The stunning Rebor Titanoboa Museum Class Maquette Monty Resurgent and the Rebor Titanoboa Museum Class Maquette Brian Diccus are available to pre-order at Everything Dinosaur. These amazing models of a Titanoboa (T. cerrejonensis) swallowing a crocodilian are going into production in the next few months and both replicas are expected in stock at Everything Dinosaur sometime around quarter two of 2021.
The New for 2021 Rebor Titanoboa Museum Class Maquette Monty Resurgent Figure
The Rebor Titanoboa Museum Class Maquette Monty Resurgent. A stunning replica of the largest snake known to science – Titanoboa cerrejonensis complete with its unfortunate crocodilian victim which is in the process of being swallowed whole.
Rebor Titanoboa – Hot on the Heels of Monty
This year (2020), saw the release of the limited edition Rebor Titanoboa figure “Monty”, this beautiful replica of the largest snake described to date, sold out very quickly. Aware of how popular this prehistoric animal is Rebor have plans to introduce two more Titanoboa replicas. Each one “Monty Resurgent” and “Brian Diccus”, will have a single production run and they are going to be made in a few months’ time. Customers of Everything Dinosaur have the chance to secure their figures early.
The New for 2021 Rebor Titanoboa Museum Class Maquette Brian Diccus Replica
The Rebor Titanoboa Museum Class Maquette Brian Diccus. Each model has a different colour scheme and this extends to the crocodilian prey as well with the “Monty” Titanoboa having a brown crocodilian victim, whilst Brian Diccus has a green crocodilian prey item.
Pre-order Available from Everything Dinosaur
Both colour variants are available for pre-order. Customers can choose which figure they want and then add it to their shopping cart and go through the checkout process as per usual. However, with Everything Dinosaur, there are no fees to pay, no upfront costs, no surcharges, no deposit required.
Customers also need to note that due to the complexity of the pre-order checkout process, an order may contain only a single pre-order Titanoboa product, and no other products, pre-order or otherwise. If a customer adds a pre-order product to a non-empty cart, the cart will be automatically emptied and the pre-order product will be added. This means that if you want both Titanoboa colour variants, customers will have to place two pre-orders (one for each prehistoric snake figure).
The Rebor Titanoboa Museum Class Maquette Brian Diccus
The Rebor Titanoboa Museum Class Maquette Brian Diccus.
Rebor Titanoboa is Praised
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“These are two beautifully crafted figures. Each replica shows the anterior portions of the giant snake emerging out of the water as it gulps down its unfortunate victim. We look forward to bringing these products into our warehouse sometime around the early summer of 2021.”
Did Ancient Potters use Sheep Dung to Fire their Clay Pots?
A project is underway to provide “hands-on” information about how ancient Britons could have fired clay pots before the invention of kiln technology. By undertaking practical experiments trying different sorts of fuel to fire clay vessels, archaeologists hope to find out more about the way our ancestors lived their lives.
Ancient Potters and Sheep Dung
A new study, with the catchy title “Dung and Dusted”, aims to do just that, specifically by examining whether sheep dung could have been used to fire pots before the widespread use of kilns. Dr Michael Copper, from the School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences in the Faculty of Life Sciences (University of Bradford), hopes that these practical experiments will help researchers to gain a better understanding of how different, ancient communities were organised.
Dr Mike Copper – Part of the “Dung and Dusted” Project
Doctor Mike Copper on location in Orkney.The project aims to uncover the secrets of ancient potters.
Picture credit: University of Bradford
Dr Copper explained:
“Despite considerable advances in our knowledge of how ancient pots were made and used, archaeologists still know remarkably little about how prehistoric pottery was fired before the introduction of the potter’s kiln, including what fuels were used. One abundant and freely available fuel source in prehistory would have been animal dung. Could it then have been the case that dried dung was used to fire pottery in prehistoric Britain and Ireland?”
A Six-month Project
The research project is funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation and is planned to last around six months. A series of firings of hand-built replica prehistoric pots using sheep dung and other fuels are planned. The vessels and firing sites will then be analysed to see whether residues left behind can be matched to ancient pottery or can be used to help archaeologists identify dung firing evidence at archaeological digs.
