Updates from team members at Everything Dinosaur. Company activities, fossil hunting trips, information about Everything Dinosaur.
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11, 2022
New CollectA Models 2023 (Part 2)
Everything Dinosaur in collaboration with CollectA announces the second batch of new CollectA models 2023. Three new prehistoric animal figures have been announced namely:
- Ruyangosaurus (1:100 scale Deluxe model) – due to be available early 2023.
- Brighstoneus (Age of Dinosaurs Popular) – due to be available in early 2023.
- Anomalocaris (CollectA Other Prehistoric Animals) – due to be available in early 2023.
New CollectA Models
CollectA Deluxe Ruyangosaurus (1:100 Scale)
The first CollectA Deluxe scale model to be announced for 2023 is this stunning replica of the enormous Chinese titanosaur Ruyangosaurus. Named and described in 2009 (Ruyangosaurus giganteus), this huge sauropod is estimated to have been around thirty metres long and to have weighed in excess of fifty tonnes. It is one of the largest dinosaurs known from Asia.
The CollectA Deluxe Ruyangosaurus has been given a grey, almost elephant-like colouration in recognition of the sheer size of this leviathan. The neck is thick, but the cervical vertebrae (neck bones) of these huge dinosaurs were quite delicate and there were numerous air sacs to help lighten the neck.
The skin texture is very detailed, and this herbivorous giant has been given rows of dermal armour (osteoderms), which are most prominent over its vulnerable hips. The CollectA Deluxe Ruyangosaurus will make an interesting partner to the mostly geologically older genus Mamenchisaurus, a model of which (CollectA Deluxe 1:100 Mamenchisaurus) was introduced by CollectA in 2021.
CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Brighstoneus
Hot on heels of the Ceratosuchops model announced last week, comes Brighstoneus an iguanodontid from the Isle of Wight that was, coincidently, formally named and described just a few weeks after Ceratosuchops in late 2021.
The reassessment of fossil bones found in 1978 close to the village of Brighstone on the south-western coast of the Isle of Wight, which had been thought to represent the genus Iguanodon, led to the naming of Brighstoneus (B. simmondsi).
Examination of the naris bone indicated that this dinosaur had a bulbous snout, and this feature has been incorporated into the new CollectA figure. The patterning on the model would have helped to camouflage this eight-metre-long herbivore and the white flash around the eye suggests that visual communication was very important to this animal that probably lived in herds.
This recently described dinosaur suggests that there are probably several different iguanodontids still awaiting discovery in the Wealden Group strata. It is great to see this model representing another member of the Wealden Group dinosaur biota added to the CollectA range.
CollectA Anomalocaris
The third in this trio of new CollectA models to be announced this week is a replica of the apex Cambrian predator Anomalocaris. This superb model of Anomalocaris canadensis from the famous Burgess Shale deposits of British Columbia joins a growing number of CollectA invertebrate models that represent iconic animals from the fossil record.
Anomalocaris is distantly related to extant crustaceans such as lobsters and shrimps. It is considered to be at the top of the earliest marine food chains because of its large body size, formidable grasping claws armed with sharp spikes and a ferocious-looking circular mouth positioned under the head. Once thought to measure more than a metre in length, most Burgess Shale specimens indicate a typical body length of thirty centimetres, still much bigger than virtually all of the other animals known from these Canadian Cambrian-aged deposits.
Model Measurements
- CollectA Deluxe Ruyangosaurus (1:100 scale) – length 40 cm, height of head 29.5 cm.
- CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular Brighstoneus – length 14.8 cm, height of head 4.8 cm.
- CollectA Anomalocaris (Other Prehistoric Animals) – length 13 cm, height 3 cm.
This trio of fantastic CollectA figures are scheduled to be in stock at Everything Dinosaur in the early part of 2023.
To view Everything Dinosaur’s blog post about the first batch of new CollectA prehistoric animals for 2023 to be announced: New CollectA Models for 2023 (Part 1).
We will post up more details about new for 2023 CollectA models next Friday and a brief video about these three CollectA figures will shortly be posted up on Everything Dinosaur’s YouTube channel.
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The newly announced Ruyangosaurus in 1/100th scale is part of the CollectA Deluxe range of models. To view the other scale replicas in this series: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Life Models and Figures.
The Age of Dinosaurs Popular Brighstoneus and the stunning Anomalocaris model will be placed in the CollectA Prehistoric Life section of Everything Dinosaur’s website: CollectA Prehistoric Life Replicas.
