Main Page - Part 336

2 12, 2014

Chinese “Sea Dragon” Amazing Fossil Hints at Triassic Fauna Recovery

By Mike|2024-05-04T18:49:21+01:00December 2nd, 2014|Categories: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Monster Nothosaur from China Suggests Ecosystem Recovery after Mass Extinction Event

A team of Chinese scientists, supported by palaeontologists from Bristol University, Washington D.C. and Australia, writing in the academic journal “Nature: Scientific Reports”, have described the fossilised remains of a giant marine reptile. This fearsome hunter provides evidence that by around 245 million years ago, much of the world’s marine habitats had recovered sufficiently from the Permian/Triassic mass extinction event to support complex food chains.

The Permian/Triassic Mass Extinction Event

The Permian/Triassic extinction event is often referred to as the “Great Dying”, a huge portion of life on Earth died out, scientists debate just how many different types of organisms perished, but it has been suggested that as much as 95% of all life on Earth became extinct.

To read more about how mass extinction events are defined: When is an Extinction Event a Mass Extinction?

The fossil represent a new species of nothosaur, it is potentially the largest nothosaur discovered to date. The discovery is significant as it indicates that on the eastern side of the Paleotethys Sea, marine life had recovered sufficiently to support complex food chains, with carnivorous marine reptiles as the apex predators in the environment.

Monster Nothosaur

As similar sized apex predators are known from the western fringes of the Paleotethys Sea and also from the eastern seaboard of the Panthalassa Ocean, this provides evidence to support the theory that by the early part of the Middle Triassic there had been a global recovery (a synchronous global recovery), of marine fauna and flora.

The nothosaur fossil consisting of an almost complete lower jaw, isolated teeth and post cranial elements was discovered in 2008. The only known specimen was collected from Bed number 165 of the Dawazi section of strata, a highly fossiliferous zone that represents a shallow marine environment. The fossils are located in Luoping County, Yunnan Province in the far south-west of China. This part of the world is famous for its Middle Triassic marine fossils, many thousands of specimens have been collected including a number of ichthyosaurs as well as other marine reptiles.

The Nothosaur Fossil Material (a) Line Drawing (b)

The specimen has been named Nothosaurus zhangi

Picture credit: Nature: Scientific Reports

Explaining Nothosaurs

Nothosaurs were a group of marine reptiles related to the better known plesiosaurs. They evolved from terrestrial ancestors and typically were between one and three metres in length. They had relatively long snouts, quite narrow skulls, and their fingers and toes may have been webbed to help propel them through water. The were also capable of hauling themselves up onto land and although well adapted to a marine environment, they probably rested and bred on land. The nothosaurs evolved very early on in the Triassic Period and as a group they persisted up until the beginning of the Jurassic.

A Model of a Typical Nothosaur (Safari Prehistoric Sealife Toob)

One of the models in the Safari Prehistoric Sealife Toob.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The picture above shows a typical nothosaur bauplan (body plan), it is one of the models from the fantastic “Prehistoric Sealife Toob”, part of the range of prehistoric animal and plant replicas made by Safari Ltd.

To view this range: Safari Ltd. Prehistoric Animal Models.

Nothosaurus zhangi

This new giant species of nothosaur has been named Nothosaurus zhangi. The species or trivial name honours the discoverer of the Luoping biota, scientist Qiyue Zhang. Although far from complete, a comparative analysis using fossil material from the nothosaur species known as N. giganteus, whose fossils come from Middle and Upper Triassic aged rocks in Germany, suggests that Nothosaurus zhangi was between five and seven metres in length. Think of this ancient reptile being about the size of a large Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus).

The jaw was lined with a number of sharp, pointed teeth, many of which projected outwards to give the impression of elongated fangs. These were adaptations to grabbing and subduing struggling prey, such as fish and cephalopods. Given the size of Nothosaurus zhangi, it very probably hunted other, smaller marine reptiles in the shallow, tropical sea that once covered much of China.

The Eastern Side of the Paleotethys Sea

These fossils from what would have been the eastern side of the Paleotethys Sea, when considered with the fossilised remains of other enormous Middle Triassic marine reptiles, suggests that across the world marine environments had recovered sufficiently to support complex food chains by around 245 million years ago.

A Map of the Middle Triassic Showing the Location of Apex Predator Marine Fossil Finds

Marking the location of apex predator fossils.

Picture credit: Nature: Scientific Reports with additional material from the Palaeobiology database

The map shows a whole world projection of the Middle Triassic. The super continent of Pangea is firmly established and the locations of potential apex predator marine reptile fossils have been marked.

Key

Thalattoarchon – (T. saurophagis) a giant ichthyosaur estimated to have measured 8-9 metres in length (YELLOW)
Cymbospondylus (several species), a basal ichthyosaur estimated to have reached lengths in excess of 10 metres (BLUE)
Nothosaurus giganteus – estimated to be about 5-7 metres long (PURPLE)
Nothosaurus zhangi – estimated to be about 5-7 metres long (RED)

Building a Triassic Food Chain

Thanks to the astonishing variety of fossils from the Luoping Province, scientists have been able to build up a great deal of knowledge about life in the seas surrounding the ancient land mass on the western fringes of Pangea, that was to eventually become China. The researchers have been able to develop a complex food chain diagram and the newly described Nothosaurus zhangi is placed at the top of the food chain as the largest predator discovered to date.

A Food Chain Constructed Using Luoping Biota Fossil Data

Nothosaurus zhangi at the top of the food chain.

