PNSO has announced that they are making a new horned dinosaur figure. The PNSO Stella the Stellasaurus will be in stock at Everything Dinosaur soon. This is the third ceratopsian in a row that this manufacturer has introduced. Lokiceratops is now in stock at Everything Dinosaur, and Judith the Spiclypeus will be in stock soon. Like Lokiceratops, Stellasaurus is a member of the Centrosaurinae ceratopsian subfamily. In contrast, Spiclypeus is a chasmosaurine.
Mike from Everything Dinosaur stated that Stella the Stellasaurus will be in stock later in the spring.
The new horned dinosaur figure, the PNSO Stella the Stellasaurus.
PNSO Stella the Stellasaurus
Stellasaurus (S. ancellae), was formally named and described in 2020 (Wilson, Ryan and Evans). The flamboyant headshield with its enlarged epiparietals reminded the researchers of a star. Hence the use of the Latin term for a star “Stella” in the genus name. In addition, Stellasaurus pays tribute to the late British musician and song writer David Bowie. Bowie released the single “Starman” in late April 1972. The scientific paper describing this new taxon was published almost exactly forty-eight years later (late April 2020).
The species name honours Museum of the Rockies field palaeontologist and fossil preparator Carrie Ancell. It was Ancell who discovered and prepared the holotype specimen (MOR 492).
The PNSO Stella the Stellasaurus will be supplied with an A3-sized, full-colour poster. Furthermore, the model comes complete with a full-colour, sixty-four-page booklet.
The new PNSO centrosaurine figure is supplied with a sixty-four-page, full-colour booklet and an A3-sized colour poster.
To view the range of PNSO models and figures in stock at Everything Dinosaur: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs Models.
A Transitional Form
The scientific paper describing this new North American ceratopsian was published by Royal Society Open Science. In the paper, the researchers postulated that Stellasaurus ancellae could represent a transitional form within the Centrosaurinae. The fossil material comes from the famous Two Medicine Formation of north-western Montana (USA). This dinosaur lived around seventy-five million years ago (Campanian faunal stage). From a stratigraphical perspective, the Stellasaurus fossil material is younger than Styracosaurus albertensis fossils, but older than fossils assigned to Einiosaurus.
That flamboyant head shield with its various lumps and bumps could reflect a transitional stage between the headshield morphology of Styracosaurus and that of Einiosaurus.
To read Everything Dinosaur’s blog post about the scientific description of Stellasaurus ancellae: A New Dinosaur Called Stellasaurus “Star Lizard”.
A close-up view of the magnificent nose horn of the Stellasaurus figure.
How Big is the PNSO Stella the Stellasaurus Model?
The fossil material assigned to S. ancellae is believed to represent a mature, adult animal. Scientists estimate that this dinosaur grew to a length of approximately five metres. It may have weighed around two tonnes.
The PNSO Stella the Stellasaurus model measures fifteen centimetres in length. Although, no scale is declared by PNSO, Mike from Everything Dinosaur suggested that this new figure would represent a 1:33 scale model.
PNSO Stellasaurus model measurements. The dinosaur model is approximately fifteen centimetres long.
Mike from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“This is the third ceratopsian figure to be announced by PNSO in a row. We are delighted to see another centrosaurine added to the range. As always, this PNSO model shows some fantastic detail, and it will be stock later this spring.”
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