A Review of the Papo Dimetrodon (Pelycosaur) Model

The last of Papo’s 2013 releases in the company’s prehistoric animal model range is Dimetrodon, Papo’s first model of a animal that lived before the dinosaurs existed.   Dimetrodon is not even closely related to the Dinosauria, it is a synapsid, a member of the pelycosaur group of reptiles.  Models of this sail-backed reptile have appeared very frequently in dinosaur model ranges and this is Everything Dinosaur’s review of the Papo Dimetrodon replica.

Dimetrodon Prehistoric Animal Model

Why Dimetrodon should be so strongly associated with the Dinosauria alludes us, but a few years ago team members at Everything Dinosaur wrote a short article about this: Why is Dimetrodon regarded as a Dinosaur?

The Papo Dimetrodon Model

Fearsome sail-backed reptile, with exquisite detail.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/Papo

A Large Predator

Dimetrodon was a large predator of the Permian geological period, a number of species are known, one of the largest of which, Dimetrodon grandis measured over 3.5 metres in length and would have weighed up to 200 kilogrammes when fully grown.  The genus Dimetrodon was named by the American Edward Drinker Cope, it is one of over 1,000 prehistoric animals that this famous palaeontologists named in his lifetime.

The most prominent feature of Dimetrodon is its enormous sail which stretched across the animal’s back.  This sail was supported by spines and the sail was actually quite thin.  Papo have taken care to depict the spines and thin sail very carefully on their replica.  This structure was most likely used to help regulate body temperature, although it may also have a played a role in courtship displays or other forms of visual communication between individuals, this perhaps helps to explain the patterning that the Papo design team have given the sail on their model.

Fantastic Detail on the Skin

The detailing on the skin is exquisite with individual scales clearly picked out.  The presence of skin folds and the detailed scaling gives this model a very lizard-like appearance.  The Papo Dimetrodon has a relatively long tail, early reconstructions of Dimetrodon showed this reptile with a short, stubby tail, but palaeontologists now know that this pelycosaur did indeed have a long tail.

The lower jaw is articulated and Papo have been careful to depict the different sized teeth in the jaws with a reasonable degree of accuracy, the prominent notch in the upper jaw is present, providing a space for the oversized teeth in the lower jaw to fit into when the mouth is closed.  Like the rest of the model, the head is very well painted and there is lots of detail to admire.

Model Measurements

This new Dimetrodon model measures  approximately 16.5 centimetres in length.  If we assume that this is a model of Dimetrodon grandis, then we can conclude that this replica is in approximately 1:21 scale.  Although, we are not aware of any scaling actually being stated by the manufacturer, this model would work well with any other replicas produced in a 1:20 scale format.

To view Papo models available at Everything Dinosaur: Papo Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animal Figures.

Intriguingly, Papo have chosen to give their Dimetrodon model only four toes on the hind feet.  We think that this reptile had five toes on its feet, the front limbs of the model do have five digits which is correct.  Trackways, trace fossils assigned to the Dimetrodon genus, showing a large animal with five digits on each foot have been discovered in North America.

All in all, this is an excellent Dimetrodon model and one that is a welcome addition to the Papo range of replicas.  Perhaps, Papo will be encouraged to introduce other non-dinosaurian models into their prehistoric animal model series.

A Review of the Pachycephalosaurus Model from CollectA

The pachycephalosaurs, often referred to as the “bone-headed dinosaurs” due to their greatly thickened skulls are a group of ornithischian dinosaurs known almost exclusively from Upper Cretaceous deposits of North America and northern Asia.  Although the majority of this group are only known from fragmentary fossil remains, most notably frontal and parietal bones of the skull,  a number of pachycephalosaur models have been made and this is a review of the Pachycephalosaurus dinosaur model manufactured by CollectA.

Pachycephalosaurus Dinosaur Model

No complete skeleton of Pachycephalosaurus has been found, so interpretations of this dinosaur, the largest of the “bone-headed dinosaurs” discovered to date, are usually based on a scaled up version of the pachycephalosaur known as Stegoceras.  CollectA have depicted their Pachycephalosaurus in a bipedal pose with strong hind legs, five fingered hands and with a tail a fraction longer than the length of the shoulder girdle to the pelvis, although the actual body proportions are unknown.

The CollectA 2013 Pachycephalosaurus Dinosaur Model

A lithe Pachycephalosaurus dinosaur model.

Skull Fossil Fragments

Skull fossil fragments ascribed to Pachycephalosaurus are known from Canada and the western United States, mainly from the Province of Alberta and the states of Wyoming and Montana. The thickened skull dome is over 25 cm thick on larger specimens, exceptional protection for what was a relatively small brain inside the skull.   The model makers at CollectA have elected to give their Pachycephalosaurus a more rounded skull, rather than the very domed shape seen in some reconstructions.

The skull dome was edged with a number of bony protrusions and spikes, these were most prominent towards the back of the skull.  The muzzle was relatively short and it ended in short beak,  in the CollectA replica, the beak is ever so slightly pointed and can be clearly made out on the model.  The spikes and bony projections have been painted a bright yellow colour which contrasts nicely with the muted, camouflaged tones of the body.

