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Home , Chilesaurus, Darren Tanke, Eberhard Fraas, Edwin Hennig, Feathered dinosaur, Fighting Dinosaurs

Writers in This Issue: John R. Lavas Darren H Tanke

Mike Fredericks Robert Telleria Esther van Hulsen Tracy Ford Allen Debus John Tuttle om Randy Knol Dougal Dixon David Bengel imes.c torict issue: Phil Hore Jordan C Mallon prehis in this www. Artists PT staff collecting all the elements that make Mike Fredericks Roz Gibson Esther Van Hulson up the new issue of Prehistoric Times magazine Tracy Ford Sergey Avtushenko Andreas Forrer Raul Martin Jacob Micallef John Sibbick Sergey Krasovskiy Aaron Marsh Mark Hallett Hugo Cafasso Cody Zaiser Bob Nicholls Anthony Hutchings Anders Bang Robert Telleria Raul Ramos Wade Carmen Kevin Hedgpeth Joanna Kobierska Jac Conte Chuck Egnaczak Steven Bellettini Quentin Brendel David Bengel Nick Papadimitriou Jacob Micallef Robert T Bakker Jaime Martinez Arthur Machabee Jeff Slack Ray Troll Markus Burkhardt M. Elliot Massion Franco Tempesta Giovanni De Benedictis Joseph Ritzer Phil Wilson Mike Landry Aaliyah Oxner Dougal Dixon Subscribe Today! John F. Davies Joseph Serrano-Olguin Subscribe Today! Visit our web site to subscribe, resubscribe or buy back issues www.prehistorictimes.com Join the Prehistoric Times group for free on Facebook All payments in U.S. funds. Credit card payment is Okay Or mail your check/MO/cash to our address. Subscription Information below: Prehistoric Times • 145 Bayline Circle • Folsom, CA • 95630-8077

Prehistoric Times No. 136 Winter 2021 Table of Contents Mesozoic Mail ...... 6 $35 U.S. Only (one year, 4 issues) third class postage. Burian’s Sauropods ...... Lavas ...... 9 $40 U. S. first class postage and Canada Sauropelta ...... Hore ...... 14 $50 South of the border & across the Atlantic $55 Across the Pacific How to Draw ...... Ford ...... 20 Park ...... Tuttle ...... 23 Publisher/Editor: Mike Fredericks 145 Bayline Circle, Folsom, Ca 95630-8077 Collectors Corner ...... Fredericks ...... 25 (916) 985-7986 between 8-5 PST M-F business hours only please. Collector ...... Knol ...... 26 FAX (916) 985-2481 What I Did On Lockdown ...... Dixon ...... 28 [email protected] www.prehistorictimes.com Ida the Maxillae ...... van Hulsen ...... 32 Don’t forget PT is also available as an app for your phone or computer What’s New in Review ...... Fredericks...... 34 ...... Hore ...... 37 PT logo by William Stout Redone above by Thomas Miller Classifieds ...... 43 Advertising: Forgotten Art Robert T. Bakker...... Mallon/Tanke...... 44 Full page - $150 b&w - $400 color; PT Interview: Gary Gerani ...... Fredericks ...... 50 1/2 pg - $100 b&w - $300 color; Mesozoic Media ...... Fredericks ...... 52 1/4 pg - $75 b&w - $200 color Paleonews ...... 54 Front cover graphic design by Juan Carlos Alonso Additional editing by Carl Masthay Reminiscing Over Dinosaurus ...... Debus ...... 58 Dinosauriana Imagined 13 ...... Telleria ...... 60 The Thunderbird...... Bengel...... 62

