Everything Dinosaur team members have posted up a short video reviewing the new Dino Hazard Irritator challengeri dinosaur model and explaining what needs to be done before this figure can be sold legitimately. The first part of the video, which has been posted up on the company’s YouTube channel, looks at the model in more detail and discusses the accessories supplied with it. In the second part of the video, the narrator outlines the product testing required in order to place a dinosaur model on the market.
In Everything Dinosaur’s brief YouTube video (duration 4:48), the narrator discusses the model and then explains the steps required in order to legally sell this figure.
Irritator challengeri
At over 30 centimetres in length, this is an impressive replica of a South American spinosaurid dinosaur. The model has an articulated lower jaw and it is supplied with a lungfish figure and an optional display base. This model, marketed under the brand Dino Hazard stands very well on its own without the use of the base, but if model collectors prefer, the figure can be displayed on its base, although Everything Dinosaur recommends that the model is glued permanently in place when this base is used.
This model has to pass independent product safety tests (submitted for testing in June 2021). A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur stated that a decision as to whether or not to stock this figure would be made by team members once the test report had been received. It was then a question of entering into negotiations with the manufacturer in order to secure this model prior to taking the models from the factory in China.
Everything Dinosaur’s YouTube channel is crammed with lots of videos reviewing dinosaur models and providing hits and tips about collecting prehistoric animal figures. Subscribe to Everything Dinosaur on YouTube here: Subscribe to Everything Dinosaur on YouTube.
A customer contacted Everything Dinosaur asking for advice on how to get her recently purchased CollectA Neanderthal man model to balance. Getting a bipedal dinosaur model to stand can sometimes be tricky, getting a Neanderthal man to stand can be equally challenging especially as he stands holding a long spear and he has bare feet. When it comes to a human figure, sometimes the addition of some carefully oversized boots or shoes can help the knight/soldier/historical figure to stand.
The design team at CollectA must be praised for introducing replicas of Neanderthals. The Neanderthal man and Neanderthal woman figures were first introduced into the CollectA Prehistoric Life range in 2012 and these models have proved popular with collectors. However, stability of figures such as these can be an issue.
A Helping Hand
As part of our solution to help overcome the problem of having a cave man who is unsteady on his legs, a team member set about examining our stock of figures and finding a model that would stand fine on his own without the need for a Stone Age walking stick or some other prop.
A CollectA Neanderthal man model was selected and placed on one of the filing cabinets in our offices to ensure that this figure was perfectly stable on a hard surface. We can’t guarantee that these models are going to stand on a soft surface such as a carpet, but we do go to great lengths to help our customers out.
Not Just Dinosaurs
The CollectA Prehistoric Life range contains a wide variety of figures, not just dinosaurs but pterosaurs, ancient arthropods, iconic animals from the fossil record and all sorts of prehistoric mammal models. There are mammoths and sabre-tooth cats as well as more exotic extinct mammals such as a replica of Przewalski’s horse and the scale model series has a large range of prehistoric mammal figures too including a 1:20 scale model of the giant rhinoceros Elasmotherium.
To view the Neanderthal figures and see the other prehistoric animal models and figures in the CollectA not to scale range: CollectA Prehistoric Life.
The giant prehistoric rhino, Paraceratherium, is considered the largest land mammal that ever lived. It was mainly found in Asia, especially China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Pakistan. How these giant, hornless rhinos dispersed across Asia was unknown, but the discovery of fossils in Gansu Province, has led to the naming of a new Paraceratherium species (Paraceratherium linxiaense) and shed light on how these amazing herbivores evolved and dispersed across the Asian continent.
Providing Important Clues About Paraceratherium Dispersal
Writing in the academic journal “Communications Biology”, the researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Hezheng Paleozoological Museum (Gansu Province), Henan University (Henan Province) and Harvard University describe fossils found near the village of Wangjiachuan (Gansu Province) in 2015 that enabled the establishment of a new species of Paraceratherium.
Analysis of the fossil material led the scientists to conclude that this new species was closely related to giant rhinos that once lived in Pakistan (Paraceratherium bugtiense), which suggests ancestral forms migrated across Central Asia.