 The CollectA Pachycephalosaurus Viewed Close Up

A close up of the lovely detail on the head.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Model Measurements

The model measures a little over ten centimetres long, although the size of this dinosaur is not certain from the fossil evidence, based on a 4.6-metre-long adult animal we estimate that this Pachycephalosaurus is in approximately 1:46 scale.

The replica has a row of prominent, triangular spikes running from the base of the skull to the almost the very tip of the tail, a single line of spikes is also depicted on the neck, presumably providing some protection from attack and to protect the soft tissue of the neck when browsing on thorny plant material.

The neck looks quite long and stiff. The total number of vertebrae is unknown for any member of the pachycephalosaur family, indeed how the neck bones articulated with the skull of Pachycephalosaurus is open to speculation.  It had been thought that the thickened skulls and stiffened dorsal vertebrae of this type of dinosaur were adaptations for head-butting contests between individuals, although recent studies and biomechanical analysis of the skull domes have led to this form of intra-specific conflict being disputed.

To read more about the disputed theory regarding head-butting Pachycephalosaurs:

Evidence for head-butting dinosaurs: Head-Butting Dinosaurs After All.

Contrasting evidence, pachycephalosaurs may have used their reinforced skulls in different ways: Bone-headed Dinosaurs “bashed” in Different Ways.

This model is supplied on a base, this prevents the feet from having to be oversized and the effect is to depict Pachycephalosaurus as an agile, strong-running dinosaur.  The number of fragments of skull bone found in locations such as the Dinosaur Provincial Park Formation of Alberta suggest that pachycephalosaurs were the most common, small-bodied dinosaurian herbivores in those ecosystems where their fossils have been found.

This is a fascinating re-creation of Pachycephalosaurus and an excellent addition to the CollectA range of prehistoric animal models.  The Pachycephalosaurus replica and the rest of the CollectA prehistoric life range is available from Everything Dinosaur, the UK based retailer of dinosaur models, toys and games that is staffed by parents, teachers and real dinosaur experts.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s range of CollectA models: CollectA Prehistoric World/Prehistoric Life.

Ancient Horse – Przewalski’s Horse Model (CollectA) Reviewed

It might be seen as a little unusual for a company called Everything Dinosaur to review a model of a horse, after all, we are usually preoccupied with writing reviews of replicas from the CollectA Prehistoric Life Collection, but we are making an exception when it comes to CollectA’s model of Przewalski’s horse as this animal has remained unchanged for thousands of years and it would have been very familiar to Stone Age Europeans and Asians.

Przewalski’s Horse

First lets deal with the pronunciation, as the name is a little difficult to pronounce even for those of us who have to cope with the Dinosauria, this horse is called Pre-zal-ski’s horse, or more commonly and appropriately She-val-ski’s horse.  Of course you could just refer to this animal as the Mongolian wild horse or indeed use the Mongolian name which is the Takhi (tack-ee).

The Model of Przewalski’s Horse by CollectA

Stone Age survivor being slowly re-introduced to the wild.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

A Wild Horse

Przewalski’s horse is regarded as the only true wild horse in existence, although it was believed to have died out in the wild, small populations have been re-introduced into Russia, Mongolia and China after a successful zoo based breeding and re-introduction programme.

These horses are stocky, more so than most types of domesticated horses.  They also have shorter legs.  Average height is around 13 hands high, around 130 centimetres tall when measured from the ground just behind the front fore leg up to the withers (the top of the shoulder where the neck joins the body).

To view Everything Dinosaur’s range of CollectA not-to-scale prehistoric animal models: CollectA Prehistoric Life Figures.

Model Measurements

The model measures a little over 16 and a half centimetres in length and the measurement from the ground to the withers is around 7 centimetres, so we estimate that this CollectA horse model is made in approximately 1:20 scale, so it works well with other recently introduced CollectA prehistoric animals such as the Deinotherium , the Megacerops and the Woolly Mammoth.

 CollectA Prehistoric Mammal Models

Part of the CollectA range of animal models.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Designed by Deborah McDermott

This model of Przewalski’s horse is part of the horse model series designed by Californian based sculptor Deborah McDermott and is included  in the CollectA horse model collection.  The coat is a dun colour, with a dark mane that stands proud of the neckline, there is black colouration on the lower legs and a long black tail.  Cave paintings discovered in France and Spain depict drawings of very similar looking horses.  This suggests that these types of animals were a common sight in western Europe during the Upper Palaeolithic.

With this horse believed to be extinct in the wild, an international foundation was set up in 1977 to co-ordinate and manage a zoo-based breeding programme using animals that were descended from wild populations captured in the early 20th Century.  As the population slowly built up, herds were established in several specialised reserves and in 1992 the first Przewalski’s horses were reintroduced into Mongolia.  A number of national parks and preserves have been established and it is estimated that the Przewalski’s horse wild population now numbers several thousand.

This is a well-crafted, hand-painted replica of Przewalski’s horse, a model that works well with the other prehistoric mammals in the CollectA Prehistoric Life model series.