Dr Copper, a specialist in prehistoric pottery and ancient ceramic technology, added:
“In terms of why it is significant, experimental projects such as this provide an important way for archaeologists to understand how prehistoric people went about tasks such as pot firing using materials and techniques with which we are no longer familiar. Pottery is one of the most important finds made on archaeological excavations. Its varied forms help us to date sites and analysis of burnt food residues can tell us about what the inhabitants ate. If we find that animal dung was used to fire the pots then it could be that people were managing animals with one eye on using dung as a product.”
Dr Mike Copper Examining an Ancient Clay Pot
Dr Mike Copper, inspecting a prehistoric clay pot.
Picture credit: University of Bradford
Learning the Secrets of Ancient Potters Through Experimentation
The researchers, which include Dr Cathy Batt, an expert in magnetic studies with extensive experience of investigating ancient firing sites and Dr Gregg Griffin, a recent PhD graduate who looked at ways to identify fuels from residues discovered on archaeological excavations, hope to gain an understanding of how ancient societies were organised with pot-making and firing a central part of the community. Variations in the use of technology, such as choice of fuel for pottery making, are passed down from one generation to another. This can provide archaeologists with a lot of additional information about how a community organised itself.
We look forward to hearing more as this project concludes and we wonder whether the sheep will be cited in the subsequent paper as contributors…
Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the assistance of a press release from the University of Bradford in the compilation of this article.
The Rebor Oddities Fossil Studies dinosaur skulls, a set of three, amazing museum quality theropod skull models are available to pre-order from Everything Dinosaur. The set referred to as “wave 1”, suggesting that more skull models are likely to be added to this range in the future, consists of replicas of the skulls of Carnotaurus (C. sastrei), Ceratosaurus (C. dentisulcatus) and Yutyrannus (Y. huali). Each replica has been carefully crafted and give the impression that a complete skull has been lifted from the surrounding rock matrix.
The Rebor Oddities Fossil Studies Yutyrannus huali Skull Replica
The Rebor Oddities Fossil Studies Yutyrannus huali museum quality skull model.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Tyrannosauroids, Abelisaurids and a Member of the Basal Ceratosauria Clade
Although each amazing figure represents a carnivorous theropod dinosaur, these three animals were very distantly related to each other. For example, Ceratosaurus dentisulcatus, regarded as one of the largest of the Ceratosaurus species, like all ceratosaurs, is part of a clade that diverged from the Coelurosauria Theropoda lineage that was ultimately to lead to the evolution of birds, during the Jurassic. Carnotaurus (C. sastrei) is a Late Cretaceous representative of the Abelisauridae, a family of predatory dinosaurs mostly associated with Africa, South America, India and the island of Madagascar. Although part of the Ceratosauria clade, Carnotaurus is both geographically and temporally very distant from Ceratosaurus.
The Rebor Oddities Fossil Studies Ceratosaurus Skull (C. dentisulcatus) Replica
The Rebor Oddities Fossil Studies Ceratosaurus dentisulcatus museum quality skull model. The characteristic nasal horn associated with this genus is prominent in the Rebor figure.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Yutyrannus huali
Yutyrannus huali is known from the Liaoning Province of north-eastern China (Yixian Formation). It lived during the Early Cretaceous, approximately 125 million years ago. Many palaeontologists classify Yutyrannus as a member of the Proceratosauridae family and as such a member of the Tyrannosauroidea. The proceratosaurs, despite their name, which translates as “before ceratosaurs”, are not members of the Ceratosauria. The confusion arises due to the naming and description of Proceratosaurus bradleyi from a partial skull with a distinctive nasal horn associated with the Middle Jurassic Forest Marble Formation of Gloucestershire, England. When Proceratosaurus was named in 1910, it was proposed that it was an ancestor of Ceratosaurus.
Research carried out some seventy years later demonstrated that this was incorrect and that Proceratosaurus is in fact a very early representative of that lineage of theropods that was to eventually lead to the evolution of the tyrannosaurs and that most famous dinosaur of all T. rex.
