Prehistoric Times - Summer 2014

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Writers in This Issue:

Mike Fredericks Tracy Ford

www.prehistorict

imes.com

Randy Knol Artists in this issue:

Phil Hore Allen Debus Robert Telleria Fred M Snyder

Chris Kastner David Bengel Mike Eischen John F Davies

Phil Wilson

David Bengel

Jada Armstead

Don Glut

Fred M Snyder

Alyson Mendez

J A Chirinos

Nathan E Rogers

Donny KC

Adam Lindholm

John C Womack

Jim Kuether

Bill Unzen

John Trotter

John F Davies

Andrey Atuchin

Terry Wilson

Ruben Portillo

Joseph Trout

C W Gross

James C Skinner

Jim Bohnsack

Matthias Geiger

Daniel Stevens

Donna Lorello

Irwin Van der Minne

Mike Fredericks Tracy Ford John Sibbick Galileo Hernandez Fabio Pastori Gregory S Paul

Write your own funny caption and win a free one year subscription. Last issue’s winners: "Fred, Barney and Bam-Bam try out their '20th Century' disguises but Dino gives them away." Lyle Blosser, Louisville, OH. won a PT subscription & "Our new sculptor sure does terrific kids, but he can't sculpt dinosaurs worth shucks." Lionel Baker II Kingsport, TN won a PT subscription

Paul Passano Trisha Brummitt

Guilherme Betolazzo

Jacek Major Dave Kinney Betty Reid Martin

Kevin Hedgpeth Wade Carmen James Gurney Mark Hallett

Clint Harris

Meg Bernstein

Christian Juul Jorge Gonzalez Chuang Zhao

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www.prehistorictimes.com Join the Prehistoric Times group for free on Facebook All payments in U.S. funds. Credit card payment through our site only Or mail your check/MO/cash to our address. Subscription Information below: Prehistoric Times • 145 Bayline Circle • Folsom, CA • 95630-8077 Table of Contents Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014 $30 U.S. Only (one year, 4 issues) third class postage. $35 U. S. first class postage and Canada $45 South of the border & across the Atlantic $50 Across the Pacific

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The PT Interview: Galileo Hernandez. . . . . . Fredericks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Diabloceratops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Digital Dinosaurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eischen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 How to Draw Dinosaurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Publisher/Editor: Mike Fredericks 145 Bayline Circle, Folsom, Ca 95630-8077 (916) 985-7986 between 8-5 PST M-F business hours only please.

FAX (916) 985-2481 [email protected]

www.prehistorictimes.com Don’t forget PT is also available as an app for your phone or computer Advertising: Full page - $150 b&w - $400 color; 1/2 pg - $100 b&w - $300 color; 1/4 pg - $75 b&w - $200 color

Collectors Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fredericks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Dinosaur Collector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Knol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 China’s Zigong Dinosaur Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 What’s New in Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fredericks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Backyard Terrors Dinosaur Park . . . . . . . . . . Kastner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Titanoboa & Giant Prehistoric Snakes . . . . . Hore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Giant Dinos Invade Chicagoland Part 2 . . . . Debus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Paleonews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Der Sauriermuseum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Davies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Mesozoic Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fredericks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

PT logo by William Stout Redone above by Thomas Miller Front cover graphic design by Juan Carlos Alonso 4

Bygone Days: Dinosaur Calendars . . . . . . . . Telleria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Make Your Own Dioramas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Snyder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Elasmosaurus Model Build . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bengel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

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Amazing Giganotosauru by Wow, our one hundred and tenth A typical day for issue! It doesn’t seem possible. Galileo Hernandez Nunez your PT editor Wasn’t it just yesterday that we had our 105th issue marking our 20 year anniversary? And it feels like it was only last week when we celebrated our 100th issue. Time is moving much too quickly but I am glad that PT is still hanging in there, thanks to you. I really thank you all. For this issue I interview talented prehistoric animal sculptor Galileo Hernandez Nunez of Mexico and we show his amazing Giganotosaurus sculpture on the front cover. I hope you enjoy the article in which he describes his life south of the border. That fine Australian gentleman Philip Hore again writes about our two featured prehistoric animals. We received more Diabloceratops artwork than we could find room for. While Titanoboa and giant prehistoric snakes did not seem to inspire quite as many paleoartists, we received some absolutely amazing snake artwork nonetheless. PT asked world renown paleontologist James Kirkland of the Utah specimens, crystals, fossils, and lapidary equipment with over 30 vendors. Geological Survey about Diabloceratops. He said: “Well, not much has changed from our formal description of the animal Admission Fees: Children ages 12 and in 2010. I still think Brad Wollverton's head reconstruction done directly under free, Ages 13-18 $1, Adults $5, Seniors (60+) $4. www.gemcapers.com has from the skull is the best. http://geology.utah.gov/surmore information. This vessel is docked in Hawaii where Jurassic veynotes/archives/snt39-3.pdf Of course this beast from MOVING?? PLEASE let us know your World is presently filming. the middle Campanian has been joined by the primitive new address the second you plan to move. hadrosaurine Acristavis and the tyrannosaurine Shockingly subscribers move and never bother Lythronax. It is still the most primitive known cento let us know. The magazine is NOT forwardtrosaurine. We are excavating new sauropods, new polaed and it costs us to resend the magazine later cathid ankylosaurs, and a dozen plus new primitive to your new “digs.” iguanodonts with a dromaeosaur too from what I think is Also if you subscribed to PT by sending your the lowest Cretaceous faunal level in North America payment anywhere except directly to us, please (pre-Utahraptor and Gastonia). know that we only received a paltry percentage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyxbRxBnNOI of that payment. The people you sent the payAdditionally we are still trying to get our family of ment to get most all of it. When you (hopefulUtahraptors stuck in quicksand off the cuesta. ly) renew your subscription PLEASE do it by http://www.ksl.com/?sid=25546101” One of a few stills sending your payment (Paypal, check, m/o) As usual this issue is packed with articles, art, and directly to us. We are a very small business released. Looks like reviews including some new artist and writing and could really use your support. Thanks so someone didn’t take “faces” that we really hope you enjoy. I thank all of much. the writers and artists (many very famous and many very good care of ARTISTS! PT does not pay for submisnot so famous) and also my advertisers. I once again Jurassic World sions but many artists whose work is seen in ask PT readers to please patronize our advertisers as Prehistoric Times get paying work from other property. we really need them to keep the PT ship afloat. sources. Please send jpg files of your artwork More and more teasing information is seeping out scanned at 300 DPI resolution. Send as an about the fourth Jurassic Park film. The indication is approx 4” jpg with your name in the title of that the film will feature a dinosaur-themed amusethe image--example--Triceratops by John ment park as the primary setting. If so, it will likely Smith.jpg to our e-mail address or send receive a mixed reaction from longtime fans of the Jurassic Park series. On one hand, it appears that Jurassic World is revisit- good copies (that you don’t need returned and that aren’t larger than our 9 x ing the original film rather than exploring new terrain. However, viewers 12 scanner bed) to our mailing address in California. We need your art and never truly got a look at a Jurassic Park that was up and running and popu- info. For #111 Baryonyx & Thylacosmilus (Sep 10 2014) Apatosaurus & lated with guests. So, some fans Liopleurodon (Dec 10, 2014) Ankylosaurus & Glyptodon & Archelon Pixar’s “The Good may wish to see this. What (Mar 10, 2015) Thank you! could go wrong, right? It is still Dinosaur” early and I hate to further spread rumors. Jurassic World hits theaters June 12, 2015 Pixar’s “The Good Dinosaur” may be delayed, but it isn’t RENT DIFFE shelved. The first teaser poster TEEN NS NOW! IF F ! has been released for the film, which is set for release in November 2015. DESIG THEM ALL Y! T L We know the cast (John Lithgow is the father of a family of farming C D E U L O L PR CO apatosaurs; Frances McDormand is the mother, Bill Hader and Neil Patrick THEM WEAR Harris are brothers Forrest and Cliff, Judy Greer is Ivy, and Lucas Neff voices the lead character Arlo). “The Good Dinosaur” tries to show what might have happened if the asteroid that changed life on Earth 65 million years ago missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct?

FROM THE EDITOR

Ad design by Michael Stevens

The following was not written by Mike. I snuck this paragraph into Mike’s editorial just before this issue went to press. I am one of the regular contributing writers to Prehistoric Times magazine. I can’t tell you who for fear Mike will find out. We all are kept underground in small, cold chambers with only our computer monitor screen for light. We are constantly kept here writing and rewriting, getting our articles perfect for the next issue. If only we had a small window so we could feel the warmth of the sun on our face. I would tell you where we are but I don’t know myself. It isn’t all bad. Every third Friday of the month we get pizza which is a nice change from our usual gruel, plus we get some sort of meat for our birthdays. We love writing for PT so we don’t want to be rescued but if one of you reading this could find me, then perhaps you could mail a letter I’ve written to my family that I have had sitting by my computer for years or just bring me a candy bar. Don’t tell Mike you read this. Thank you.

The Austin Gem and Mineral Society’s Gem Capers 2014 show will be held two weeks earlier than usual on October 3rd-October 5th, 2014 at the Palmer Events Center in Austin, TX. This year’s show theme is “dinosaurs.” The gem and mineral show includes jewelry, beads, gemstones, mineral Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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ME S O Z O I C MAIL

to have him as a big part of PT - editor Mike, I'm walking around Barnes & Noble’s book store and I run into PT in the science/nature section. I moved all the copies up front. Go PT! Juan Carlos Alonzo, Miami, Florida

Thanks buddy, that’s what I always do too, of course, and I ask other PT readers to do the same editor Hi Mike, Please renew my subscription to PT for two more years at 1st class postage. Enclosed is a check to cover the charges. The magazine continues to deliver outstanding information, be it stunning artwork or informative articles every issue. As an example, the recent discovery of alpha predator Torvosaurus gurneyi, a 33 foot monster carnivorous dinosaur found in Europe and dating back to the Late Jurassic period. I saw mention of it briefly in the paper, so I was looking forward to the Pelagosaurus skeleton great coverage I knew Paleonews would deliver! I © John Sibbick wasn’t disappointed. The article and art were outwww.johnsibbick.com standing! Once again, thanks for being the number one publication on prehistoric life. best, Jim Garrison, Pacoima, Ca. Mike, I got my new issue of PT today. I just have to take a minute to say thank you for including my artwork in Phil Hore's article on Chasmosaurus. Phil is a really talented writer and your magazine is the BEST. Thanks again for allowing me to be a part of this issue! The magazine just keeps getting better and better - keep it up!! Your friend, Betty Reid Martin People like you, Betty, who send us art and everything else are what makes PT what it is. You are right about Phil. He has a talented mind and also is a super good guy and we are very fortunate

Mike, I recently worked on a series of small line drawings (see two below) which were enlarged; some up to a meter wide which was a little scary. The exhibits are all from the Lower Jurassic [181 mya] when southern England was underwater with sub tropical lagoons and islands including crocodiles, fish, ammonites and many insects. The fossils were originally collected in the Can you find 2 PTs mid 1800’s but in the photo? have only recently been prepared in Bristol Museum. Cheers, John Sibbick Isle of Wight, England.

Long time PT reader Wade Carmen likes to tease me that T. rex is on the front cover of every PT issue and this is a joke drawing he sent me. I explain to him that T. rex is NOT on every cover but if it was, it is because I’m trying to sell magazines editor.

Amazing artwork as always, John. Yes, artists are supposed to illustrate large a n d reproduce smaller, not the other way around - editor Dear Mike, Thanks again for publishing my portrait of the Chasmosaurus, It gets many good responses from those who see it, even though I'm very mixed in my opinions. But then, every artist is their own worst critic. I'm presently working on a large piece for the prehistoric snakes article. Been sketching from live specimens, including the Anaconda at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. I've also been doing a lot of research as well, which leads into the reason for this message. Though the evidence is fragmentary, I do believe that there were colossal snakes during the Mesozoic era. As fossils of the giant species Mastoida Liopleurodon pliosaur wood have been found in Cretaceous sculpture by Jim Bohnsack deposits, this does offer some proof that giant constricting snakes did exist during the age of dinosaurs. And that the potential prey was of giant size also means that any major constrictor Strawberry Bank insects © John Sibbick

Above: Author, film-maker and dinosaur expert (& good friend to PT) Don Glut shares a Prehistoric Times dinosaur comic strip with us that he “claims” he did when he was only a wee lad. Our high-priced New York lawyers are looking into it to see if we have a trade mark infringemant case - editor

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probably grew to equal dimensions. Most likely, these enormous reptiles were aquatic, because on land a snake's skeletal structure can only bear a certain amount of weight and size. Like the anaconda, aquatic environments allow snakes to support a more massive body, as well as an advantageous hunting ground. With vast herds of dinosaurs needing to water, its a definite likelihood that very big constrictors were a part of the Cretaceous environment. The known Cenozoic constrictors like Titanoboa and Gigantophis were probably survivors that made it through the great extinction.

always. I was particularly MESOZOIC MINI-MEs struck by Kevin Hedgpeth’s drawing John C Womack of Bullockornis, noting the similarity between it and the remarkable New Zealand survivor, the So what are your thoughts? Because there is so much here that's specula- takahe. Save for size tive, this art piece will be a first for me. My work will depict a giant snake (the takahe weighing striking out of a pool at a duckbill as it has paused for a drink. Markings, in at about six pounds), they look remarkably alike. Mr. Wronko's Cretaceous War Zone meets Mike Fredericks’s The takahe was Prehistoric Times Magazine at the New Jersey Museum in thought extinct in Trenton for Super Science Saturday, May 3, 2014. 1898 and was only rediscovered on the Donny KC South Island of NZ in 1948. In the case of the takahe, the great size of the beak is indicative of a diet of seeds and grasses. D o u b t l e s s Bullockornis fed similarly, only on larger plant material. This in the absence in isolated New Zealand of large grazing land animals. Here’s dimensions, and the like will of course be an old vidcap guesswork, but will be based on all known Alan Dean Foster’s (sorry about the evidence and close living examples, as we all takahe photo quality) of a takado in Paleoart. As for snakes and the limits he I shot years on length and size, my conclusions are based ago at the state’s on some conversations with Owen Marks of breeding facility the East Bay Vivarium. As he's had decades at Te Anau. There of practical experience with large reptiles, I are better pictures tend to take his word seriously. online. Note the And much obliged about running my Adam Lindholm brilliant, indeed Sauiermuseum article. I left a complimentastunning, plumage: ry copy of PT with them on my visit there last year. Looking forward to the iridescent blue, Jada Armstead & Alyson Mendez latest issue, regards to you and your family. Sincerely, John F. Davies green, red on the Berkeley, Ca forehead. A heads-up Always enjoy your art, John and thanks so much for the article. I like to all the paleoartists your thinking. Even though I’m a certified skin diver and loved to do it out there who need a in my younger years, contemporary guide© Daniel Stevens still, nothing is more line for the giant frightening than a birds of yore: if the “monster” coming up takahe is any guide, and grabbing you from such birds weren’t the depths. Of course brown and gray. Best saying that giant as always, Alan Dean snakes need to live in Foster the water reminds me of what we used to Enclosed is my renewal check to your fine magazine. Thank you so much think about giant sauropods, so who for not becoming an on-line only magazine. I’m old fashioned (“prehisknows what it was like toric?”) and prefer my magazines and books to be paper. Sincerely, Wendell then but it’s always W Wolford great fun to think about it - editor Hi Mike; Another great issue (#109), as Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

Growing up, I collected magazines, little knowing that someday I would publish my own. I much prefer holding a book or mag in my hands than an electronic device too but the electronic app version of each issue of PT has been successful and I’m very happy about that. It’s funny to think that PT MIGHT be among the last of the paper magazines. Aren’t you proud of me for not using the word “extinct?” - editor 7

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The PT DinoStore

Vintage dinosaur collectibles for sale from PT magazine

18. hollow dinos 1. “Dinosaur Collectibles” price guide co-written and signed by PT editor $49 1. Collectibles 2. Linde 1950s Coffee Premium plastic dinosaur figs 7 from Austria. $12ea. book 3. Rare 8th Linde figure to complete above set: Rare Rhamphorhynchus $45 4. Marx orig. sm/med 50s/ 60s dinosaur toy figs (green, brown, gray) $5 5. Marx orig. Krono, T-rex (pot-belly or slender) $39, Brontosaurus $34 6. Marx original second series dinos/mammals $12 each, set of 8 - $79 7. Marx 45mm cavemen (6 diff) $7 ea Marx 6” cavemen (6 diff) $15 ea. 8. Abbeon porcelain 5”dinos Ptero, Proto, Styraco, Bronto, Anky, Coryth @ $45 9. Multiple (MPC) dinosaur plastic figures many colors: Brontosaurus, 11. Sinclair banks Kronosaurus, T. rex, Ceratogaulus, Dire Wolf, Glyptodon, Struthiomimus 19. SRG Diatryma $8ea.Trachodon, Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Triceratops, Cynognathus, Dimetrodon, Plateosaurus, Pteranodon, Styracosaurus, Moschops, 17. Sinclair bagged set Smilodon, $5ea. Macrauchenia, Woolly Mammoth, Parasaurolophus, Megatherium- $10ea. 33. Palmer 10. JH Miller waxy plastic 50s Woolly Rhino, Mammoth/Mastodon or Stego $65 2&3. Linde 11. Sinclair 1960s green plastic 10” brontosaur bank $24 12. Sinclair 1934 Dinosaur book $25 & Sinclair1964 Worlds Fair booklet $15 13. Sinclair 60s colorful Hardback “The Exciting World of Dinosaurs” $44 14. Sinclair hollow dinosaurs 64 NY World’s Fair dinos in several colors @$35 8. 15. Sinclair rare hollow NY Worlds Fair Brontosaurus looking backward $66 Abbeon 16. Sinclair album and complete stamps set1935 $35 or 1959 $20 17. Sinclair 60s solid Worlds Fair dinos (6 diff. various prices) (bagged set $79) 18. Hollow, dimestore plastic dinos, 60s/70s six different $8 each (see photo) 33. Palmer 19. SRG Small metal dinosaurs pterosaur $59, T. rex, Tricer, Dimetro, Tracho, Bronto or Stego $39 ea. SRG Large metal Tricer, Tracho, or T. rex $69 each 14. Sinclair hollow dinosaurs 20. 60’s Japan Porcelain Dimetrodon, Stego, Bronto, T-rex or Protoceratops 5” @$24 12. 1934 Book 21. 1960s, salt & pepper shakers, bone china, intertwining neck Brontosaurus $39 22. Nabisco silver prehistoric mammal cereal premiums1960s $10 ea. All 8 $75 23. Nabisco/Fritos dinosaur premiums, gray (60s) $5 each,50s green/red $10 ea. 24. ROM (Royal Ontario Museum)plastic dinosaur figures. $15 ea, Pterano $25 25. View Master Prehistoric Animals 1960s comp. 3 reels/booklet nm $22 22. Nabisco cereal prehistoric 26. Topps complete set of 12 - 2” plastic dinosaur figures Nice! Early 90s. $25 mammals 27. Animals Of The Past Golden Stamp Book 1968 - $39 28. Teach Me About Prehistoric Animals Flash cards 1960s $49 27. Stamp Book 29. Brooke Bonde 60s dinosaur trading album w/ set of cards attached $59 9. MPC 30. Rare Bandai motorized Dimetrodon or Brontosaurus model kit in box @$45 Multiple dinos 31. Pyro white box MIB dinosaur model kits, Proto, Dime, Stego, Tricer, @$39 32. Wm Otto metal 1960s sabertooth 3.5” figure - missing stubby tail $99 33. Palmer 1960s Mastodon skeleton or Brontosaurus skeleton $39 each MIB 34. Sinclair Oil 1960s dino chrome metal tray $69 35. Marx Linemar 1960s one inch metal dinos. T. rex $24 ea. 26. Topps dino set 36. Golden Funtime 1960s Dinosaur trading cards NM $89 37. 1950s Chialu Triceratops/dragon figure $149 35. Marx 34. Sinclair chrome 32. Wm Otto Sabertooth PT back issues 103- $12 31, 33, 41, 42, 52, 66, 74, 75, 76, Linemar tiny tray 1960s 36. 78, 85, 92 - 102, 104-109 only $7 each on sale (PT metal T. rex 1960s issue prices include shipping) Golden Please add $6 shipping in U.S. • Call or e-mail me Funtime about condition. dino trading cards unpunched

21. 1960s salt & pepper shakers w/ intertwined necks. 5” long each. 24. ROM plastic dinos

Mike Fredericks Prehistoric Times 145 Bayline Cir. Folsom, California 95630-8077 (916) 985-7986 [email protected]

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23. Nabisco dinos

29. Brooke Bond

25. 60’s Viewmaster

37. Rare Chialu Trike Dragon 13. Left: Sinclair 1960s hardback

28. Flash cards

20. 1960s Japan 7. 6 inch Marx large cavemen

16. Sinclair 1959 Oil dino stamps & album

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© Mark Hallett www.hallettpaleoart.com

© James Kuether

approaches the river warily. Even herbivores this large understand they are at their most vulnerable when taking a drink—heads down, focused on their thirst, backs to the forest edge, hemmed in by the river itself. There is of course a reason w h y t h e y

DIABLOCERATOPS by Phil Hore [email protected] It was a time of devils, tyrants, and ghosts.

