A Video Review of the CollectA Deluxe 1:40 Therizinosaurus Dinosaur Model

Those clever manufacturers CollectA have made an excellent replica of the bizarre theropod dinosaur known as Therizinosaurus.  We at Everything Dinosaur have made a short video review of this new for 2014 replica.  In this short video (six minutes and fifty seconds), we look at this model in more detail, discuss the fossil discoveries and compare this replica to the smaller, not-to-scale therizinosaur model introduced by CollectA a couple of years ago now.

CollectA Deluxe Therizinosaurus

Everything Dinosaurs 1:40 Scale CollectA Therizinosaurus Video Review

Video credit: Everything Dinosaur

In this video we introduce Sir Arthur Gauge.  Sir Arthur is the name of the human replica that is included with many of the 1:40 Deluxe CollectA models.  He provides a scale for the replica in question.   In this particular case, estimating the scale of the CollectA Deluxe Therizinosaurus model is quite difficult, the fragmentary fossil material makes it tricky to provide a size guide for a fully grown animal. Some palaeontologists believe that Therizinosaurus cheloniformis weighed more than five tonnes and was over ten metres long.  Based on our estimates, we calculate that this figure is around 1:35 to 1:40 scale.

Sir Arthur Gauge Provides a Guide to Scale Size

A clever way to provide a scale for dinosaur models.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To view Everything Dinosaur’s range of CollectA Deluxe scale models: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animal Models.

 Those impressive claws, are very well depicted.  The largest manual unguals (claw cores) associated with T. cheloniformis measure over seventy centimetres in length.  In life, with the horny sheath covering the largest claws would have been around a metre long.

The Bizarre but Spectacular Therizinosaurus

A pair of therizinosaurs.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The CollectA Mosasaurus Model Video Review

The first account of a mosasaur fossil was written in 1764, so 2014 marks the 250th anniversary of the publication of this information.  The fossil was found in Holland, near the town of Maastricht and here Everything Dinosaur team members contribute to the mosasaur database by publishing our video review of the excellent Mosasaurus model made by CollectA.

CollectA Mosasaurus

Everything Dinosaurs Video Review of the CollectA Mosasaurus

Video credit: Everything Dinosaur

A Video Review

CollectA made a not-to-scale replica of the mosasaur known as Tylosaurus a few years ago now, this new, larger replica brings the Mosasauridae right up to date with pterygoid teeth depicted on the roof of the mouth and a spectacular tail fluke.  In this short video, (six minutes, forty-eight seconds), we point out these details and explain how this model reflects some of the latest scientific research on these amazing marine reptiles.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s range of CollectA figures: CollectA Prehistoric Life Models.

To read an article which reports on the study of a mosasaur fossil specimen that provides evidence of a tail fluke: Mosasaurs – A Shark’s Tale.

In the video, we also touch upon the chosen colour scheme of this model.  It does remind us of the markings on the extant Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus), the biggest fish alive today.  The largest members of the Mosasaurus genus would have grown to around the same length of a Whale Shark, perhaps fourteen metres or more, but the Whale Shark would have been many times heavier.

Whale Sharks may be gentle, slow-swimming plankton feeders but the mosasaurs were fast-swimming, predators with the likes of Mosasaurus hoffmanni, whose fossils have been found in Holland, preying on other large marine vertebrates such as plesiosaurs, large fish and turtles.

Super Colouration on this Mosasaurus Model

Fearsome marine predator from CollectA.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

These reptiles were believed to have been predators of the surface waters.  Many palaeontologists think that these animals had relatively poor, stereoscopic vision so they would have most likely avoided the darker, deeper water, preferring to hunt in the relative shallows.  Whale Sharks tend to swim in the top 100 metres or so of the sea as they collect food with their huge, cavernous mouths, this might explain the colouration chosen for the Mosasaurus replica.

To read an article about the study of organic material found by Swedish scientists as they examined a Mosasaur specimen: Soft Tissue in a Mosasaur Fossil?

Recently, palaeontologists identified a species of mosasaur that lived in freshwater, to read about this discovery: Freshwater Mosasaur from Hungary.

CollectA 1:20 Scale Deluxe Arsinoitherium Reviewed

Another day and another video review to post up onto the Everything Dinosaur blog, this time a video review of the CollectA Deluxe 1:20 scale model of Arsinoitherium.  One of the most bizarre-looking mammals that ever existed, if team members at Everything Dinosaur were asked to sum up this huge, plant-eater in one sentence, something like “here was a distant relative of elephants, that looked a bit like a rhinoceros and probably lived a bit like a hippopotamus”, would probably be appropriate.

Arsinoitherium Model

Everything Dinosaur stocks a huge range of prehistoric mammal models including the CollectA Deluxe 1:20 scale Arsinoitherium model.  Take a look at the prehistoric mammal replicas available from Everything Dinosaur: Prehistoric Mammal Models.

The CollectA Arsinoitherium Model Reviewed

Video credit: Everything Dinosaur

The video runs for seven minutes and in the video we review this model, assign a species name to it and discuss what the fossil record tells us about these ancient creatures that roamed what was to become Egypt around thirty million years ago.  We even suggest some uses for those enormous horns that grew out of the skull.  The Arsinoitheres died out during the Middle Oligocene epoch and there is not a single species of animal alive today that is directly descended from this group, which is a shame.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur confirmed that the CollectA Deluxe 1:20 Arsinoitherium model was extremely popular amongst model collectors.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s range of CollectA Deluxe models, including Arsinoitherium: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animal Models.