The Rebor Oddities Fossil Studies Carnotaurus sastrei Replica
The Rebor Oddities Fossil Studies Carnotaurus sastrei museum quality skull model.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“Although these three figures represent very different theropod dinosaurs, they all reflect the same high quality standards we have come to expect from Rebor.”
Pre-order with Everything Dinosaur
All three Rebor skull models are now available for pre-order from Everything Dinosaur.
No prepayment fees
Money up front is not needed
No deposit required
No payment required until the item is available for despatch
Orders can be cancelled at any time prior to payment becoming due on the release date
We are expecting these figures to be in stock around week commencing 2nd of November (2020)
Team members at Everything Dinosaur have been re-reading the second edition of the excellent dinosaur book “Dinosaurs How They Lived and Evolved”. We reviewed this publication in the early summer, but as the autumn darkness descends we have been visiting once again its chapters on the dinosaur family tree and dinosaur biology, ecology and behaviour. This really is an excellent and most informative dinosaur book.
A Book and One Model but Two Tianyulongs
The front cover of “Dinosaurs How They Lived and Evolved” features an illustration of the Jurassic dinosaur Tianyulong so we included a model of a Tianyulong in our photograph. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
“Dinosaurs How They Lived and Evolved”
The front cover of “Dinosaurs How They Lived and Evolved” features an illustration of the Jurassic heterodontosaurid Tianyulong munching on some ginkgo leaves. This illustration was created by the very talented Bob Nicholls. As this bizarre Chinese dinosaur is featured on the cover we included a model of a Tianyulong (PNSO) in our photograph. The authors of this wonderful dinosaur book, much updated and revised from the first edition, are to be congratulated for compiling such a well-crafted book on the Dinosauria.
“Dinosaurs How They Lived and Evolved” is crammed full of fascinating facts and amazing information, all presented in a writing style that makes it easy for the general reader to follow. The myriad of drawings, charts, maps, diagrams and prehistoric animal themed artwork help to illustrate key points in the story of the Dinosauria.
This book is highly recommended and would make an excellent gift for the festive season.
Co-author Darren Naish now sells copies of his books here (subject to availability), ask him nicely and he might include a special customised dinosaur illustration for you.
Euparkeria Study Provides Important Step in Evolution of Archosaur Posture
Fossils of the stem-archosaur Euparkeria (pronounced Yoo-park-air-ree-ah), have been studied by scientists from the University of Bristol and the Royal Veterinary College in a bid to better understand the evolution of different gaits and locomotion within archosaurs. Three-dimensional modelling based on high resolution CT scans of the hindlimb of the small, agile Euparkeria (E. capensis), has revealed that it had a “mosaic” of functions associated with locomotion.
Euparkeria, which roamed southern Africa around 245 million years ago, is believed to be a close relative of the last common ancestor of both crocodilians and the dinosaur/bird branch of the Archosauria family tree, as such, a study of its fossil bones can provide important insights into the evolution of the archosaurs.
A Life Reconstruction of Euparkeria capensis
A life reconstruction of the basal archosauriform Euparkeria (E. capensis). As the hindlimbs are longer than the front legs, many researchers believe that Euparkeria was capable of adopting a bipedal stance when it wanted to (facultative biped).
A Basal Archosauriform
This little reptile, that was formerly named and described in 1913, has recently been at the centre of another study which examined skull fossil material originally reported upon in 1965, but with the advance of scanning technology, scientists were able to provide much more information about the structure of Euparkeria’s skull: Little Euparkeria Steps into the Spotlight.
Euparkeria Provides Insight
Birds have an upright, erect bipedal posture, whilst extant crocodilians are quadrupedal and have a sprawling gait. The ancestor of the birds and crocodiles once shared a common mode of locomotion and Euparkeria can provide vital information helping scientists to work out how these differences came about.
Life Reconstruction of Euparkeria capensis
A life reconstruction of Euparkeria highlighting the hip and ankle that were the focus of the study. Note in this illustration the archosaur has been given a more sprawling, quadrupedal posture when compared to the first illustration of Euparkeria on this post.