Picture credit: Nature: Scientific Reports

It may have taken terrestrial life slightly longer to recover from the end Permian extinction event, but based on this evidence, many of the shallow sea environments had recovered fully and new types of fauna had filled ecological niches.

The German manufacturer Schleich recently introduced a replica of a Nothosaurus into their prehistoric animal model range.

The new for 2022 Schleich Nothosaurus marine reptile model in lateral view.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To view the Schleich range of prehistoric animal replicas: Schleich Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animal Replicas.

To read an article published in April 2014 about the discovery of a bizarre type of marine reptile (Atopodentatus) from the Luoping Biota: Bizarre Triassic Marine Reptile Described.

30 11, 2014

Putting the “King” into the Tyrant Lizard

By Mike|2023-03-18T08:25:13+00:00November 30th, 2014|Categories: Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page, Press Releases|0 Comments

The Rebor KING T-REX – An Appropriate Name

Everything Dinosaur team members are eagerly expecting the arrival of their shipment of Rebor 1:35 scale Tyrannosaurus rex replicas. The shipment is expected very shortly and in the meantime, staff have been busy making sure that everyone who emailed asking for a model to be reserved has been added to our reservations list.

Rebor King T-REX

One of the things we have noticed about Rebor is that they tend to assign a moniker or nick-name to their sculpts. For example, the rather wonderful model of Yutyrannus huali was nick-named Y-REX. This term does not have any significance from a palaeontological perspective, after all Yutyrannus, from northern China, lived more than fifty-five million years before the more famous North American tyrannosaurid – Tyrannosaurus rex.

Ironically there is a body of evidence to suggest that Late Cretaceous predators such as the members of the Tyrannosauridae that roamed the landmass of Laramidia on the western side of the that shallow sea that divided the continent (Western Interior Seaway), were actually descended from tyrannosaurs that migrated from Asia.

A Chinese Migrant?

Imagine that, the most famous dinosaur from the United States and the pride of so many North American museum collections being descended from Chinese immigrants.

The T. rex is going to be the second replica released in the Rebor model series. It too, is modelled in 1:35 scale, but since Tyrannosaurus rex was larger than Yutyrannus, the replica is considerably bigger. This rather stylish photograph sent to us by our chums at Rebor illustrates this point nicely.

Comparing the T-REX with the Y-REX Rebor Replicas

Comparing the two 1:35 scale models together.

Picture credit: Rebor

Rebor Tyrannosaurus rex Dinosaur Model

The Rebor Tyrannosaurus rex will have the nick-name KING T-REX. Rebor states that by adopting this tactic, the products can develop personalities and it is the company’s intention to roll out such nick-names across their entire range.

Such titles do have other benefits. For example, lots of parents and grandparents contact us and they struggle to pronounce many of the names of the prehistoric animals that they are trying to acquire for their children or grandchildren. An easy to remember (and pronounce) name will certainly prove a boon to those folks who are perhaps not as well acquainted with the tongue twisting names of certain Dinosauria that young dinosaur fans revel in being able to pronounce correctly.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s range of Rebor replicas: Rebor Prehistoric Animal Replicas.

Regal Status for a Dinosaur Model

Providing regal status for the Rebor Tyrannosaurus rex replica is also appropriate as the binomial scientific name of this theropod translates as “King of the Tyrant Lizards”. However, this was not the first name used to describe what is now known to be T. rex fossil material. The first Tyrannosaurus rex bones put on the record were a pair of damaged cervical vertebrae (neck bones), one of which has been subsequently lost. Edward Drinker Cope, noting the extensive honey-combed internal structure of these bones assigned the name Manospondylus gigas which means “giant air-filled vertebrae”, not the sort of name to inspire a generation of dinosaur fans.

“King of the Tyrant Lizards”

This iconic “King of the Tyrant Lizards”, perhaps the most famous organism known from the fossil record, was also very nearly called Dynamosaurus (D. imperiosus), this translates to “Imperial Power Lizard”, at least the regal theme would have been retained.

To read more about the naming of this dinosaur: Tyrannosaurus rex – What’s in a Name?

Within natural history museum collections, the tyrannosaur material can attain a special status. These are the fossils that are requested to be photographed or used in video footage to support a news article. Having tyrannosaur material is often looked at as being a badge of honour for the museum, whilst in all honesty, other less high profile fossil material within the collection may have far greater significance in terms of importance to research.

As arguably, the most iconic of all the dinosaurs, after all T. rex has come out as number one in every single survey conducted by Everything Dinosaur with regards to prehistoric animal popularity, certain more complete specimens have acquired a degree of nobility in the minds of museum directors and administrators.

The 1:35 Scale Replica of the Rebor Tyrannosaurus rex

Beautiful 1:35 scale dinosaur model.

“Aristocratic” Dinosaur Fossils

These “aristocratic” dinosaur fossils have become even more special and important in the minds of the general public as it is these fossil specimens that are the the subject of documentaries and television programmes.

As for the question of a “King T. rex“, as in the biggest specimen found to date, or even a new species to distinguish between the different T. rex morphologies known. That is quite hard to answer. “Sue” at the Field Museum in Chicago is regarded as the largest, she (believed to represent a female), is also one of the best preserved and the most complete. But is this the largest Tyrannosaurus rex that ever lived? Probably not, tyrannosaurs seem to have grown differently to mammals, for as long as they lived they got a little bigger year on year.

It is likely that somewhere in the Badlands of Montana or South Dakota there is a fossil of an even bigger T. rex waiting to be discovered.

That’s the joy of palaeontology, you just never know.