4 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 FROM THE EDITOR Happy 2021! Thank goodness 2020 is over, right? Can I get an “amen?” PT PIX 2020 The handsome bloke on our front cover is painted by the ultra talented Norwegian artist Esther van Hulsen and we thank her very much for allowing us to print it. Esther has an article inside WINNERS all about a primitive primate in this issue with many more amazing paintings by her. For even more, check 1. Best dinosaur figure 2020 Safari out her internet site and see her ad again on our back Ltd Deinonychus cover. www.esthervanhulsen.com I think we’re starting off the new year right with our 2. Best non-dinosaur prehistoric ani- international cast including New Zealand’s John Lavas’s continuing articles on the Czechoslovakian mal figure 2020 CollectA Lisowicia artist Zdenek Burian; this time, the sauropods. Australian Phil Hore tells us all about the armored 3.Best prehistoric model 2020 dinosaur Sauropelta and the bizarre little Black Heart Models Micro Mania Longisquama. We‘re very thrilled to have Scottish sci- dinosaurs sculpted by Shane Foulkes entist and science writer Dougal Dixon tell us about I interview Gary Gerani, the dinosaur models he has created during the lockdown in 4.Best prehistoric animal book 2020 the UK. As if that weren’t enough, Canadian paleon- creator of the Topps Dinosaurs Attack! cards in this issue On the Prowl - In Search of Big Cat tologists Jordan Mallon and Darren Tanke write about Origins by Mark Hallett & John M the early illustrations of Paleontologist Robert Bakker. of that payment. The people you Harris Back in the good ole’ USA, Randy Knol discusses sent the payment to got the major- spinosaurs and the various figures based upon them. ity of your money. When you 5.Best prehistoric animal discovery Tracy Ford describes the body of the dinosaur (hopefully) renew your subscrip- Ankylosaurus with many beautiful illustrations. Allen tion, PLEASE do it by sending 2020 frozen cave bear and cub from Debus reminisces about the 1960 SciFi film your payment directly to us. We Russia Dinosaurus produced by Jack H. Harris. A favorite of are a small business and could mine, especially as a kid. Robert Telleria in his thir- really use your support. Thanks so much to many of you who have started teenth article in a series renewing directly with us. Would the rest of you please stop your on dinosaur figure col- automatic renewal with an internet subscription service? We sure lectibles discusses dinos thank you! from . And my ARTISTS! PT does not pay for submissions but many artists buddy Dave Bengel whose work is seen in Prehistoric Times get paying work from shows you how he built other sources. Please send jpg files of your artwork scanned at 300 the Thunderbird model DPI resolution. Send as an approx 4” jpg with your name in the sculpted by Joe Laudati. title of the image--example-- by John Smith.jpg to I have written my usual our e-mail address or send good copies (that you don’t need book and figure reviews returned and that aren’t larger than our 9 x 12 scanner bed) to our in this issue and had a mailing address in California. We need your art and info. great time interviewing For #137 /Eryops (March 2021) Gary Gerani. Gary For #138 Tenontosaurus/Plesiosaurus (June 2021) worked for Topps Gum For #139 /Henodus-placodonts (Sept 2021) Co. and created the For #140 Neovenator/Megalictis (Dec 2022) Dinosaurs attack! trading card set. I hope you enjoy it. For #141 Bajadasaurus/Thalattoarchon (March 2022) As usual, I ask that you please take some of the For #142 /Xiphactinus (June 2022) Thank you. Christmas money you received and spend it on items being sold by our advertisers. You and they are what keep Prehistoric Times in print. MOVING?? PLEASE let us know your new address when you plan to move. The magazine is NOT forwarded and it costs us to resend the magazine later to your new “digs.” Also, if you subscribed to PT by sending your payment anywhere except directly to us, please know that we only received a small percentage

Newly discovered Ubirajara jubatus had a mane and ribbons protruding from its shoulders. There is contro- versy about the leaving Brazil. © Bob Nicholls

