The new for 2023 Papo Mosasaurus model is in stock at Everything Dinosaur. This marine reptile figure is the first new Papo prehistoric animal model to be introduced this year (2023). The model has an articulated lower jaw. It displays some amazing details such as pterygoid teeth located in the roof of the cavernous mouth.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
An Articulated Lower Jaw and Pterygoid Teeth
The Papo Mosasaurus marine reptile model measures around 25.5 cm (10 inches) in length and it has an articulated lower jaw. The impressively painted mouth reveals two rows of pterygoid teeth located towards the back of the mouth. These teeth, known in living members of the Squamata such as snakes, helped to grip prey and enabled these large predators to swallow their victims whole.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Papo Mosasaurus Model
This new marine reptile figure has been given an asymmetrical tail fin, referred to as a hypocercal tail. One lobe, the lower lobe of the tail, is much larger than the upper lobe. The model has also been given powerful front flippers and a dorsal fin.
There are examples of soft tissue preservation in mosasaur specimens, most notably in a specimen reported in the journal “Nature Communications” by Lindgren et al (2013). A mosasaur fossil specimen from the Upper Cretaceous sediments of central Jordan provided evidence of the shape of the tail and the flippers as soft tissue impressions were preserved.
Team members at Everything Dinosaur are not aware of any direct fossil evidence to indicate that these reptiles had dorsal fins.
An Intriguing Marine Reptile Figure
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“The new Papo Mosasaurus is an intriguing marine reptile figure. A second marine reptile model from Papo is due out later this year. It is a Kronosaurus and we look forward to comparing the two models.”
To view the range of Papo models available from Everything Dinosaur: Papo Prehistoric Animal Models and Figures.
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