So we look forward to welcoming the Rebor KING T-REX to our inventory, a very noble replica of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

To contact Everything Dinosaur so that you can reserve a Rebor T. rex replica: Email Everything Dinosaur.

29 11, 2014

Heading for a Sixth Mass Extinction Event

By Mike|2023-03-18T08:17:16+00:00November 29th, 2014|Categories: Animal News Stories, Main Page|1 Comment

Past Mass Extinctions Linked to Changes in Global Climate

Planet Earth might be teetering on the brink of a sixth mass extinction event, climate change resulting in the huge loss of species associated with the Cretaceous mass extinction or the more devastating (in terms of species affected), Permian Great Dying.

Documentary

That is the conclusion reached in a documentary being aired on the Smithsonian channel in the United States tomorrow. The documentary entitled “Mass Extinction: Life at the Brink” explains what scientists now know about the Permian and Cretaceous extinction events, two of the five great extinctions recorded in the fossil record (Phanerozoic extinctions). The documentary also explores how our activities are altering the climate, which could lead to similar collapses within ecosystems.

Although global warming is still dismissed by some, most of the scientific community supports the theory that the Earth’s climate is changing and that the planet is getting warmer. One of the key points in the film concerns the issue of if the Earth warms very suddenly, when climate change is examined against the backdrop of geological time, then what would be the consequences?

Mass Extinction

This documentary and a book written by University of California (Berkeley) palaeontologist and professor of integrative biology, Anthony Barnosky (Dodging Extinction) is just one of a series of increasingly alarming accounts of the impact of climate change on our planet, produced by the academic community. Back in 2010, a United Nations report stated that about 30% of all the flora and fauna on Earth was in danger of dying out by the end of the 21st Century due to the rapid industrialisation of parts of the world and the West’s inability to curb greenhouse gases that were potentially leading to dramatic changes in climate.

To read more about the United Nations report: Are we Heading for a Sixth Mass Extinction Event?

Professor Barnosky

Professor Barnosky and his wife, Dr Elizabeth Hadley (a biologist/ecologist at Stanford University), appear in the documentary, helping to explain the evidence that has been amassed that suggests climate change is happening and such shifts in Earth’s climate led to mass extinctions in the past.

Professor Barnosky, now in his early sixties explains:

” I go back to places where I was doing coal exploration geology, beautiful places in western Colorado and now the trees are all dead, mostly from beetle kill because winters have warmed enough so that the beetles can reproduce twice in a season rather than once. In my lifetime, I have seen it go from verdant forests to literally tens of thousands of acres of dead trees, and that’s just in Colorado. There are literally millions of square miles of dead trees up and down the Rocky Mountain chain. All because of greenhouse gases warming the atmosphere”.

A Table Listing the Five Major Extinction Events of the Phanerozoic

Table credit: Everything Dinosaur

Five Major Mass Extinction Events

The table above documents the five mass extinction events from the Phanerozoic Eon (the eon of visible life from approximately 545 million years ago to the present day). The table also provides information about the major animal groups affected.

The documentary film’s executive producer is evolutionary biologist Sean B. Carroll, he states that scientists and academics have learned more about what caused the great extinction events of the past. Dramatic events like asteroid impacts and massive volcanic eruptions led to climate change on a global scale wrecking the world’s ecosystems and devastating life on our planet.

Professor Carroll explained:

“We now know with high confidence from recent work that The Great Dying [Permian extinction event] was caused by massive volcanic eruptions underneath present-day Siberia and that just pumped out massive amounts of climate-changing gases, including massive amounts of carbon dioxide.”

The Work of Walter Alvarez

Also appearing in the documentary programme is Walter Alvarez (University of California, Berkeley), who along with his late father, the physicist Luis Alvarez, first uncovered evidence that an extraterrestrial impact had struck the Earth at around the time of the demise of the dinosaurs. Whilst there has always been extinctions (known as the background rate of extinction), the programme makers warn that as humans reduce the habitat available for other species and alter the composition of the atmosphere, animals and plants are being pushed towards extinction twelve times higher than the background level.

Global Temperatures Rising

For instance, temperatures may rise by perhaps as high as four degrees Celsius by the end of the 21st century, a rise almost as great as during the end Permian extinction event, which resulted in the loss of some 95% of all life on Earth. It has been suggested that most of the coral reefs may vanish by the year 2070, as the oceans become more acidic due to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This could result in the loss of 25% of the fish species in the sea that depend on coral reefs resulting in the loss of 10% of the ocean’s fisheries with direct implications for the human population.

Still Time to Avert the Catastrophe

There may be still time to help avert this catastrophe, recent agreements on the restricted use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emission limits if implemented effectively, could help minimise the impact. In the book, authored by Professor Barnosky, he proposes a series of steps that people can take to help prevent further global warming:

Reduce the amount of intensively reared meat that you consume
Avoid foods which contain palm oil (palm oil plantations replacing large amounts of natural forest)
Only eat fish that has been sustainably harvested

In addition, the authors and the documentary makers urge people to lobby political and business leaders to help bring about fundamental changes in the way that we as a species perceive the natural world and its resources.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Everything Dinosaur.

28 11, 2014

British Palaeontologist Discovers New Species of Dinosaur in a Canadian Museum

By Mike|2023-03-18T08:07:35+00:00November 28th, 2014|Categories: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page|1 Comment

Those Complicated North American Chasmosaurs

It has happened before and we are certain that it will happen again. A scientist examining the fossilised remains of dinosaurs within the collection of a museum, finds that on analysis, specimens ascribed to known genera, turn out to be new species. A British palaeontologist has identified potentially two new species of dinosaur.