MANY MORE DINOSAUR DESIGNS AVAILABLE TOO! ALL COLORS OF SHIRTS PLUS CAPS, MAGNETS, WATER BOTTLES, MUGS, BAGS, GLASSES AND MORE! AVAILABLE ON-LINE AT WWW.CAFEPRESS.COM/PRETIMES Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 5 readers to send in photos of themselves in your PT T-shirts. MESOZOIC Here I am in my mammoth garb at the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK, in between our lock downs. I'm inspecting a MAIL beautiful ammonite sculpture in a clever ammonite shaped MAIL grove. The Eden Project is a futuristic site with biomes packed full of global plants, so no dinos I'm afraid. They do have dino food though with a beautiful terrace filled with prehistoric plant survivors - I took a snap of a tree fern here. Speaking of ammonites, I wonder if I might plug Mary Anning Rocks, the campaign for a statue to the pioneering fossil hunter and female scientist. The campaign started when local school girl Evie Swire, was out fossiling in Lyme Regis and asked her Mum Anya, why there was no statue to Mary in their home town? They started a campaign to Mike, Just wanted to thank you for the latest issue achieve this, supported by Sir David Attenborough and oth- of PT. It is a wonderful way to end a rather strange ers, but still have a way to go to raise the money. I would year. To have both Hallett and Paul in the same mag- humbly ask PT readers to support the campaign if possible, azine issue is simply outstanding! (especially loved either through the crowd funding, or by buying one of steppe entering cave.) I hope this note Rob Traynor-Herenda Hertfordshire, UK their cool t-shirts, please see the website for details: finds you and your family in good health and https://www.maryanningrocks.co.uk/ spirits. Regards, Mark Massion, Homer, Alaska Thanks very much, Rob Traynor-Herenda, Hertfordshire, UK Hi Mike! I am enclosing my check to renew your great magazine, espe- Dear Mike, As one of my cially now, it’s wonderful to have something to look forward to. Thanks, great passions is , I of course, took an interest in the recent film "Ammonite", a historic biopic about Mary Sandy Harris, Woodbridge, VA. Thank you both, Mark and Sandy. Glad you enjoy a little PT distrac- Anning, one of the leading figures in the study of prehistoric life. The film has generated controversy because of its premise that Mary Anning was a tion and hey it’s cathartic for me too just staying busy putting it all lesbian. My verdict: OK, but not great. together. Negatives. Mainly the unsubstantiated story of Mary Anning having a les- bian affair with a b Dear Mike, I hope you and everyone are well and are staying safe in these oarder who was the wife of a member of the Royal Society. The storyline appears to have come right out of director Francis uncertain times. It seems an age ago, but I recall you inviting vain enough BELOW: Drawn by Aaliyah Oxner & Joseph Serrano-Olguin - Asbury Park High School students. Work done for Prehistoric Times magazine during remote learning. BELOW RIGHT: Also David Wronko's enrichment club created this Turok Son of Stone scene in which Turok and Andar fight three of their biggest foes from three different comic books. This scene combines Turok issues 6, 46, and 50.

Drawn by Aaliyah Oxner Drawn by Aaliyah Oxner

Drawn by Joseph Serrano-Olguin

6 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 Sue’s nest are very well staged © Franco and quite intimate. Tempesta Overall Ammonite is a good motion picture for those wanting to see a story about the beginnings of Paleontology, which is however, sadly marred by an overly speculative premise and far too much dramatic license. Respectfully sub- mitted, John F. Davies, Berkeley, Ca. Lee's imagination. Mr. Lee, who is himself gay, vehemently defended the film on social media, implying that the criticism was homophobic. Thank you Mike However, Anning's own descendants have confirmed that all existing and everyone else records show that there is no evidence that this actually happened. To be fair, involved for putting there is nothing to show that she had any heterosexual love affairs either. together such a Most likely, Mary Anning was probably what would be today called unique magazine. Asexual. Apparently this was a device used by the producers of this film to Our teen son is gain attention and attract an audience to what would have otherwise been a a pedestrian production. After all, nothing sells better than sex. huge paleo-enthusi- It would have been far better if Mr. Lee had instead made a movie about ast. He collects a historic figure who were themselves genuinely known to have been gay. rocks, , toy figurines, and he has And there's plenty of that to go around. Also, there are many long pauses just started to gather and very little dialog in spots, which may make audiences go to sleep. a collection of books Parents should preview this film before showing it to their kids. on paleo art (so yes Plusses: Excellent production values, especially the overall depiction of this magazine is per- cold. brutal, bleak 19th century Victorian Britain. The film itself was shot in fect for him...I don't the coastal town of Lyme Regis, where the actual events took place. Good know how we did not character development, especially Kate Winslet looking anything but glam- find it sooner). We orous as Mary Anning. An accurate recreation of the methods that early fos- hope he will keep up sil hunters used to extract their specimens. Showing the hardscrabble pover- his enthusiasm long ty that most people lived under, and also the extreme opulence of the into his future and wealthy. Depicting the cold, controlling treatment of Victorian husbands we know with these towards their spouses. Displaying the difficulties and discrimination Mary magazines its one Anning faces as a woman being taken seriously as a scientist by her male more thing to keep counterparts and the Royal Society, which in my opinion, should have been Mixopterus his interest alive. the main theme of the movie. Stars Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan them- © Joseph Ritzer Christina Ramirez, selves both collaborated on their sex scenes and how they were going to do [email protected] Spring, Tx. them. And speaking as an connoisseur of erotic art myself, the sex scenes

