The enormous Patagotitan arm bones are on display at the London Natural History Museum. These immense fossils are part of the “Titanosaur: Life as the Biggest Dinosaur” exhibition. This popular exhibition is open until January 2024. Team members at Everything Dinosaur have been fortunate to have visited the museum earlier in the year. This helped them to avoid the inevitable congestion at the peak of the summer tourist season.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Patagotitan Arm Bones

The display shows the right arm bones of Patagotitan in approximate anatomical position. The enormous scapula leads to the immense humerus with the ulna (left) and the radius (right) directly underneath it. The exhibition organisers have provided a helpful information panel to explain the layout of the arm bones.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website for models and replicas of titanosaurs and other prehistoric creatures: Everything Dinosaur.

Patagotitan mayorum

Patagotitan was formally named and scientifically described in 2017 (Carballido et al). However, the huge fossil bones had attracted considerable media interest since the discovery of a giant portion of thigh bone in 2010. Numerous news reports occurred in 2014 and in January 2016 the BBC broadcast a special programme that tracked the fossil excavation and preservation. The programme was presented by Sir David Attenborough, and it was entitled “Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur”.

In 2022, Safari Ltd added a replica of Patagotitan to their product range.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“Several other titanosaur models have been introduced since the naming of Patagotitan. With the interest in titanosaurs fuelled by the giant arm bones on display, collectors can expect more titanosaur figures to be introduced.”

To view the Safari Ltd dinosaur model range: Wild Safari Prehistoric World Models and Figures.

Team members at Everything Dinosaur took the opportunity to photograph a cast of a Baryonyx fossil jaw on display at the London Natural History Museum. The cast is a replica of the original specimen number BMNH R9951. The holotype material was re-catalogued as NHMUK VP R9951. The British Museum was renamed the Natural History Museum in 1992. The fossils represent one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons found in the UK.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Fossils of this famous theropod dinosaur were excavated from a clay pit near Ockley in Surrey in 1983. The field team was led by palaeontologists from the British Museum (Natural History Museum). There is a cast of the Baryonyx skeleton on display in the dinosaur gallery at the museum.

Baryonyx walkeri

Named and formally described in 1986, Baryonyx changed perceptions regarding spinosaurids. The scientific paper was published in “Nature”. It was entitled “Baryonyx, a remarkable new theropod dinosaur”. The authors of the paper were Alan Charig and Angela Milner. Both palaeontologists had distinguished careers. Alan Charig helped to popularise the science of vertebrate palaeontology when he wrote and presented the BBC television series “Before the Ark”. However, it is probably for their work on Baryonyx walkeri that they will be best remembered.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The picture (above) shows a typical Baryonyx dinosaur model. The figure is from the Mojo Fun Prehistoric and Extinct collection.

To view this model range: Mojo Fun Prehistoric and Extinct Model Range.

The Baryonyx Fossil Jaw

The Baryonyx fossil jaw cast shows the premaxilla and the anterior portion of the maxilla. The holotype specimen includes a significant amount of skull and jaw material including both dentaries. Thanks to the skull and jaw fossils, scientists were able to reconstruct the skull of other spinosaurids such as Spinosaurus aegyptiacus.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented.

“When we visit the London Natural History Museum, we like to view the Baryonyx exhibit. The fossils helped improve our understanding regarding theropod dinosaurs. The Baryonyx material representing about 65% of the entire skeleton still represents one of the most complete large theropod skeletons found in Europe.”

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.