The Canadian Museum of Nature

Dr Nick Longrich from the Biology and Biochemistry department of the University of Bath was studying ceratopsian (horned dinosaur) specimens at the Canadian Museum of Nature (Ottawa, Canada) and thanks to his research, two horned dinosaur fossils, known from the Dinosaur Provincial Park Formation of Alberta and previously believed to represent Anchiceratops and Chasmosaurus may actually represent animals new to science.

Writing in the scientific journal “Cretaceous Research”, Dr Longrich proposes that the fossils he studied, although from Canada, resemble dinosaurs known from much further south, from New Mexico and Utah to be precise.

How Could This Happen?

How could this be? Let’s start with by looking at the landmass we now know as North America and what it looked like some seventy-five million years ago in the Late Cretaceous. In the Late Cretaceous, rising sea levels and tectonic forces led to the formation of an immense shallow sea that covered much of the continent. This sea, which effectively linked the Arctic Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico, is known as the Western Interior Seaway. The extent of the seaway changed over millions of years, shaping the landmasses and also influencing the flora and fauna that lived on them.

Towards the very end of the Cretaceous further plate movements and a phase of resulting mountain building led to the shrinking of the sea, the seaway retreated shrinking to represent a marine environment less than 10% of its maximum area by the beginning of the Cenozoic.

North America in the Late Cretaceous

North America 75 million years ago and 65 million years ago

Picture credit: Dr Ron Blakey of Colorado Plateau Geosystems, Inc

The picture above shows how the shape of the continent is believed to have changed over the last ten million years or so of the Cretaceous Period, now back to Dr Longrich. The landmass that existed on the western side of this seaway is known as Laramidia. Dinosaurs dominated this part of the world, just as they did in all the other terrestrial environments during the Cretaceous, but the fossil record preserved indicates that there was a tremendous variety of dinosaurs in this part of the world. What is more, there seems to have been distinct faunal provinces, the southern portion of this landmass had different dinosaurs to those found on the northern parts of Laramidia.

Dinosaur Ethnicity

The fossil record seems to show ethnicity in the fauna that evolved, how and why this occurred (even if it actually occurred at all), has been hotly debated by palaeontologists. Some scientists have suggested that there must have been physical barriers between populations that over tens of thousands of years permitted new, distinct species to evolve.

To read an article related to this: A Surge in Mountain Building May Have Led to Dinosaur Diversification.

The horned dinosaur specimens studied by Dr Longrich had previously been classified as Anchiceratops and Chasmosaurus, species known from Canada, the north of Laramidia. However, after re-analysing these particular fossils, he realised that they more closely resembled dinosaurs from the southern part of the Laramidia landmass.

Frill Fragments

Two frill fragments from the uppermost Dinosaur Park Formation, found near Manyberries, south-east Alberta, that had thought to represent Anchiceratops have been re-classified as Pentaceratops dinosaur material. These Canadian frill bones are sufficiently different in their morphology from Pentaceratops sternbergii, which is known from New Mexico, that they have been ascribed to a new Pentaceratops species – P. aquilonius

An Artist’s Impression of Pentaceratops aquilonius

A new species of “northern Pentaceratops”.

Picture credit: University of Bath

Pentaceratops aquilonius

Pentaceratops aquilonius may have been very closely related to the southern Pentaceratops (P. sternbergii), but it was smaller and it had differently shaped frill bones and a different arrangement of hornlets (epiparietals). The genus name means “five horned face”, although, just like the much later and more famous Triceratops, this dinosaur only had three horns. The elongated jugal bones on the side of the skull had horny outgrowths, when viewed from the front, this dinosaur had the appearance of having five horns. The species name aquilonius means “northern” – a reference to where this dinosaur roamed.

The second horned dinosaur fossil specimens, studied by Dr Longrich had been thought to represent Chasmosaurus. However, the British palaeontologist noted that the partial skull in the Canadian Museum of Nature’s collection closely resembled another type of horned dinosaur called Kosmoceratops. Fossils of Kosmoceratops have been found in Utah, (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument), this horned dinosaur was named and described back in 2010.

To read more about Kosmoceratops: Those Curious Ceratopsians.

CollectA have created a large number of ceratopsian models including Kosmoceratops to view this range of prehistoric animal figures: CollectA Prehistoric Life/Prehistoric World Models.

New Species of Dinosaur

Phylogenetic analysis of the skull’s characteristics places this specimen in a sister taxon to Kosmoceratops richardsoni, the name ascribed to the Utah fossil finds. More fossils are required from the Dinosaur Provincial Park Formation before a new species of Kosmoceratops can be erected.

Not So Distinct Northern and Southern Provinces in Laramida

A mixing of faunas, at least amongst elements of the Ceratopsidae.

Picture credit: University of Bath

The diagram above maps the two dinosaurs (coloured red) in situ with other chasmosaurine dinosaur fossil discoveries.

Dinosaurs would spread from one part of the continent to another and then diverge from their “home” ancestors to evolve into a new species. Competition between the different species then would have prevented the dinosaurs from moving between the northern and southern provinces, although changes in climate and flora may too have had an affect. The established populations may have been able to resist migrations as they had specifically evolved to cope with local conditions.

Dr Longrich stated:

“We thought we had discovered most of the species, but it seems there are many undiscovered dinosaurs left. There are lots of species out there, we’ve really only just scratched the surface.”

So Many Species of Megfauna

But why were there so many species of mega fauna in this part of the world during the Late Cretaceous. This pattern is not seen in many ecosystems today. Dr Longrich has a theory, he thinks:

“In living mammals, there tend to be relatively few large species, and they have large ranges. With Cretaceous dinosaurs, we see a lot of large species in a single habitat. They also tend to be very regional, as you move from one habitat to another, you get a completely different set of species.”