Picture credit: Oliver Demuth
Writing in the academic journal “Scientific Reports”, the researchers which included John Hutchinson, Professor of Evolutionary Biomechanics at the Royal Veterinary College, explained how they reconstructed the hip structure of Euparkeria based on CT scans. The complex and very detailed computer models these scans produced demonstrated that Euparkeria had a distinctive bony rim on the pelvis, called a supra-acetabular rim, covering the top of the hip joint.
This anatomical feature had only previously been found in later archosaurs on the crocodilian branch of the Archosauria. As a result, a more erect posture had been inferred for these extinct crocodiles. The supra-acetabular rim permitted the pelvis to cover the top of the femur (thigh bone) and support the body with the limbs in a more columnar arrangement – this type of joint is referred to as “pillar-erect”.
Identifying the Supra-acetabular Rim on the Hip Bone
The black arrow points to the supra-acetabular rim. This projection of the hip bone above the hip joint permitted the tucking of the limbs under the body to support the body in a columnar arrangement. This is so far the earliest occurrence of this structure in the archosaur family tree.
Picture credit: Demuth et al (Scientific Reports)
Euparkeria is the oldest known reptile that possessed such a joint, this raises the intriguing question as to whether it had a more erect dinosaur/bird-like posture rather than the more sprawling posture as seen in modern crocodilians.
Testing How the Hindlimbs Could Move
Computer simulations were created to test the range of movement in the hindlimbs. The team estimated how far the femur could have rotated until it collided with the hip bones. The computer models also examined how the ankle joint functioned as well.
The simulations suggested that while the femur could have been held in an erect posture, the foot could not have been placed steadily on the ground due to the way the foot rotates around the ankle joint, implying a more sprawling posture. However, the supra-acetabular rim covering the hip joint restricted the movement of the thigh bone in a way that is not seen in any living tetrapod with a sprawling gait, this indicates that Euparkeria had a more upright posture.
Examining Three-dimensional Models of the Euparkeria Ankle to Assess Function
The oblique ankle joint did not allow Euparkeria to assume a fully upright posture as the foot also turns medially when the ankle joint is extended. An ankle joint allowing a more upright posture evolved later independent from the hip structure.
Picture credit: Demuth et al (Scientific Reports)
The researchers conclude that Euparkeria possessed a “mosaic” of locomotor functions. It is the earliest reptile known with this peculiar hip anatomy and an ankle joint allowing a more erect posture did evolve in later Triassic archosaurs.
Professor Hutchinson stated:
“The mosaic of structures present in Euparkeria, then, can be seen as a central stepping-stone in the evolution of locomotion in archosaurs.”
The scientific paper: “3D hindlimb joint mobility of the stem-archosaur Euparkeria capensis with implications for the postural evolution within the Archosauria” by Oliver E. Demuth, Emily J. Rayfield and John R. Hutchinson published in Scientific Reports.
Things are difficult at the moment but team members at Everything Dinosaur are doing all they can to maintain the high levels of service our customers have come to expect. Throughout this COVID-19 pandemic we have been able to maintain our 5-star customer service rating from the independent ratings company Feefo.
5-star Customer Service
We understand that on-line shopping has become the mainstay for many people, others have just started out using the internet to make purchases. With the festive season approaching and more lockdown measures likely to follow suit, Everything Dinosaur is doing all it can to ensure that parcels are despatched promptly and that our customers get the support and assistance they require.
Everything Dinosaur Maintaining the 5-star Service Rating
5-star rating for Everything Dinosaur. Our top service rating has been maintained throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Customers Provide Feedback to Everything Dinosaur
Feefo are an independent provider of reviews, one of the largest organisations of their kind in the world. Feefo is committed to collecting genuine customer feedback on behalf of the businesses that they work with, such as Everything Dinosaur for example. To stop people from leaving fake reviews, Feefo contacts customers directly following their purchasing experience and invites them to leave a review. Everything Dinosaur has received thousands of reviews, all of them are then uploaded for all the world to see.
Everything Dinosaur Received the Highest Customer Service Award from Feefo in 2020
Everything Dinosaur has won the Feefo Platinum Service Award for 2020.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Examples of Customer Comments
The company has an excellent record of receiving 5-star customer service reviews.
As an example of what our customers think about us here are a selection of recent reviews from customers in Europe.
