11 cm, height of shell 8.6 cm and width 7.1 cm.

All of these models will be available from Everything Dinosaur in the middle of 2021 or thereabouts.

Links to the CollectA Model Range at Everything Dinosaur

To view the existing range of CollectA Deluxe models: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animal Models.

CollectA models and figures: CollectA Prehistoric Life Models and Figures.

Links to the Previous Everything Dinosaur Articles (Parts 1-3) About New for 2021 CollectA Figures

New CollectA Models (Part 1) 1:40 scale Mamenchisaurus, Kamuysaurus, Brontosaurus prey: New CollectA Models for 2021 – Part 1.

Our blog post about the new CollectA Models (Part 2): Megalosaurus, Neovenator and the 1:15 Deluxe Pteranodon: New CollectA Models for 2021 – Part 2.

New CollectA Models (Part 3) – Elasmosaurus, 1:40 scale Xiphactinus and the new mini prehistoric animals: New CollectA Models for 2021 – Part 3.

All three of these figures will be available from Everything Dinosaur around the middle of 2021.