These patterns of distribution might help explain why palaeontologists keep finding more types of dinosaur, when they sample different habitats, they find different species.

Dr Longrich speculates that the biology of these reptiles could be the reason for these patterns:

“In this sense, dinosaur biology seems quite different from mammal biology. It could be that mammals are more intelligent and so they tend to have more flexible behaviour, they adapt their behaviour to their habitats. On the other hand, dinosaurs may have had to adapt themselves physically to survive in a different habitat and as a result, they evolved into new species. Perhaps that’s the reason why there are so many species.”

The Ceratopsian Fauna of Laramidia

The ceratopsian fauna of Laramidia has posed a number of important questions for palaeontologists. For example, in Alberta bone beds of centrosaurine dinosaurs (one group of ceratopsians) are relatively common, a number of bone bed deposits have been found, whereas fossils of chasmosaurines (the other group of ceratopsians) are much rarer altogether and very little bone bed evidence has been discovered.

Why might this be?

We said at the beginning of this article that there had been previous cases of a new species of dinosaur being discovered when museum collections are re-examined, to read about a similar case, but this time involving the Sauropoda, see the link below.

Where’s the best place to find a new species of dinosaur: Look in a Museum for a New Dinosaur.

26 11, 2014

Everything Dinosaur Stocks the New Rebor King T. rex Replica

By Mike|2024-05-04T18:50:09+01:00November 26th, 2014|Categories: Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Everything Dinosaur Products, Main Page, Photos of Everything Dinosaur Products, Press Releases|6 Comments

Rebor 1:35 scale Replica of Tyrannosaurus rex Heading for Everything Dinosaur

First it was the Jurassic World trailer (officially released by Universal Pictures last night), now even more exciting prehistoric animal related news for fans of top quality dinosaur replicas. Everything Dinosaur will be stocking the Rebor 1:35 scale Tyrannosaurus rex replica. We are expecting to get our first shipments of the Rebor King T. rex replica sometime before 10th of December*.

Rebor King T. rex Replica

Coming Soon – Rebor 1:35 Scale Replica of T. rex

A beautiful model of Tyrannosaurus rex.

This is the second model to be released by Rebor, the first being the very popular Yutyrannus huali (beautiful feathered tyrant). This too, is a very beautiful figure, with lots of amazing detail and once again Rebor have been careful to get lots of anatomical details correct with one or two distinguishing flourishes of their own – hence the row of scutes running along the back to the base of the tail.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s review of the Rebor Y-REX figure: Everything Dinosaur Examines the Rebor Y-REX Model.

Highly Detailed Tyrannosaurus rex Dinosaur Model

The Rebor King T. rex replica has articulated lower jaw.

We are Model Collectors Too!

Here’s the really important information, Everything Dinosaur are model collectors too, we don’t believe that our customers should have to pre-order. After all, this model has not even started shipping out of the factory yet, so we don’t think it is fair to ask customers to pay for something when it is not in our warehouse.

So, to register your interest, simply email Everything Dinosaur: Contact Us and we will reserve a model for you and there’s no obligation to purchase. When stock arrives one of our team members will email you in person, confirm the price of this new, highly collectible replica and then offer you the opportunity to buy.

That’s it, no hassle, no pre-ordering, no worries.

It’s as easy as 1,2,3:

Express your interest by emailing Everything Dinosaur: Email Everything Dinosaur.
Everything Dinosaur reserves a replica for you
When stock arrives we email you to confirm the item is available and there is one reserved for you (with no obligation)

Rebor 1:35 Scale Replica Tyrannosaurus rex is Heading This Way

Nicknamed King T. rex! The Rebor King T. rex replica.

King Tyrannosaurus rex

This particular replica has been named “King T. rex, an appropriate moniker for the “King of the Tyrant Lizards”.

Our dedicated team members will do all they can to reserve a replica for you, but we warned, we think these dinosaurs are going to sell out quicker than tickets to a “Jurassic World” premier.

December 10th* the stock is expected on all around this date (estimated delivery into warehouse), however, please be aware that at this time of year, shipping dates can change and this can affect the expected delivery date of goods into the Everything Dinosaur warehouse. Such delays do happen, we at Everything Dinosaur think it’s another reason for not having to pre-order an item.

Please Note

Please note, Everything Dinosaur will do all it can to reserve a model and keep dinosaur fans and model collectors updated on stocks and availability, but we can’t hold products for months and months – please try to be fair to us. Rest assured, as our thousands of customers already know, we are an honest company and replica collectors ourselves and we will do all we can to assist you.

Super Detail on the Rebor T. rex Dinosaur Replica

A “must have” for serious dinosaur model collectors.

To view the Rebor range of dinosaur models: Rebor Replicas and Prehistoric Animal Figures.

Happy collecting!

23 11, 2014

Everything Dinosaur Stocks New Rebor Dinosaur Replicas

By Mike|2024-05-04T14:02:50+01:00November 23rd, 2014|Categories: Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Everything Dinosaur Products, Everything Dinosaur videos, Main Page, Photos of Everything Dinosaur Products|0 Comments

Rebor 1:35 scale Yutyrannus huali available from Everything Dinosaur

Everything Dinosaur stocks Rebor dinosaur replicas. Rebor have released a 1:35 scale model of a tyrannosauroid whose fossils come from northern China (Yutyrannus huali). This is the first in this exciting new range and team members are keen to see how the Rebor range of dinosaur and prehistoric animal models develops.