Artwork: © Ray Troll, 2017, colored pencil and spray paint on paper, from the book 'Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline' with Kirk Johnson

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 7 The PT DinoStore Vintage dinosaur collectibles for sale from PT magazine 1.“Dinosaur Collectibles” price guide co-written and signed by PT editor $39 16. Abbeon 19. hollow dinos 1. Collectibles book 2. Linde 1950s Coffee Premium plastic dinosaur figs 7 from Austria. $12ea. 3. Rare 8th Linde figure to complete above set: Rare Rhamphorhynchus $39 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, $34 6. Marx original second series dinos/ $12 each, set of 8 - $79 7. Marx 45mm cavemen (6 diff) $7 ea Marx 6” cavemen (6 diff) $15 ea. 8. Multiple (MPC) dinosaur plastic figures many colors $5-10 each (inquire) 9. JH Miller waxy 50s Dimetrodon, Tricer, Sloth, Mammoth/Mastodon, Woolly 10. Sinclair banks Rhino, or Stego $44 (minor damage) Bronto (comp.) $64, T. rex $99, Ptero $129 20. SRG 10. Sinclair 1960s green plastic 10” brontosaur bank $19 11. Sinclair 1934 Dinosaur book $25 & Sinclair1964 Worlds Fair booklet $15 9. JH Miller 12. Sinclair 60s color Hardback “The Exciting World of Dinosaurs” $47 T. rex 13. Sinclair hollow dinosaurs ‘64 NY World’s Fair dinos - many @$35 26. Palmer 14. Sinclair hollow NY Worlds Fair Brontosaurus looks backward $76 15. Sinclair album and complete stamps set 1935 $40 or 1959 $30 16. Abbeon 60s Japan porcelain Coryth, Proto, Dimetro, Rhamphorhynchus@$39 26. Palmer 17. Sinclair Oil 1960s dino chrome metal tray $89. 18. Sinclair 1960s metal Brontosaurus bank - nice shape (no lid bottom) $79 2&3. Linde 19. Hollow, dimestore plastic dinos, 60s/70s six different $7 each (see photo) 11. 1934 Book 20. SRG Small metal dinosaurs T. rex, Tricer, Tracho, Bronto, or Stego $32. SRG sm. Caveman, Dimetrodon, or plesiosaur $45 ea. 20. lrg SRG SRG Lrg metal Plesio, Dimetro, Stegosaurus, Trachodon, Bronto, Tricer or T. rex $49 21. Nabisco silver prehistoric cereal premiums 60s $10 ea. All 8 $75 13. Sinclair hollow dinosaurs 22. Nabisco/Fritos dinosaur premiums, gray (60s) $5 each, 50s green & red $10 23. ROM (Royal Ontario Museum)plastic dinosaur figs. $15 ea, Pteranodon $25 24. View Master Prehistoric 1960s comp. 3 reels/booklet $25 25. Teach Me About Prehistoric Animals Flash cards (boxed) 1960s $35 26. Palmer 1960s Mastodon skeleton or Brontosaurus skeleton $49 each - boxed 16. Abbeon 21. Nabisco cereal prehistoric 27.Timpo (England) 50/60s plastic 4” Dimetrodon (black or brown) Triceratops $29 Corythosaur 28. 1960s porcelain Norcrest, white dinosaur statues - T. rex, Brachio $69 mammals 29. Vintage Ucagco Japan Smoking Dinosaur Ashtray $59 30. Linemar Marx 60s tiny metal dinos Allo Trex Krono Bronto Stego $24 ea. 31. Vintage 1972 'The Golden Stamp Book of Animals of the Past Mint $45 8. MPC Multiple dinos 32. Brooke Bond album with all 48 dinosaur cards attached inside $39 PT back issues: 31, 41, 42, 52, 66, 74-76, 78, 93-102, 104-135 $10 each or $15 each foreign. (PT issue prices include shipping) Please add $7 U.S. postage • Call or e-mail me (below) 28.Norcrest 60s Mike Fredericks Prehistoric Times white porcelain 145 Bayline Cir. Folsom, California 95630-8077 (916) 985-7986 Brachio or T. rex pre [email protected] 9. RARE Miller 17. Sinclair chrome Pterosaur (hurt feet) 7. six inch Marx large cavemen tray 1960s