The Remarkable Fauna of the Linxia Basin in the Late Oligocene
The fossil material which includes a skull and articulated mandible as well as the first cervical vertebra (atlas), as well as another neckbone and two thoracic vertebrae from a second individual were found in Late Oligocene deposits associated with the Jiaozigou Formation of Linxia Basin (Gansu Province), close to the north-eastern border of the Tibetan Plateau.
Around 26.5 million years ago, the open woodland environment of north-central China was home to a wide variety of prehistoric mammals including the giant rhinos Turpanotherium and Dzungariotherium, the rodent Tsaganomys, the creodont Megalopterodon, the chalicothere Schizotherium, the hyracodont Ardynia, the rhinocerotid Aprotodon, and the entelodont Paraentelodon – some of these animals are illustrated in the Paraceratherium linxiaense life reconstruction (above).
Standing taller than a giraffe and weighing approximately 20 tonnes, Paraceratherium linxiaense had a slender skull and a prehensile nose trunk similar to that of the modern tapir to help it to grab leaves and branches from the tops of trees, a food resource that no other animal in its environment could exploit.
Plotting the Distribution and Dispersal of Paraceratherium
A phylogenetic analysis carried out by the research team suggests P. linxiaense as a derived form with a mix of basal and more advanced traits. The phylogenetic analysis produced a series of progressively more-derived species from P. grangeri, through P. huangheense, P. asiaticum, and P. bugtiense before finally terminating in P. linxiaense and what is thought to be its sister taxon P. lepidum.
The research team conclude that Paraceratherium linxiaense was a more specialised animal, with a more flexible neck, similar to P. lepidum, and both are derived from Paraceratherium bugtiense known from Pakistan. They team were then able to plot and map the spread of these giant rhinos across Asia.
The researchers found that all six species of Paraceratherium are sister taxa to the hornless rhinoceros Aralotherium which is known from Kazakhstan and China and form a monophyletic clade in which P. grangeri is the most primitive, succeeded by P. huangheense and P. asiaticum.
The researchers were thus able to determine that, in the Early Oligocene, P. asiaticum dispersed westward to Kazakhstan and its descendant lineage expanded to South Asia as Paraceratherium bugtiense. In the Late Oligocene, Paraceratherium returned northward, crossing the Tibetan region, which implies that this area of Asia was not yet uplifted to form a high, difficult to traverse plateau. This migration led to two distinct species evolving P. lepidum to the west in Kazakhstan and P. linxiaense to the east in the Linxia Basin.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Contrasting the high altitude of the Tibetan region today to the environment of this region during the Late Oligocene Epoch, lead author of the research Professor Deng Tao explained that:
“Late Oligocene tropical conditions allowed the giant rhino to return northward to Central Asia, implying that the Tibetan region was still not uplifted as a high-elevation plateau.”
During the Oligocene, the giant rhino could disperse freely from the Mongolian Plateau to South Asia along the eastern coast of the Tethys Ocean and perhaps through Tibet. Up to the Late Oligocene, the evolution and migration from P. bugtiense to P. linxiaense and P. lepidum demonstrates that the “Tibetan Plateau” was not yet a barrier to the movement of the largest land mammal known to science.
The scientific paper: “An Oligocene giant rhino provides insights into Paraceratherium evolution” by Tao Deng, Xiaokang Lu, Shiqi Wang, Lawrence J. Flynn, Danhui Sun, Wen He and Shanqin Chen published in Communications Biology.
Today, Everything Dinosaur in collaboration with PNSO announce another exciting addition to PNSO’s mid-size model range – a stunning replica of the Late Jurassic theropod Torvosaurus. Say hello to Connor the Torvosaurus.
Connor the PNSO Torvosaurus is likely to be in stock at Everything Dinosaur later in the summer.
PNSO Theropod Dinosaurs
Hot on the heels of the recently announced Tarbosaurus figure comes news of this Torvosaurus replica, another fantastic figure of an apex predator for dinosaur fans and model collectors to drool over. Two species are currently assigned to this genus – T. tanneri which was formally named in 1979 and the European T. gurneyi. Torvosaurus gurneyi was scientifically described just seven years ago.