© Bill Unzen

In the future there would be titans clashing all across the landscape—beasts whose charges would shake the very earth and whose roars would split the sky. Humble is not the word to use for the smaller ancestors of these beasts either because they had a power and imposing presence all of their own. They were not so large as those later, but this made them no less dangerous. A loss in stature meant greater speed, and a lighter frame meant grace instead of power. This was not a time of bears and tigers but of wolves and leopards. Across the plain marches a herd of some of the most dangerous creatures the world has ever known. Diabloceratops, armed with two large eyebrow horns and another pair protruding outwards from the frill at the back of its skull, give it the devilish appearance of its namesake. The danger of these impressive horns is immediately apparent when one of the larger males shakes its head at the annoying bite of some unseen insect. Like great scythes those horns cut through the air with a faint swoosh; back and forth, back and forth, until the annoyance is gone and the beast continues on with a huff. The 14

© Andrey Atuchin © Joseph Trout

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should be wary as they lived in a dangerous world, explaining why they come to drink only every few days and always in force. As more and more animals jostle each other to get a drink, the larger, stronger individuals bully past the weaker ones. These bleat and squawk in protest as they get pushed farther and farther out to the herd edges. The largest stride in until the water is lapping at their underbellies, allowing them to drink without lowering their heads too low. Time has bred this behavior into them because the danger from hidden aquatic predators, like crocodiles, was far less than the danger stalking them from behind. Here the weaker, smaller ceratopians have to struggle to get near enough to get a drink, and

© Irwin Van Der Minne Sculpt by Sean Cooper Buildup by Donna Lorello Available at DansDinosaurs.com

© Paul Passano

© Matthias Geiger

this tussle means they cannot always keep vigil on what’s coming at them from behind. They remain skittish as they drink; at some unseen warning the entire Diabloceratops herd looks to the left, ready to run, but soon settles down and returns to sating their great thirst. Watching the vast number of herbivores with a predator’s eye, the aptly named Lythronax—the king of gore—fixes onto an older cow struggling at the side of the herd. Too weak to keep itself in the safer center, this animal has been jostled farther and farther out and, unable to keep its position, is now vulnerable to attack—the perfect victim. The first Lythronax charges the Diabloceratops herd, aiming just inside the very edge of the group. This would force the vast bulk to run right to escape, but for the few on the left, including the old cow, this would mean © Phil Wilson

© James C Skinner JamesCSkinner.com

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Diabloceratops eatoni © Fabio Pastori

Sculpture by Fabio Pastori

Running back along the river’s edge in the direction of the herd, the cow stops again when yet another Lythronax appears in front of it, then another, and another. Forced into backing toward the river’s edge, the cow resorts to its last chance of survival. Swinging its wickedly horned head from side to side, the cow slashes the air with its sharp weapons, making any predator looking to attack the animal’s vulnerable neck think twice.

The tyrannosaurs surrounded the bleating cow, hemming it in from every side and shepherding it with thunderous snaps from their large jaws. Carefully, slowly, they move in, with one closing and drawing the attention of the Diabloceratops while letting another get even closer from the other side.

© Guilherme Bilinski Bertolazzo

escaping into the predator’s charge and so chances are they would be forced to run left. Cut from their main defense—the strength in numbers—these stragglers would be far easier for the predators to bring down. Not getting the reaction it wants, the charging predator lets out a tremendous roar and watched as the © Meg Bernstein Diabloceratops herd before it shatters. Not even seeing the predator

They are now close enough to be in real danger. One of the younger, less experie n c e d Lythronax Paleontologist James steps in a Kirkland holds Fabio’s little too sculpture close and suddenly has to leap backwards to avoid a nasty slash from the herbivore’s horns. The move, however, leaves the cow vulnerable just for a second, and that’s when the largest tyrannosaur strikes. Darting forward, the predator clamps its jaws across the ceratopian’s head, breaking a tooth in the process but allowing the tyrannosaur to bring its own considerable strength into play by controlling its prey. © Joseph Trout

that had just roared, most ceratopians just charge away from the water’s edge in the same direction as those around them, with herd mentality suggesting at least one of these animals must know something more than everyone else. The cow turns right and then suddenly jinks left when a second roar and a clear view of the charging predator shows this is not the direction it wants to go. 16

The others move in and lend their weight to the struggle, biting and holding the herbivore in place until a coup-de-grace can end the struggle. Farther along the river bank the Diabloceratops herd has stopped running and regathers itself. The wide plain means the ceratopians could not run far enough to get away from the attack entirely, and so they are still close enough to hear the distressed calls Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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from the old cow. They can also see their mortal enemy, the Lythronax pack, attacking one of their own. Primal behavior is a powerful thing; it forces newborns to stay by their mother’s side or baby birds from leaving the nest too early. It forces newly hatched turtles to dig their way to freedom © Clint Harris and charge to the ocean, and it sometimes forces a herd of timid herbivores to become aggressive avengers to save one of their own.

© John Sibbick www.johnsibbick.com

As one, like a swarm of ants across a forest floor, the Diabloceratops herd starts moving back toward the attack. Slow at first, wary, as more sounds of the struggle reach their ears, they are driven forward faster and faster until they are trotting toward their stricken herd member. The Lythronax pack hears more then sees the herd returning. The move impresses no © CW Gross One releases its one as the nearest grip on the cow Diabloceratops takes a and stands before its family, roaring and threatening the hundreds of swing at the predator, with approaching Diabloceratops. This works for a brief moment as the one horn cutting deep into lead animals stop, but the tyrannosaur’s chest. pressure from behind Twisting away in pain, the forces the ones on tyrannosaur backs into the either side to keep water, but it’s not free yet. A moving forward, and wall of slashing horns now this movement lines the water’s edge as the encourages the halted Diabloceratops herd honks animals to continue their victory and surrounds the cow. Although it is covered in blood, most of forward. its wounds are superficial and will soon heal. If the predator holds its For the Lythronax in the water, it gingerly wades deeper until at a level nerve, the situation can be © Ruben Portillo where the short-statured ceratopians cannot go. It then wades to the far bank saved because, deep down, where it’s joined by its fellow pack members. herbivores are still hard wired to run from danger, but seeing the herd still They may not have won today, but watching the limping, bleeding cow moving forward, the tyrannosaur does something unthinkable—it takes a moving back into the herd, they all are aware it’s just a matter of time! step back. A new dinosaur for a new museum. This tiny retreat is enough to encourage the herd, which continues forward at a faster pace and forces the Lythronax to run. It jogs past the scene For months I have been seeing images of the new Natural History of the attack, turning occasionally to bite and snarl at the ceratopians, but Museum of Utah, a truly stunning building that has brought a novel way of nothing will stop them now. displaying some of the amazing creatures found in the state. Visitors not only enter the displays, but they Looking up from their victim, all but one tyranalso seem to walk around them, nosaur release their grip and take a few steps back, © Trisha Brumitt through them, even over them roaring to halt the mountain of Diabloceratops thanks to a series of flying walkflesh pouring across the landscape like a lava flow. ways, viewing platforms, and terYoung bulls still looking to find their place in races that crisscross the main galthe herd charge forward, heads lowered, forcing leries. I hope to get there someday! the tyrannosaurs to sprint for their lives out of the Opened in 2011, this museum area. houses two newcomers, the recentThe one Lythronax still holding onto the cow is ly unearthed tyrannosaur now in the exact position its victim had been, back Lythronax argestes and a spectacto the river and surrounded by the enemy. It finalular species of ceratopian, ly lets go and, snarling viciously, stands up to its full height. Concludes on Page 49 Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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ture and lighting it looks like a real object on the screen. You can walk around it, fly above it, look up at it from the ground just like in real life.

Completed Tyrannosaurus figure

There are even 3d programs that can produce landscapes. You can design a sunset, some foggy weather, moonlit mountains; anything you can imagine. These landscapes placed behind the 3d objects make a kind of stage setting.

Digital Dinosaurs by Mike Eischen Afinia 3d printer. The top arrow is pointed at the I’ve been an artist most of my life, painting, nozzle where the plastic comes through. The top drawing mostly North American wildlife. I got moves over the (bottom arrow) bed. The plastic builds interested in 3d computer programs around 2004 up layer by layer on this bed. On it is a finished model to use the models for reference in my paintings. titanothere showing the raft. The raft is support materFor creating realistic art, one of the biggest probial that keeps the model from sagging and holds the lems is good reference. Years ago you had to go model securely to the bed as the print is made. The to the library to get good reference or get a good raft and support material is removed after the model is 35mm camera to photograph the subject (if you finished. could find the subject). It was common to spend all day to find the right figure, bird or animal to fit what you had in mind. Or spend hours trying to photograph Sabertooth posed in Zbrush the subject. When I found out about 3d programs I was elated. I tried Poser and I was sold, the 3d models could be posed and o b s e r ve d from any angle in minutes. I then could sketch while viewing the comMammoth skull puter screen or print painted and placed out a paper copy. I into diorama could also lay everything out in perspective, change the lighting and with minimal time. You still had to use artistic license to sketch in details and corrections, but 3d programs are still a big time saver. A 3d computer generated object is a “mesh”. The computer sees its world as if it is built it with “chicken wire”. That’s the best way I can describe it. The mesh is made up polygons and each polygon can be painted with a texture. When you add tex18

I read an article on 3d printers in 2012. It was the news story on the 3d printed gun; a really hyped up story about a weapon that metal detectors would not see. I wasn’t interested in making a gun, of course but I was very interested in the 3d models I could make in Poser. Like everyone else I wondered what it would be like to actually pick up and feel in my hand one of the models I had created. I started reading up on 3d printers and made a decision to buy one. That was December 2012. After at least a month of research I bought an Afinia 3d printer. Afinia is in the mid-range price and small but is built mostly of steel and the printing detail (at that time) was one of the best. Basically a 3d printer prints in plastic. The plastic is a filament that comes in rolls. I use ABS which is a form of styrene- something like the plastic models kits are made of. The 3d print model is built “up” from the bottom, layer by layer on a moving bed. This might be hard to understand if you have never seen one in action. It's best to go to youtube and watch an actual 3d printer printing. The filament is heated and pressed through a small orifice in a nozzle. The abs plastic is bonded to the completed layer just below the nozzle. When the layer is finished the nozzle moves up a little to start on the next layer of plastic. The layers are very thinsomething like a tenth of a millimeter.

And most important is support, the Afinia software automatically looks at each model and builds up plastic to hold up certain parts. For instance under the head and neck of an animal model a thin corrugated pattern of plastic is built up under these areas. If this isn’t done this part will collapse. All supports are removed when the print is done. This is waste material, so there is a lot to this. Finished Brontosaurus figure Approx. 6” long

After having the printer for a couple of months you naturally want to try making your own 3d creations. There are many programs out there and many are free. Sketch-up is a good starter but it’s more for mechanical and architectural models. Sculptris is a free sculpting program for organic models. I tried Sculptris about one year ago and I loved it. To use Sculptris is like taking a ball of soft clay and modeling it with an assortment of tools. The best thing with digital sculpting is there is Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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no need for an armature and no finger prints. I practiced most of the summer and by August the 3d models were looking better.

Megaloceros (Irish Elk)

After working with Sculptris it's only a matter of time before you take the big leap to Zbrush. Zbrush isn't cheap and before I made the purchase I studied everything I could find on Zbrush. The main reason I decided on purchasing Zbrush was that I could pose my models easily and quickly. Titantothere figure

Moropus figure

I bought Zbrush in early November and started using it right away. I was turning out professional looking models in a short time and decided to try selling these on Ebay. I posted up the first models in late November 2013 and sales took off. I paid off the Zbrush software in a couple of weeks. The only limitation I had was the time involved printing new models for sale on ebay. Even a small object takes hours to print so these models are in a sense a limited edition.

Mammoth

Finished Sabertoothed cat model

Mammoth skull with human figure

Oreodont figure

My ebay site is tams7prairie and I try to have something new every 2 weeks.

Dinosaur Playsets An Illustrated Guide to the Prehistoric Playsets of Marx and MPC (Release date Fall 2014) Finally! The definitive reference work on the dinosaur playsets from these two iconic companies! Perhaps the most endearing of dinosaur collectibles to many people are the lines of figures and playsets produced by the Louis Marx Toy Company. The figures have attained a near iconic status among collectors of dinosaur toys and memorabilia. Frequently considered something of a “baby sister” to the Marx dinosaur line is the series of prehistoric figures and playsets put out by the Multiple Products Corporation (MPC) at roughly the same time period. Often confused with one another, the dinosaur output of these two companies has shaped the perception of what these prehistoric beasts were like in the minds of generations of children and adults. Unfortunately, up to this point there has not been an abundance of detailed information available concerning these popular lines of prehistoric toys, and much of what is out there can be wildly inaccurate, frustrating, and confusing to the beginner and serious collector alike. Author Jeff Pfeiffer has compiled this fully illustrated 8 ½ x 11-inch volume to help playset enthusiasts navigate the prehistoric output of these two legendary toy companies. Written with both the novice and seasoned collector in mind, this book starts at the basics, with brief histories of each company, discussions of the various dinosaur figures and accessories found in these playsets, and (most significantly) over 175 full color photographs, encompassing most of the boxed dinosaur playsets, carded sets, and bagged assortments of both Marx and MPC. This represents the most comprehensive work on the prehistoric playsets of these two companies to date. Information is also presented concerning the various reissue and knockoff sets that were produced by other companies, such as Toy Street, Spaulding, and Winneco, as well as additional items and games that were directly based on the Marx and/or MPC prehistoric output. Also included is a handy guide to each playset discussed, with a listing of its contents, year of production, and model number. This is the book that Marx and MPC dinosaur collectors have been waiting for! Author Jeff Pfeiffer has been an avid collector of Marx and MPC prehistoric playsets for well over a decade. Over the course of that time he has amassed an extensive collection of playsets from both companies. His passion for dinosaurs began in childhood, when he was given his first set of MPC dinosaur figures as a birthday present, and continues to the present day. Jeff presents Dinosaur Playsets to devotees of the dinosaurs of Marx and MPC as an indispensable tool in their own collecting passions! The book will be available through Authorhouse.com, and from various online outlets such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

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How to Draw Dinosaurs By Tracy Lee Ford

[email protected]

Figure 2. Illustration showing the look of the palpebral. A, Lesothosaurus. B, Heterodontosaurus. C, Hypsilophodon. D, Iguanodon.

Covered eyes or scowling dinosaurs?

Figure 1. Illustration of the palpebral bone (in grey). A, Lesothosaurus. B, Heterodontosaurus. C, Hypsilophodon. D, Iguanodon. E, Eagle skull.

erodontosaurids, hypsilophodontids, iguanodontids, psittacosaurids, protoceratopids, etc. It’s ironic that in dinosaurs the only dinosaurs with a palpebral are ornithischians. In basal ornithischians the palpebral is a “horn.” In later ornithischians it extends across the orbit, and in some cases it bisects the orbit (Figure 1).

What also needs to be taken into account is the eye itself. The eyes have it! I’ve wanted to write about this topic for decades and am Hypsilophodontids have sclerotic rings (though this may be true for all finally going to address it. This is a question that I’ve been asked about by ornithischians; the problem is that it’s hardly ever preserved). Looking at others and have also wondered myself, and that is, how does one depict a extant animals with sclerotic rings, we see that the inner margin is the extent dinosaur with palpebrals? The palpebral is the bone that can start at the of the pupil. The palpebral bisects the orbit, but the presence of sclerotic upper forward margin of the orbit or just above the middle of the orbit. It rings indicates that the upper part of the orbit was under the rim of the can be a short-pointed bone and can extend to the upper margin of the back palpebral. Some artists will make the eye itself smaller than it was to fit edge. However it does not connect to the upper orbit in-between the ends; under the palpebral, and such reduction is incorrect. This would either make that is, it has a gap between the palpebral and the bone of the upper orbit. them look angry or tired. It can be tricky to illustrate the eye without anthroThis bone can, in some genera, nearly pomorphizing the animal. In iguanodonFigure 3. Figure 3. Illustration of the orbital rim in hadrosaurs. tids, I believe the palpebral would have bisect the eye in half. One of the problems is that we don’t know the function A, The type specimen of Edmontosaurus showing the incorrect looked similar to the high eyebrow of orbit, with the corrected orbit appearing in grey. B, Chicago of the palpebral in fossil animals. varanids. Edmontosaurus skull showing the correct orbit and orbital rim. C, Therefore, I won’t be going into the What puzzles paleoartists is what the Corythosaurus in oblique and side views. function of the palpebrals, just how to palpebral would have looked like. I doubt depict them. the palpebral in basal ornithischians would The only modern vertebrates with have looked like a “horn” in front of the palpebrals are varanoid lizards, some eyes. I believe there would have been some snakes, raptoral birds, and some ducks. soft tissue connecting the palpebral to the The palpebrals in extant animals is upper part of the orbit. In many of the located at the upper margin of the orbit, ornithischians the palpebral would nearly but does not connect to the back of the bisect the orbit (Figures 1 and 2). In basal skull. The bone is dorsoventrally comornithischians, the palpebral is at the midpressed (flat). In varanoids the palpedle front edge of the orbital and extends at bral gives them their high eyebrow; in an angle upward to the back of the orbit. birds the palpebral is a thin bone that Like in extant raptoral birds, it would extends out and back from the front either give the animal a scowl or make the margin of the orbit and has a small J animal look tired. What was the reason for shape. This shape is what gives eagles this? The palpebral would, in some their scowling look. I believe the funcornithischians, cut its vision in half, and I tion of the palpebral in soaring raptoral have no clue as to what its purpose was. birds is to block out the sun, so that the Hadrosaurs don’t have a palpebral bone, light won’t interfere with the birds’ abilbut it has been speculated that the palpeity to track animals below them or on brals were incorporated into the skull roof land. Only a few fossil groups have dorsal to the orbital margin (Coombs been found with palpebrals: some croc1972) (Figure 3). Marya ska and Osmólska odylomorphs, the aetosaur Aetosaurus, (1981) suggested that the rough orbital rim and ornithischians; fabrosaurids, het20

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was formed by two supraorbitals (palpebrals). As I’ve commented in other articles, the type Edmontosaurus orbit is not completely prepared and is fooling people in that the orbit is actually bigger than it really is. A Chicago specimen has been fully prepared, and the actual orbit is lower than the edge of the orbit. Unlike that in other hadrosaurs, the orbital rim forms a vertical ridge, and when seen anteriorly, there are parallel flat vertical ridges. No other hadrosaur has this, which is why I believe it is different from that of Anatosaurus and Anatotitan (renamed Edmontosaurus annectens). All hadrosaurs (which includes lambeosaurs) have an orbital rim, which may have acted in a similar way as the palpebral.

ing). Many of the ornithischians would have looked like angry birds walking around. Don’t forget to visit my two websites; my original Dinohunter (http://www.dinohunter.info) and Paleofile (http://www.paleofile.com).