A beautiful model of a Chinese tyrannosaur.

Rebor Dinosaur Replicas

The model has been nicknamed Y-REX a reference to the most famous tyrannosaur of all, Tyrannosaurus rex, although in terms of geochronological time, Y. huali (the name means beautiful feathered tyrant), lived at least fifty-five million years before T. rex evolved. In fact, in terms of when this dinosaur roamed, it is much closer to the likes of Allosaurus and the Chinese allosauroid Sinraptor which lived during the Late Jurassic than it is to the Late Cretaceous Tyrannosaurus rex.

One thing Yutyrannus has in common with the mighty T. rex is that it too, was probably an apex predator. At around nine metres in length and weighing as much as a Volkswagen Golf, this dinosaur, which was formally named and described in 2012, proved that in some parts of the world at least, tyrannosauroids were the dominant predators relatively early on in their evolutionary history.

Rebor Models and Figures

To view the Rebor range of scale prehistoric animal figures available from Everything Dinosaur: Rebor Dinosaur Replicas.

It certainly is a splendid model and Everything Dinosaur will post up a review of this replica very shortly. In the meantime, here is a short (5.47), video we put together in our board room, which provides a little more information about this intriguing and highly collectible piece.

Everything Dinosaur Introduces the Rebor 1:35 Scale Yutyrannus Replica

Video credit: Everything Dinosaur

Everything Dinosaur Stocks Rebor Dinosaur Replicas

In this video, we talk more about this remarkable dinosaur discovery, discuss how the replica reflects the known fossil material and show how well this model has been packaged and presented. Our YouTube video (as above), may only have been on-line for a few days but already it has had over 1,000 views and received twenty-one likes.

One of the Pictures of our Model (Taken in the Boardroom)

Lots of detail to admire on this figure, it even has an articulated lower jaw.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The manufacturer is to be congratulated, this really is a splendid dinosaur model.

22 11, 2014

Wonderful Dinosaur Illustrations from India

By Mike|2023-03-17T21:38:28+00:00November 22nd, 2014|Categories: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Drawings, Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page, Press Releases|0 Comments

Young Fans Send in their Dinosaur Drawings to Everything Dinosaur

It is always a pleasure to receive drawings of prehistoric animals from fans of dinosaurs. We get lots and lots sent into our offices from all over the world. We are always pleased to receive these illustrations and it amazes us how diverse the drawings are. Dinosaurs dominate, we receive numerous dinosaur drawings from fans of prehistoric animals, but we get pictures of ichthyosaurs and pterosaurs as well as artwork depicting scenes from the Palaeozoic as well as the Mesozoic. In addition, our post bags and emails also contain drawings of prehistoric mammals, Woolly Mammoths and Sabre-toothed cats being particularly popular.

Here are some examples sent in to Everything Dinosaur from India.

A Drawing of the Fearsome Carnivore Giganotosaurus

A colourful dinosaur drawing from India.

Picture credit: M. V. Eashwar

Dinosaur Drawings

The illustrator has correctly stated that the name Giganotosaurus means “giant southern lizard”. We have printed out this artwork and pinned it onto one of our warehouse walls, so that everyone in the company can see when they are in the warehouse looking for dinosaur toys and games.

A Rearing Sauropod Defends Itself from Attack

A rearing sauropod.

Picture credit: M. V. Eashwar

Dinosaurs Fighting

Another interesting drawing, one depicting a fight between two dinosaurs. The green, long-necked dinosaur reminds us of the “Rearing Diplodocus” model in the CollectA not-to-scale model range.

The CollectA Rearing Diplodocus Dinosaur Model

The rearing Diplododocus dinosaur model was introduced in 2013.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To view the range of CollectA Prehistoric Life models in stock: CollectA Prehistoric Life/Prehistoric World Figures.

We really enjoy viewing all the wonderful prehistoric animal drawings that get sent into our offices, the one below shows an illustration of the huge, fish-eating dinosaur known as Spinosaurus, (thanks for this Shivesh).

A Drawing of the Mighty Spinosaurus

A fantastic drawing Shivesh!

Picture credit: Shivesh

Pictures of Carnivorous Dinosaurs

When it comes to the dinosaurs, we tend to get a lot of pictures showing carnivorous dinosaurs, including the likes of Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex. We have posted up a wonderful drawing of a meat-eating dinosaur, this time coloured predominately sky blue.

Dinosaur Drawings in November (Dinovember)

Fearsome theropod dinosaur. Everything Dinosaur receives lots of dinosaur drawings from fans of prehistoric animals.

Picture credit: M. V. Eashwar

The dinosaur in the picture above seems to be on the prowl, perhaps it is stalking potential prey. We at Everything Dinosaur really enjoy seeing all these wonderful prehistoric animal illustrations. Our thanks to all the budding, young (and not so young), palaeoartists that take the time and trouble to send them into us.

Thanks.

17 11, 2014

Rocks and Dinosaurs at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School

By Mike|2023-03-17T21:06:42+00:00November 17th, 2014|Categories: Educational Activities, Main Page, Teaching|0 Comments

Year 2 and Year 3 Study Dinosaurs and Fossils

Pupils at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School enjoyed a visit from Everything Dinosaur today. The visit of a dinosaur and fossil expert was scheduled to take place as Key Stage 1 pupils were starting a topic on dinosaurs and Key Stage 2 classes were beginning a science topic all about rocks, fossils and soils.

The children in Wharfe class (all the classes are named after rivers), had been considering whether a dinosaur would make a good pet. They had looked at eggs and put up notes on their topic wall about animals that laid eggs.