Fossil remains attributed to Torvosaurus have been found as far afield as the western United States, Portugal and possibly southern England, South America and Tanzania. There may be more species to be added but for the time being, dinosaur model fans have this beautiful PNSO replica to admire.
The latest addition to the rapidly expanding PNSO mid-size model range measures 29.5 cm long from the tip of its robust snout to the end of its lengthy, tapering tail. The model stands approximately 8.5 cm high. Although PNSO do not publish a scale size for their mid-size model range, Everything Dinosaur estimate that based on a fully grown adult size of around 10 metres, this dinosaur model is approximately in 1:33 scale.
Supplied with a Transparent Stand
As with other recent PNSO dinosaur models representing bipeds, Connor the Torvosaurus is supplied with a handy, transparent support stand.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“It is great to see this latest introduction into the PNSO model portfolio. There are not too many Torvosaurus figures about and this one is bound to get dinosaur fans roaring with delight”.
Connor the PNSO Torvosaurus is expected in stock later in the summer. To view the existing range of PNSO models and figures available from Everything Dinosaur: PNSO Dinosaur Models and Prehistoric Animal Figures.
Whilst researching the background to a dinosaur model based on fossils found in Brazil (Irritator challengeri), team members at Everything Dinosaur stumbled upon a superb illustration of the fauna associated with the Alcântara Formation.
Illustrating the Ancient Ecosystem (Cretaceous of Brazil)
The stunning artwork created by Rodolfo Nogueira (above), illustrates the biota associated with the Laje do Coringa bone bed found in early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian stage) deposits of the Alcântara Formation of north-eastern South America.
Terrestrial element: sauropod titanosaurids (left) and andesaurids (right), whilst a giant spinosaurid feeds on an Atlanticopristis equatorialis (centre). The other, smaller theropods depicted in the scene represent noasaurids. A pterosaur (member of the Anhangueridae), soars overhead.
Marine element: a coelacanth (Mawsonia gigas) swims close to the surface on the left of the picture. Pycnodontiform (middle) Myliobatis sp. (bottom) and on the right of the picture Tribodus sp. (sharks), Lepidotes sp. can be seen whilst a giant sawfish Onchopristis sp. swims in the background.
The Lungfish and Irritator challengeri
The new Dino Hazard Irritator challengeri model comes with a lungfish (genus Equinoxiodus) which can be held in the claws of the theropod. The lungfish is a replica of Equinoxiodus alcantarensis which was named and described in 2011 from fossilised tooth plates found in deposits associated with the Alcântara Formation.
Whilst the dating of the Irritator challengeri fossil material has proved to be challenging (no pun intended), most palaeontologists estimate that this spinosaurid roamed north-eastern Brazil around 110 million years ago (Albian faunal stage of the Early Cretaceous). The lungfish model (Equinoxiodus alcantarensis) is known from the geologically younger Alcântara Formation (Cenomanian faunal stage).
If Irritator was a piscivore (fish-eater), it may well have hunted lungfish, but E. alcantarensis might be more than ten million years younger than the theropod.
A Unique Record of Cenomanian Fauna of South America
Examination of fossils found in rocks associated with the Alcântara Formation has provided a unique record of the South American Cenomanian continental flora and fauna. Palaeontologists have been able to piece together the ancient ecosystems that existed in this part of the world during the earliest stage of the Late Cretaceous. This has helped scientists to understand the changes in fauna and flora as Gondwana broke apart and the Atlantic Ocean widened. The fossils of the Laje do Coringa bone bed reveal a diverse vertebrate community that lived in the coastal forested areas of the Northern Maranhão state surrounded by a dominantly dry and arid environment.
The bone bed reveals that vertebrate fauna was more similar to the northern African fauna at the time than it was to the fauna associated with rest of South America. This suggests that land bridges permitting faunal interchanges between Africa and north-eastern Brazil may have persisted until the early Cenomanian (about 100 million years ago).
