Prehistoric Times reviewed by Everything Dinosaur team members.

Celebrating thirty years since the first issue of “Prehistoric Times” magazine, it is time to review the latest edition of this quarterly magazine for fans of prehistoric animals and dinosaur models. The stunning artwork on the front cover was supplied by Jaime Chirinos, whose illustrations have adorned the front cover of this popular magazine on previous occasions. In this issue, magazine editor Mike Fredericks interviews the Peruvian-born illustrator and there are lots of fantastic artwork by Jaime included in the article.

Front cover of Prehistoric Times (issue 143)
The front cover of Prehistoric Times issue 143 (fall/autumn) 2022. The front cover illustration an Auriornis – a controversial Chinese, crow-sized theropod. The superb illustration is by Jaime Chirinos.

Feathered Dinosaurs

It is fitting to have Jaime depict a feathered theropod on the front cover of issue 143 as inside Tracy Lee Ford continues his series of highly informative articles on dinosaur feathers, whilst John Lavas provides part 2 of his biography of the influential Zdeněk Burian. There are no feathered dinosaurs to admire in the artwork associated with this article, but plenty of illustrations produced by Burian associated with other types of commission he received. If you are a fan of Jules Verne, you are in for a treat.

Styracosaurus illustration (Burian 1941).
The classical depiction of Styracosaurus albertensis by Burian (1941), one of several oil canvases incorporated into the article written by John Lavas. The illustration depicts two horned dinosaurs emerging into a clearing. This image has inspired many other artists and box art packaging designers. Picture credit J. R. Lavas.

Kunbarrasaurus and the Tasmanian Tiger

Aussie Phil Hore provides a conducted tour of the armoured Australian dinosaur Kunbarrasaurus, and the article includes some amazing, armoured dinosaur artwork, our congratulations to Wade Carmen, Anders Bang, John F Davies and the other contributors. Phil Hore stays in Australia to discuss the enigmatic and recently extinct Thylacine, otherwise known as the Tasmanian Tiger. Thanks to Daniel Navarro, Andreas Forrer and Marcus Burkhardt for their reader-supplied artwork with a special mention for Jaime Martinez for sending in a picture of his Thylacine models, complete with a female with offspring in her pouch.

From marsupials we move to monsters with Bruce Horton’s submission recreating a King Kong versus Allosaurus model diorama by combining two replica kits into a single, stunning display. Mike Fredericks interviews palaeontologist and author Steve Brusatte, who has taken time away from his research based at the University of Edinburgh to pen a sequel to his acclaimed “The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs” entitled “The Rise and Reign of the Mammals”. The piece is peppered with some illustrations from this new book charting the rise of the Mammalia created by the famous palaeoartist Todd Marshall. This beautifully illustrated book is highly recommended.

Prehistoric Times Reviewed

The regular features such as a section covering recent fossil discoveries, classified advertisements, book reviews in “Mesozoic Media” are all included, and Randy Knol provides an update on new model introductions too. The autumn edition provides a fitting tribute to thirty years of magazine publishing.

To visit the “Prehistoric Times” web page and to subscribe: “Prehistoric Times” Magazine.