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Dinosauriana disc $25 27. Timpo Dimetrodon or Triceratops 30. Linemar dinos 31. Vintage 1972 29. Ucagco porce- Golden Stamp Book lain smoking Animals of the Past 13. Sinclair 24. 60’s Viewmaster Brachio 1960s hardback 23. ROM plastic dinos

15. Sinclair Oil dino stamps & album 8 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 9 1. Introduction sturdy hind-limbs with four functional digits, and short muscular with Following our review of the theropods in PT 134 and 135, we will now a grasping 5-digit manus equipped with large claws on digits I-III. Contrary consider the other major saurischians, the suborder (= to some traditional reconstructions, the manus could not be pronated (turned -footed form) which encompasses the mainly bipedal prosauropods palm down) for the purpose of walking but was likely used during and their descendants, the quadrupedal sauropods. Some sauropods reached or possibly as defence against predators. exhibited what is dimensions that almost defy biomechanical principles (with heights of 18 m termed “developmental plasticity” with wide variation in adult lengths of 5 and lengths of 36 m) and find comparison only with giant aquatic verte- to 10 m and weights of 600 to 4,000 kg. Typical Plateosaurus lifespans are brates such as ichthyosaurs and whales whose bulk was supported by water. estimated at 12 to 20 years. Sauropod fossils have been found on all continents and from Lower Jurassic Not all prosauropods were bipedal; (= Black Mountain to Upper Cretaceous strata, although certain fossilised sauropod tracks are lizard) from the late of the Karoo Basin in Lesotho, South Africa, possibly late Triassic in age. The most common Jurassic sauropods were the was a large herbivorous quadruped (Fig. 2). Adults grew to lengths of 8 m, diplodocids and the brachiosaurids, but by the it was the weighed 1.3 to 1.8 tonnes, and possessed sturdy limbs with clawed digits. titanosaurs that dominated with an almost global distribution (PT 137), with Fossilized tracks associated with Melanorosaurus indicate that it may have sauropod phylogeny having likely been associated with the break-ups of been a gregarious animal that corralled its youngsters to the middle of the Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Partly because of a paucity of evidence, when threatened by predators, in the same manner as that of today’s aspects of sauropod ecology and behaviour were subject to historical debate . The forelimb osteology displays a range of prosauropod and and misrepresentation. Again I thank my fellow Burian enthusiasts Jan sauropod features, and some researchers believe Melanorosaurus to have Kopecky and Paul McFarland, Igor Drecki (IT support), Carl Masthay, and been a true basal sauropod. Burian’s grandson Jiri Hochman for his permission to reproduce Burian’s art The phylogeny of basal sauropods is incompletely known because of in this ongoing series (http://www.zdenekburian.com/en/) their fragmentary and widely discontinuous fossil record. (= 2. Prosauropods and basal sauropods volcano tooth) from the South African early Jurassic is recognized as the The prosauropods were the largest dinosaurs to have evolved by the late most evolutionarily basal sauropod (though not the earliest). It was a Triassic, setting a precedent for their larger sauropod successors of the quadruped with a body length of 6 to 11 m and possessed rather gracile Jurassic and Cretaceous. The best known prosauropod is forelimbs that resembled those of derived sauropods more than those of Plateosaurus (= broad lizard), the remains of which were found in late basal sauropodomorphs. The two geologically oldest known sauropods are Triassic strata of central and northern Europe and Greenland. Originally dis- (= before thunder) from the South African early Jurassic, and covered in 1834 by the German chemist Johann Friedrich Engelhart (1797- the fragmentary (named after the Isan region of Thailand) from 1837) and described three years later by his compatriot palaeontologist the Thai . Both were quadrupeds in the broad size range of Christian Hermann von Meyer (1801-1869), Plateosaurus was the fifth Vulcanodon, and the forelimbs of Antetonitrus retained the grasping adap- named dinosaur genus that still remains valid. It also became one of the tations of its predecessors. Prosauropods and basal sauropods very likely most studied dinosaurs and is represented by over 100 largely complete inhabited most areas of the globe given that the continents had yet to begin skeletons, mainly from German sites including the Neckar and Pegnitz their separation. River valleys, and Trossingen (Black Forest). Plateosaurus was a bipedal Although often known only from incomplete specimens that lack skulls, with flat , a diminished skull on a long flexible neck, most genera of true sauropods nonetheless conform to a shared basic mor-