No theropods have a palpebral or orbital rim, but in some genera other skull bones may have performed the in same manner as those with horns or ridges above the eyes. In Tyrannosaurus rex, there is a unique bone that is above the orbit.

Paleofile has several areas and an easy index (just click on the name, and it will take you to the systematic list), or you can go directly to the systematic list (eggs and ichnology included). Click on the name in the list, and it will take you to a more comprehensive listing: genus, species, etymology, holotype (lecto-, para-, etc.), locality, horizon (formation), biostratigraphy (faunal zone if known), age, material, and referred material. There will be two faunal lists, one in which you can check your area or any area in the world to see what animals were found there and the other will be ages. If you’re interested in Biostratigraphy, you can see which animals lived with which at that time from around the world. There are also smaller sections: paleopathology, histology, extinction, taphonomy, skin, coprolites, etc. Eventually it will be fully illustrated.

The take-home for this is that if you are depicting an ornithischian, make sure if it had a palpebral to give it the correct look (angry, tired, or scowl-

The site is now a free site; no subscription. I do have a donate button for those who would like to help keep the site going.

In ankylosaurs, the skull and armor above the orbit extend outward from the orbits and form a cover above the eyes. No sauropods have a palpebral.

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Dinosauriana, The Compendium With over 2000 full color photos and a wealth of information on dinosaur and prehistoric animal collectibles from the 20th century by expert Joe DeMarco and a half dozen other experts, this disc allows you to also become the expert with just a touch of your computer mouse. Pick up your copy of this computer disc direct from the author. Please note it is a PDF format so you must have Adobe Reader. The disc sells for $22 including shipping. Contact Joe at [email protected]. Joe accepts Paypal. Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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RIGHT : A 19” x 24” origi-

nal illustration for the proposed Marx toy prehistoric playset with dual mountains. This design proposed an active volcano and an inactive one (with a secret entrance), an albino Triceratops, a tentacled plant and underground waterways, etc. The finished product included none of these things but it was a very successful toy for Marx in the early 1970s.

ABOVE : Front cover and back cover of the Whitman “Tiny Dinosaur Museum” press-out

book. The book cost sixty nine cents in 1975. It allowed kids to punch out and fold many cardboard prehistoric animal displays for their ‘Tiny” museum. LEFT : Like many PT readers, I love the Linde plastic prehistoric animal figures that came one pre package of Linde Kaffee in Austria in the 1960s. The figures ABOVE : 1960s GAF Tru-Vue viewmaster Prehistoric always have great marbling of Life boxed set. Using a differently designed viewer than colors in the plastic but are usual- the classic Viewmaster which held reels, this version held stereo cards to show images of dinosaurs. ly predominantly green. This rare complete set, however, is red.

My complete set of 1950s ultra rare composition material prehistoric animals by Neoform of Denmark including a mammoth (10” long), Triceratops, Iguanodon, Stegosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, Plesiosaurus and Pteranodon.

Just a few of the 1950s rare composition material prehistoric animals by Chialu of Italy including Brontosaurus, Dimetrodon, Diatryma, Glyptodon, T. rex, Ankylosaurus, Kronosaurus (8” long), and mammoth.

ABOVE : Recently, your PT editor was contacted by a non-dinosaur collector who asked me to identify some very old (1950s) prehistoric animal fig-

ures. The man sent me photos of almost a complete collection of rare Chialu composition figures made in Italy and even better, a complete set of all seven of the ultra rare Neoform figures made in Denmark. No collection is complete without at least some of the Chialu figures but most of us can only dream of owning ANY of the “Holy Grail” Neoform figures; not to mention a complete set all at once. I identified the figures for him and asked if he would be interested in selling them. He said he was. I told him what prices I had seen for the Chialus in the past but that Neoform sales are so rare, I could only guess to their value. He understood that as a dealer of collectibles, I wasn’t going to pay “retail” value and he eventually came up with a very generous price for me to pay. It was a few thousand dollars but that was very fair. So, I received the seven Neoforms plus 18 Chialus (including doubles of a couple and also two non-prehistoric animals by Chialu.) There are 18 different Chialu prehistoric figures (including two dragon-like figures) that complete the set and I’m still missing the marine reptile known as Brachauchenius to complete my set. I kept the Neoforms and sold about half of the Chialus (that were doubles in my collection) for almost the same price I paid for everything, which meant I ended up paying hundreds of dollars instead of thousands. I am very happy with this deal, to put it mildly. (The large Neoform mammoth (far left figure above) cost $12 in 1955 when it was originally sold. Allowing for inflation that equates to around $150.00 in today’s market - no wonder few were sold back then and even less exist today.) Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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Dinosaur Collector News by Randall Knol [email protected] www.dinosaurCollectorSiteA.com

Safari Ltd® was founded by Bernie and Rosemarie Rubel in 1982. Their formula for partnering with museums and combining high quality production with educational content to produce aniCarnegie Safari mal and dinosaur figures became the standard Tyrannosaurus for educational figure companies. By the through the years 1990s the company was comfortable with their position in the market and fell into a quasi-autopilot state. The toy market began to change drastically as electronic games expanded in the 12 – 20 year-old age groups, and the toy stores saw reduced sales. This was the period that saw the rise in E-business, with internet retailers taking an increasing share of the market. Jurassic Park and the dinosaur revolution increased interest in dinosaurs, but changed the public’s expectations of what dinosaurs looked like and how they behaved. Established companies like Invicta, Toyway and Bullyland began to decline. Other companies like Battat, Kinto and Play Vision entered and then quickly left the dinosaur market, while new players like Schleich and Papo successfully Wild Safari® entered the American market where Safari Ltd® Ammonite & Mosasaurus had previously dominated. Ramona Pariente the only daughter of the Rubels, became CEO in 2005 after her father passed away in 2003, and reversed the direction at Safari Ltd. She reached out to engage independent toy store owners which had comprised the core business in the past and brought them back, in preference to pursuing big box chain stores like Safari‘s competitors. Ramona along with son, Alexandre made Safari Ltd an internet friendly and tech savvy company, embracing Just in Time (JIT) to allow retailers to reduce their in-process inventory costs as part of the electronic mall. Safari Ltd was the first to use QR codes to allow customers to reference their products online. She supported the Safari Ltd community online by working with blogs and information sites on the web. My favorite anecdotes are about her personally responding to emails from bloggers and collectors time-stamped midnight or the early morning hours. She is a tireless advocate for the Safari collector community on the web. Her tangible legacy is the Wild Safari® GeoWorld dinosaur line. This was originally an afterCoelophysis thought, to give retailers a high quality, non(right) and scaled dinosaur figures at a great value. The Play Visions development was outsourced to Galaxy Toys. Coelophysis Ramona brought development in-house and injected paleoart themes into the design of the line. She is a regular PT reader and often inquires about the art and artists that PT features. Many collectors feel Wild Safari is the leading dinosaur line today. Imitation is the highest compliment and modern figure lines are using a similar Wild Safari approach to 26

developing figures rather than the museum style developed by her father. She transformed the Safari Ltd Toobs®, my favorite, and fashioned them into the American version of the Japanese resin collectables, creating a new niche for the figure market. The advantage of doing business with a family-run company like Safari Ltd is that you know them and they know you. You do not have to redo the whole song and dance every two to three years when the owners or management changes. Safari Ltd will continue to benefit from Ramona’s experience even as Alexandre Pariente takes the formal leadership role as CEO, continuing the family legacy for now a 3rd generation. He has been working with customers and developing new products for over a decade. He led the successful effort to access the European, Asian and emerging markets, bringing Safari Ltd dinosaurs to collectors who had long waited for them. We can expect to see Safari Ltd continue to grow especially internationally in the Safari Ltd tradition of combining quality Toys that Teach at a great value for everyone. Carnegie Safari Tyrannosaurus: T. rex is the most popular dinosaur with the general public. Whether you are a museum visitor, collector or teacher, T. rex is on the top of your list. In 1988 the Carnegie Museum and Safari Ltd released their first T. rex, updated it in 1996 and replaced it in 1999. This year we get the Tyrannosaurus Mark 3. The vetting and developing process took a year more than any previous model from the Carnegie series. The hips and torso are robust with the physique of a wrestler. A key tyrannosaur feature is the large head, which was its main weapon. The tongue has a mobile look and the detailed teeth are uneven, as would be expected in an animal that was constantly losing and gaining teeth. The ears and nostrils are deep and created convincingly. If you stare down the snout the yellow stereoscopic eyes stare back. The understated ridges that run from above the eyes to the end of the snout are washed in red over the green base. Darker horizontal stripes are present on the torso and tail contrasting with the pale underbelly to create a natural waterline. The arms are small and delicate-looking ending in two talons, an accurate portrayal of these apparently useless appendages. A common complaint about theropod models is the unrealistic thick legs, usually a solution used to keep the figure stable. The legs are slender and bird-like on the model and still able to stand. Careful posing allows for a bipedal stance for display while the low and flexed tail makes it able to stand for play. This is a good bet for a top seller. Wild Safari Ammonite: Ammonites are closely related to octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish. Ammonites, with their curled shells, were characteristic of the Late Cretaceous Seas. They appear in the Paleozoic, barely survive the Permian extinction, and then their disappearance marks the end of the Mesozoic. The Wild Safari figure is Pachydiscus caterinae. This common fossil is so distinct that it makes an index fossil for Maastrichtian. The reddish brown coiled shell is deeply ridged. The red body has two well-developed eyes, eight arms and two tentacles. Below the body is the siphon that allows it to jet shell first through the water. The size makes it compatible as prey for the varied pliosaurs and mosasaurs from Safari Ltd. GeoWorld Coelophysis: Coelophysis is a well known theropod genPrehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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erally, and the best known from the Triassic and appears to be an accurate replica of the Museums’ full Pachycephalosaurus by Battat (left) Early Jurassic. There are many complete articulatsize display. The figure is mounted on a base that and CollectA (right) ed skeletons from a range of ages. Play Vision and includes the fossil track way. It is reconstructed as a basal Hasbro’s Jurassic Park series had the best toy figarchosaur with the legs under the body for a high walk ures before the GeoWorld Company released the posture, with the rest of the body broadly looking like a Jurassic Hunters series. There are a few “chicrocodile. The teeth seem overly large and I would have nasaurs” that could be a Coelophysis and the odd expected more of them as in other archosaurs. This is a Podokosaurus. The 1:10 scale figure is slender collector piece, not a toy, although it is vinyl. For a coland bird-like. The long narrow head is attached to lector this is an irresistible Early Triassic trophy. a serpentine neck. The elongated snout has raised CollectA Pachycephalosaurus: ridges that I might have painted brighter for disPachycephalosaurus is a relatively recent occurrence play. A nice feature is the small pointed teeth that are visible in the mouth. to the dinosaur toy scene. The family is still known mostly from the thick The tail is long and flexed at the tip. The torso and pelvis are narrow. My skull. The rest of the body was subject to speculation. It seemed plausible favorite touch is the long grasping forelimbs. They show three functional that such a thick skull would be supported by a robust neck and body simidigits, with the remnant fourth as a black nubbin. The base allows the slen- lar to mountain sheep or football linemen, so the earliest figures were thick der legs to support a strong bipedal stance. The skin has a pattern of irregu- shouldered, no-necked “battering rams”. “Chinasaur” figures and Papo still lar scales. The figure is based in yellow with dark brown feet and hands and retain this design. As relatives of Pachycephalosaurus were discovered a pattern of lines and splotches on the upper body. This is one of the best with more of the fossilized skeleton intact, a different picture emerged. The of the GeoWorld releases and the best bodies were more graceful, and the Bullyland’s Protocirotherium Coelophysis toy I have seen. heads more ornate with spikes and & Bactomeus Bullyland Protochirotherium bumps. The first modern model was by wolfhagense: Battat; a great sculpt maimed by low Protochirotherium gets the prize production quality. Now, CollectA has for most obscure animal and hard-tocreated a high quality modern figure. get collectable. It is an exclusive cusThe skull is short with round forwardtom figure made for the Regional facing eye sockets. The domed head is Museum in Wolfhagen Germany. edged with bony knobs and spikes on a When I want something rare and hard short sigmoid neck. It has short foreto find, I email Dean Walker of DeJankins as he always gets the hard to find arms, long hind legs and a deep tail, giving it a deer-like aspect. This fits prehistoric animal figures. Protochirotherium is not literally the name of nicely with any 1:40 scale collection. I wish the Dracorex had been the an animal, the name means prehistoric hand animal of Wolfhagen, but it is same scale or smaller, as it may be the female of the species. This is my for a set of foot prints or trace fossils; that is all that is known of this crea- favorite Pachycephalosaurus and I recommend it to you. ture. No bones can be associated with the tracks. The Bullyland figure

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Even the architecture of the museum resembles a dinosaur

China’s Zigong dinosaur museum Photos by Scott Davies

from late 1979 to 1984. Through many excavations, over 100 skeletons of dinosaurs and other vertebrates were found including 12 genera and 12 species of dinosaur fossils and 9 new genera and 12 new species of other prehistoric animals. In 2001, during a second excavation carried out by Zigong Dinosaur Museum, a large sauropod dinosaur skeleton was discovered in Dashanpu Dinosaur Fossil Site. It was estimated that this dinosaur had a body length of over 20m, the largest ever found in the area. Many dinosaurs fossils are still in-situ and can be viewed from above on a modern walkway.

Zigong Dinosaur Museum is approximately 9 km northeast of the center of Zigong, Sichuan. It is a large museum which has been built at the worldfamous Dashanpu Dinosaur Fauna. It is also the first professional dinosaur museum in China and one of the three largest dinosaur museums with a burial site in the world.

Construction began in April, 1984 and Zigong Dinosaur Museum opened to the public in the Spring Festival of 1987. With its great reputation both in China and in the world, Zigong Dinosaur Museum has received approximately 7 million visitors to date.

Covering an area of over 66,000 square meters, Zigong Dinosaur Museum has a collection of fossil specimens that includes almost all of the known Chinese dinosaur species of the Jurassic (205-135 million years ago.) It has been called one of the Forty Top Tourist Attractions in China, and also noted for its architecture. Dashanpu dinosaur fossils were first discovered in 1972 and excavated Giant sauropods are on display

The walkway around the burial site

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Since 1989, Zigong dinosaurs have traveled around the world. They were displayed in 23 cities of many countries and regions including Japan, Thailand, Denmark, the United States, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Hong Kong. The exhibitions abroad have attracted over 10 million viewers. Also, Zigong dinosaurs have been displayed in more than 30 cities in China.

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Among the world-class treasures of Zigong Dinosaur Museum, are Huayangosaurus taibaii, the most primitive and complete stegosaur in the world; Agilisaurus louderbacki, the most complete small ornithopod in the world; tail clubs of Shunosaurus and Omeisaurus, the first tail clubs of sauropod dinosaurs discovered in the world; a skin impression fossil of Giantspinosaurus sichuanensis, the first-discovered stegosaur skin fossil in the world; skin fossil of Mamenchisaurus youngi, the first sauropod dinosaur skin fossil in China; and more than 20 complete skull fossils of dinosaurs and other vertebrates as well as, eggs, footprints, and parascapular spines. The museum has many sauropod bones from Shunosaurus, Omeisaurus, and Datousaurus. It disSkull of Yangchuanosaurus hepingensis plays fossils of two theropods from the area; Gasosaurus constructus and Yangchuanosaurus hepingensis. Two different ornithopods of the area are also represented.

teeth. This creature lived in rivers or lakes and fed on fishes. It was an aquatic tyrant during the age of dinosaurs. Angustinaripterus longicephalus, a primitive pterosaur, had a relatively long head with a narrow naris, and long, Dozens of life-sized prehistoric animal models are on the grounds.....

The museum has many fossils of nondinosaurs. Fossils of Lepidotes fish are common in Zigong Area. Discovered in Xiashaximi Formation of Dashanpu, Zigong, Lepidotes dashanpuensis is nearly 100% complete with a body length of 1.5 m. It is the largest known. The museum has a fossil of a type of aquatic prehistoric

....and in the water

crocodilian fossil

amphibian that might represent the last labyrinthodont in the world. Chengyuchelys zigongensis was an early turtle. Sichuanosuchus huidongensis was a small primitive crocodyliform with a skull about 6 cm long and a body covered dorsally by a double row of large rectangular osteoderms. The museum has a well-preserved skeleton of this protosuchian. Its estimated body length is about 40 cm. Bishanopliosaurus was a short-necked pleisiosaur with long, sharp

sharp teeth. This creature also mainly lived on the shores of rivers or lakes and fed on fishes. Polistodon chuannanensis was medium-sized mammallike reptile. Official site: http://www.zdm.cn

The Pleisiosaur Bishanopliosaurus

The stegosaur Huayangosaurus taibaii

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What’s New

in review

By Mike Fredericks

Amargasaurus ("La Amarga lizard") is a genus of dicraeosaurid sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Period of Argentina, South America. It was small for a sauropod, at about 30 feet length. The dinosaur sported two parallel rows of tall spines down its neck and back, taller than any other known. These spines have been reconstructed supporting sails, but the "skin sail" hypothesis was rejected by Gregory S. Paul in 2000 saying it would too greatly have restricted neck movement. I could be mistaken but I don’t think the public even knew about this discovery until after PT had been in publication for a time. It seemed like one of the strangest dinosaurs yet found when we first reported it. Newcomer to PT reviews, sculptor Jason Carriere’s 1/15th scale resin model kit of this amazing dinosaur is an very nice first sculpture. Jason has created fine wrinkle detail into the main body (hollow to save on weight) and realistic skin texture in general there and throughout the rest of the body parts. The overall look of the built model looks scientifically accurate with an interesting nasal passage on the head. Seven parts make up the body plus a container of many spikes also to be added one by one (extras are included.) Parts go together fairly well but filler with be required as is expected. The finished model is over twenty inches long. Amargasaurus is $120 plus $15 shipping. Jason’s e-mail is [email protected]. It's also available from Dan's Dinosaurs (ad in this issue). It was roto cast by Vincent Marinucci. Also, Jason’s 1/15 scale Camptosaurus will be coming next and we hope to review it next issue. You saw their full page ad in the last PT and now they are finally here; Pegasus Model’s vinyl Triceratops Adult a n d Ty r a n n o s a u r u s with Triceratops prey. The rex appears to have captured the mother Triceratops’s baby and is holding it under its foot and she is not going to stand for it. Both are Sculpted by Galileo Hernandez Nunez who I interview in this issue. Galileo has done his usual super-detailed job of creating these realistic and scientifically accurate dinosaur models. If you have ever built a vinyl plastic model, I think you will find this to be a harder vinyl than you are used to. The fit on the parts is phenomenal; some of the best I have seen, making assembly a breeze. Both are 1:24 scale and go together to form a larger model. The Triceratops is 12.5 inches long and is $35.99. The T. rex is 19 inches long and $49.99 It’s great to have professionally made dinosaur model kits, with great packaging, made by people who know dinosaurs and sold in such a professional 34

manner. How great is it to be able to own large dinosaur models of this caliber at low, regular model kit prices? The models come dissembled and unpainted. As I understand it, more prehistoric animal models are forthcoming; next time sculpted by the incomparable Shane Foulkes. Please be sure and check out pegasushobbies.netCultTVMan also sells these. See his ad in this issue. In the last PT we reviewed a single Deinonychus “raptor” by the talented Mr. David Silva. This time we review no less than two entire packs of Velociraptor “raptors.” Of course Velociraptor really became an iconic predatory dinosaur when it was featured In Michael Chrichton’s book “Jurassic Park” and especially after the release of the movie. Velociraptor was portrayed inaccurately large in the movie Two views of Jason Carriere’s 1/15 Amargasaurus

but nonetheless, we all were visualizing how horrible it would be if even one of these ‘monsters” had one of us in its sights for its next meal; not to mention a large pack. Much discussion has been made as to whether these small, meat-eating dinosaurs with a sharp, sickle-shaped claw on each foot hunted in packs or not. Reconstructing dinosaur behavior is difficult to do, so no one really knows. The Velociraptors were also portrayed as fairly intelligent (“clever girl”) due to the larger size of dromaeosaur brain cavities, but no one is sure just how “smart” they really were either. Dave’s beautiful, highly detailed 1/12th scale Velociraptor pack #1 resin model kit contains four different Velociraptors with interchangeable arms, hands, legs, and jaws. It comes in 33 parts including a base which can connect with the Velociraptor pack #2 base and can also be added to Dave’s Dragon vs. Raptors model base. The price is $75.00 The 1/12th scale Velociraptor Pack # 2 resin model kit also contains four different Velociraptors with interchangeable

arms, hands, legs, and jaws. It too comes in 33 parts including base which can connect with the