Identifying Which Animals Lay Eggs

Which animals lay eggs?

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The visitor from Everything Dinosaur was able to provide quite a bit of evidence about dinosaurs and their suitability for a pet. Identifying how much a Triceratops probably ate by looking at the jaws and teeth, convinced most of the children that some of the biggest dinosaurs known would not make good pets. Under the tutelage of the class teacher Mrs Conroy, the children would be learning about living and non-living things, with a focus on life in the past. One of the learning objectives for this part of the Autumn term was for the children to consider what living things require in order to survive and flourish.

Developing Vocabulary

There was a big emphasis on developing a scientific vocabulary, our dinosaur expert helped the class by assisting them when it came to identifying what some prehistoric animals ate and the terms used to describe these types of prehistoric creatures.

To read more about Everything Dinosaur’s huge range of dinosaur and prehistoric animal themed toys and gifts: Dinosaur Toys and Dinosaur Gifts.

Year 3 (Swale class), had been learning about different types of rocks and their properties. Mrs Hunt, the teacher was excited to learn about the local geology and all about the rocks that form Swaledale. The children loved handling the fossils and taking part in the experiments to demonstrate petrification processes such as permineralisation. On a table in the classroom, the children had lots of rocks to explore and to learn about. The eager pupils were keen to show the Everything Dinosaur expert their fossils and he was happy to tell them all about these specimens, the class particularly liked learning about “Devil’s toenails”.

Lots of Rocks for Year 3 to Examine

A very full “rock table”.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Having left each class with one of Everything Dinosaur’s “pinkie palaeontologist challenges”, we shall see how the children get on and we are all excited to hear the results.

16 11, 2014

To Clone or Not to Clone a Woolly Mammoth

By Mike|2023-03-17T21:05:29+00:00November 16th, 2014|Categories: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page, Press Releases|0 Comments

Documentaries on Woolly Mammoth Autopsy and Cloning Possibilities

Two documentaries focusing on the study of a remarkably well preserved female Woolly Mammoth carcase are due to be shown in the UK and the United States towards the end of this month. Channel 4 (UK) will show “Woolly Mammoth: The Autopsy” on Sunday, November 23rd at 8pm. Stateside viewers will be able to see a similar documentary entitled “How to Clone a Woolly Mammoth”, it will air on the Smithsonian Channel on November 29th.

Cloning a Woolly Mammoth

The 40,000-year-old star of the show, is “Buttercup” a mature female Woolly Mammoth. The frozen carcase was discovered back in 2013, when a research team from the Research Institute of Applied Ecology, the Russian Geographical Society and the North Eastern Federal University was exploring the remote Lyakhovsky islands, part of the Novosibirsk archipelago, situated in the Eastern Siberia Sea in the search for Woolly Mammoth fossil remains.

Scientists found that entombed within the ice, much of the front part of this Mammoth’s body was intact. This was one of the best preserved specimens ever discovered and the television programme makers examine what these remains can tell us about these long extinct creatures and then the programmes discuss the prospect of scientists producing a clone.

Woolly Mammoth “Blood”

When the body cavity of the Mammoth was examined, in places where it had begun to slightly thaw, a thick, red liquid could be encouraged to flow out of the flesh. At the time this was described as “blood”. Although it may have contained constituents of blood, the television documentaries will explain in more detail what this was. However, one thing that the field team could be confident about, this one of the best preserved Woolly Mammoths ever found. Having a strong stomach is needed for this sort or work. A nose peg/face mask is recommended, once the body starts to warm up, decomposition and putrefaction are not far away.

Woolly Mammoth

Returning a Woolly Mammoth, a species that has not been seen on this Earth for thousands of years, back from the dead. This might sound like the stuff of science fiction, but the cloning of a Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), is a distinct possibility although probably not for at least another thirty or forty years – just a blink in geological time.

To read about the discovery of the Mammoth that is now called “Buttercup”: A Woolly Mammoth with Fresh Blood?

Should the Woolly Mammoth be Resurrected?

Will the Woolly Mammoth return?

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Mired in a Bog

It is likely that this elephant became mired in a bog and she probably succumbed to exhaustion, although an attack from predators is not ruled out as much of the rear portion of the skeleton has been lost and that which remains shows feeding damage. Whether this was post-mortem, we at Everything Dinosaur are unable to say.

Whilst we at Everything Dinosaur are very much in favour of the study of these Siberian giants. After all, actually examining the slowly thawing out flesh of such a creature provides science with so much more information than just the bones. We remain concerned about the moral and ethical issues involved in any cloning process. True, scientists from Harvard University and from South Korea’s Sooam Biotech Research Foundation are trying to just that, to bring a Woolly Mammoth back by cloning, although both teams are going about it in slightly different ways.

To Resurrect the Mammoth

We feel that certain questions have to be asked, for example, what contribution to overall genetic research would such a project make? Indeed, is it right to focus on trying to resurrect the Mammoth when more resources could be directed at trying to save critically endangered flora and fauna that are still around.

We imagine a scenario, whereby, many Indian elephant females are subjected to experimentation and if a clone could be created, then there is the problem of surviving the lengthy gestation if a successful implanting into the womb of a surrogate mother could be achieved.

The Life of a Baby Mammoth

Perhaps, if the baby could survive to term, then there is the birth itself, or most likely a Caesarean section, as no commercial company would want to lose their “genetic investment” at this late stage. If the baby survives, boy or girl (gender will probably be determined for it), then it could end up being rejected by what would already be a traumatised mother. If the calf lives, we suspect there may be a number of unforeseen medical issues (as has been the case in the cloning a number of extant animals), then what sort of life would this young Woolly Mammoth have.