10 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 phology with significant variations in size and relative lengths of forelimbs a giant -like marine and did not include either it or and hind-limbs. The sauropod skull was lightly built with large temporal Cardiodon in the group Dinosauria, which he created the following year. In fenestrae and antorbital opening (with a second smaller one in ). 1850 British surgeon-geologist Gideon Mantell (1790-1852) recognized the The short jaws were weak and included a quadrate that slanted downwards dinosaurian nature of and noted that its leg bones featured and forwards and housed either peg-like or spatulate (spoon-shaped) teeth medullary cavities typical of terrestrial animals. Mantell assigned the that seldom numbered more than 12 in each half of the jaw. Although the remains to a new genus (= monstrous lizard) which he brain was excessively small in relation to the body, the sauropod pelvic grouped within Owen’s Dinosauria. region housed an enlarged spinal cord mass several times larger than the It was not until more complete remains were found in the US brain cavity. Originally described as aquatic or partly aquatic in habit and that a meaningful interpretation of sauropods emerged after the artist John diet, sauropods are now considered as terrestrial browsers of medium-to- A. Ryder reconstructed (= chambered lizard) in 1877 under high foliage, though the diet may not have been catholic. A wide range of the supervision of palaeontologist Edward Drinker Cope (1840-1897). Also dentition and feeding strategies is evident in the group, and no conclusion in 1877 a new and almost complete sauropod was discovered by Samuel W. regarding sauropod life habits or behaviour is applicable to all genera. Williston (1851-1918) and Benjamin F. Mudge (1817-1879) at Canon City,

Colorado. In 1878 this specimen was named Diplodocus (= double beam; 3. Early discoveries based on the double-chevron tail bones) by Othniel Charles Marsh (1831- The first sauropod fossil to be scientifically studied was probably a 1899) who created the group to include Diplodocus, tooth from England described by Edward Lhuyd (1660-1709) in 1699, Cetiosaurus, and related types. In 1899 the remains of two further though its identity was not established at the time because dinosaurs were diplodocid specimens were found by Jacob L. Wortman (1856-1926) and yet to be recognised as a taxonomic group. In 1841 British anatomist Sir described and named by John Bell Hatcher (1861-1904) in 1901 to honour (1804-1892) published the first scientific sauropod descrip- the Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. tions when he named two genera: Cardiodon (= heart tooth) and .As recounted in PT 134, D. carnegii achieved international fame via the Cetiosaurus (= whale lizard), the former from two unusual teeth and the lat- series of casts made from one of the skeletons, which were gifted to notable ter from less fragmentary remains. Owen believed Cetiosaurus to have been museums around the world. The destiny of the cast sent to Imperial Russia