Edoardo from Italy provided feedback:
“Precisi, competenti e affidabili. Avevo già acquistato da loro e sapevo che non mi sarei sbagliato.”
This translates as “precise, competent and reliable. I had already bought from them and knew I wouldn’t be wrong.”
Grazie for your kind comments Edoardo.
Pablo from Spain wrote:
“A really great community who put a lot of effort into compiling the best collections of prehistoric creatures from brands all around the world and to make them accessible for anyone at reasonable shipping prices. If you have any questions they are fairly quick to answer. I also value the fact that they make educational content with up-to-date scientific information to show which figures are better depicted. As a dinosaur and prehistoric life enthusiast, I can’t recommend this site enough! Congratulations to all the team and staff of Everything Dinosaur from Valencia, Spain!”
Our thanks Pablo, gracias.
Mate from Hungary stated:
“Excellent service and fast administration. Fantastic figure. Very nice.”
Thank you for your kind comments Mate – Köszönöm.
We are grateful for all the feedback and comments we receive, our thanks to everyone who provides us feedback, it helps to make us a better business.
An examination of more than a thousand fossil dinosaur teeth collected from an ancient Cretaceous-aged riverbed in Morocco suggests that the giant theropod Spinosaurus was very much at home in an aquatic environment. This new study, conducted by researchers from the University of Portsmouth, lends further support to the idea that Spinosaurus spent a great deal of time in water, that this enormous theropod, arguably one of the largest of all the carnivorous dinosaurs was a “river monster”.
More Evidence Suggests that Spinosaurus was an Aquatic Animal
View of the crocodile-like snout of Spinosaurus and the new interpretation of the tail. This new paper supports the earlier hypothesis that Spinosaurus aegyptiacus was an aquatic animal.
This new study builds on a research paper published in the journal “Nature”, earlier this year, which also involved co-author Professor David Martill (University of Portsmouth). The May (2020) paper focused on the examination of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus caudal vertebrae, it was concluded that Spinosaurus had a wide, flexible, fin-like tail, ideal for helping the dinosaur to propel itself through the water.
A Study of Fossil Teeth from the Kem Kem Formation
Writing in the academic journal “Cretaceous Research”, the scientists conclude that Spinosaurus was a water-dwelling dinosaur, a giant “river monster”.
A total of 1,200 broken teeth were collected from the site of an ancient riverbed in the Kem Kem Formation of Morocco. Each tooth was carefully analysed and documented and it was discovered that Spinosaurus teeth made up the majority of the fossil specimens.
Professor David Martill, Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Portsmouth explained:
“From this research we are able to confirm this location as the place where this gigantic dinosaur not only lived but also died. The results are fully consistent with the idea of a truly water-dwelling, “river monster”.”
Examples of Typical Fossils from the Kem Kem Formation (Morocco)
Assorted vertebrate fossil remains from the Kem Kem beds of Morocco. The elongated conical tooth (top left) and the large, slender conical tooth which is partially obscured (far left) are likely to be spinosaurid.
Studying Spinosaurus
Around forty-five percent of all the teeth fossils were ascribed to Spinosaurus.
Professor Martill added:
“The huge number of teeth we collected in the prehistoric riverbed reveals that Spinosaurus was there in huge numbers, accounting for 45 per cent of the total dental remains. We know of no other location where such a mass of dinosaur teeth have been found in bone-bearing rock. The enhanced abundance of Spinosaurus teeth, relative to other dinosaurs, is a reflection of their aquatic lifestyle. An animal living much of its life in water is much more likely to contribute teeth to the river deposit than those dinosaurs that perhaps only visited the river for drinking and feeding along its banks.”
Professor Martill worked alongside two students (Aaron Quigley and Thomas Beevor), studying for the Masters Degree in Palaeontology at the university.
Thomas Beevor commented:
“The Kem Kem riverbeds are an amazing source of Spinosaurus remains. They also preserve the remains of many other Cretaceous creatures including sawfish, coelacanths, crocodiles, flying reptiles and other land-living dinosaurs. With such an abundance of Spinosaurus teeth, it is highly likely that this animal was living mostly within the river rather than along its banks.”