Could we See a Baby Woolly Mammoth in a Zoo in 2050?

Baby Woolly Mammoth – the New Lyuba?

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

For models and replicas of Woolly Mammoths and other prehistoric creatures: Papo Models and Prehistoric Animal Figures.

Possibly rejected by its own mother and never able to be part of a herd, this elephant, highly social by instinct, part of a species that had a childhood almost as long as a human’s childhood, would be totally isolated and alone. It would have no references, no role models, no benchmark. It would be a Woolly Mammoth or something resembling a Mammoth (depending on the proportion of Indian elephant DNA involved), but it would not know how to behave or act like a Mammoth.

The Realities of Resurrecting a Mammoth

We at Everything Dinosaur foresee a heart-breaking scene in a zoo, perhaps in the not too distant future, whereby, a shaggy, rough coated elephant is paraded in front of crowds of visitors to the great satisfaction and economic benefit to the institution that owns this genetic wonder. For the animal itself, it would most probably be doomed to live an entirely unnatural existence with none of the social interactions that these elephants would crave. Just as we have captured Orcas and displayed them at theme parks and we are now only being to understand the trauma we put these magnificent creatures through.

Cloning One Day Possible?

Being able to explore the flesh and blood of a long dead creature is of great importance to science. We accept that one day in future the cloning of a Mammoth may indeed be possible. But just because we can do something doesn’t make it right to do. To clone a Mammoth would involve a tremendously dedicated team of scientists who would be pushing at the boundaries of our understanding of genetics, but just as with the study of the carcase itself, when it comes to the moral and ethical implications, a strong stomach will be required.

Let’s hope that the documentaries examine the ethical dimensions of cloning such as a creature as well as providing more information on how these ancient creatures lived and died.

15 11, 2014

A Fishy Dinosaur Tail from South-western Alberta

By Mike|2023-03-17T20:56:39+00:00November 15th, 2014|Categories: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

Fishermen Spot Duck-Billed Dinosaur Fossil in the Castle River

Palaeontologists at the Royal Tyrrell Museum (Alberta, Canada), have a new hadrosaur specimen to study, thanks to a pair of keen-eyed fishermen who spotted the fossilised remains of an 80-million-year-old dinosaur whilst on an angling trip to the Castle River in the extreme south-west of Alberta.

Hadrosaur Specimen

Back in August, a father and son fishing trip on the river was interrupted when the son, spotted the brownish/black outline of some bones exposed on the surface of a huge boulder that had been washed into the middle of the Castle River. Last year, the south-west of Alberta experienced some of the worst flooding in living memory.

The devastation caused by the extensive flooding had a silver lining for vertebrate palaeontologists as a number of fossils were swept into river systems. This hadrosaur specimen, which consists of a partial skull, articulated cervical vertebrae and bones from the upper portion of the chest, could represent an entirely new species.

The Fossilised Bones are Entombed Inside a Sandstone Boulder

The exposed skull (top right) and the articulated neck vertebrae.

Picture credit: Royal Tyrrell Museum

Hadrosaurs

Hadrosaurs, or more specifically dinosaurs that belong to the Superfamily known as the Hadrosauroidea, were bird-hipped, herbivores that had horny beaks and batteries of teeth to help them cope with tough vegetation. Known from the Cretaceous to the very end of the Age of Dinosaurs, these reptiles, also referred to as the duck-billed dinosaurs were amongst the most speciose of all the known types of dinosaur and they were particularly numerous and diverse during the Campanian and Maastrichtian faunal stages of Late Cretaceous North America.

Commenting on the significance of this discovery, the Curator of Dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Dr Donald Henderson explained that the unusual location of this fossil find, just a few miles from the border with British Columbia, makes this specimen extremely important.

He stated:

“It is one of the reasons we were so keen to get it, every time we find something different in another part of the province, it’s something important. This means we could be finding new dinosaurs in the extreme south-west of Alberta.”

Duck-billed Dinosaur Fossil

A helicopter was called in to airlift the one tonne boulder onto a low-loader for transport up to Drumheller, where the museum is based. The specimen will then be carefully prepared in the museum’s laboratory. Field workers did search the rest of the river bed and along the banks in the immediate vicinity of the fossil in a bid to find other parts of the skeleton, but to no avail. Last year’s floods may have delivered this partial specimen but the remainder would have most likely been washed away.

It is rare for such a specimen, to be preserved in this manner. The sandstone rock in which the fossil is entombed is extremely hard, the resistance of this rock to erosion helped preserve the fossil, although extracting the fossilised bones from the surrounding matrix will be a very difficult and time consuming job due to the tough matrix.

Entombed in Hard Sandstone

Dr Henderson added:

“It’s in really, really hard sandstone, otherwise it would have been smashed up a long time ago. It’s [the fossil specimen] sort of coiled up inside, at the time of its death, the neck and head curled back and the body was swept away in a river of sand. “

A Close up of the Skull Showing the Rows of Teeth in the Jaws

Erosion has led to the skull and jaws being cross-sectioned to reveal internal details.

Picture credit: Royal Tyrrell Museum

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur said, that the actions of the fishermen should be praised. It is important for members of the public to alert museums when they come across something unexpected and unusual. The fossil is probably preserved in three-dimensions, the hard sandstone protecting the bones, normally such bones are crushed, flattened and smashed. Palaeontologists might be able to learn a great deal about Late Cretaceous ornithischian dinosaurs as a result of this fossil discovery.