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Velociraptor pack #1 base and Mojo’s Thylacine can also be added to the Dragon vs. Raptors base. $75.00. In both sets the Velociraptors are artistically feathered with wing-like arms and fluffy tail tip. Their skin is finely “scaled” in areas too. They seem to be crazily running forward on a mindless Bonzai My drawing charge with only one thing in of Papo’s mind - killing their prey. Very Archaeopteryx cool. These could be added to sent by other dinosaur model dioramas in DeJankins.com your collection too and perhaps a science fiction model. See Dave’s Creative-Beast.com full page ad in this issue. Upcoming kits from Dave include a 1/12 Oviraptor posable kit, an Arctic Dragon, and a 1/30th Therizinosaurus. We also hope to be reviewing his second Acrocanthosaurus resin model in the next issue of PT. Next I review Monarch’s new Gorgo plastic model kit. This is a fantastic Aurora-like model of one of my favorite dinosaur monsters of the movies. A number of other companies have produced Aurora-like model kits; one company even creating resin kits of monsters closer to the original James Bama Aurora box art (like the Wolf man behind a tree instead of on top of a rock.) Many famous monsters were made into the popular Aurora model kits in the 1960s but many were not. Gorgo is one of those monsters. You remember the movie, right? The giant Gorgo dinosaur is discov-

New ered under the sea. A bathysphere is lowGorgo model ered and then attacked kit

by Gorgo. (CultTVMan sells a resin bathysphere set separately to be added to this kit too to reenact this scene from the movie.) Gorgo is overcome and then strapped aboard the ship to be taken back to London. There it is placed on display where Londoners can purchase a ticket and gawk at the dinosaur walking inside a deep pit. (At one point it is strapped to a tractor trailer and paraded around the streets as an advertisement for the show. I always thought this scene would make for a nice model kit conversion if you could find a nice tractor/trailer kit in the correct scale.) Soon, the shocking, surprise ending to the movie shows up in the form of Mama Gorgo. You see, Gorgo was just a baby and as huge as it is, Mama, who has come to rescue her child, is over twice as big as her youngun and destroys much of London before walking back to sea with her “little one” in tow. This new model is obviously a model of Mama judging by how large she is in comparison to the destroyed buildings around her on the base. Gorgo is a 1/18th scale plastic kit, has about 49 parts, and its display base includes partially damaged buildings & Gorgo name plate. It is a really well done model limited to only 5,000 kits. Monarch Model’s Gorgo Model Kit is about $34.95. Two different boxart versions are available (the plastic is a different color inside too) to attempt to get collectors to buy two copies. Also a limited edition glow in the dark version will be available in August. We thank Steve Iverson of CultTVMan for our Gorgo model review copy. Please pick up yours directly from him. See his ad in this issue. For years I have sung the praises of Dean Walker’s Company DeJankins.com and recently I did so in some depth here in “What’s New In Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

Review. Dean continues to carry just about every prehistoric animal figure you can think of (and many you don’t know about) at rock bottom prices. He sent us several new ones to review for this issue; all of which I have previously mentioned were coming, here in past issues but this is the first time I hold them in my greedy little collector hands. First off is Papo of France’s Archaeopteryx. Oh my gosh, I kid you not; this may very well be the most detailed toy figure I have ever seen. It seems as if every feather is represented separately and beautifully colored too. Wow, you are really going to want to check this out. Secondly we received two toy animals that are not exactly prehistoric but sadly are extinct nonetheless. Mojo’s Thylacine is a well done toy of this Australian Tasmanian Tiger, that was hunted to death by man. The other figure, the Quagga was a zebra-like creature of Africa that too is no longer with us. Last but not least DeJankins sent us the latest Schleich of Germany dinosaurs. I showed you photos of these here before. They include an extremely well done T. rex (with moveable mouth), an unusual but nice Therizinosaurus (with moveable jaw and arms and feathery back), a green Velociraptor with feathered arm and moveable mouth that I’m still not too enamored with and a fine looking Pentaceratops. Get yours now. See Dean’s ad in this and every issue of PT plus his internet site has photos of everything under the prehistoric sun. Mojo’s Quagga

Overhead view of “The Watering Hole.” Next up is Alchemy Works “Aurora What If ” Prehistoric Scenes ‘Watering Hole.’ One of the original 1970s Aurora Models Prehistoric Scenes kits was a Prehistoric Swamp. The mold for this model was lost, making it one of the tougher kits in the series to find today as it was never reissued where many of the others were. Similar to it, a resin model eco-system is created here including trees and other vegetation with a Watering waterway and various fauna including a Hole close-up of large Cynognathus plus an Eryops and a Seymouria and Eryops Seymouria. Among the horsetails is a stump with a nest full of eggs and high in a tree is a gliding reptile. The model reminds me a lot of the early part of Zallinger’s “Age of Reptiles” mural. This model is a great idea and will be a joy to paint and place next to your other Prehistoric Scenes kits. Jeff Johnson beautifully sculpted The Watering Hole - $165 includes Watering Hole shipping. Check out close-up of http://thealchemyworks.com or Cynognathus phone 817-471-9096. Mike Evans says hurry as he is dropping the Prehistoric Scenes line soon.

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Guests enjoy chiropractic care at the Park spa....

....and feel like a new dinosaur even after a single spa visit.

indoors all the time so I decided I might try working for Dinamation. I had kept correspondence up with them since that first exhibit, and had some killer ideas for new creations but then they went out of business before I could manage I think 1993 really cemented my love of dinosaurs. I had liked them it. I had no real plan for a career before that to be sure. Godzilla and my first trip to a Dinamation exhibit at that point (and didn't until age were all factors, I suppose. My mom giving me my first dinosaur toy when thirty.) I took on odd jobs. I was five also Finding such work as an artist is helped. I picked up about as hard as you've heard. every comic and art Finally, in 2007, I couldn't control book I could find the urge to build my own life size about dinosaurs, dinosaur, realizing just how long Delgado and Stout it would take before I could were some of artist afford to somebody else's. I names I knew then. chose a Jurassic Park A friendly I even read books Velociraptor, nicknamed Kentrosaurus offers far beyond my read"Winston" for Stan Winston who complimentary breakfast ing level like on Sundays inspired it. I built a rather ramBakker's Dinosaur shackle 2x4 wooden frame from Heresies. But when leftover bits and pieces, then I saw the dinosaurs wrapped it with welded steel of Jurassic Park up fencing to get the rough shape of there on the screen the muscles, a bit of chicken wire on opening day I to round out everything, and then The Dinosaur Park is a knew then I would I coated it with foam. That coating made up the final skin layer. I then paintnice place for guests to always love them. hang their hat for a while. ed it with a thick outdoor quality paint in several coats. I went on to build a My first notion of couple of Pteranodons as well, each 8' wide. I took a break and did other building a Dinosaur jobs like a haunted attraction during the Halloween season. In the mean time Park would have had to have it's roots in the Dinosaur World books I listened I started to notice the sun and heat wasn't being kind to my prehistoric creto while on our low income family vacations to Pigeon Forge, TN and the ations. Being displayed outdoors they were subject to everything from dinosaur park that was part of the (now defunt) Magic World Amusement extreme heat/cold to severe winds, hail and rain. The foam skin started to Park. They crack and break down after only a couple years. So I held off making any were big more until I could find some way to preserve them. retro monI couldn’t use fiberglass. Apparently I had an allergy to it and just being sters; so near the stuff made me itch. So, that tried and true method was out. Then much bigger one day I accidently came across a piece of vinyl material. It had been than me and exposed to extreme heat for years being near an area where we burned trash. I loved all It was hard but otherwise in good shape. I found some of the same material their gnarly that was still fresh and pinned it to some foam and used a heat gun to warm details. You and shrink it. It was perfect! It took the shape of the foam with a bit of work can see simand made a ilar ones still Fish is durable "skin" always on the in Dinosaur on it that menu from our Land, VA. could be spinosaurid I attended painted. I had chefs school, kept my material. reading, I started worked on my art (in all of my classes much the chagrin of my teachers) and work on more graduated with plans to be a paleontologist. However my recurring Voltage dinosaurs foot/ankle problems prevented me from doing the hard work outdoors that rex again in 2012 would have been necessary to be successful. I had no interest in staying

by Chris Kastner

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Guests are expected to wear their finest clothes for dinner like this feathered outfit by Calvin Klein

in our backyard, hence the name "Backyard Terrors." I built a Juvenile Brachiosaurus named Mary for my late grandmother and then a juvenile Gorgosaurus and a sub-adult Styracosaurus. We opened our Dinosaur Park with those and added a donation box. We put each donation received toward building our next prehistoric creation and improving our Park. Kids feign fear to keep up the raptor’s In 2013 we built even confidence. more dinosaurs and even added a small gift shop, Fossil Findings, whose proceeds all go back into our Park as well. My crew and myself, came up with the motto that we wanted everyone to be able to come here to be educated, entertained and experience life sized dinosaurs no matter their budget. That has come to include retirement home trips and field trips from local schools, all of which can come here for whatever they have and not

Left & above: Tuesday is Karaoke night

Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

have to worry about set prices. Today we have 21 different species with at least two more planned this year (a Protoceratops and a Triceratops.) Our most recent is a 46' long T. rex based on Stan, with help from Scott Hartman, Doug Watson, and Dan LoRusso among many others who gave their valuable input and money to help us get him completed. We do strive to be as accurate as possible with A friendly Carnotaurus all of our creations. offers tempting snacks to We have very recently guests completed a fossil dig site "Dig Chris provides It!" to help teach free dental work kids about paleto anyone 65 ontology and million years or make our attracolder tion more interactive. Our plan is to keep growing and expanding as much as we are able to through hard work, belief in what we can accomplish, and of course, donations from those who believe in us, we can complete our dream to create and fund a professional level dinosaur park where kids of all ages can come to learn and have fun while doing so. We aim to inspire! As one of my favorite fellow dinosaur park owners once said "Creation is an act of sheer will!" We accept donations at our park location: Backyard Terror's Dinosaur Park Chris Kastner 1065 Walnut Grove Road Bluff City, TN 37618 or via paypal to my email: [email protected] or at our GoFundMe page here: http://www.gofundme.com/357zus You can watch progress of our work on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/BackyardTerrors and check out our website here: www:backyardterrors.com We recently held a party for our T. rex. There are photos on the Facebook page. If you had told me last year that we would have a life-sized T. rex at the park, I'd have laughed. I thank a great friend who made it possible and all the people that believed in us. The support we've received made a world of difference! I'm actually playing around with the idea of building a large sauropod next year. I think some of my heroes like dinosaur park builders Claude Bell and Jim Gary would approve.

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Titanoboa

& prehistoric Snakes by Phil Hore [email protected]

nothing happens as eggs are designed to be robust, but feeling the vibrations from the baby inside, the snake’s hunger drives it to even greater efforts, and the eggshell starts to give. With a wet crunch the shell suddenly gives way, and its contents, a tiny sauropod covered in amniotic fluid, spills out of the snake’s grasp like a wet bar of soap squeezed too hard. Just days from hatching, the baby dinosaur struggles to get to its feet. Its first moments of life outside of its egg will also be the sauropod’s last as a pair of green reptilian eyes close in. “Snake”—is there a word other than maybe “spider” that triggers the most primitive part of our brains? For most of us, snakes are to be feared, to be shunned, and their nature is something to be reviled in our own behavior. Call someone a snake, and you are not being polite! Though snakes look large, skeletally they are made up of tiny, fragile bones that rarely fossilize, making the evolution and first appearance of the group hard to pin down. Scientist’s best guess is that they evolved sometime in the early Jurassic, though there’s always the chance it was earlier. They descended from some unknown lizard, but we’re not here to talk about snake evolution, we’re talking about snakes, big bloody snakes. Mythology

© James Gurney jamesgurney.com

The wind rustles through the small valley of ferns, blowing away the light covering of sand covering the clutch of eggs. Having lain in the ground for the last few months while the small lives inside grew and matured and now that the tiny bodies are preparing to break out of what had been their entire world, they’re at their most vulnerable. Even when eggs are buried, the movement of body against eggshell is enough to give their position away and place their lives in danger. Making its way from nest to nest looking for an opportunity to feed slides the long, thick body of a snake; its tongue flicks out in quick darting motions as it tastes the air. In the distance it can sense a tiny mammal, in the tree a bird nest, but most importantly what it cannot sense is the recent smell of a dinosaur, meaning this nest is not protected by an overzealous parent.

The longest snake today is the 23-foot-long reticulated python (Python reticulatus); the heaviest is the 330-pound green anaconda (Eunectes murinus), but there are stories of much larger snakes from places like the Amazon. Some of these are feasible, around 34 feet; some are incredibly unlikely at 60 feet; and some are near impossible at 100 feet and more. Though the chances of snakes being anywhere near these lengths today is remote (especially if they met up with Ice Cube and his ax), in the past there were snakes that were close to those sizes. Many ancient mythologies contain stories of giant snakes, from the Rainbow Serpent of the Aborigines to Bashe (/BAH-shuh/, an ancient state in Sichuan + snake, python), a giant Chinese snake that supposedly could devour elephants. Today it’s believed some of these mythological creatures were based, at least partially, on real life snake encounters. The Rainbow Serpent could have been Wonambi (giant snake), the largest known Australian snake ever, and reports of Bashe may have come from Chinese merchants visiting southern Asia and encountering large pythons.

Titanoboa © Paul Passano

Through its long thick body it can feel the faintest vibrations, indicating movement. Under the massed layer of rotting vegetation it can feel the motion of tiny baby dinosaurs stirring inside their eggs, ready to hatch. Head first it pushes its way into the nest, with its long, thickly muscled body ribboning in behind it. Deep in the warmth of the decomposing plant matter filling the nest the snake touches the first egg, the dimpled surface of which is completely exposed from the dirt floor underneath. Flowing around the egg the snake can sense it is far too large to swallow, but that’s all right because this predator has developed another strategy for such problematic meals. Coiling its body around and enveloping the egg completely, the snake starts to squeeze. At first 38

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Titanoboa © Jacek Major Because of the fragile nature of snake fossils, some have been found that we can only estimate the true size of. Chubutophis grandis is known only from a partial bone, yet this tiny sliver is enough to inform us this snake had likely been a juvenile, yet it was already around 23 feet long. It’s possible this Argentinian snake could have grown to 33 feet or more, making it one of the largest species ever. The 26-foot Madtsoia madagascariensis is another known from only a single fossil and probably preyed on young Madagascan dinosaurs. Palaeophis belongs to a European group of sea snakes. Most were medium sized, but a single vertebra uncovered in Africa named P. colossaeus indicates it came from a snake around 30 feet long. This fossil also shows the species had likely left the ocean and was adapting to life on land. Another (P. grandis) from the Green River formation was slightly smaller at 21 feet. One group that seems to have produced more than its fair share of giants was the madtsoiids. These extinct snakes first appeared during the Cretaceous and have so far been unearthed across most of the Southern Hemisphere and Europe. They were far more primitive than even the boas, considered the most basal snakes today because they retain features from their ancient varanoid (I want to say mosasaur) ancestors such as a vestigial pelvis, live birth, and palatine-pterygoid dentition. This last feature is a secondary row of teeth used to help “walk” a meal through the mouth and down a snake’s throat. So far the feature has also been found in mosasaurs as well as early monitor lizards like the Eocene’s Saniwa (named from a rock lizard of the Upper Missouri), indicating that they were present in whatever ancestor all three groups shared. By far the most complete of these larger snakes (and especially the madtsoiids) is Australia’s Wonambi, the first and largest prehistoric snake found on the continent. Elsewhere in the world the group had gone extinct 55 mya, but in Australia they managed to hold on until around 50,000 years ago. This was around the time the first Aborigines arrived on the continent, indicating one affected the other, and their possible interactions could be the basis of the Rainbow Serpent. According to Aboriginal mythology this serpent created the world and is considered one of the oldest continuous beliefs known. It’s possible these early Australians encountered Wonambi around waterholes, giving rise to the belief the Rainbow Serpent helped create these oases. Around 20 feet long, Queensland’s Yurlunggur was about the same size and age as Wonambi; and both are around the size of Australia’s largest snake today, the scrub python (Morelia amethistina). Though it’s really too small to be listed here, I am going to mention one ancient relative of the scrub python just because I loved its former name. Morelia riversleighensis from the Miocene was around 6 meters long and formerly had the truly excellent name Montypythonoides.

the snake. The predator then coiled itself around the shell and crushed it, releasing the baby inside which was small enough to be devoured. The eggs have been classified as belonging to Megaloolithus, a generic name for whatever species of sauropod (likely a titanosaur) laid the numerous fossil eggs found across India. This stunning specimen had been unearthed in 1984 and initially described before preparation as a sauropod nest with hatchlings. It wasn’t until 2001 that the specimen was cleaned and it became clear many of the bones did not belong to a dinosaur but a snake. There is also evidence in the region of more snakes visiting this large dinosaur nesting site, showing this was not just one occasion but a feeding strategy of these predators. The largest mastoid was Gigantophis garstini, which hunted in the swamps that once covered southern Sahara 40 mya. Living in the same region was the early elephant, Moeritherium, giving rise to the possibility that, like Bashe, perhaps there had been an enormous snake that once fed on elephants. The original fossils were uncovered in 1901 by Charles William Andrews,

Titanoboa sarajonesnsis ©JAChirinos 2013 www.zooartistica.com

One of the most important madtsoiids unearthed was the snake we began with, India’s Sanajeh (ancient gape). Found in sediments from the Late Cretaceous, these primitive snakes did not yet have the ability to gape and swallow large prey, meaning that these predators were restricted to food they were actually capable of swallowing, as evidenced by this remarkable find. Found in the center of the snake’s coil was a crushed egg with a baby sauropod lying to the side. The egg itself would have been far too large for the snake to swallow, and so the scene seems to suggest these sauropods were ready to hatch and their movements and cries inside their shells seem to have drawn Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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Titanoboa © Betty Reid Martin

A newly discovered 900-Lb. Ancient Crocodile that “tore through turtles and battled monster snakes” has just been announced. It was 16 feet (4.8 meters) long and tipped the scales at 900 lbs. (408 kilograms). With a blunt snout and powerful bite, it ate turtles and battled monster snakes. Now this extinct dyrosaur, a type of crocodilian, which roamed an ancient rainforest a few million years after the dinosaurs died, has a scientific name. It's called Anthracosuchus balrogus after the fiery Balrog that lurked deep in the Middle-Earth mines of Moria in J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Lord of the Rings." "Much like that giant beast, Anthracosuchus balrogus was “awakened” from deep within a mine after 60 million years trapped within the rocks of tropical South America," study researcher Jonathan Bloch, associate curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History said.

an English paleontologist who spent many years collecting for the British Museum after his health started failing and he decided to spend some time searching north Africa. It was uncovered in marine sediments at Al Fayyum, Egypt, along with many other animals such as whales, early manatees, and turtles. At 33 feet, this was considered the largest snake to have ever lived, but then another was found, and this one was a true monster! Titanoboa cerrejonensis. Often when talking about the largest and the biggest, we are talking about a handful of animals that are physically close in size to each other—this is not the case here. It’s estimated that Titanoboa was around 43 feet, which is 10 feet longer than its closest rival. It also weighed at least twice as much, and to bring this comparison home think of the largest snake you have ever seen, either at a zoo or in a documentary, and this thing was FOUR TIMES AS HEAVY! The predator hunted Colombia just after the dinosaurs when the world was hot with an estimated (and controversial) average temperature much higher than today. This is an important point because reptiles growing this large would need a lot of heat to keep themselves moving, especially one living in a dark, wet rainforest where basking would not always be possible. Around 4 feet wide and solid muscle, this snake could produce 400 lb per square inch of squeeze power, or, as one source noted, that’s like being crushed under the weight of 3 Eiffel towers. Out of the large coal mine now being dug through the former swamp, fossils started to flow. Many were very large but obviously related to modern species like crocs and turtles, exciting stuff but nothing to grab any headlines in the world’s newspapers like what was to come out next. A single vertebra equal in size to a whale’s but belonging to a snake is related to those of modern boas and pythons. Recently more fossils have been unearthed, including that holy grail of snake paleontology, a skull. Though only shards (snake skulls are extraordinarily fragile), these bones indicate a skull 2 feet long, yet it fails to answer one of the most important questions left, Was Titanoboa a boa or a python?