Identifying Spinosaurus Teeth
Sorting fossil teeth can be quite a challenging process. However, enough is known about the Kem Kem biota to enable most of the teeth remains to be assigned to a genus or at least at the family level. Numerous theropod dinosaurs are known from this geological formation, but spinosaurid teeth are distinctive. They are conical, lack serrations and are not recurved. Aaron Quigley explained that the teeth of Spinosaurus have a distinct surface. They have a smooth, round cross-section which glints when held up to the light.
A Model of Spinosaurus Introduced in 2019 (Papo Spinosaurus)
The Papo limited-edition Spinosaurus dinosaur model (2019). Depicting Spinosaurus as an aquatic animal with deep, fin-like tail.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The picture (above) shows the Papo limited-edition Spinosaurus figure.
Whilst the prevalence of spinosaurid teeth in the sample might indicate that spinosaurids spent more time in close proximity to the ancient river than other dinosaurs, this research does not represent definitive proof that Spinosaurus was aquatic. It lends weight to the idea.
A large amount of spinosaurid teeth associated with the site, could be a result of some form of depositional bias or general taphonomy. In addition, the paucity of Spinosaurus remains from the Kem Kem Formation has led to controversy over the classification of fossil bones. For example, in 1996 a second genus of spinosaurid was named and described from fossilised cervical vertebrae found close to the Tafilalt Oasis in eastern Morocco.
This dinosaur was named Sigilmassasaurus brevicollis (Russell), but its taxonomic validity remains in doubt. Sigilmassasaurus may be a valid genus, if it is, then it was very closely related to Spinosaurus aegyptiacus. Other scientists think that S. brevicollis is not a valid genus and a junior synonym of Spinosaurus. It is possible that the teeth involved in this study could represent another type of spinosaurid, other than S. aegyptiacus.
Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the assistance of a media release from the University of Portsmouth in the compilation of this article.
Rebor T. rex Carcass “Bites the Dust” Pair Plain and Jungle
The Rebor T. rex carcass “Bites the Dust” models are in stock at Everything Dinosaur. These two figures (jungle and plain colour variants), have arrived at our warehouse and team members have been busy contacting all those customers who asked to be emailed about the latest additions to our inventory and the Rebor range.
A Rebor Tyrannosaurus rex Carcass Model Plain Colour Variant “Bites the Dust”
The Rebor Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur model in 1:35 scale. The Rebor T. rex carcass “Bites the Dust” – plain.
The Tale of a Theropod Dinosaur that Met Its Demise
From the pathology recorded on the fossilised bones of this apex predator, palaeontologists are fairly certain that T. rex had a very tough life. It was a question of kill or be killed and it has been suggested that tyrannosaurs were cannibalistic and that these dinosaurs had to cope with vicious intraspecific combats, essentially fights with other tyrannosaurs, possibly over hunting territories, mates or kills.
As hypercarnivores most likely specialising in the hunting of large prey animals such as hadrosaurs and ceratopsians, attacks could go wrong, with perhaps fatal consequences. We congratulate Rebor for creating such carefully crafted figures.
The Rebor T. rex carcass is available in two colour variants, plain (see photograph above) and jungle (see below). Each figure measures around 34 cm in length and depicts a dead Tyrannosaurus rex. They will make really exciting additions to a dinosaur model collection and provide an opportunity for model makers to build some amazing prehistoric animal dioramas.
A Rebor Tyrannosaurus rex Carcass Model Jungle Colour Variant “Bites the Dust”
The Rebor T. rex carcass in the jungle colour scheme (Bites the Dust).
The Queen Motif Continues
Collectors of Rebor models will notice that the rock group Queen motif continues with the introduction of these two fine figures. In the spring of 2019, Rebor introduced a pair of T. rex replicas under the title of “Killer Queen” a possible homage to a track and later a single from the British rock band’s “Sheer Heart Attack” album from the mid-1970s. Queen released a single entitled “Another One Bites the Dust” in 1980, it was a worldwide hit, reaching number 7 in the UK singles chart and topping the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. We think these two fabulous fatality figures will prove to be a big hit with model collectors and fans of Rebor too.