Whilst no Irritator challengeri fossils are known from the Alcântara Formation, fragmentary evidence, mainly in the form of isolated teeth indicate that spinosaurids were present. Teeth found have been ascribed to the roughly coeval Spinosaurus aegyptiacus which is known from Egypt and Morocco.
Discussing the remarkable terrestrial and marine biotas associated with the Alcântara Formation does permit us an opportunity to post up a super illustration by Rodolfo Nogueira.
Since its publication last month, the storybook entitled “The Plesiosaur’s Neck” by Dr Adam S. Smith and Jonathan Emmett with splendid illustrations courtesy of Adam Larkum has been selling well.
A Tale of a Neck
This delightful children’s book features Poppy an Albertonectes, a plesiosaur and member of the Elasmosauridae family. Albertonectes once swam in the sea in what is now the Canadian Province of Alberta. This Cretaceous marine reptile had an enormous 7-metre-long neck, which was longer than the rest of its body. It had an amazing 76 cervical vertebrae, more than any other elasmosaurid described to date. Poppy the plesiosaur, as an adult Albertonectes, had the longest neck of any elasmosaur known to science.
Our congratulations to Dr Adam Smith and Jonathan Emmett for putting together such a delightful book that combines palaeontology with such an enjoyable tale. Praise too, to the very talented award-winning illustrator Adam Larkum for his super illustrations.
We are sure that Alfie the ammonite and Bella the belemnite that chime in with comments would approve of all the fabulous reviews this book has received.
It’s a great book that will entertain and enthral young readers from 5 years and upwards.
“The Plesiosaurs Neck” ISBN number 9781912979424 is available now (2021). Published by Uclan Publishing. Priced at £7.99 it can be purchased here: Uclan Publishing.
Everything Dinosaur team members have been working on a YouTube video that features the Irritator challengeri dinosaur model from YvY Figures. Marketed under the brand Dino Hazard, the plan is to show the model and provide a mini review and then discuss the steps that Everything Dinosaur have to take in order to place this exciting dinosaur model legitimately on the market.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Dino Hazard Irritator challengeri
YvY Figures contacted Everything Dinosaur a few weeks ago and enquired whether we were interested in stocking this figure, the first in the Dino Hazard series. In order to place such a product on the market, it is important to check the safety certificates and accreditation associated with the model.
Everything Dinosaur takes the safety of our customers extremely seriously and a sample was requested so that we could conduct our own independent safety tests.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“Before a product such as this can be placed on the market, it needs to undergo a series of product safety tests. These have to be carried out by an independent, accredited testing company. Everything Dinosaur uses Eurofins, a highly respected, global leader in consumer product testing for this work.”
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
A Model of a South American Spinosaurid
Irritator challengeri was the first spinosaurid described from fossil material found in South America (Brazil). The model measures around 37 cm in length and the manufacturer states that this is a 1:20 scale figure.
The video will be available on Everything Dinosaur’s YouTube channel shortly.
Dinosaur model fans and collectors have been very impressed over the last twelve months or so with the large number of new model releases from the Chinese company PNSO. At a time when most factories have been struggling to obtain raw materials, PNSO have managed to set in motion a production plan that has seen a new model being announced every few weeks.
Keeping up with PNSO Product Announcements
Everything Dinosaur would like to congratulate the design and production team at PNSO. They continue to delight prehistoric animal model collectors with their new model introductions and announcements. We do understand how challenging it can be for model collectors to keep up to date with all this exciting news. The Everything Dinosaur blog provides an invaluable and authoritative source of information and our dedicated team members frequently post up on social media too, these posts help to keep prehistoric animal model fans updated.
Providing Further Assistance
In a bid to provide further assistance to dinosaur model collectors, here is a list of the recently announced new prehistoric animal replicas being introduced by PNSO.
PNSO Chuanzi the Tarbosaurus 51
PNSO Jeff the Kronosaurus in the 1:35 scale scientific art
PNSO Stegosaurus Models (Biber and Rook) in the scientific art 1:35 scale
In addition to providing the name of the animal we have also included (where applicable), the product inventory number as provided by PNSO on the company’s product packaging. Dinosaur model collectors can then get some insight into further potential announcements by noting which numbers in the numeric sequence have yet to be filled.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented that the PNSO Austin the Pachycephalosaurus and Paul the Allosaurus would be in stock at Everything Dinosaur in a few days.