Four specimens of the new species were unearthed in a layer of rock in the fossil-rich Cerrejón coal mine of northern Colombia, where scientists previously have found huge turtles with shells as thick as high-school textbooks and skeletons of the world's largest snake, Titanoboa, a 48-foot-long (14.6 m) beast that recently starred in a Smithsonian Channel documentary. A. balrogus is the third new species of ancient crocodilian found at Cerrejón, scientists say. (Another, Acherontisuchus guajiraensis, was described in the journal Paleontology in 2011.) The newly named croc belonged to an intrepid family known as the dyrosaurids. These creatures arose in Africa, paddled across the Atlantic Ocean to South America about 75 million years ago and remarkably survived the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago, scientists say. Some dyrosaurid species, such as A. balrogus, adapted to freshwater ecosystems like the rainforest of Cerrejón, which was much warmer and swampier 60 million years ago than it is today. "This group offers clues as to how animals survive extinctions and other catastrophes," Alex Hastings (who described the animal), a postdoctoral researcher at Martin Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg and former graduate student at the Florida Museum of Natural History, said in a statement. "This family of crocodyliforms in Cerrejón adapted and did very well despite incredible obstacles, which could speak to the ability of living crocodiles to adapt and overcome." Compared with its cousins, A. balrogus has an unusually short, blunt snout. Paired with the large jaw muscles that are characteristic of dyrosaurids, this feature would give A. balrogus an incredibly powerful bite, Hastings explained. "It quickly became clear that the four fossil specimens were unlike any dyrosaur species ever found," Hastings said. "Everyone thinks that crocodiles are living fossils that have remained virtually unchanged for the last 250 million years. But what we're finding in the fossil record tells a very different story." Madtsoia © John F Davies

The skull contains more teeth than either modern group has, an indication that it may have been more primitive and may have been a fish-catching specialist. This destroys the image of the world’s largest snake devouring crocodiles, though snakes today can and do take such large animals. If they did though, this was likely the exception, not the rule, but then again a 40-plusfoot-long snake weighing well over a ton could pretty much eat whatever it wanted.

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in department stores in Winnipeg, Toronto, Pittsburgh and St. Louis (the latter in 1936). In 1937, George’s son, the young Francis B. (Part 2 of 2) By Allen A. Debus Messmore, who passed away in late 1997, wrote a term paper on details of the electrical apparatus powering the Brontosaurus “robot” Sinclair’s for his physics class at Tyrannosaurus Fordham University receives a manicure (receiving high accoat the 1933 Chicago lades). During World World’s Fair. Above: Three 1933 Chicago World’s Fair dino-toy figures collected by War II, WMYA’s exhiAllen G. Debus. At front, the iron-cast Brontosaurus and Saber-toothed tiger bition options declined are shown as well as a Messmore & Damon Stegosaurus (middle). (or according to Francis Messmore, the war “cramped the style of WMYA”). However, during a New York City parade intended to supContinuing from last issue port the war effort, the WMYA “Brontosaurus” was bedecked with Nazi After the Chicago World's Fair ended in 1934, following their accoutrements, such that it was added to the lead parade float labeled, Chicagoland sojourn, The World A Million Years Ago mad robotic creations “Hitler the Axis War Monster.” escaped from Chicagoland and were unleashed to the world! The WMYA By 1951, WMYA “dinosaurs” were being loaned to television producers. was seen at the Detroit and Michigan Exposition in 1936. The dino-monsters also traveled to Montreal, returned briefly to Chicago, headed to In his book Jurassic Classics (2001), Don Glut recounts seeing “… alien dinosaurs, actually no more than stationBroadway’s Warner Brothers Messmore & Damon’s promotional toy line made in “Medamet” ary models produced by Messmore and Theater, then toured the nation and included the ‘Reptile Group.’ Damon to promote their ‘World A other countries as well until the Million Years Ago’ attraction … in 1951 1970s when they were retired in varepisodes of the television science-fiction ious locations. The exhibition travseries Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.” In one eled to Luna Park in Paris in 1935, episode, after landing the spaceship moved to Cleveland for the followPolaris on a world that is still in its ing summer season in 1936. By now, “Mesozoic stage” of planetary develophowever, the monstrous “troupe” ment, both the WMYA Brontosaurus was being split up. and a finbacked Dimetrodon were used In 1937 “half of the show” was as ‘props’ “zapped” motionless by the off to Dallas while several eventualspacemen with “parallo-ray” guns. Glut ly moved on to New York for the noted, “The fact that the creatures do not 1939/40 World’s Fair, therein move is helpful…” included as part of General Motors’ Now, here’s the thing - while Donald “Futurama” exhibit, (although F. Glut happens to own several of the Messmore & Damon’s display was smaller displays that I’ve seen firsthand, whimsically re-named including a Pterodactyl and cavebear, “Pastorama”). Meanwhile, many of which when plugged into a wall socket the World A Million Years Ago monstill rotate their heads, I MAY have also sters were witnessed on San seen several of the models much earlier Fransisco’s Treasure Island. For the when they were still touring as the New York Worlds Fair, the nature of WMYA. This MIGHT have been in the prehistorical display changed 1972, when the models came out of storsignificantly, in that dinosaurs were age and went back on exhibition in incorporated into a “Rocketship to Chicago’s Old Town sector. I do recall Venus” ‘ride.’ After completing an visiting Old Town, walking around with imaginary space journey to Venus, some college buddies there one night, as was intended, patrons toured through weird, alien landscape where the WMYA Brontosaurus, and have a dim recollection of how I was amazed by the fact that I had Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus and a few other prehistoria could be wit- encountered at least a few of the old WMYA creatures tucked away in an nessed. This made “sense” then because, according to the nebular hypothe- establishment, which I of course would have instantly recognized then. sis, astronomers believed that Venus was geologically younger than the Nobody else I was with seemed to care & we didn’t have much money to Earth by millions of years, and thus could still exist in a primeval stage of spend. But you know … I do seem to also vaguely remember seeing that ecological development. (I've seen plans for this 'Venus' exhibit but have WMYA dino-monster exhibit in conjunction with another – a torture chamber display which was also created by Messmore & Damon, that was there been unable to verify whether this ride was ever completed.) too. Merely a false memory? As recounted by Francis Messmore decades Several dino-monsters were exhibited in Baltimore during 1941, and also

Giant Dino-Monsters & ‘Kong’ Invade Chicagoland!!!

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later in 1997 describing the latter largely forgotten display, “… scenes showing various tortures …. Figures were life-size and there were sound effects accompanying them.”

The cover of Leon Morgan’s booklet of the dino-monsters, those not sold in conjunction with the 1933/34 owned by Don Glut, WMYA display. still ‘living’ somewhere in a ‘lost’ storeroom?

The Old Town dino-monsters went on to Japan, displayed at an amusement park called “Nagashima Onsen” in Nagoya for the full 1973 season. According to Messmore, these were sold there, never returning to the states. Meanwhile, another part of the original 1933/34 display toured that same Dinosaur – related season at Niagara Falls’ Skylon, from there moving on to Toronto’s memorabilia from Canadian Exposition. The rest of the mechanical monsters had been stored the Fair are rare and for a lengthy hiatus in Saddle Sinclair’s Tyrannosaurus & Triceratops, both constructed by River, New Jersey, but by the sumP.G. Alen. mer of 1973, Francis Messmore – then, head of the company - was taking them out of mothballs, and creating a King Kong “robot” as well to join them on their Lake George ‘stomp’ in New York, where they had further life. According to journalist Michael T. Kaufman (July 26, 1973), “Just 11 blocks from the Empire State Building, where King Kong was shot down for the love of Fay Wray, … the great ape is being reborn. So far, the vital parts of his 10-foot high torso have been cast in Fiber-glass, and within the next few weeks he will be outfitted with a growling tape recorder and with a mechanism that will enable him to move his synthetic shagcovered arms, his mouth, his neck and his eyes. And when he is finished … he will scare the tourists at an exhibition that includes mechanized dinosaurs made by the firm more than 40 years ago.” The aforementioned 9-foot tall “Prehistoric Gorilla” had been exhibited during the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933 too, representing “Gorilla life in the Pleistocene Period,” and I am uncertain if Messmore’s 1973 creation was a reboot of that original gorilla, versus an entirely new monster, given that its (new) body was made of fiberglass. (Incidentally, there was even a very genuine fossil “Kong” which lived in what is now southeast Asia during the Pleistocene and once grew to 10-feet tall. But this genus, named “Gigantopithecus” was discovered in 1935 – too late for inspiring RKO’s “King Kong” A Sinclair newsletter distributed during the 1933 or exhibits at Chicago World’s Fair features Tyrannosaurus vs. the Chicago Triceratops – inspired by a Charles R. Knight painting. World’s Fair. But then these, and presumably this latest ‘Kong’ version as well, were eventually sold to t h e Amusement P a r k Foundation in Indianapolis, Indiana (“for posterity”). Wouldn’t it be cool to find the rest Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

valuable, but turn up every so often. One finds, for example, postcards, and a colorful, 19-page booklet titled “The World A Million Years Ago” by Leon Morgan, vividly illustrated by H. G. Arbo. Morgan and Arbo outline Life’s history through time from the beginning to the evolution of man, emphasizing displays patrons would witness within the exhibition globe. However, perhaps the most sought after collectibles are those rare lead-cast pot metal (i.e. made of “Medamet”) figures featuring several of the most popular prehistoric animals, such as the Tyrannosaurus, three-horned Triceratops, plated Stegosaurus, etc. Before the days of plastic toys, the metal figures would prove especially intriguing for youngsters yearning to stage imaginative journeys to prehistoric ‘Lost Worlds’ on their bedroom floors. Although fortunately several of my dad’s figures have survived, collector Larry Blincoe

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stated in 2004 (PT # 67, p.10) that due to their fragility, “collecting these figures is kind of an ephemeral experience; you know you may be the last one to own them, and they are probably aging at about the same pace as you.”

although this time in a diorama contributed by Century Diorama Studios.) Sinclair also published a booklet coinciding with the Fair, “The Sinclair Dinosaur Book,” written by Barnum Brown, featuring artwork by James E. Allen.

Messmore & Damon’s Medieval Torture chamber display was also promoted with an instructional booklet penned by Leon Morgan. Of course, given their creativity and abilities, Messmore & Damon did many other, numerous types of mechanized displays, but the World A Million Years Ago show really put them on the map.

Why this curious association between gasoline and dinosaurs? For the baby boomers (& older) among us, the connection may still seem ‘entirely ‘natural,’ thanks to Sinclair. Basically, Sinclair executives invented a visual ‘mind worm-ish’ type of “mascot” to promote their petroleum products. Their advertising campaign proved successful. (“Dino” the brontosaur symbol officially became their mascot.) One representative stated, “… the oldest crudes make the finest lubricants. To present this fact in an impressive manner, we constructed the Sinclair Dinosaur Exhibit. Nothing we could use would graphically portray tremendous age as well as do these dinosaurs.”

Perhaps the most generally “visible” and memorable dinosaurs, however, were those manufactured by the Sinclair Refining Company, all six of which appeared out of doors as a free exhibition, mounted on an artificial rocky dino-diorama. These were built by P. G. Alen, under advisement of sevSinclair’s Stegosaurus lifted its neck eral prominent American minimally for patrons, & wasn’t as Museum of Natural History scimobile as was the WMYA Stegosaurus. entists, including eminent paleontologist - Barnum Brown. P. G. Alen consulted with Brown who offered critique of his small-scale clay sculptures, which were based on Charles R. Knight’s world famous Chicago Natural History Museum mural restorations. According to Don Glut writing in The Dinosaur Scrapbook (1980), a keen feature of the exhibit was the Grotto, stocked with numerous displays, which visitors passed through only to “emerge in a facsimile of the Mesozoic era.” P. G. Alen’s imposing 21foot tall “Brontosaurus” (with 31-foot long tail & 20-foot long neck) stood above the Grotto’s entrance, greeting visitors with its gently swaying neck as they entered the Sinclair exhibit. Glut states further, “Not only did its … neck and … tail twist and curl to the spectators’ delight, but its sides pulsated realistically, simulating respiration.” Within the Grotto itself, patrons could enjoy “a number of striking photographic murals, ten feet long and four feet, six-inches high, depicting more re-creations of extinct fauna.” Furthermore, Glut states, “P. G. Alen determined to have them virtually come alive, powered by electric motors implanted in their innards.” Besides Brontosaurus, also on display were five others, including plated Stegosaurus and the showcase diorama, a thrilling life-sized representation of THE most famous dinosaur painting of all-time: Charles R. Knight’s restoration of Tyrannosaurus engaging threehorned Triceratops in a battle to the death! (In fact, Knight’s painting was so famous and still is, that it was also re-created in miniature for the Fair,

But as noticeable and effective as the Sinclair display was in associating prehistoric monsters with their petroleum products, Francis B. Messmore was not as impressed, that is, relative to what his father and Joseph Damon had achieved under their dome. In 1997 Francis Messmore wrote, “Next to the A Sinclair News ‘WMYA’ was brochure featured Sinclair Oil’s their Tyrannosaurus exhibit of rex. dinosaurs. Their ad slogan was ‘Mellowed 100 Million Years.’ They showed a ‘Brontosaurus,’ Tyrannosaurus, and a Triceratops among other pieces which were made of concrete for outdoor use. The animation of these pieces was minuscule. This was the competition that the ‘WMYA’ was up against, notwithstanding the fact that the Sinclair exhibit was free and the ‘WMYA’ was a paid attraction. WMYA grossed over $1 million … charging 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children.” And the whereabouts of the original 1933/34 Sinclair dino-monsters? Unlike the WMYA dino-monsters which repeatedly invaded numerous cities, Fairs, department stores and the earliest shopping “malls” over ensuing decades before their ultimate demise, the Sinclair prehistoric monsters evidently were scrapped, following a 1936 appearance at the Texas Centennial exhibition. Glut claimed “… they survive now only in memory and memorabilia.” Today, collectors may come across any of several “Picture News” leaflets distributed by the Sinclair Refining Company highlighting the fun, frivolity and general awesomeness of their imposing dino-monster display. Another dino-inspired exhibit was the “Clock of Ages,” placed in the Hall of Science. As stated in the Official Guidebook of the Fair, (p. 38), “The science of geology is epitomized by a giant “Clock of the Ages” which ticks off the two billion years or more of the earth’s history on a conventional clock dial. Geological pictures (i.e. including prehistoric animals) appear on a screen in the center of the clockface, and they are described by a synchronized phonographic record.”

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From a Sinclair News leaflet.

T. rex at the Field Museum, cringed at 1980s mechanical recreations built by Dinamation technicians in many a shopping mall, and witnessed numerous other traveling dino-related exhibitions at the Field Museum and other whereabouts and nearby institutions. The latest Brookfield Zoo denizens, including many of the latest known varieties of scary-looking feathered dinosaurs reflect a host of scientific ideas which were not even a gleam then in any 1930s scientist’s eye! The new computerized dino-monsters are exhibited in the most recently accepted anatomically correct poses, yet are really no better than what Messmore & Damon (along with Sinclair) accomplished and offered to an adoring public years ago. But today at Brookfield, there are no ‘other’ mechanistic prehistoric mammals on sight, or a Kong. At least Messmore & Damon gave us a ‘Kong’ to dwell upon. END

Each revolution of the clock dial corresponded to 100,000 years of elapsed geological time. Century Dioramas Studio miniature dioramas also contributed three miniature dinosaur dioramas, each based upon a Charles Knight dinosaur mural – one of which was the ever-popular Tyrannosaurus vs. Triceratops battle, that has influenced many scenes of battling dino-monsters in movies since, such as “Gigantis the Fire Monster,” and “The Last Dinosaur.”

From the interior of a Sinclair News brochure.

George H. Messmore died on Feb. 15 1963 at the age of 76; Damon retired from the industry in 1940. Their business was still thriving through the mid-1950s, after moving to Park Avenue. Their one-time competitor, Earl Carroll, died in 1948. Time has marched on since the dimly recalled days of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. Yet since then Chicagoland has suffered repeated invasions of impressive dinosaurs and those proverbial ‘other’ prehistoric animals. We’ve since captured a giant reconstructed Brachiosaurus and “Sue” our mascot

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Cretaceo us Cl assif ieds Free to subscribers but must be updated each issue For Sale: Weta King Kong collectibles at rock bottom prices. email Pat for descriptions and prices: [email protected] 1000+ MODEL DINOSAURS shown in The Visual Guide to Scale Model Dinosaurs, 2012, softcover, 300 pages. Contact: eonepoch@aol .com FOR SALE: Matchbox “Creature Catchers” diecast trucks w/ great looking sabertooth cat on one card and mammoth on the other. MOC, About 2” figures. Both for $25 + $5 shipping to Sheldon Wright,13001 York Blvd, Garfield Hgts, Oh, 44125-4013 -- (216) 475-2945 Also check out DeJankins.com for more photos FOR SALE: Tamiya Dioramas and kits, all Professionaly built and painted, MUSEUM QUALITY! Brachiosaurus Diorama,Chasmosaurus Diorama, Parasaurolopus & Nyctosaur Diorama, Triceratops and Velociraprtor Diorama, T-rex Diorama, Velociraptor "SIXPACK", Mesozoic Creatures, Stegosaurus, contact Brian Dubecky at [email protected] or call 516 513-9026 for further details. Reasonable prices. FOR SALE: Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs Book (Currie, Padian) in new condition, $120 Stratford, Ct 203-375-8560 LIFE SIZE DINOSAURS FOR SALE - Four different Creatures. All hand sculpted by a professional artist. Made from 100% recycled materials. Light weight and mounted on wood bases with caster wheels for ease of movement. Highly detailed and accurate. Very lifelike with vivid color. 1. Adult Aletopelta - $1500.00 2. Adult Deinonychus - $1500.00 3. Adult Leptoceratops - $750.00 4. Juvenile Nanotyrannus $1500.00 Prefer to sell as group but will sell separately. Reasonable offers considered. For information contact Wayne at 785-250-2460 or email [email protected] Wanted: Back issue of Prehistoric Times Magazine #90. Contact David McBride at [email protected]. Wanted: Louis Marx 6” cavemen, Miller dinosaurs, MPC World of Prehistoric Monsters playset, any MPC dinosaur playsets, Marx Prehistoric Times #3988 playset, Marx Prehistoric Mountain playset, Marx Prehistoric playset #3398 w/ waxy figures, Marx World of Dinosaurs Storage Box set, Marx #2650 Prehistoric playset (The holy grail) and Ajax dinosaurs. James J. Berger, 3515 Howard St., Park City, Il 60085 1-847-625-1807 French collector (prehistoric animal figures, fossils and minerals), Phd in Geology, inhabitant of Grenoble, seeks U.S. and other collectors outside the European Union to help me to combine and reship my purchases on Ebay made in their countries. In exchange, I offer the same services for your purchases made in France and the European Union to reduce shipping costs, VAT and customs duties. I can also help with your purchases in France, for example, to complete your Starlux collection (Prehistoric animals and other figures of this French brand) or your minerals collection with good quality crystals from the French Alps. Contact : Jean-Marie LEONARD [email protected] For Sale: Horizon 1/19 scale vinyl Jurassic Park Brachiosaur kit. Original box and parts still in poly bag. $105 plus shipping. Dave Colton – [email protected] Wanted: Copy of underwater variant rules for Saurian Safari that was published in Wargames Illustrated. Randy Knol [email protected] We have DinoStoreus skulls and models in need of repair for sale. Look at the back cover of just about any issue of Prehistoric Times magazine and the sample images on that page and you will see the wonderful skeletal and fleshed-out dinosaur models by DinoStoreus. We have been a distributor for many years and have a few dozen DinoStoreus models that need repairs ranging from a missing tooth to a broken jaw. If you like a small challenge or have built model kits before and want to save some money, then you would have no problem repairing these models to complete your collection. Just about every skull and model on this list is available. Just give us a call 304-2822306 or email [email protected] to check on availability. Each skull or model is only $25 each compared with $50+ retail. Attention Museums and collectors – Five original lamps designed by and made for Zdenek Burian's art studio for sale, contact me, Jiri Hochman for photograph, details and prices.