Everything Dinosaur is Offering the Pair at a Special Discounted Price (Whilst Stocks Last)
Buy the Pair – purchase the Rebor T. rex carcass “Bites the Dust” colour variants plain and jungle. Everything Dinosaur customers can purchase the pair at a special discounted price (whilst stocks last).Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Rebor T. rex carcass “Bites the Dust” plain and colour variants can be found here: Rebor Models and Figures.
Getting to Grips with a Mass Extinction Event – Carnian Pluvial Episode
The fossil record of the Phanerozoic (the Eon of visible life), indicates that there were five major mass extinction events. The fossil record marks huge and very rapid (at least in geological terms anyway), reductions in the diversity of life on a world-wide scale. Our planet might well be going through a mass extinction event at the moment, but for one team of scientists their attention has been on the Late Triassic (Carnian faunal stage), plotting a time of extensive terrestrial and marine faunal turnover.
Examining the Impact of the Carnian Pluvial Episode
The researchers, which include scientists from Bristol University, the University of Ferrara (Italy), the University of Vienna and the China University of Geosciences in Wuhan Province, conclude that around 233 million years ago about a third of all marine genera disappeared.
Terrestrial Fauna in the Late Triassic – Did a Major Extinction Event Help to Trigger the Rise of the Dinosaurs
Life in the Late Triassic, an explosion in dinosaur diversity. Did the Crocodylomorpha and the Dinosauria benefit from the Late Triassic Carnian Pluvial Episode?
Picture credit: Davide Bonadonna
Many types of land-living animal did no better. The herbivorous rhynchosaurs and dicynodonts were greatly reduced in diversity during the Carnian, but intriguingly crocodylomorphs and those other archosaurs, the Dinosauria seem to have benefitted from the extinction of other types of tetrapod, with both the Crocodylomorpha and dinosaurs diversifying towards the end of the Carnian. The scientists postulate that the rise of the dinosaurs to dominance might have been a direct consequence of the Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE).
The Carnian Pluvial Episode took place from around 234 to 232 million years ago. There was a marked rise in rainfall (at least four episodes of increased rainfall have been deduced from sedimentary and palaeontological data). The Earth got warmer and more humid. This led to extensive environmental changes and the subsequent demise and then collapse of many ecological systems.
Writing in the academic journal “Science Advances”, the scientists throw their collective weight behind the theory that enormous volcanic eruptions in the Wrangellia Province of western Canada, that resulted in the deposition of vast amounts of basalt, were probably the cause of the global environmental changes.
Co-author of the paper Jacopo Dal Corso (China University of Geosciences), explained:
“The eruptions peaked in the Carnian. I was studying the geochemical signature of the eruptions a few years ago and identified some massive effects on the atmosphere worldwide. The eruptions were so huge, they pumped vast amounts of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and there were spikes of global warming”.
This warming resulted in the increased humidity and higher levels of rainfall, a phenomenon first detected by geologists Mike Simms and Alastair Ruffell in the 1980s. The climate change caused major biodiversity loss in the ocean and on land, but just after the extinction event new groups took over, forming more modern-like ecosystems.
Environmental and Geochemical Changes of the CPE
(A) Calculating the age of the CPE based on geochemical indicators and (B) Palaeogeography during the Carnian, the map showing where sedimentary and palaeontological data has been obtained documenting changes in environmental conditions.
Picture credit: Jacopo Dal Corso et al/Science Advances
A Provide Effect on Planet Earth
The environmental changes had a profound effect on life on our planet. As well as a diversification of the dinosaurs, many other modern groups of animals and plants appeared at this time, including lizards and the first mammals. When mapping the losses of marine fauna at the genus level, the team concluded that whilst the CPE was not as devastating as the either the end-Triassic or end-Cretaceous extinction events, some 33% of all marine genera died out.
A Comparison of Marine Faunal Turnover During Major Extinction Events
(A) Comparison of extinction rates of all marine genera during the CPE with those of major Phanerozoic mass extinction events.
