All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
About Mike
Mike runs Everything Dinosaur, a UK-based mail order company specialising in the sale of dinosaur and prehistoric animal models, He works alongside Sue, and between them they have become the "go to guys" for museum quality prehistoric animal models and figures. An avid fossil collector and reader of dinosaur books, Mike researchers and writes articles about palaeontology, fossil discoveries, research and of course, dinosaur and prehistoric animal models.
Our thanks to Caldey who sent into Everything Dinosaur her illustration of the tyrannosaur Bistahieversor sealeyi. It is a beautiful Bistahieversor drawing. We think this piece of artwork was inspired by the recently introduced Beasts of the Mesozoic 1/18th scale Bistahieversor sealeyi figure. Congratulations Caldey, it is a stunning illustration.
An anterior view of a Bistahieversor by Caldey. A stunning theropod dinosaur illustration that was inspired by the Beasts of the Mesozoic 1/18th Bistahieversor sealeyi figure.
Picture credit: Caldey
A Beautiful Bistahieversor
Teeth representing a tyrannosaur had been discovered in sediments associated with the Hunter Wash Member of the Kirtland Formation (New Mexico). Skeletal material representing a juvenile tyrannosaur was found and in 1997 the remains of a much larger animal were discovered. These remains represented an adult which would have measured over eight metres long. Bistahieversor was formally named and described in 2010 (Carr and Williamson). The species name honours Paul Sealey, a museum volunteer who found the adult specimen.
The Beasts of the Mesozoic Bistahieversor sealeyi box. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
A spokesperson from the UK mail order company stated:
“The colourful Beasts of the Mesozoic figures have inspired many young artists to create illustrations. Caldey’s beautiful Bistahieversor drawing is a wonderful example. The detail that Caldey has captured is stunning and we love the way in which she has depicted the nasal crest associated with this theropod dinosaur.”
Our thanks to Caldey for sending in her wonderful dinosaur drawing.
The latest edition of “Prehistoric Times” magazine has arrived at Everything Dinosaur. This is the autumn (fall) edition of this popular, quarterly magazine.
The front cover artwork featuring the theropod dinosaur Concavenator was provided by the talented Spanish artist Daniel Navarro.
The front cover of “Prehistoric Times” issue 147. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The featured prehistoric animals are Ornitholestes and the Early Cretaceous mammal Repenomamus. These articles feature some superb reader submitted artwork. Our congratulations to M. Elliot Massion, Wade Carmen and Samuel Pickens for their Ornitholestes illustrations. Cover artist Daniel Navarro provides a dramatic Repenomamus attacking Psittacosaurus illustration and congratulations also to Jaime Martinez for the fantastic Repenomamus sculpture.
Look out for a Dromaeosaurus illustration in right lateral view by our chum Tim Bollinger. In addition, Fabio Pastori highlights Spinosaurus complete with accompanying butterflies.
Burian Features in “Prehistoric Times”
Jon Lavas continues his long-running series discussing the influential artwork of Zdeněk Burian. In this edition, he features xenarthrans and how Burian painted these bizarre American mammals. The detailed and highly informative article includes a number of artworks. The depiction of several different types of ground sloth are particularly impressive, as are the reference materials reflecting glyptodonts.
The image of glyptodonts (Doedicurus foreground and Glyptodon (background) that features in the account of Burian’s depiction of xenarthrans in issue 147. Picture credit: Robert B. Horsfall.
Tracy Lee Ford examines the scales of more advanced theropods in his regular feature entitled “How to Draw Dinosaurs” and editor Mike Fredericks summarises new book releases. Julian Michael Carver concludes his short story and Randy Knol updates collectors about the latest model releases.
It was great to see the stunning Sauriermuseum Aathal in Switzerland featured. Our thanks to John F. Davies for his excellent article. It was also a pleasure to read John Navroth’s account of the filming of “The Lost World”, the cinematic adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel of the same name. Any article featuring an image of stop motion pioneer Willis O’Brien is fine by us. As Mike Fredericks (editor) comments, perhaps this article is a prelude to a later piece that will feature the classic “King Kong” film from 1933.
The holiday season is very nearly upon us. It is that time of year when Everything Dinosaur is busy packing and despatching orders in time for the festivities. As always, we have contacted Royal Mail and can provide an update on the recommended last posting dates for Christmas.
Everything Dinosaur team members have been working extremely hard to stay on top of orders and to ensure parcels are despatched quickly. Our staff will do all they can to assist customers. We recommend that shoppers place orders as early as possible to give us every opportunity to get parcels out to customers.
We have published (below) a helpful table from Royal Mail outlining the last recommended posting dates:
A table showing the last recommended posting dates for parcels in time for the festive season (December 25th) – 2023.
Table credit: Royal Mail
For dinosaur themed toys, models and games visit the award-winning Everything Dinosaur website: Visit Everything Dinosaur.
Last Recommended Posting Dates for 2023
The last recommended posting dates for Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, the Middle East and the Far East is this Wednesday (6th December).
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“This time of year the mail network is getting extremely busy. We are doing all we can to pack and despatch parcels quickly. Customers are advised to place their orders as early as possible.”
Helpful Tips and Advice
Here are our top tips to ensure you have a happy and stress-free mail order experience:
Please remember to include the house name or house number with the delivery address information that you provide with your order.
Remember to check the postcode/zip code.
Before finally hitting the “submit” button to send an order to Everything Dinosaur, it is a good idea to check the delivery address for one last time.
PayPal and in our own website’s ordering process, customers can include a message to Everything Dinosaur in the order message box. You can use this message box to inform us about any special delivery circumstances that you might have.
Everything Dinosaur’s website makes it easy for you to specify a different delivery address to your billing address, perhaps you want to send a parcel to work or to a relative.
If you do decide to send an item to your work address, (assuming that you are not working from home), please ensure that you include the company name in the delivery address details. Please remember to check the postcode or zip code.
You can always specify a neighbour’s address, or a designated safe place where the parcel can be delivered to if you will be out when the delivery is likely to occur.
For further advice and information, you are welcome to contact Everything Dinosaur: Email Everything Dinosaur.
On November 7th, 1924, the American Museum of Natural History published a short, scientific paper written by Henry Fairfield Osborn which described three types of new theropod dinosaur based on fossils from the Djadochta Formation (Gobi Desert). The first theropod documented was Velociraptor mongoliensis. Its description being based on a skull and jaws (specimen number A. M. 6515) along with additional material including the scythe-like second toe claw, although in the paper this was misidentified, it was thought the claw came from a first finger of the hand.
A close-up view of the detailed wing. In the 1924 scientific paper describing V. mongoliensis, the second toe claw was thought to have come from a finger. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Osborn surmised that these fossils represented an “alert, swift-moving carnivorous dinosaur”, hence the genus name Velociraptor which translates as “swift thief” or “speedy robber”. At the time Velociraptor was thought to be a diminutive member of the Megalosauridae. Over the last hundred years, more than a dozen Velociraptor mongoliensis skeletons have been found. As our understanding of theropod taxonomy has developed, these types of dinosaur, the swift lizards, the dromaeosaurs are now known to be very distantly related to the megalosaur family.
The skull was found on August 11th, 1923, by expedition member Peter Kaisen. Ironically, it was found lying alongside the skull of a Protoceratops (Protoceratops andrewsi) and indeed, ever since, these two dinosaurs Protoceratops andrewsi and Velociraptor mongoliensis have been linked together as predator and prey. Perhaps most spectacularly in the remarkable “fighting dinosaurs” specimen that preserves a Velociraptor and Protoceratops locked in mortal combat.
A skeleton of a Protoceratops on display. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The New CollectA Deluxe Velociraptor (2024 Release)
Whilst the new for 2024 CollectA Deluxe 1:6 scale Velociraptor does not show signs of an encounter with a Protoceratops, it does reflect Osborn’s original view of this being an “alert, swift-moving carnivorous dinosaur”. In addition, the figure reflects some of the very latest research into members of the Maniraptora. In 2023, researchers from the University of Tokyo applied a statistical analysis on forelimb structure that demonstrated that dinosaurs like Velociraptor had a propatagium (pronounced pro-pah-ta-gee-um). This is a soft tissue structure that joins the wrists and the shoulders. This structure is seen in living, volant birds. It helps with the wing flapping motion and provides a leading edge to the wing. Without this structure, birds could not fly.
Velociraptor could not fly, so why did it have a propatagium? This has been the subject of much debate amongst palaeontologists. Perhaps it had a role in visual display. Perhaps it acted as an additional stabiliser as the animal turned swiftly, or maybe it demonstrated fitness for breeding. It has been suggested that an enlarged surface area of the forelimb would have been beneficial in helping to shade eggs or perhaps it played some other role in the brooding process.
CollectA Deluxe Velociraptor model.
Whatever the reason or reasons for the propatagium, it is great to see CollectA have incorporated some of the very latest research into their commemorative Velociraptor figure.
The Everything Dinosaur blog has been undergoing scheduled maintenance. Visitors to the site will not notice any differences. However, as the weblog is vast, it is important to keep links and references valid. To date, team members have posted up over 6,500 articles. The blog was started in May 2007 and team members have strived to post up a new article every day since.
The Everything Dinosaur blog is being checked to ensure links are working correctly and that references to scientific papers are still valid. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Everything Dinosaur Blog
A spokesperson confirmed that each article was being checked to ensure references were accurate. This is a vast undertaking with an estimated 200,000 lines of text to be examined. Team members began work on this a while ago. It is hoped that the current maintenance task will be completed by early 2024.
The spokesperson added:
“Our weblog has proved to be an invaluable resource for teachers, academics, collectors and dinosaur fans. We aim to keep it relevant and up to date. With thousands of articles, hundreds of images and video links too, this is an arduous task.”
Site visitors will not be inconvenienced by the scheduled maintenance. The spokesperson confirmed that the housekeeping aspect of this maintenance would be completed promptly, and that the maintenance programme should be finished by the Chinese New Year.
In the meantime, visit the award-winning Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.
Everything Dinosaur has commissioned a CollectA Diprotodon drawing. The illustration of the largest marsupial known to science is to be used in a Diprotodon fact sheet. The fact sheet will be available from Everything Dinosaur with sales of the new for 2024 CollectA Deluxe Diprotodon model.
The recently commissioned CollectA Diprotodon drawing for use in an Everything Dinosaur Diprotodon fact sheet. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
CollectA Diprotodon Drawing
The illustration will be modified, and a human figure added for scale. This drawing will then provide fact sheet readers with a visual size guide for this herbivore. The CollectA Deluxe Diprotodon is a male, and the illustration will reflect this. Males were much larger than females, perhaps reaching a length of four metres or more. The shoulder height of a fully grown male Diprotodon was around 1.8 metres.
The CollectA Diprotodon model will be available from Everything Dinosaur in 2024.
CollectA Diprotodon has a torn ear. It is likely big males fought each other for mating rates, territory and social status.
The CollectA Diprotodon figure will have a torn ear. An injury sustained most probably in a fight with another male. However, our Diprotodon illustration shows this powerful marsupial with its left ear restored.
Educating and Informing
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented that fact sheets were sent out with most of the models the company supplies as these fact sheets help to inform customers about prehistoric animals and palaeontology.
The spokesperson added:
“The fact sheet will be researched and written in plenty of time for the arrival of the CollectA Deluxe Diprotodon. We expect the Diprotodon model to be available around the middle of next year.”
Team members from Everything Dinosaur spotted an unusual dinosaur themed gift. Whilst on their travels they spotted a pair of dinosaur themed wellingtons. The blue boots had been decorated with various colourful dinosaurs.
A dinosaur themed gift. Would Everything Dinosaur team members want a pair of these dinosaur wellington boots? Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Everything Dinosaur team members are always looking for unusual dinosaur themed gift ideas. The wellington boots feature stegosaurs, sauropods and theropod dinosaurs. The boots look very comfortable, however, we did not try on a pair.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“Dinosaurs have great public relations. They seem to be featured on all sorts of merchandise. We were impressed with these colourful wellington boots. It is not something we would consider stocking. After all, we have around 1,000 product lines already. However, seeing the boots made our day.”
The next Everything Dinosaur YouTube review will feature the recently announced new for 2024 CollectA Deluxe 1:6 scale Velociraptor model. It is likely to be posted up on the company’s YouTube channel in a few days. The video will feature an early prototype Velociraptor figure.
Team members will review the CollectA Deluxe Velociraptor model, a figure which is due to be in stock at Everything Dinosaur by the middle of 2024.
Everything Dinosaur’s next YouTube video will feature the new for 2024 CollectA Deluxe 1:6 scale Velociraptor model. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Everything Dinosaur YouTube channel contains dozens of CollectA model video reviews. We have plans to release a video highlighting all seven of the new for 2024 CollectA prehistoric animal figures.
The CollectA Deluxe Velociraptor is in approximate 1:6 scale. The early prototype figure we highlight in the video review is about the actual size of the production figures. It measures 32 cm long. At a scale of 1:6 a fully-grown Velociraptor would be 1.92 metres in length. At this size, it is within the parameters for Velociraptor mongoliensis proposed by most palaeontologists.
The Velociraptor genus was erected in 1924, when Velociraptor mongoliensis was formally described (Osborn). CollectA plans to introduce a new, updated Velociraptor to celebrate a hundred years since this dinosaur was named.
Researchers have erected a new ichnogenus and ichnospecies of theropod dinosaur based on fossil tracks. The dinosaur has been named Farlowichnus rapidus.
The trackways come from the Lower Cretaceous Botucatu Formation of Brazil. The sandstones preserve a variety of trackways including dinosaurs. The tracks were made when animals traversed the extensive dune fields that once existed in this ancient desert. The sandstones of Botucatu Formation originally covered a land area estimated to be at least 1,300,000 km2, an area larger than the Gobi Desert. The ancient sandstones of the Botucatu Formation represent the largest fossil desert known to science.
Farlowichnus rapidus
The three-toed prints that led to the erection of the new dinosaur ichnogenus Farlowichnus were donated to Brazil’s Museum of Earth Sciences (Museu de Ciências da Terra) in 1984. The stride pattern indicates a small biped probably less than a metre tall. This dinosaur was probably carnivorous and fleet-footed, its light body able to traverse the dunes without disturbing the sands too much. This permitted the prints to be preserved.
A new ichnogenus of fleet-footed theropod has been described from fossilised trackways preserved in sandstones located in the Paraná Basin (Brazil).
Picture credit: Cretaceous Research
Unique Characteristics
The tracks differ from other theropod ichnogenera. The footprints have a relatively large and very wide digit III and small, short, pointed, bladelike outer digits. The most significant characteristic is that digit II is longer and more robust than digit IV. As a result of this unusual morphology, the general outline of the footprint reminded the scientists of a water droplet. Although three toes are in contact with the ground (a tridactyl print), most of the weight would have been supported by the oversized digit III, making the foot essentially monodactylous.
A similar foot morphology is seen in living archosaurs today. The ostrich (Struthio camelus) walks on two toes (digits III and IV). Digit III is much more robust and supports most of the bird’s weight.
Views of the foot of an ostrich (Struthio camelus). Dorsal (left) and ventral (right). The third digit (III) is greatly enlarged, it is much larger than digit IV. Essentially the foot morphology gives this extant bird an almost monodactylous pes. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Ancestors of Noasaurs and Velocisaurs
The ichnogenus name honours the palaeontologist James O. Farlow, for his extensive work on dinosaur trace fossils. The species name “rapidus” reflects the likely habits of this small theropod. It was probably able to run fast, and it was extremely agile.
Writing in the academic journal “Cretaceous Research”, the authors of the scientific paper speculate that Farlowichnus was an ancestor of other theropod clades such as the noasaurs and velocisaurs.
The scientific paper: “Farlowichnus rapidus new ichnogen., new ichnosp.: A speedy and small theropod in the Early Cretaceous Botucatu paleodesert (Paraná Basin), Brazil” by Giuseppe Leonardi, Marcelo Adorna Fernandes, Ismar de Souza Carvalho, Julia Beatrice Schutzer and Rafael Costa da Silva published in Cretaceous Research.
As Everything Dinosaur prepares for the arrival of the new Schleich prehistoric animal figures, we have been busy preparing fact sheets. One of our jobs was to create a Moros intrepidus scale drawing. The Schleich Moros model represents the first time we have had this tyrannosauroid in our range. We commissioned an illustration based on the image sent out with the original Moros intrepidus media release. A human figure was added to provide a scale for this three-metre-long theropod.
The recently commissioned Moros intrepidus illustration has been incorporated into a scale drawing for use in the next Everything Dinosaur fact sheet to be prepared. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
A Moros intrepidus Scale Drawing
For every named prehistoric animal figure that we sell, we try to research and write a fact sheet. Our fact sheets have been well received by customers. Requests are received each week as collectors try to complete their collections. Moros intrepidus was formally named and described in 2019. At around three metres long and with it standing about 1.2 metres high at the hips, it was no giant. However, it was a distantly related forerunner of the giant tyrannosaurs that were to dominate Late Cretaceous ecosystems of North America. It lived some thirty million years before Tyrannosaurus rex.
Schleich are going to introduce six new dinosaur figures in early 2024. Some of these new models will be coming into stock at Everything Dinosaur next month (December 2023). One of these figures is a replica of Moros intrepidus, hence the need to compile a fact sheet.
The new for 2024 Schleich Moros intrepidus figure.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“We try to write a fact sheet for all the prehistoric animal models and figures we stock. As Moros is one of several new Schleich figures, we needed to create a Moros intrepidus scale drawing and fact sheet. We intend to send out the fact sheet with sales of the Schleich Moros model.”
For further information about the extensive range stocked by Everything Dinosaur, visit the company’s website: Everything Dinosaur.