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Zdenek Burian post cards, posters, coffee cups and copyrights of Burian images for sale. Also looking for a producer/sponsor for: a Zdenek Burian exhibition in the USA/Canada etc ZB Great Monograph for sale in the USA/Canada etc production of copies of ZB original paintings for sale a completely new book (the best of) Zdenek Burian – Action Illustration - website: www.zdenekburian.com or contact [email protected] For Sale: My book, Lens to the Natural World: Reflections on Dinosaurs, Galaxies, and God by Ken Olson (Foreword by Jack Horner, endorsed by Kevin Padian of the National Center for Science Education). Celebrating the wonders of nature, this is a work of “science & religion & philosophy & literature,” and navigates a middle way between the vocal extremists on the issue of evolution. I have been a Research Associate in Paleontology at The Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, MT for 24 years. List price is $26; add just $2 to ship in the lower 48 states. Send check or USPS money order to: Ken Olson, 1009 W. Blvd, Lewistown, MT 59457. For Sale: Tamiya 1/35 Scale Brachiosaurus diorama sealed new in original box. $75 plus $15 shipping. MO to Gregory Flanagan 268 7th St Brooklyn, NY 11215 Wanted: Jurassic Park 3 Re-Ak Attack Dilophosaurus in original green color. Must still be in package and in good condition. Negotiable. Contact Adam at [email protected]. Wanted: I am interested in any playvisions animal figures but especially the African Forest Buffalo, Chital (Axis Deer) and Dhole. I am also looking for Jeols Bushpig, Safari Vanishing Wild Gemsbok (adult and calf), and ELC Kob. I would be interested in almost any mammal figures, prehistoric and modern. Please email me at [email protected], you can call at 801 597 8875 or write to Keith Brown, 3032 S 5990 W, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84128 For Sale : Complete set of Battat dinosaurs for sale, as a set. I also have one of the few JP full size raptor promotional pieces. This piece is unreal. I'm also downsizing a very large collection of various pieces amassed over 20 years of collecting. I have many unique and extremely hard to find dinosaurs and mammals that are no longer in production. Most of these are sets, all are in mint condition and never used other than for display. Call and or e-mail for more information on what's available. [email protected] 513-737-6695 For Sale or trade: I offer all the large J H Miller prehistoric animals/dinosaurs, caveman, cavewoman and cave. I have many SRG, both large and small, including the caveman, a complete set of Linde dinos, complete set of Battat (Boston Museum) dinos, Castagna dinos, Alva Bronto, Marx, Chialu, Starlux and more. Call Jim Van Dyke 616-669-3897 [email protected] WANTED: Max Salas 1/35 Entelodon and Andrewsarchus. Contact Ron at [email protected]. WANTED: RAY HARRYHAUSEN & STOP-MOTION RELATED 'ZINES Colossa #1 (1993) / Hollywood Horror Classics #4 (1996) Cinemagram #1 (1964) / Cinefantastique #2 (Mimeo - Apr 1967) Mystification #6 (1965) / Animals Magazine (Aug 1969) - British Wonder #2 (Summer 1989) / Box Office Vol. 90 #16 (Feb 6 1967) Spectre #18 (Mar/Apr 1968) / Photon #1, 7, 13 (1963, 1965, 1967) Vampire's Crypt #8 (Dec 1963) / Amazing Screen Horrors #6 (1966) Just Imagine #4 (1977) - British / Cosmos Aventuras #9 (May 1964) Ray Harryhausen Journal (1973) / Animation Journal #4 (May 1965) Stop-Motion Monsters of Filmland #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 Japanese (1990’s) King Kong: Unauthorized Jewish Fractals in Philopatry (1996) Contact: Scott McRae ([email protected]) Wanted: PT issues 1-22 & later back issues no longer available through PT, Marx dinos in metallic green, Pom Poms candy boxes w/ Aurora Prehistoric Scenes art on them, SRG metal Dinychthys fish, Chialu Brachauchenius (marine reptile), La Brea (Wm Otto) prehistoric horse plus T. rex, Smithsonian metal prehistoric animals, Messmore & Damon 1933 Chicago World’s Fair metal figs! For Trade/Sale: vintage dinosaurs of most manufacturers. I’ve got a ton of old dinosaur figures for sale. I’m always buying pre-1970s dino collectibles --Please contact Mike Fredericks 145 Bayline Cir, Folsom, Ca 956308077, (916) 985-7986 [email protected] WANTED: Prehistoric Times issues 79, 81, 83, and 84. Also looking for any books, magazines, and/or DVDs on whale evolution/extinct whales/dolphins, ancient marine reptiles, elephant evolution/extinct elephants, and shark evolution/extinct sharks. Will pay by money order only. Also looking for any information on fossils in Alabama, Mississippi, and the rest of the southeastern US. Please call 205-269-7054. FOR SALE: Invicta Tyrannosaurus, Diplodocus,

Brachiosaurus, woolly mammoth, Glyptodon, Dimetrodon, Blue Whale, painted Liopleurodon, and painted Plesiosaurus. Bullyland 1993 Parasaurolophus. Dinotales Series 1 Triceratops skeleton and Tyrannosaurus. Carnegie Collection Beipiaosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Spinosaurus, and Cryolophosaurus. Wild Safari Scutosaurus, Mosasaurus, Kentrosaurus, Allosaurus, Rhamphorhynchus, Coelacanth, and Field Museum Anatotitan. All new 2011 Safari LTD figures are available too. Wanted: Battat Ceratosaurus, Diplodocus, Tyrannosaurus, Maiasaura, and Parasaurolophus Andrew [email protected] For Sale: 3/4'” cloisonne lapel pin that states: REUNITE GONDWANALAND and depicts Pangea and Laurasia united in one huge continent. Only a limited number are available. $8 includes the pin and postage. Contact Lynne Dickman, (406) 728-5221, [email protected] Wanted: Hobby Trading Post (Nu-Card) DINOSAURS cards (B&W, post-card size) #'s 7, 13, 15, 28. I will gladly purchase these but I also have many duplicate cards available for trade. I would prefer "nice" condition cards (e.g., VG+ to Mint) without major creasing or other significant defects. Please contact me (Mike Riley) at: [email protected] or at 303-566-1267 (weekdays, 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, MDT). MODELERS: PT build up writer, Sean Kotz, now has a national hobby column on line at the Examiner. I am committed to bringing paleo models, sculptors and kits to the forefront on a regular basis, as well as all other forms of modeling from plastic kits to rocket ships. Go to www.examiner.com and search for "Model Building Examiner" or my name and bookmark or subscribe. You can also search out the Facebook Fan page Playset Magazine Plastic heaven, America's best info on vintage playsets by Marx and others from the Atomic Era and Beyond. Battleground, Zorro, news, classifieds to buy, color glossy. Complete website listings too! www.playsetmagazine.com, email [email protected], or call (719) 634-7430 J H Miller repaired - your broken and incomplete vintage J H Miller plastic figures -expertly repaired. Ask for Nick Lamanec (484) 274-0315 FOR SALE: Looking for awesome paleontology-themed Tshirts? Visit www.cafepress.com/dannysdinosaurs! Featuring clever dinosaurian designs on everything from shirts to coffee mugs to bumper stickers, www.cafepress.com/dannysdinosaurs is a great place for all your dinosaur apparel needs. TOP DOLLAR PAID for prehistoric animal postcards including diorama scenes, statues, fossils, museum displays, etc. I also would like to purchase prehistoric animal museum or excavation site brochures and posters. If you have vintage dinosaur or prehistoric animal books or photographs from the 1900's up to 1980 please let me know since I also collect these. I have lots of paper ephemera such as this for trade if that is preferable. Please contact Stephen Hubbell (253) 851-7036 or email me at [email protected]. PALEODIRECT.COM Your direct source for the finest and rarest fossil specimens along with tools and weapons of primitive man. With several thousand pages of fossils and primitive man artifacts displayed online, PaleoDirect.com is truly one of the largest online paleontological suppliers across the globe. Categories include a BROAD DIVERSITY of both INVERTEBRATE and VERTEBRATE fossils. We also specialize in genuine TOOLS and WEAPONS of PRIMITIVE HUMANS from the Lower PALEOLITHIC through the NEOLITHIC Periods up to and including the Iron Age. PALEO DIRECT, Inc. is a full-time, professional supplier and a member of the American Association of Paleontological Suppliers.We acquire specimens direct from the source regions of the world through exclusive affiliations with the diggers and their management as well as conduct several of our own international collecting expeditions each year. Furthermore, many of our rare specimens are prepared in-house by our own conservation facilities and staff. This explains our consistently better quality fossils than is usually found in the marketplace. In addition to what is shown on the site, an even greater inventory of specimens are either yet to be listed or in various states of preparation. Please contact us if you have interest in an item that is not shown. New material from around the world is constantly being added. If you wish to be added to our email list for when new specimens are updated to the website, please email or call us and let us know. PALEO DIRECT, INC. P. O. Box 160305 Altamonte Springs, FL 32716-0305 (407) 774-1063 www.PaleoDirect.com [email protected] Supplying museums, educational facilities and discriminating collectors around the world.

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Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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Artist Jim Boydston with life sized Deinonychus made from new and recycled material. Please check out the web site to see more models, murals, and flatwork.

www.dinojimboydston.com

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© Gregory S Paul gspauldino.com

Diabloceratops © Gregory S Paul

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Continuing from Page 17

© John Trotter

Diabloceratops eatoni. Part of a group known for their spectacular skulls, the recent discovery of Diabloceratops in Utah must rank among the most impressive. With two large, dangerous eyebrow horns jutting from its head and two even larger horns protruding from either side of its neck frill, this ceratopian would have been the devil itself to attack. Though not large for a ceratopian at 18 feet (it’s considered to be about midsized), the impressive skull more than makes up for its lack of size. Described by Jim Kirkland (Dr. Kirkland has always been very accommodating to the magazine) and Donald DeBlieux in 2010, the original specimen was found in 1998 within sediment from the Campaign stage (72-83 mya). This makes Diabloceratops the oldest and most southern known of the centrosaurines discovered in the region, a group that con© Nathan E Rogers tains Pachyrhinosaurus and the even more spectacular Styracosaurus. The skull shares features with that other great ceratopian group, the chasmosaurines (Triceratops, Chasmosaurus), including the eyebrow horns, considered primitive to both groups and again showing that Diabloceratops was one of the earliest centrosaurs, (a group that would evolve smaller and smaller horns until there were none left) perhaps two small horns on the nose, and upon the frill it also had a pair of very long spikes. Along with Diabloceratops, these rocks contained fish, turtles, crocodiles, lizards, sharks, and even a few mammals—evidence the region was once a floodplain with rivers and creeks that all flowed down into the Western Interior Seaway.

© Terry Wilson

mal looked like. T o d a y Diabloceratops hangs in one of the world’s great dinosaur displays in the Utah museum. One entire wall contains a family tree of ceratopians, with a dozen or so of the largest terrestrial skulls ever, displaying the relationships and differences between the various ceratopians that once browsed North America. As I said earlier I’m really hoping to get there soon!

© Dave Kinney

Both CollectA and Wild Safari produce beautiful Diabloceratops figures.

Diabloceratops and Lythronax

So far these dinosaur remains have been spectacularly hard to retrieve. One was located in a region where wheeled vehicles could not go, so it was dragged on top of an old Ford Mustang rooftop to its transport by a human sled team. Another was airlifted out by helicopter, and that’s it—two skulls, though to be fair the bodies of most ceratopians are similar enough for us to speculate what the complete aniPrehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

© Christian Juul

Lythronax argestes ("king of gore", from Greek words lythron meaning "gore" and anax meaning "king") was a tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur which lived at the same time and area as Diabloceratops. L. argestes is the oldest known tyrannosaurid based on its stratigraphic position. Comparisons to its close relatives suggest that Lythronax would have been well over 20 feet long and had a large skull filled with sharp teeth.

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PaleoNews

rial of these supersized animals to determine just how big they really got."

Largest dinosaur ever discovered

Mini Longneck Dino Fossilized bones of a new species of titanosaur Discovered in South America dinosaur unearthed in Argentina is the largest aniA long-neck relative of mal ever to walk the Earth, paleontologists say. Apatosaurus and Diplodocus has Based on its huge thigh bones, it was 40m (130ft) been discovered in South America, long and 20m (65ft) tall. Weighing in at 77 tons, it becoming the first of its kind ever was as heavy as 14 African elephants, and seven found on that continent. tons heavier than the previous record holder, Discovered in rock from the Early A man in Argentina lies next to the fossilized femur bone of Cretaceous Period about 140 milArgentinosaurus. Scientists believe it is a new what appears to be the largest dinosaur ever found species of titanosaur - an enormous herbivore datlion years ago, the new dinosaur ing from the Late Cretaceous period. A local farm lived later than its relatives found in Africa, Europe and North America, worker first stumbled on the remains in the desert near La Flecha, about which hail from the Jurassic, the period before the Cretaceous. At about 30 250km (135 miles) west of Trelew, Patagonia. The fossils were then exca- feet (9 meters) long, the new long-neck is also a relative pipsqueak. Other vated by a team of paleontologists from the Museum of Paleontology Egidio dinosaurs in this group — the diplodocids — are more than 66 feet (20 m) Feruglio, led by Dr Jose Luis Carballido and Dr Diego Pol. They unearthed long, said study researcher Pablo Gallina, a paleontologist at the the partial skeletons of seven individuals (about 150 bones in total) all in Universidad Maimonides in Buenos Aires. "remarkable condition". Gallina and his colleagues excavated the fossil during three trips to A film crew from the BBC Natural History Unit was there to capture the Patagonia in 2010, 2012 and 2013. The fossil site is in Argentina's Neuquen moment the scientists realized exactly how big their discovery was. By mea- province, where the landscape is dry and scrubby, with reddish dirt hills. In suring the length and circumference of the largest femur (thigh bone), they the Early Cretaceous, the environment would have been semi-arid, bordercalculated the animal weighed 77 tons. ing a large desert on the supercontinent of Gondwana, Gallina said. "Given the size of these bones, which surpass The skeleton is fragmentary, but the any of the previously known giant animals, the researchers were able to use the shape of the new dinosaur is the largest animal known that animal's vertebrae to determine that it was a walked on Earth," the researchers told BBC new species. They dubbed the dinosaur News. Leinkupal laticauda. In the language of the "Its length, from its head to the tip of its tail, was 40m (over 130 feet). Standing with its neck up, it was about 20m high - equal to a seven-story building." The new dinosaur is a type of sauropod similar to Argentinosaurus. This giant plant-eater lived in the forests of Patagonia between 95 and 100 million years ago, based on the age of the rocks in which its bones were found. But despite its magnitude, it does not yet have a name.

New diplodocid - Leinkupal laticauda.

native Mapuche people of Patagonia, "lein" means "vanishing," and "kupal" means "family." The researchers chose this name because previously discovered diplodocid relatives come from the Jurassic, meaning L. laticauda may have been among the last of its line. The second part of the dinosaur's name has meaning, as well. "Lati" comes from the Latin for "wide," and "cauda" from the Latin for "tail." The vertebrae suggest that L. laticauda had a very broad, muscular tail, which may have allowed it "remarkable control and fortitude,"

©Jorge Gonzalez "It will be named describing its magnificence and in honor to both the region and the farm owners who alerted us about Gallina said. the discovery," the researchers said. Diplodocids are famed for their long necks and long tails; the earliest disThere have been many previous contenders for the title "world's biggest covered specimens came from the rich Jurassic fossil beds in Colorado. dinosaur". The most recent pretender to the throne was Argentinosaurus, a They had also been discovered in Africa, which led paleontologists to sussimilar type of sauropod, also discovered in Patagonia. Originally thought to pect they lived in South America as well. At the time this group of dinosaurs weigh in at 100 tons, it was later revised down to about 70 tons - just under lived, the two continents were combined into one, called Gondwana. the 77 tons that this new sauropod is thought to have weighed. The picture Previous Patagonian fossil finds came from the upper, or Late Cretaceous, is muddied by the various complicated methods for estimating size and about 100 million to 66 million years ago. L. laticauda is the first dinosaur weight, based on skeletons that are usually incomplete. Argentinosaurus ever found in the region from the Early Cretaceous, Gallina said. When the was estimated from only a few bones. But the researchers here had dozens bones were first discovered in 2010, they looked unpromising and damaged to work with, making them more confident that they really have found "the by erosion. But the paleontologists could find no other bones to excavate, so big one". Dr Paul Barrett, a dinosaur expert from London's Natural History they began the process of digging out the skeletal fragments. It wasn't until Museum, agreed the new species is "a genuinely big critter. But there are a the bones were out of the ground that the researchers began to realize they number of similarly sized big sauropod thigh bones out there," he cautioned. had something unique on their hands, Gallina said. "Without knowing more about this current find it's difficult to be sure. One problem with assessing the weight of both Argentinosaurus and this Pinocchio T. rex new discovery is that they're both based on very fragmentary specimens - no complete skeleton is known, which means the animal's proportions and Not all tyrannosaurs had short, brutish faces like that of Tyrannosaurus overall shape are conjectural. Moreover, several different methods exist for rex. Paleontologists in China have unearthed the remains of a slender, longcalculating dinosaur weight (some based on overall volume, some on vari- snouted tyrannosaur — and nicknamed it 'Pinocchio rex' for its impressive ous limb bone measurements) and these don't always agree with each other, nose. Earlier discoveries had hinted at tyrannosaurs with elongated snouts. with large measures of uncertainty. So it's interesting to hear another really The new finding confirms that not only did they exist, but that they make huge sauropod has been discovered, but ideally we'd need much more mate- up an entirely new class of dinosaurs. 50

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Pinocchio rex “tells us pretty unequivocally that these long-snouted tyrannosaurs were a real thing”, says Stephen Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh, UK. “They were a different breed, living right at the end of the age of dinosaurs.” Pinocchio rex is formally known as Qianzhousaurus sinensis, which is derived from Qianzhou, the ancient name of the city of Ganzhou in southern China. Workers there unearthed the bones at a construction site and sent them to the local museum. The fossils constitute most of a single animal that lived more than 66 million years ago, including a well-preserved skull, neck, backbone and tail. “Almost the entire anatomy is there, which is really rare for a new tyrannosaur,” says Brusatte. Notably, the dinosaur’s snout makes up about 70% of the length of its skull, which is similar to the proportions seen in Mongolian fossils of two species of Alioramus. Paleontologists have been unsure what to make of the Alioramus fossils because both specimens came from juvenile animals, leading some scientists to suggest that Alioramus had a long, narrow snout in its childhood and adolescence but a wider snout as an adult. The Qianzhousaurus fossil belongs to an adult, thus confirming that some fullgrown tyrannosaurs did possess elongated snouts.

one reported here provide further evidence regarding the behavior and biology of this amazing group of flying reptiles that has no parallel in modern time.” After the researchers realized they had a huge pterosaur find on their hands, they began systematically excavating the site, and in 2008, they came across their first egg and, for the first time, it wasn’t flattened: “I was more excited than surprised,” says Xiaolin Wang, a paleontologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. With such a fossil-rich site, finding an egg wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. The team recovered five eggs in total from the site. Microscopic and spectroscopic analysis revealed that the eggs had a thin shell for a top layer, made mostly of calcium carbonate, and underneath that lay a soft, thin membrane. “It is similar to ‘soft’ eggs of some modern snakes; the size and structure are nearly the same,” says Wang. Beyond cracking the mystery of the eggs, the researchers also wanted to figure out how the Turpan-Hami Basin pterosaurs fit into the larger pterosaur family tree. They had removed fossilized bones from 40 individuals at TurbanHami, though the entire site could ultimately yield hundreds.

After a closer examination of the bones, they found that these animals had marked differences from other species: a hooked bone at the end of the jaw, wider eye cavities, a well-developed forehead crest, a wrist bone with a protruding In life, Qianzhousaurus would have spike, and other unique features. Their measured up to 9 meters from nose to wingspans ranged from 4 feet to 11 feet, tail — not quite as big as a T. rex, and and an evolutionary tree analysis suggesttherefore more agile, says Brusatte. It A newly discovered tyrannosaur fossil from China had an eloned that the individuals belonged to a new may have been the top predator of its gated snout and has been named Qianzhousaurus sinensis. genus and species of pterosaur, which the time. The long snout of Qianzhousaurus would have given it different feeding strategies from the scientists named Hamipterus tianshanensis. muscular T. rex, says Thomas Williamson, a paleontologist at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque. Qianzhousaurus probably could not muster the extreme bite forces that T. rex used to puncture bone. Instead, the long-snouted tyrannosaurs would “probably cut up their prey with their smaller, more numerous, and more blade-like teeth”, says Williamson. The discoveries of Qianzhousaurus in China and Alioramus in Mongolia suggest that dinosaurs in Asia had subtle but important differences from their cousins in North America, says Brusatte. No long-snouted tyrannosaurs have been found in the Americas.

As they unearthed the specimens, the researchers also noticed that some individuals had the same skull (in shape and size) but different head crests: some were large, wrinkled, with a flare at the end of their snout, while others were smaller, smoother, and less protruding. The researchers think they’ve happened upon a sexually dimorphic trait—one that separates the boys from the girls. Though some modern reptile species do have larger females, the trend in reptiles is big males, small females. So, Wang and his colleagues made the educated guess that, in the case of the pterosaurs, larger crests belong to males and the smaller crests to females. Finding the bones and eggs present a picture of gregarious social life and reproduction behaviors that resembles that of modern reptiles. “These pterosaurs nested 120-MYA Colony of Fossilized Flying Reptiles and Eggs Found in the shore of the ancient lake and buried their eggs in the moist sand,” says Around 120 million years ago, a colony of flying Wang. The nesting behavior is similar to modern Two Hamipterus tainshanensis parents reptiles once lived on the shores of an ancient lake in snake species, particularly rat snakes. Finding in one guarding their eggs © Chuang Zhao China’s Turpan-Hami Basin. Today the environment location evidence of sexual dimorphism and of behavis within the Gobi Desert—a far cry from the lush, iors that are much more reptile-like than bird-like is temperate lakeshore it once was. But the Gobi’s dry, quite rare. arid climate makes for excellent fossil preservation. "A long-extinct group of flying reptiles may seem

In 2005, researchers came across evidence of the area’s former inhabitants: pterosaurs. Recent excavations of the site have yielded a plethora of fossil specimens of these ancient reptile residents, including the most juvenile of them—their eggs. A team of paleontologists from China and Brazil found that the unearthed bones and fossilized eggs actually represent a previously unknown genus and species of pterosaur. In the fossil record, pterosaurs are rare commodities: only one or two fossil specimens define each species, and only four eggs have ever been unearthed—all are flattened. That makes the TurpanHami fossils extremely valuable for analyzing nesting habits. As the researchers write, “sites like the Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

unimportant in the big scheme of things, but they're a component of something we must pay more attention to: our changing biosphere,” Witton added. “Looking at the way species and ecosystems have evolved through Deep Time gives us the only long-term insight into the way the natural world works—how it adapts to adversity, when it blooms and diversifies, and so forth.” It also shows how populations can be snuffed out— near this lake, the nesting pterosaurs met their demise. “The storm may have killed live pterosaurs, and transported the dead bodies and eggs for a short distance,” says Wang “And then buried them quickly.” It must have been a horrible way to go for these ancient creatures, but a perfect storm for researchers. 51

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Der Sauriermuseum by John F Davies

house. Parking there is plentiful, and one can find ones way there by following sets of blue dinosaur footprints on the pavement. Through a pair of ammonite-sculptured doors and descending down a flight of stone steps Main Entrance to takes one to the the Sauiermuseum e n t r a n c e . Admission costs a mere 8 Francs, a real bargain in pricey Switzerland. Showcasing the Triassic and early Jurassic eras, these fossils come from a clay quarry known as "Gruhalde", considered one of the richest fossil beds in western Europe. The galleries, which are on two levels, are well laidout for such a confined space. The showcase animal here is the Triassic

For the paleoenthusiast who is visiting Switzerland, many attractions can be found to satisfy one's curiosity. A particularly unique place to visit is the Sauiermuseum, located in the picturesque town of Frick in Canton Argau, about 30 minutes by train from the city of Basel. What makes this Catholic church tower in Frick, Switerzerland

Late Triassic Prehistoric turtle Proganochelys

prosauropod Plateosaurus. At the museum's main floor is found a vast collection of Plateosaur fossils, including a complete skeleton that can also be viewed from the upper level, framed by a life-sized mural depicting a group of these animals. In fact, this particular dinosaur has become an unofficial symbol of the town of Frick itself. There is a Plateosaurus sculpture in the middle of a traffic circle on the outside of town, as well as Plateosaur-

Plateosaurus profile mount 1912 Schoolhouse. The museum is in the basement at the rear.

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unpretentious museum unique is that its collections are made up exclusively of finds from the local areas around the town. It is an easy 10minute walk from the train station to the museum, located in the basement of a magnificent century-old schoolPrehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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Ammonite display

shaped trash cans at the railroad station.

Coelophysis model

Also on view is another interesting rarity, a complete skeleton of the three foot long Mesozoic turtle Proganochelys, as well as remains of the early theropod Coelophysis. On the top level there is a wide and varied exhibition of ammonites, some of which are of quite impressive size. Much of this collection can be touched and handled by the visitor. A real tactile prize is a large slab of conglomerate in which are found remains of ammonites, clams, and other prehistoric marine organisms. A genuine feast for both the eye and hand. Overall, the specimens are among the most well Plateosaurus skeleton ‘in situ’ prepared examples that this writer has ever seen. On some Sundays, a staff member is there on site doing preparations of recently discovered specimens for visitors to watch. There is also a small theatre, which regularly shows videos of recent fossil excavations. Although the descriptions at the Sauiermuseum are mostly in German, they are very self-explanatory. For the visitor who doesn’t speak Schweizedeutsch, there are many people there who are more than willing to help, as English is practically a second language in the German-speaking Cantons.

Plateosaurus mural

is quite frequent and very punctual, and there is some truth to be said about setting one's watch by the train arrivals! The only criticism to be made is that this little jewel of a museum is open only on Sunday afternoons between the hours of 2:00 and 5:00. During the rest of the week, the building fulfills its function as a school for the local community. In spite of this minor inconvenience, I would heartily recommend the Sauriermuseum for anyone seeking an enjoyable weekend day trip in this part of Europe. For more information, please check out their website at: http://www.sauriermuseum-frick.ch And now as they say in der Schweiz - Adieu!

Giant Behemoth Resin kit Sculpted by Joe Laudati

Coelophysis skull & ribcage

Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

During one's visit, I would heartily recommend lunch or dinner at one of the many fine restaurants in the town of Frick, my own favorite being the Rebstock Gasthaus, which has a unique menu of both Swiss and Thai dishes. The train service

12” tall • $165.00 Attacking Big Ben, includes debris base with two cars thealchemyworks.com

or call 817-471-9096

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Mesozoic Media KRONOS RISING: After 65 million years, the world's greatest predator is back by Max Hawthorne, Paperback: 562 pages Publisher: Far From The Tree Press, LLC ISBN-10: 0615964958 ISBN-13: 9780615964959 With a book involving a small coastal town that suddenly is swept into nightmare by a large, man-eating creature offshore, it is hard to not compare that book to Peter Benchley’s ‘Jaws” and that is exactly what many reviewers are doing when it comes to Max’s new book, “Kronos Rising.” The good news is that they all seem to be giving it their highest ratings. Besides, what is wrong with being compared to a classic book like “Jaws.” that kept people out of the water (even fresh water) for the entire Summer of 1975 and beyond. I have to agree with all of the rave reviews I have read too. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, characters and action in this new novel. Of course the big difference between Benchley’s book and Hawthorne’s (and the reason I am reviewing it here) is that instead of a huge, aggressive great white shark, our antagonist this time is a (even larger), prehistoric marine reptile known as a Kronosaurus. After his wife’s tragic drowning, Olympic hopeful Jake Braddock returns to his childhood home of Paradise Cove, Florida. He accepts the job of town sheriff, hoping to find solace. He finds anything but. A series of horrifying deaths and disappearances send panic through the small town. It is only after the ravaged carcass of a full-grown whale surfaces, however, that the real terror begins. Soon Jake finds himself drawn into a mystery that ends with him adrift at sea, battling for survival against a deadly predator; a creature whose ancestors ruled the prehistoric seas. Now freed after eons of imprisonment, it has risen to reclaim the oceans of the world as its own. And it's hungry. Sound like the perfect Summer read for PT readers like yourself? You bet it is. The action is constant and the characters are realistic and people you care about. The Kronosaurus is awesome! The ending leaves us with no doubt that more books are forthcoming in the series so you’d better start reading now. See book ad in this issue for code that gives PT readers a big discount at: www.kronosrising.com Dinotopia, First Flight: 20th Anniversary Edition Hardcover – Deluxe Edition by James Gurney Hardcover: 112 pages Publisher: Calla Editions; 20th Anniversary Edition ISBN-10: 1606600575 ISBN-13: 978-1606600573 This special anniversary volume is an unabridged republication of Gurney's story about the adventures of Gideon Altaire. Gideon escapes from his post as a drone pilot, befriends a small band of prehistoric animal characters, and becomes the first human to fly on the back of a giant pterosaur known as a skybax. Together they fight an attempt by the rogue leaders of Poseidos to overturn the tenuous friendship between humans and dinosaurs. The story is fine but of course the true treat here is the almost photo realistic artwork of James Gurney throughout the book. The lighting, the detail, the realism are well worth the price of admission. Like with previous Dinotopia 20th Anniversary books, the second half of the book includes a huge bonus of over 45 new images, including never-before-published storyboards, concept sketches, and production paintings, plus new characters, stories, and backstory notes from James Gurney's creative archives. The supplement begins with a cinematic treatment about a character named Blake Terrapin, who leads the resistance on the ground while Gideon takes 54

to the air. Together, the elements of this beautiful volume combine to serve as a fine companion volume to Gurney's other Dinotopia books. Dinosaurs and Other Reptiles from the Mesozoic of Mexico (Life of the Past) by Héctor E. Rivera-Sylva (Editor), Kenneth Carpenter (Editor), Eberhard Frey (Editor) Hardcover: 232 pages Indiana University Press (April 2, 2014) ISBN-10: 0253011833 ISBN-13: 978-0253011831 We continue to find out that dinosaurs lived in all areas of the world, thanks in no small part to the many books from Indiana University Press that have been pinpointing countries to show what prehistoric animals used to inhabit them. This overview of dinosaur discoveries in Mexico brings together all of the current information about the geography and environment of the region during the Mesozoic when it was the western edge of the ancient continent of Pangea. The book summarizes research on various groups, including turtles, lepidosauromorphs, plesiosaurs, crocodyliforms, pterosaurs, and last but not least, dinosaurs. In addition, chapters focus on trackways and other trace fossils and on the K/P boundary (the Chicxulub crater, beneath the Gulf of Mexico, has been hypothesized as the site of the asteroid impact that killed off the dinosaurs). “Dinosaurs and Other Reptiles from the Mesozoic of Mexico” is an up-todate, informative volume on an area that has not been comprehensively described until now. The book is packed with information found no where else. There are photos of fossils on most pages plus line drawings and maps. A short but beautiful center section of full color art is most impressive. Fossil Mammals of Asia: Neogene Biostratigraphy and Chronology Xiaoming Wang (Editor) Hardcover: 752 pages Columbia University Press ISBN-10: 0231150121 ISBN-13: 9780231150125 Fossil Mammals of Asia, edited by and with contributions from world-renowned scholars, is the first major work devoted to the late Cenozoic (Neogene) mammals of Asia. This volume uses cutting-edge biostratigraphic and geochemical dating methods to map the emergence of mammals across the continent. Written by specialists working in a variety of Asian regions, it uses data from many basins with spectacular fossil records to establish a groundbreaking geo-timeline for the evolution of land mammals. Asia's violent tectonic history has resulted in some of the world's most varied topography, and its high mountain ranges and intense monsoon climates have spawned widely diverse environments over time. These geologic conditions greatly influenced the evolution of Asian mammals and their migration into Europe, Africa, and North America. Focusing on interesting new fossil finds that have redefined Asia's role in mammalian evolution, this volume synthesizes information from a range of field studies on Asian mammals and biostratigraphy, helping to trace the histories and movements of extinct and extant mammals from various major groups and all northern continents, and providing geologists with a greater understanding of a variety of Asian terrains. This large, coffee table-sized volume draws together the diverse research programs extending from Turkey and Georgia through central and south Asia to China, Asian Russia, Thailand, and Japan. Besides the nice artwork on the front cover, this is not a particularly visual book with mostly graphs and maps as visuals inside. It is, however a momentous Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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work on the subject matter and surprisingly not too technical a read for most adults. I certainly highly recommend it for all those interested in prehistoric mammals. A History of Life in 100 Fossils Hardcover by Paul D. Taylor and Aaron O'Dea Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: Smithsonian Books ISBN-10: 1588344827 ISBN-13: 978-1588344823 A History of Life in 100 Fossils showcases 100 key fossils that best illustrate the evolution of life on earth. Some of the most famous and important fossils specimens have been selected from the renowned collections of the two premier natural history museums in the world, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, and the Natural History Museum of London. The fossils have also been chosen for the visual story they tell. This attractive and original book is perfect for all readers because the concise explanations with beautiful photographs illuminate the significance of these amazing pieces, including 3,600 million-year-old Burgess Shale fossils that provide a window into the earliest animal life in the sea, plus insects encapsulated by amber, the first fossil bird Archaeopteryx, and the remains of our own ancestors. This book will not be available until October. As is so often the case, we here at PT, receive a pre-publication version of many of the review books. This will be a full color hardback at that time. Our version is a softcover black and white version but it looks great as is and we can only imagine the finished product will be even better. The Complete Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino. Hardcover: 432 pages Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ISBN-10: 0544146441 ISBN-13: 9780544146440 Italo Calvino’s cosmicomics are enchanting tales that explore natural phenomena and the origins of the universe. In Italo Calvino’s cosmicomics, primordial beings cavort on the nearby surface of the moon, play marbles with atoms, and bear ecstatic witness to Earth’s first dawn. Exploring natural phenomena and the origins of the universe, these beloved tales relate complex scientific concepts to our common sensory, emotional, human world. Now, THE COMPLETE COSMICOMICS Houghton Mifflin Harcourt brings together all of the cosmicomic stories for the first time. Containing works previously published in Cosmicomics, T- zero, and Numbers in the Dark, this single volume also includes seven previously uncollected stories, four of which have never been published in translation in the United States. ITALO CALVINO’s superb storytelling gifts earned him international renown and a reputation as “one of the world’s best fabulists” (New York Times Book Review). At the time of his death in 1985, he was the most translated contemporary Italian writer. Available in the fall. THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADELE BLANC SEC (DVD or Blu-Ray) Writer-director-producer Luc Besson's affinity for mega-budgeted, FX-heavy adventure spectacles is well-known. With his THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADELE BLANC-SEC, he adds yet another chapter to this tradition. An adaptation of a popular French comic book from the 1970s, it stars Louise Bourgoin as the redheaded title character, a wisecracking, hard-living adventurer novelist living in pre-WWI France. As the tale opens, Adele is on a mission in Egypt, attempting to retrieve a sarcophagus and tote it back to Western Europe, but simultaneously attempting to fend off complications wrought by her nemesis, archaeoloPrehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

gist Dieuleveult. She succeeds on both fronts, but upon returning runs headfirst into another issue: a Parisian scientist with the power to heal Adele's comatose sister has accidentally let loose an ancient Pterodactyl above the Parisian skies. While a detective and a hunter attempt to eliminate the creature, the villains turn up yet again and try to thwart Adele's long-term plans. Were it not for the Pterodactyl, I would not be reviewing this DVD here but I must say, this is a well produced, high budget, fun romp through turn-of-the-century Paris. The CG pterosaur looks great (as do the mummies) and I really think you and your family will enjoy the film. Walking With Dinosaurs the 3D Movie Encyclopedia by Steve Brusatte. Age Range: 8 - 12 years Grade Level: 3 - 7 Hardcover: 96 pages HarperFestival ISBN-10: 0062232789 ISBN-13: 978-0062232786 Last Christmas, we were “treated” to a new dinosaur film that visually was almost too good for kids but, unfortunately, audibly was just right for kids. I reviewed the 3D Blu-Ray previously in PT which allows you to watch the film without the dialog from the dinosaurs which is a great improvement. Many products came out based upon the film; mainly aimed at children, but our own writer and paleontologist Steve Brusatte wrote a book that is for kids, yes, but takes the opportunity to really teach them about dinosaurs and science.The Walking with Dinosaurs Encyclopedia is filled with facts about the dinosaurs from the movie as well as facts about the world they inhabited. With full-color images from the film and photos of paleontologists at work, this encyclopedia will thrill kids while teaching them at the same time. Hopefully they won’t notice. Dinosaur Creation Project book (review by Robert Telleria) With The Visual Guide to Scale Model Dinosaurs and Debus'/Morales' 2nd ed. of Dinosaur Sculpting released, one of Japan's many master dinosaur makers, Shinzen Takeuchi, has published How to Make a Dinosaur, his own dinosaur sculpting book - in glossy full color through Graphics Inc. publishers. The purpose is to instruct artists - beginner and advanced - on what supplies, tools, household objects (a toothbrush, nylon straps, etc.), and techniques are used to achieve realistic leathery and pebbled skin textures. Unlike Westerners who use wooden or foam cores for bodies, Shinzen's process involves refining a cured clay sculpture fleshed over armature wire. Westerners also almost universally base modern works on modified Gregory Paul's 2D artwork whereas Shinzen sketches out his own original, accurately reconstructed anatomical templates to follow (also shown in this book). Features dynamic shots of painted models against real landscape backgrounds. Multi-angle photos of Plateosaurus, Stegosaurus, Allosaurus, Spinosaurus, Amargasaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, and other dinosaurs, as well as other prehistoric animals Liopleurodon and Quetzalcoatlus. It's 7.5x10.5, 128 pages and costs 1800 YEN (= about $18 USD) exclusively in Shinzen's native Japan. In related news, the first decent how to draw dinosaurs tutorial book was released in Japan too, called How to Draw Dinosaurs by Ito Heiyu under Tomita Yukimitsu, published by Sebundo Sinkosha. It's about the same dimensions as the sculpting book but 144 pages. 55

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BYGONE DAYS: C A L E N DA R S Then & Now

DINOSAUR

by Robert Telleria dinosauriana.com paleoartistry.webs.co

As ebook publishing threatens physical books and smartphones (and even dumbphones) feature easy-to-use calendars, print calendars, once an elegant showcase for professional paleoartists, and a practical way to obtain "prints" of current reconstructions, are fast going extinct like the dinosaurs inside their pages. This article may be a bit of a premature lamentation as your local Walmarts, Barnes and Noble's and FedEx Office stores typically carry a full line of themed calendars but it appears that dinosaur calendars are already close to extinct. In the 1990s there were consistently available dinosaur calendars from various companies. An oversaturation of the calendar market in the 2000s killed off most of the slim profits there ever were to begin with, and the products have been on a sharp decline with every calendar developer disinterested in adding hideous prehistoric beasts to their stable of perennial bestsellers - hot rods, puppies, kittens and landscapes. Here's a look back at some memorable entries not inclusive of comical depictions or entertainment-related calendars (Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Dinosaur, Land of the Lost, Jurassic Park - although they exist!) Paleontology-themed calendars exist but are rather rare before 1980. Current's When Giants Ruled the Earth: A 1980 Coloring Calendar was printed on thicker paper so that the image, usually an anonymous tracing of work by Charles Knight or Louis Paul Jonas, could be colored in by kids. The next six years of the 1980s were important in building up dinosaur merchandising in apparel, toys and television but aside from an American Museum of Natural History calendar with Knight’s paintings for 1985, it wasn't until 1987 that major calendar companies decided to add prehistoric subjects to their usual titles. Those who had 1983's Age of Dinosaurs book (issued as Time Exposure in the U.S.) would recognize 1986 and 1987's Age of Dinosaurs calendars (by Beaufort Publishers) with Steve Kirk's lifelike models beautifully photographed by Jane Burton. A reissue in 1988 had Apatosaurus on the cover instead of Spinosaurus. Plume (Random House Value Publishing) issued a dinosaur calendar by Ruby Street. Less seriously, two 1987 calendars took on a more humorous approach - Prehistoric Life: Two Billion Years of Evolution was 11x16 by a different David Peters than the serious artist you are familiar with. Hudson-Talbott's Dinosaur Calendar shows paintings of people interacting with dinosaurs such as playing ball in a 12x12 format. A newcomer named Brian Franczak self-distributed a 1987 calendar called Lost Worlds of his pen and ink illustrations. For the 1987-88 year, California-based Calendar, Ink coupled paintings by Mark Hallett and rarely seen works by Pete Von Sholly for oversized Prehistoric Animals calendars created for West Coast educational suppliers like Warren’s and BJ’s. Washington D.C.-based Starwood. Inc. released low quantities of standard sized wall calendars for 1988 (all Gregory Paul) and 1989 (all Mark Hallett). The reproductions, printed in Japan, were excellent for the time. 56

For the same years respectively, Starwood issued postcards of different images for both artists. John Gurche's work was also the subject of a Starwood postcard set just before the company's sell-off, but Smithsonian Institution's oversized Lost in Time: The Story of Dinosaurs spiral wall calendar for 1988 was the only calendar showing his paintings until 2005 when Pomegranate issued another (12x13). Another Smithsonian Lost in Time calendar for 1989, this time not spiral and 12x15, featured beautiful photos of Norman Neal Deaton’s 1960s diorama dinosaurs done in 1/12 scale. British artist John Sibbick's art found their way into Crown's Dinosaurs 1988 calendar and Longmeadow issued two dinosaurs calendars exclusively filled with Sibbick's dinosaurs: 1989 was herbivores and 1990 featured theropods. Dinosaur Days from PANZ Corp. featured little known artist Jeff Olson who had a decidedly British style. One of the best oversized calendars ever produced rounded out the decade, A Dinosaur Year 1989 with art by David Peters. At 12x17, Peters' paintings, many printed for the first time, are large enough to appreciate the tiny details lost whenever these images were seen in books and magazines. Sierra Club published Peters’ 1989 Giants and The Big Calendar 1990 which had non-dinosaurs as well. Like Starwood, Publications International Inc. licensed images from various paleoartists for 1988 (Hallett's head butting pachycephalosaurs cover) and 1989 (Triceratops cover by Bob Walters). Besides Walters and Hallett, rarely seen works by Douglas Henderson are represented. Continuing into the 1990s the company recycled the paintings of Eleanor Kish with Kirk's models from The Age of Dinosaurs, for 1990 and 1992. World Book reissued the same calendar in 1990 with Kish’s Triceratops for a cover. Longmeadow issued a Kish art calendar for 1989, and 1991’s The Ancient World of the Dinosaurs from Smith-Western Company and 1992’s Dinosaurs of North America compiled art from the Dale Russell book An Odyssey in Time. Wyman & Son issued Kish calendars for 1989 (Dinosaurs of Canada) and 1995. The 1990s began with calendar tributes for two of the biggest influential paleoartists. Crescent Books issued a Rudolph Zallinger calendar with images from 1960's The Giant Golden Book of Dinosaurs. Universe Publishing and American Museum of Natural History issued a 1990 calendar with classic Knight paintings on matte paper (only those from the museum of course, so no Field Museum murals here). This version has a yellow cover; the Postal Service-marked ones are green and far more common. As a sidenote, I have yet to see another paleoart pioneer represented in a calendar: Czech artist Zdenek Burian. Dinamation International Corporation, blitzing video and trading cards with their giant animatronic creations seen by millions in museums and parks, issued 1990 and 1991 calendars titled Dinosaurs Alive and In Color. Following Jurassic Park, calendar makers rushed to cash in on dinomania, and helped out some paleoartists in the process - we will never see this trend again. Landmark Calendars' 1994 Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Reptiles was 12x12 and 100% Robert Walters art. California-based Pomegranate Calendar & Books mixed Mark Hallett, Douglas Henderson, and John Sibbick images (from Steve Czerkas' 1990 book Dinosaurs: A Global View) for three years straight 1994-96. The Norman Rockwell of paleoart (in terms of style), James Gurney's fantasy world of Dinotopia, was commemorated in 1994 and 1998 calendars Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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from Turner Publishing. Ten years later we'd return to Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara for more imagery. 1995’s Expressive Images calendar featured George Eccles Dinosaur Park statues. Cedco Publishing (based in San Rafael, California) devoted dinosaurs to 1995, 1996 and 1997 backed with paintings by Brian Franczak. If you have seen the early 1990s trading cards from Redstone Marketing or Audubon Society's book Familiar Dinosaurs, then you have seen these images. The Dinosaur Society offered a 1995 and 1996 calendar (published by Universe Publishing) free to members. The illustrations were by fantasy artist Keith Berdak. Dorling-Kindersley, known to many for their heavily photographic books had two Ultimate Dinosaur Calendars in 1995, 1996 and 1997, with models by Roby Braun, Centaur Studios and John Holmes, seen in 1992's The Ultimate Dinosaur Book by David Lambert. The same models against stark white pages were recycled for Eyewitness: Dinosaur calendars for 2000 and 2001, based on DK's children's book series of the same name, and another for 2010 with their more recent adoption of CG generated dinosaurs against busy landscape backgrounds. The best calendar for 1998 had to have been Mesozoic Wildlife from Royal Tyrrell Museum, with paintings by Michael Skrepnick. 1999 saw two notable calendars. Ricardo Delgado’s Age of Reptiles from Dark Horse Comics and When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth: The Dinosaurs of Wayne Barlowe featured the colorful work of the fantasy artist best known for illustrating Peter Dodson's 1995 children's book An Alphabet of Dinosaurs. In 2002 New York's Hudson Park Press and American Museum of Natural History first offered Create Your Own Dinosaur Calendar illustrated by Ivy Rutzky. The images were rendered so that children could color them, plus 150 full-color dinosaur stickers came with each calendar, intended to be placed on holidays and special occasions. The problem is they simply issued the same exact one every year. (Apparently it worked for four years!) Also for 2002, the landmark BBC documentary series Walking With Dinosaurs and Walking With Prehistoric Beasts were merchandised as gorgeous calendars published by Tidemark Press, each nearly 11x14 format. The latter title is perhaps more remarkable as extinct mammals rarely appear as subjects in prehistoric-themed calendars, but the same images can be found in the books of the same title authored by Tim Haines. Brown Trout, possibly the biggest calendar company today, has not published dinosaur calendars since their 11.5x11.5 series with the art of Larry Felder beginning in 2003. 2006 was titled Dinosaurs of the Grand Staircase and the theme of 2007 was Life and Times of Dinosaurs. If you have the book In the Presence of Dinosaurs, you have seen much of Felder's lovely Renaissancestyle imagery, but the best entry may be the 2004 Dinosaur Family Tree calendar tied in with Boston Museum of Science, for the number of lateral restorations bearing the same colors as the Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

museum's Battat toy dinosaur line. Barnes and Noble's 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 calendars (published by Ziga Design) featured Karen Carr's paintings, along with six postcards and sixteen stickers. The same approach was used in 2008. The same year the Natural History Museum of London packaged a calendar of John Holmes' sculptures that were on display at the museum. The first Smithsonian Institution dinosaur calendar in years was issued for 2001 featuring skeletons on black. After a few years of this approach, including a 2004 glow in the dark gimmick, the museum teamed up with Universe Publishing to issue a series of large format 'Pop Up Calendars' for the next five years. The first three (2005, 2006 and 2007) featured the work of Doug Henderson, John Sibbick, Michael Skrepnick, and Gregory Paul had three for himself (2008, 2009 and 2010 which was not a Pop Up). In the 21st century it appeared that U.K. printers attempted to take over the dinosaur calendar niche. ML Publishing released calendars for 2011 and 2012 with John Bindon's colorful artwork throughout. Avonside Publishing issued 16-month calendars for 2012 -14. The covers take the in-your-face approach common for the last decade, with close-up head shots of Tyrannosaurus rex (modeled after the one in Jurassic Park). Yet the photos inside are of park statues created in a simpler aesthetic. Danilo Promotions was licensed to produce the official calendar for Natural History Museum in London in the late 2000s and it's the same one year after year. Worse still are the six generic-looking computer created dinosaurs repeated twice in different

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poses. Moseley Road Publishing/MrCalendars (of New York) apparently have re-used the same 16-month calendar start to finish since 2011, and just change the year. This is a cheat and a disappointment to collectors no matter how good that calendar may happen to be. These recent calendars, now illustrated by uncredited digital artists, have become increasingly inaccurate and sterile. Lost is the professional handmade artistry by the stable of world-renown paleoartists in years prior. I represent the only American artist putting out a different, high quality, full-color dinosaur calendar with paleontologic accuracy every year since 2010, when I began designing 11x17 calendars for Gregory Paul via Zazzle. For 2011 we released Mesozoic Birds and Feathered Dinosaurs and Dinosaurs: A Coloring Calendar (with images from the now discontinued Paul coloring book). 2012 was the bestselling calendar to date, All Dinosaurs Great & Small, where each month showed 12 different dinosaur group's/clade's color life restorations from Paul's Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs scaled to each other (which some readers complained weren't in the book.) I recently unveiled a poster of these images. For 2013, we published Dinosaurs: Profiles in Prehistory which was all head shots from the same book, and 2014's Dinosaurs: Elements in Focus will be magnified, underappreciated areas of Paul's oil paintings, a treat for those who have seen only small reproductions. This will also serve as a farewell to Paul's coffee table book

which will be discontinued this

year. There will definitely be calendars from us right through the end of this decade. Dinosaur calendars are worth snatching up because once they are gone they are usually hard to track down. Owners - unfortunately many of them children who have received calendars as gifts - typically mark them up and throw them out, making new, unused copies that much harder to track down. Once a fun way to collect dinosaur art prints on a budget, let us lament the imminent twilight of dinosaur calendars. Their days are numbered indeed. (Special thanks to Gary Williams for some reminders to this article.)

Coming Soon from Sideshow’s Dinosauria

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Hello! Fred M. Snyder here; long time reader but first time writer, so bear with me, please. The purpose of this article is to show how to build some really great (I, my wife & even Mike our PT editor think) dioramas 'on the cheap'. I have been mulling over this idea since I made some models a few years back and it all came together recently. Below is a list of items you will need and, in many cases, can get quite cheaply (or even free).

I have also made them from round toothpicks by hand coloring & using a razor to shave down 'leaves'. I am experimenting with ways to add leaves to the 4 in. palm trunks but have had mixed success. I also heat/slightly melt some of the palm fronds at the support holethere are generally five fronds on a ring that attaches it to the trunk. I pull the leave together, hold the ring briefly in a candle flame until it softens, then I immediately dip it in some water to reset them. Now the leaves are angled up from the base at about a 30 to 45 degree angle which more resembles tree ferns & less so palm treesunless you want palms. I use Sculpie or children's foam clay (that hardens on exposure to air) to attach the main support tree ferns- once dry, they can help support other trees, or cycads, added on later. I add glue to the mix onto the base of the tree as I insert it into the 'clay' & then later, on the surface for further support. Then after it has all dried- including the trees to the base, any rocks I have added & (depending on the piece), sprinkled sand, scattered flocking or even a stream bed or pond basin (that's the use for the blue glue-water), I add the next level. I fill in the ground cover with mixed flocking (several colors & textures) &/or sand & gravel. I often reinforce the trees By Fred M a little more with additional glue at the base, then cover with 'moss'. I add smaller young leaves to the tree ferns Snyder & often times, small ferns mixed in the undergrowth. I then add the 'water' to the pond in several layers. Once I have made several pieces, I combine them in an aesthetic layout, with appropriate prehistorics for the area, age & scale), laid out on appropriate colored cloth or towels and VOILA! It is the Morrison Formation again! I hope this was helpful to anyone interested in making dioramas.

Make Your Own Dioramas

M a t e r i a l s used/needed 1.Various colors, shapes & styles of flocking. 2. pine cones- any size- your use depends on sizes (lengths) & shapes. 3.Wood glue or something similar, 'blue' glue (Elmer's School Glue has best color). 4. t o o t h p i c k s . 5. sand and pebbles. You will also need small stones and (in my case) large pieces (4 inch to 1.5 feet) of slate, dolomite, marble, broken concrete (with one level flat side), conglomerate (if available) or even discarded tile. If you want to lighten the weight (& are good with paints), sheet foam insulation has been suggested to me by Randy Knol- I prefer natural stone or at least concrete so if any of the base is going to show- it saves having to paint it. Various household cutting and (if you have them) sculpting tools; even a box cutter. To use pine cones, (depending on the cone) - if it has dried out & dropped its seeds, you will have to soak it in hot, soapy water (to remove excess pine tar). Once they are closed up, I let them dry a short while, then I coat them with glue (making sure to get as much inside the cone as I can), wrap them in cellophane & let them dry for a few days- the cello keeps the cones from reopening as they dry. If the cones are fresh, I just coat them with glue & I am off. I use toothpicks to attach the leaves to the cone by inserting them into the top of the cone after dipping them in some glue. I reuse various cheap toy playset or cake topper, plastic palm tree ferns. I take them apart, using only the leaves for ferns, cycads, cycadeoids, tree ferns. I collect Sycamore seed pods & use the loose fluffy seeds as dead leaves, glued around the base of the fronds at the top of the trunk. I use some of the bushes & deciduous trees that come w/sets as trunks (armatures) to add flocking & make them look more realistic. Small palm tree (2 in.) trunks, I cut down the bases to the minimum & recolor them to become horsetail spore stems (Strobili) in the undergrowth. I plan to use larger (4 in.) ones in future projects as horsetails or calamites (depending on scale)Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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Let me say right up front, this nine piece Elasmosaurus kit is huge (photo 1)! Make sure you have plenty of shelf space. It is 1/15 scale, measures a whopping 38" long from his pointy teeth to the tip of his tail, and is 10" tall sitting on the sea floor base.

PLEASE PASS ME THE PLESIOSAUR Modeler Dave Bengel shows how he built Shane Foulkes’ Elasmosaurus resin model kit

Elasmosaurus was a 45 foot long marine reptile of the Late Cretaceous that probably fed on prehistoric fish, squid and mollusks in the open ocean. It’s extremely long neck was undoubtedly designed to help it “sneek up” on prey before its large body gave it away. This extremely Photo 2 Photo 3 graceful creature is sculpted by Shane Foulkes and is currently available from Cretaceous Creations of America.

Photo 1 size and weight. A pin is also needed to mount the Elasmosaurus to the base. I made this from a heavy nail with the head and tip cut off.

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I used a five-minute plumber’s epoxy putty on all the main parts to insure a good and

The copy I built is solid cast and heavy, but it is currently being roto-cast to save weight (and your arm muscles during painting). The castings are nice and sharp with no pinholes or voids, and virtually no cleanup is necessary on the mold seams. Even the long and thin teeth are perfect - that is until I snapped one off during the painting process. (It’s okay, I just glued it back on. Worse than that was when I dropped one of the tiny brown glass eyes onto my shaggy brown carpet. I found it too -- eventually.) To make the creature appear more realistic, I decided to install glass taxidermy eyes. I removed the existing resin eyes molded onto the head using my Dremel tool and replaced them with glass eyes from Tohickon (www.tohickonglasseyes.com) (photos 2,3,4).

strong bond. This also fills the gaps between the mating surfaces. With the putty in place (photo 6) the parts were pressed together using quite a bit of force to squeeze out the excess putty. This excess putty needs to be scraped off before it starts to set (photo 7).

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Assembly is very straight forward and I encountered no problems. Even though all the parts have male and female keys, the fit is a bit loose, so I drilled holes and inserted metal pins made from coarse threaded screws

You do have to work pretty fast through all this. Five-minute putty really means five minutes; a minute to mix, about 3 minutes of soft work time, and then it gets real hard really fast. The inside of the mouth needs to be painted before the head and jaw are glued to the neck. I used Ceramcoat craft acrylics. with the heads cut off (photo 5). Pinning is always a good idea with resin kits, but is even more important with a kit of this

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I filled the seams with Aves Apoxie Sculpt and textured the seam lines to match the surrounding area. The seam between the neck and body was offset a bit so I ground it down with my Dremel before filling and texturing (photo 8). Matching the texture was pretty easy. The Apoxie Sculpt was smoothed and blended into the surrounding surface using my sculpting tools and Aves Safety Solvent. You can use water, but it's easy to use too much and mush up the surface. I find using this Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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safety solvent provides better control over the final surface. I also added skin folds with a sculpting tool, and the final texturing was done by stabbing the surface with an old, worn out, short bristled brush. This resulted in an almost perfect match to the original sculpted surface (photo 9,10). To protect the painted mouth, I masked it off with silly putty before priming the kit with Tamiya gray primer. Note: the primer will attack and start to dissolve the silly putty so go very light on spraying the primer in this area. I then noodled on a bunch of fine line squiggles with my airbrush using Tamiya Flat Black to break up the color coats. Photo 7 This adds subtle tonal variations under the skin after the final painting. It looked pretty stark and horrible at this stage, a bit like graffiti

Shane Foulkes’s Elasmosaurus resin model looks beautiful finished.

To purchase your own copy of this model: Cretaceous Creations of America Shane Foulkes 2509 Valley Oaks Court Imperial, MO 63052 314.448.8141 www.cretaceouscreationsofamerica.com

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Photo10 on a train car (photo 11). I lightly airbrushed Ceramcoat Antique White to gradually build up the color, taking care not to totally obliterate the aforementioned squiggles for the base skin tone (photo 12). The top half of the Elasmosaurus was airbrushed with an approximately 50/50 mix of Ceramcoat Hippo Gray and Antique White in a slightly mottled camouflage pattern. Testors Dull Cote was sprayed over the entire kit to seal the work done so far.

Photo 9

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To break up the skin even more, I thinned down straight Hippo Gray with water and flicked it over the kit by running my finger over an old toothbrush. This is a quick and easy technique to give interest, but it takes a bit of practice, so try it out on some scrap plastic - or better yet, an old model you don't care about. I then tied everything together with a light watercolor wash of Paynes Gray, followed by another coat of Dullcote. He was finished by gluing on his glass eyes. The base was painted with various rock, dirt, and sand colored craft acrylics and, once again, sealed with Dullcote. Of course all kinds of underwater plants and sealife can be added to your base if you want. I opted for the barren deep sea bottom with mine. Now all you need to do is find about 3 feet of shelf space to put him in! Prehistoric Times No. 110 SUMMER 2014

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