Picture credit: Jacopo Dal Corso et al/Science Advances
The Effect on Plant Life
The shifts in climate encouraged substantial changes in global flora too. Many new types of plants emerged that were more suited to the humid climate. Several modern fern families emerged and the Bennettitales (cycad-like plants), diversified. Extensive coal deposits formed once again, the first substantial coal seams being produced since the Permian. Conifers seem to have benefitted and the researchers, which include Professor Mike Benton (Bristol University), remark that the CPE provides the first major finds of amber in the fossil record. As tree resin is usually produced when plants are under stress, this suggests that terrestrial ecosystems were in a state of flux during this period in Earth’s history.
Professor Benton stated:
“The new floras probably provided slim pickings for the surviving herbivorous reptiles. I had noted a floral switch and ecological catastrophe among the herbivores back in 1983 when I completed my PhD. We now know that dinosaurs originated some 20 million years before this event, but they remained quite rare and unimportant until the Carnian Pluvial Episode hit. It was the sudden arid conditions after the humid episode that gave dinosaurs their chance.”
Terrestrial Extinctions and Originations During the Carnian (Late Triassic)
Plotting the major biological changes amongst plants, insects and vertebrates during the Carnian. Trackmaker assemblages from the Southern Alps suggest a faunal turnover within the Archosauria with the dinosaurs replacing the crocodylomorphs as a significant component of terrestrial ecosystems.
Picture credit: Jacopo Dal Corso et al/Science Advances
The Impact of the Carnian Pluvial Episode
The researchers conclude that the CPE may not have been as significant as the big five Phanerozoic mass extinctions but it did have a dramatic impact on terrestrial and marine environments and helped to bring in a variety of new types of plants and animals, marking an important step towards the origins of the types of ecosystems we see around us today.
The scientific paper: “Extinction and dawn of the modern world in the Carnian (Late Triassic)” by Jacopo Dal Corso et al published in Science Advances.
Everything Dinosaur has created a short video review of the new for 2020 CollectA Deluxe Lisowicia bojani model. As well as reviewing the figure, we have provided an outline of some of the science behind the discovery and naming of this huge, Late Triassic dicynodont. In the video, (it lasts just over ten minutes), we also discuss a “secret” Placerias replica and pose the question which prehistoric animal models would you put in a diorama with these two members of the Dicynodontia?
Everything Dinosaur’s Video Review of the CollectA Deluxe Lisowicia bojani Model (Dynamic Dicynodonts)
Video credit: Everything Dinosaur
A Dicynodont Duo
There are not that many dicynodont models made by mainstream manufacturers. Creatures from the Triassic tend to be somewhat underrepresented in model ranges when compared to prehistoric animals that lived during the Jurassic or Cretaceous. However, fans of the Dicynodontia have two protomammals to choose from. There is the CollectA Deluxe Lisowicia bojani, which was introduced this year (2020) and an eye-catching Placerias replica to add to your collection.
A Dicynodont Duo – Lisowicia and Placerias
The CollectA Deluxe Lisowicia bojani model (background) and a Placerias replica (foreground).Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
In the short video review, we measure the two models and comment on their size and scale. The CollectA Deluxe Lisowicia replica measures around nineteen centimetres in length, stands approximately 7 cm high at the shoulder and that high-arched back is more than 10 cm tall. The Placerias figure, is smaller, it measures about 10 cm in length and it stands around 5 cm high. The sizing is apt, as although Placerias was a large dicynodont, it would have been dwarfed by the elephant-sized Lisowicia, should a Placerias ever encounter one.
Measuring a Prehistoric Protomammal – The Tale of the Tape (Lisowicia bojani)
In the Everything Dinosaur video review the CollectA Lisowicia replica is measured.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
The CollectA Deluxe Lisowicia bojani Helping to Inform and Educate
One of the aims of our videos is to help explain some of the science behind the prehistoric animal that a particular figure might represent. In our video review of the Lisowicia, we highlight where the fossils of this giant dicynodont were found and what other fossils were discovered in association with the remains.
Thanks to the thousands of bones that have been excavated from the Lisowicia dig site, researchers have been able to build up a comprehensive picture of the many different types of animals that co-existed with L. bojani. For example, the narrator comments upon the discovery of the archosaur Smok wawelski and points out the difficulties in classifying this predator as either a member of the Theropoda or a rauisuchid – a diverse group of predatory archosaurs that sit on the crocodilian segment of the Archosauria family tree.
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