The two new Rebor GrabNGo T. rex dinosaur models (Rebor GNG05 1:35 scale SA T. rex Type D and Rebor GNG04 1:35 scale SA T. rex Type C) are now in stock at Everything Dinosaur. These eagerly anticipated Tyrannosaurus rex models arrived at the Everything Dinosaur warehouse yesterday and they will be replacing the original GNG Rebor rexes that were introduced in 2020.
The models are the same sculpt but they have very different colour schemes. GNG04 is a dark green figure with subtle black banding, whilst GNG05 can be described as mainly brown-coloured but with prominent white markings on the head and neck. Each figure measures 40 cm in length and is supplied with a transparent support stand to permit Rebor to keep the well-crafted hind feet in proportion with the rest of the model.
The Rebor GNGO5 1:35 Scale SA T. rex Type D
The colouration of the Rebor GNG05 1:35 scale SA T. rex Type D, reminds team members at Everything Dinosaur of the Tyrannosaurus rexes that featured in the American documentary series “Dinosaur Revolution” that aired around ten years ago. In the four-part documentary series, the final episode featured the dinosaur dominated biota of the Hell Creek Formation of North America. Several T. rex dinosaurs were featured in this programme. If we recall correctly there were two male T. rexes, one was called “Jack Palance” and another called “Stumpy”. “Stumpy” had a deformed forearm as a result of a fight with the bigger “Jack Palance”, fortunately the Rebor GNG05 1:35 scale SA T. rex Type D has no such disability.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur praised Rebor for introducing another two, inexpensive dinosaur models into their portfolio and they confirmed that the original GNG T. rexes (Rebor GNG02 1:35 SA T. rex Type A and the Rebor GNG03 1:35 scale SA T. rex Type B) our now out of production and retired.
In a joint collaboration with PNSO, Everything Dinosaur is pleased to announce that a Tarbosaurus dinosaur model is being introduced into PNSO’s mid-size prehistoric animal model range. Say hello to Chuanzi the Tarbosaurus, the very latest addition to the ever-growing PNSO prehistoric animal portfolio.
This new dinosaur figure is likely to be available from Everything Dinosaur in the late summer of 2021.
PNSO Chuanzi the Tarbosaurus
Dinosaur fans and model collectors will be aware that PNSO have ramped up production considerably and numerous new figures have been announced since the end of 2020. Chuanzi the Tarbosaurus is the second member of the Tyrannosauroidea to be announced this year after Yinqi the Yutyrannus (April 2021). Eagle-eyed collectors will note that the Tarbosaurus figure is number 51 in this series, whilst Yinqi, which was announced earlier is number 52.
Named and described in 1955, Tarbosaurus (T. bataar) is one of the largest tyrannosaurids known. It is believed to have been slightly smaller than Tyrannosaurus rex, but closely related to the “tyrant lizard king”. Tarbosaurus measured around 12 metres in length and most body weight estimates suggest a figure of between 4,000 and 5,000 kilograms.
Model Measurements
Chuanzi the PNSO Tarbosaurus measures 31 cm in length and it has a head height of 11 cm. The recently introduced new Wilson the T. rex figure is slightly longer (34.5 cm long), so these two models can be displayed together to provide the viewer with a comparison between these closely related Late Cretaceous tyrannosaurs.
Available from Everything Dinosaur in the Summer (2021)
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur confirmed that they intended to stock this figure and that it should be available from them later this summer. They also stated that there were more prehistoric animal figures to be announced.
As with other theropod dinosaur models in the PNSO model range, this new Tarbosaurus will have an articulated lower jaw and it will be supplied with a transparent stand to help support the model.
PNSO have chosen to depict Tarbosaurus as a powerful and heavy-set animal. The figure will be supplied with a transparent support stand.
To view the current range of PNSO prehistoric animal models in stock at Everything Dinosaur: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs.