At Everything Dinosaur, we are always keen to see how the prehistoric animal models that we supply are displayed. Our staff are constantly amazed by the incredible dinosaur dioramas and prehistoric landscapes that are built by our customers. Take for example, Donovan from Canada. An enthusiastic collector of Papo figures “Les Dinosaures”, Donovan has built a substantial display case for the Papo models within his collection.
A Prehistoric World Dominated by Papo Prehistoric Animals
A fabulous display of Papo prehistoric animal figures.
Picture credit: Donovan
Papo Prehistoric Animal Models on Display
The recent Everything Dinosaur purchases have been added to Donovan’s dinosaur diorama. The new for 2019 Papo Pentaceratops can be seen on the left of the picture (above), in between the huge Papo Brachiosaurus and just behind the Papo Ankylosaurus model. It had better look out as emerging from the trees we can see a Papo running T. rex model lurking, perhaps getting ready to ambush the unwary horned dinosaur!
Papo Prehistoric Animal Models on Display
Papo models on display. A wonderful display featuring Papo dinosaur models and a number of other prehistoric animal models. Can you spot the Papo Dimetrodon?
Picture credit: Donovan
Clever Use of Silhouettes
Providing a backdrop to the model display are some excellent silhouettes that help to provide an illusion of depth. They are very well drawn and we congratulate our Canadian customer for such a creatively constructed prehistoric landscape. There is certainly plenty of detail to admire, including a Therizinosaurus defending itself from an attacking Acrocanthosaurus and an unfortunate Styracosaurus that has been grabbed by a crocodile.
After providing permission for Everything Dinosaur to post up some pictures of his handiwork, Donovan explained that his personal prehistoric park took many hours to plan and to build, he commented:
“It took a lot of hard work for me to build that toy box/ display case. I hope to finish the bookshelf case this winter that will go with the toy box and display the other half of our Papo figures.”
A Variety of Landscapes Feature in the Display Including a Desert and a Watering Hole
A desert scene has been incorporated into the Papo model display. Note the rare, original Papo Oviraptor model in the foreground.
Picture credit: Donovan
For prehistoric animal models and other dinosaur themed items visit: Everything Dinosaur.
We congratulate Donovan on his fine prehistoric animal display, the diorama even has lighting to showcase his model collection.
Beware of the Dinosaur! The Fantastic Prehistoric Animal Model Display Case
A beautifully lit Papo prehistoric animal display case.
Everything Dinosaur Handling UK and European Kickstarter Action Figure Rewards
With the launch of the Kickstarter campaign for the Beasts of the Mesozoic Ceratopsian series, these are exciting times for model collectors and dinosaur fans. Everything Dinosaur, the UK-based, specialist prehistoric animal mail order company is proud to have been associated with the Beasts of the Mesozoic range of collectable figures for several years and will be handling the fulfilment of all the Kickstarter action figure rewards for this prestigious campaign for Ceratopsian Kickstarter backers within the UK and European Union.
The Beasts of the Mesozoic Ceratopsian Series Kickstarter Has Launched
Beasts of the Mesozoic Ceratopsian Series. An exciting new range of articulated horned dinosaur figures.
Everything Dinosaur’s Involvement with Beasts of the Mesozoic
The involvement of Everything Dinosaur in the fulfilment aspect of the campaign further cements the close working relationship between the talented team behind Creative Beast Studio and the logistics experts at an award-winning company.
Dinosaur fans are going to be elated about this new Kickstarter project, but the design and build process is just one phase in meeting the needs of model collectors. Followers of the previous “Raptor” Kickstarter project will be all too aware of the difficulties that can arise during the production process. Once produced, other issues can be encountered as these models are despatched to project supporters.
By involving Everything Dinosaur in the fulfilment, supporters within the UK and Europe can be assured that their figures will be despatched by Everything Dinosaur from their European base. This substantially reduces the risk of customers incurring additional taxes, custom duties and tariffs.
What a Line Up! A Cornucopia of Ceratopsians
A selection of Beasts of the Mesozoic horned dinosaur models. The Kickstarter campaign outlines a schedule of ten models being released in September 2020, with a further eight new figures in March 2021. If all goes to plan, a third wave consisting of seven more dinosaurs will be available in September 2021.
Ceratopsian Figures Coming into Stock
As well as handling the fulfilment for European and UK customers, Everything Dinosaur will be bringing in their own bulk stock of these figures, this should ensure a swift and trouble free route for the models from the factory to UK warehousing without customs delays, thus ensuring that Kickstarter backers can receive their pledged items promptly.
In addition, as Everything Dinosaur will be carrying stocks of the Beasts of the Mesozoic ranges, fans can add to their figure collection easily and conveniently via Everything Dinosaur’s own website.
The Beasts of the Mesozoic Xenoceratops Figure
The Beasts of the Mesozoic Xenoceratops figure, part of this exciting new model range.
“Fulfilment operations on a global scale can be quite a tricky business. Fans of the excellent Beasts of the Mesozoic model range want to get these models without any additional burdens. At Everything Dinosaur, our warehouse team despatch parcels to Europe and the UK all the time, our customers are well-used to our seamless and efficient delivery service.“
He added:
“Whilst we cannot guarantee that customers may incur additional expense in the form of duties and taxes, or indeed that international trading terms and conditions may change, in our experience when supplying European and UK customers from our UK warehousing we are have not heard of any problems arising . We take great care to ensure that parcels are labelled correctly and despatched appropriately, after all, we have a 5-star customer service rating from Feefo as well as an award for Gold Standard service.”
To view the existing range of Beasts of the Mesozoic prehistoric animal figures available from Everything Dinosaur: Beasts of the Mesozoic “Raptors”.
New Study Published on Saurornitholestes langstoni
Researchers based at the University of Alberta and the Royal Ontario Museum (Canada), have published a new scientific paper on the dinosaur nicknamed the “raptor of Alberta”. The dinosaur – Saurornitholestes langstoni, was once thought to be a troodontid, but its placement within the Dromaeosauridae has been reinforced. Furthermore, although no impressions of preserved feathers have ever been found in association with skeletal material, a tooth wear analysis conducted by the scientists suggests that a tooth in the upper jaw might have been specialised for preening feathers.
The Beautifully Preserved Saurornitholestes langstoni Specimen
The nearly complete Saurornitholestes langstoni fossil discovered in 2014.
Picture credit: University of Alberta
The researchers who produced the scientific paper, two famous and very influential palaeontologists, Professor Philip Currie (University of Alberta) and Dr David Evans (Royal Ontario Museum), also suggest that their analysis of recently described skull bones supports the idea of at least two major faunal interchanges between Asia and North America during the Late Cretaceous.
Several Partial Saurornitholestes Skeletons – Hundreds of Isolated Teeth and Bones
In 1978, Saurornitholestes langstoni was formally described based on some fragmentary fossil bones found close to the small town of Patricia in southern Alberta four years before. Since then, four additional partial skeletons ascribed to Saurornitholestes and hundreds of isolated teeth and bones have been recovered from the Upper Cretaceous sediments (Campanian faunal stage), of Alberta and Montana. Despite these fossils, very little was known about the skull of S. langstoni, curtailing attempts to better understand the taxonomic relationship between this Canadian dromaeosaurid and other Asian forms such as Velociraptor mongoliensis and Tsaagan mangas.
Frustrated by the lack of truly diagnostic fossil cranial material to study, palaeontologists could do very little to better understand where within the Dromaeosauridae the “raptor of Alberta” should reside. This all changed in 2014 with the discovery of a nearly complete fossil specimen, ironically within a thousand metres of where the holotype specimen had been found back in 1978. Although loaned out to Japan’s National Museum of Nature and Science (Tokyo), for a special exhibition marking fifty years of “raptor research”, analysis continued on the remarkable skeleton.
Writing in the academic journal “The Anatomical Record”, the scientists confirm that Saurornitholestes was similar in size to Velociraptor, but the facial region of the skull is relatively shorter, taller and wider. The premaxillary teeth are distinctive, and fossil teeth collected in the Dinosaur Provincial Park (southern Alberta), ascribed to the dromaeosaurid Zapsalis abradens can now be identified as the second premaxillary tooth of S. langstoni.
A Close-up View of the Skull of S. langstoni
A close-up view of the fossilised skull of the 2014 specimen. The skull bones were preserved in articulation, helping the scientists to understand the anatomy of the skull.
Picture credit: University of Alberta
Teeth Used for Preening Feathers
A detailed microscopic study of the tiny abrasions preserved on the teeth located in the front of the upper jaw (premaxilla), have led the researchers to speculate that these teeth could have had a role in helping to preen and clean the dinosaur’s feathery coat.
A Typical Dromaeosaurid Tooth
An isolated dromaeosaurid tooth with very different denticles (anterior and posterior). Different sized serrations might have assisted with grooming as a secondary function of the tooth.
Picture credit: David R. Schwimmer
A Distinctive North American Clade of Dromaeosaurs
With an almost complete specimen to study and, most importantly of all, a skull, the scientists have concluded that a distinctive North American clade of Late Cretaceous dromaeosaurids can be established within the Dromaeosauridae family. A distinctive and separate branch from the Asian part of the Dromaeosauridae that includes the likes of Velociraptor.
Professor Currie and Dr Evans were able to identify many unique anatomical traits (autapomorphies), that permitted the establishment of this clade – the Saurornitholestinae. This new information on the skull allows a more complete evaluation of the systematic position of Saurornitholestes langstoni within the Dromaeosauridae and supports the suggestion of at least two major faunal interchanges between Asia and North America during the Cretaceous.
At Everything Dinosaur, we have seen a resurgence in interest in “raptor” figures and models. These theropod dinosaurs continue to feature prominently in dinosaur movies and the “Beasts of the Mesozoic” range of “raptor” models including an articulated replica of Saurornitholestes langstoni have been introduced.
The scientific paper: “Cranial Anatomy of New Specimens of Saurornitholestes langstoni (Dinosauria, Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae) from the Dinosaur Park Formation (Campanian) of Alberta” by Philip J. Currie and David C. Evans published in the journal The Anatomical Record.
Everything Dinosaur and the New Payment Services Directive 2
Back in July, we wrote a short blog post about changes to the way in which credit/debit card payments will be processed from September 14th 2019. A new European Union directive is coming into force. Known as PSD2, it aims to bring in new laws to increase consumer protection across Europe. A key feature of this directive is the introduction of additional on-line security for ecommerce transactions.
Everything Dinosaur is Compliant with PSD2
Everything Dinosaur is compliant with this new directive, as you would expect, we have been planning for these changes for some months now and testing of the beta sites has been completed and the new framework placed on Everything Dinosaur’s live website. All has been sorted, everything has been prepared in readiness for the deadline of September 14th.
Everything Dinosaur is Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) Compliant
Everything Dinosaur and PSD2 compliance.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
When PSD2 comes into effect next week, some customers may see some changes when it comes to paying for goods and services on-line. In essence, stronger identity checks may be required and the customers’ payment journey through an on-line check-out may look a little different.
The Schleich Diabloceratops dinosaur model is back in stock at Everything Dinosaur. This recently introduced ceratopsian figure (spring 2019), has proved to be a favourite amongst fans of Schleich and dinosaur models. Our initial stocks sold out quickly and it is great to see “devil horned face” back in our warehouse again.
Back in Stock at Everything Dinosaur – the Schleich Diabloceratops Dinosaur Model
The Schleich Diabloceratops dinosaur model. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Schleich Diabloceratops eatoni
Known from a single skull discovered in 2002 and a second skull specimen found eight years later, Diabloceratops is the oldest known ceratopsid, it having roamed the upper parts of the United States some 79 million years ago. It is regarded as a basal centrosaurine and it was the first member of the Centrosaurinae to be have been discovered south of Montana. Zuniceratops (Z. christopheri), which is known from the mid Turonian of New Mexico, is regarded as the sister taxon.
A Close-up View of the Schleich Diabloceratops Dinosaur Model
A close up of the front end (anterior portion) of the Schleich Diabloceratops dinosaur model. The model has beautiful detailing on the skin and the ceratopsian frill is very striking. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
What’s in a Name?
The genus name reflects the remarkable pair of horns that stick out from the back of the neck frill, whilst the species name honours vertebrate palaeontologist Jeff Eaton of Weber State University. The geosciences professor has been honoured for his work in Utah (where the Diabloceratops specimens originate). Professor Eaton has had a trace fossil, a lizard and a marsupial, as well as a dinosaur named after him. The holotype Diabloceratops fossil material consisting of a partial skull and elements from the jaw, along with a second skull ascribed to this genus in 2010, are housed in the Natural History Museum of Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah).
The fossils were excavated from the Wahweap Formation near Last Chance Creek in southern Utah.
The Schleich Diabloceratops has received many favourable reviews, including this one from a French-speaking Everything Dinosaur customer:
“Beau modèle avec couleurs splendides”, which translates as “beautiful model with splendid colours”.
A Scale Drawing of Diabloceratops eatoni
A scale drawing of Diabloceratops eatoni (human figure provides scale).Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Our thanks to young Nataliya (Year 2), who sent into Everything Dinosaur a beautiful illustration of a dinosaur that she had designed following a visit to her school by one of our team members. Nataliya and her classmates had taken up our challenge to design a dinosaur as part of an extension exercise that arose following one of our dinosaur and fossil workshops at the school. The dinosaur was named “spikeraptor” and despite its fearsome name, Nataliya explained that this dinosaur was a herbivore and even included a picture of some leaves that the dinosaur was grazing upon in her prehistoric portrait.
A Colourful Dinosaur Design – “Spikeraptor”
A colourful green dinosaur – Spikeraptor the product of the imagination of young Nataliya (Year 2).
Picture credit: Nataliya (Key Stage 1) and Everything Dinosaur
Lovely Labels on the Dinosaur Drawing
As part of a writing exercise we asked the children to label their prehistoric animal’s body parts. Nataliya was keen to emphasis the spikes and prickles on her dinosaur and our congratulations to Nataliya and the rest of the class for sending in some super drawings with fantastic examples of handwriting. These drawings have made our day and we shall post them up in our warehouse so that all the Everything Dinosaur team members can view them.
Recently Everything Dinosaur in collaboration with Eofauna Scientific Research announced the introduction of two new prehistoric animal models for the autumn of 2019. The first model to be announced was a replica of the amazing African sauropod Atlasaurus. A few days later, a second new Eofauna prehistoric animal figure was announced, this time, it was a prehistoric elephant, a beautiful scale model of Deinotherium.
To celebrate this news, Everything Dinosaur included pictures of these two new figures in their latest customer newsletter.
The Two New for Autumn 2019 Eofauna Scientific Research Models Feature in Everything Dinosaur’s Customer Newsletter
The Eofauna Deinotherium model (left) and the Atlasaurus model (right). Two new Eofauna scale models are scheduled for autumn 2019.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Two Eofauna Models Due out in October
The two models are due out in October and Everything Dinosaur has already opened a reservation list for these eagerly anticipated prehistoric animal figures.
To join our priority reserve list for the Eofauna Atlasaurus and the Eofauna Deinotherium, just email Everything Dinosaur: Email Everything Dinosaur and our team members will be happy to add you to our special, priority reserve list.
Reserving a model or models is easy with Everything Dinosaur, there is no deposit to pay, no need to hand over credit/debit card details and you will not be bombarded with emails. Our team members will contact you when the model is stock, ensuring that you have the opportunity to acquire a model. There is no obligation to purchase, it is just our way of helping collectors out, after all, we are dinosaur model collectors too.
Everything Dinosaur is proud to have featured the two new Eofauna models scheduled for release in 2019 (Deinotherium and Atlasaurus) in the company’s recent newsletter.
The image below is an illustration of the Late Cretaceous South American abelisaurid Carnotaurus (C. sastrei), by the renowned Chinese palaeoartist Zhao Chuang. This is one of our favourite illustrations of the dinosaur known as “meat-eating bull”.
The Illustration of Carnotaurus (C. sastrei)
An illustration of the fearsome theropod dinosaur Carnotaurus by Zhao Chuang.
Picture credit: Zhao Chuang
The artwork (above), was produced as part of a series of commissioned pieces to illustrate the science/art world by Zhao Chuang and Yang Yang for PNSO (Peking Natural Science-Art Organisation).
Carnotaurus sastrei
Known from an almost complete skeleton found in Argentina, this large, carnivorous dinosaur was scientifically described in 1985. Zhao Chuang has chosen to focus on the remarkable skull of this Late Cretaceous abelisaurid. The head is short and blunt with two imposing horns positioned over the eye sockets sticking out sideways. The deep skull contrasts with the slender lower jaw which for such a large dinosaur (estimated at more than seven metres in length), indicates a relatively weak bite.
Everything Dinosaur stocks a wide selection of Carnotaurus models.
For many years, Carnotaurus was regarded as a hunter of large prey, however, analysis of the bite force exerted by the jaws indicated a surprisingly weak bite for a carnivore weighing in excess of a tonne. Research (Mazzeta et al 2009), indicated that this dinosaur could generate a bilateral bite force – measured on both sides of the jaw, of around 3,400 Newtons. In contrast, the much smaller extant lion (Panthera leo) and the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) are capable of generating bite forces of at least 1.3 times the bite force calculated for Carnotaurus, even though these living carnivores are considerably smaller.
As to what Carnotaurus ate, this is open to speculation, but it could have specialised in catching smaller animals or perhaps it was a specialised scavenger, the narrow jaws proving adept at removing flesh from corpses. Whatever, Carnotaurus consumed, we still take time out to admire this marvellous illustration by the very talented Zhao Chuang.
The Papo Pentaceratops model has a rearing pose, but the model is so well designed that it can rest in a horizontal position with three legs resting on the floor. The Papo Pentaceratops is a beautiful figure, but it is also so well balanced that it can be placed in a couple of different poses if model collectors don’t want to feature it rearing up in their model displays. To illustrate this point, we created a short video demonstrating the Papo Pentaceratops dinosaur figure in a rearing pose and showing how it can be displayed in other poses too.
Posing the Papo Pentaceratops Dinosaur Model
Video credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Papo Pentaceratops Model
Although the French manufacturer (Papo), has produced several ceratopsian models in the past (Triceratops, baby Triceratops, Styracosaurus and Pachyrhinosaurus), this is the first horned dinosaur to be depicted in a rearing pose. Much praise has been heaped on the broad shoulders of the Pentaceratops figure, it has proved to be a big hit with collectors and dinosaur model fans.
The New for 2019 Papo Pentaceratops Dinosaur Model
The new for 2019 Papo Gorgosaurus (left) and the Papo Pentaceratops dinosaur model (right). The Papo Pentaceratops figure is much larger than the Gorgosaurus. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
The Pentaceratops may only have been out for a short while, but it has already received several 5-star reviews from Everything Dinosaur customers. For example, Ryan left a review on the Everything Dinosaur website saying:
“Fantastic figure! A really dynamic pose, plenty of finer details and a great realistic paint job. This one will really stand out amongst my collection.”
Our thanks for your comments, Ryan, we really like the cryptic quip about the model “standing out”, it certainly does with its upright rearing pose.
Model collector David, also piled praise on the model exclaiming:
“Beautiful model! Very convincing sculpt, full of life with lovely colouration. Excellent service from Everything Dinosaur!”
For David, the Papo Pentaceratops and our awarding winning customer service are two things worth praising. A great big thank you to all those very kind people who have taken the time and trouble to review our models, both on our website also via our Feefo feedback pages.
The Papo Pentaceratops and the Papo Gorgosaurus model for that matter, are available from Everything Dinosaur, to view these models and the rest of the extensive Papo prehistoric animal model range: Papo Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.
Crossvallia waiparensis – Monster Penguin from New Zealand
Sixty-six million years ago, the non-avian dinosaurs became extinct. The end-Cretaceous mass extinction event also resulted in the extinction of the majority of the marine reptiles, the mosasaurs and the plesiosaurs. Nature abhors a vacuum and in some parts of the world, the apex piscivore niche became occupied by man-sized penguins. This idea of prehistoric penguin super-predators has been boosted with the naming and scientific description of a “monster penguin” from Palaeocene-aged deposits on New Zealand’s South Island. Weighing in at an estimated eighty kilograms, and standing around 1.6 metres tall, Crossvallia waiparensis is one of the largest penguins known to science.
The Newly Described Crossvallia waiparensis Compared to an Average-height Woman
Crossvallia waiparensis compared to an average-height woman.
Picture credit: Canterbury Museum
One of the World’s Oldest Species of Penguin
Writing in the scientific journal “Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology”, researchers Dr Paul Scofield and Dr Vanesa De Pietri (Canterbury Museum), in collaboration with their colleague Dr Gerald Mayr (Senckenberg Natural History Museum in Frankfurt, Germany), describe C. waiparensis based on leg bones representing an individual animal and tentatively referred partial humeri (upper arm bones). The fossils were found by amateur palaeontologist Leigh Love last year, during field work at the Waipara Greensand fossil site located north of Canterbury.
The sediments were laid down in the Palaeocene Epoch (66 to 56 million years ago), making C. waiparensis is one of the world’s oldest known penguin species. The discovery also reinforces the idea that penguins (Sphenisciformes), attained large size early in their evolutionary history. The biggest extant penguin is the Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), which can weigh more than twenty kilograms and stands around 1.2 metres high.
Overview of the Leg Bones of C. waiparensis
Fossils of Crossvallia waiparensis a giant penguin from the Palaeocene of New Zealand.
Picture credit: Mayr et al
The photograph (above), shows an overview of the leg bones of Crossvallia waiparensis (A-L), along with views of the tentatively referred proximal end of a left humerus (M-O), scale bar = 5 centimetres.
The Phylogeny of Crossvallia waiparensis
The team have concluded that the closest known relative of C. waiparensis is a fellow Palaeocene species Crossvallia unienwillia, which was identified from a fossilised partial skeleton found in the Cross Valley in Antarctica. This newly described “monster penguin” is not the first giant penguin to have been discovered. For example, the Eocene taxa Anthropornis and Palaeeudyptes were comparable in size, if not bigger and this suggests that giant penguins evolved several times in the evolutionary history of the penguin family.
The scientific paper: “Leg bones of a new penguin species from the Waipara Greensand add to the diversity of very large-sized Sphenisciformes in the Paleocene of New Zealand” by Gerald Mayr, Vanesa L. De Pietri, Leigh Love, Al Mannering and R. Paul Scofield published in Alcheringa; An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.