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 11 was particularly eventful. From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to St Petersburg had a single large claw on the first digit of the manus, and digits I-III of the by ship in 1910 it was relocated to the newly-established Moscow Museum hind- were also clawed. From fossilized footprints it is known that the of Palaeontology in 1937 but was disassembled to be evacuated 3,900 km to feet were provided with large pads of elastic cushioning for bearing great Alma-Ata (now Almaty, Kazakhstan) at the height of the German army’s weight, as is a feature of limbs. The teeth are thought to have been advance into the USSR during WWII. After the tide of war turned against leaf- or spatulate-shaped and somewhat stronger than those of Diplodocus. , the cast was returned to the Moscow Museum in 1942 and re- Despite the publicity surrounding the casts of Andrew Carnegie’s erected for public viewing. Finally it was dismantled and reinstalled for a Diplodocus, which achieved transatlantic fame, Brontosaurus was destined fourth time in the main dinosaur hall of the Russian Palaeontological to have an even greater influence on popular culture in its home country. On Institute’s Museum (PIN, Moscow) which opened in 1987. the cinematic front it was one of the first dinosaurs to be animated via stop- D. carnegii remains one of the longest completely known dinosaurs motion as one of 50 models created by Mexican-born model-maker Marcel (24 m) and its mass is estimated at 11 to 15 tonnes (Figs. 1 and 3). Another Delgado (1901-1976) as animated by Willis O’Brien (1886-1962) for the Diplodocus described from less complete remains, D. hallorum, was 1925 of ’s novel The Lost World (1912) somewhat larger than D. carnegii with an estimated length of 32 m. As is despite the fact that no sauropods appeared in Doyle’s story. Brontosaurus true of other sauropods, the Diplodocus manus was highly modified with also featured in Delgado and O’Brien’s more accomplished production of the bones arranged into a vertical column. Most digits lacked claws, but King Kong (1933) as well as the educational film Cesta do praveku (1955) there was one large, laterally flattened claw on the first digit of the manus. by Karel Zeman (1910-1989). Although no skull has ever been found in direct association with Diplodocus remains, skulls of related diplodocids are well known. These tend to be rel- 5. The Titan of Tendaguru atively very small and furnished with forward-directed peg-like teeth only Diplodocus and Brontosaurus were later joined by a third founding in the anterior section of the jaws. Because sauropods were originally genus that exceeded both genera in dimensions: Brachiosaurus (= believed to have been aquatic, reconstructions often placed their nostrils on lizard), from the Morrison Formation but more famously from a complete top of the skull, but this position has been recently contested by US palaeon- East African example often referred to the more recent genus (= tologist Lawrence Witmer, whose research suggested they were located near titanic giraffe). The first Brachiosaurus specimen (minus skull) was found the snout. The diplodocid neck comprised at least 15 vertebrae and was like- by Elmer Riggs in 1900 near Fruita in the Colorado River Valley. No mount ly held close to horizontal. Extensive pneumaticity is a feature of diplodocid was attempted for the specimen because only 20% of the remains was vertebrae (as it is in other sauropods), and there are deep hollows in the unearthed, much of which was badly weathered. The name “arm lizard” was sides of the centra and neural arches to save weight without compromising conferred when Riggs realised that the forelimbs of the new sauropod were structural integrity. The vertebrae included a system of air sacs that was markedly longer than the hind-limbs, which was the opposite of Diplodocus somewhat similar to those typical of avians and . and Brontosaurus. Riggs’ original descriptions of 1901 and 1903 were also included in his 1904 monograph Structure and relationships of opistho- 4. The Thunder Lizard of Wyoming coelian dinosaurs. Part II: . In 1879 Marsh announced the discovery of another large and almost More complete brachiosaur finds were subsequently made by German complete diplodocid from Como Bluff, Wyoming, which he named workers in East Africa. Before WWI Imperial Germany administered Brontosaurus excelsus (= high thunder lizard). As with Diplodocus, it was colonies around the African Great Lakes region including the present day excavated from the Morrison Formation during the so-called “Bone Wars” territories of Burundi, Rwanda, and mainland (in addition to other between Marsh and Cope. In their haste to name new fossils many of the German colonies in western and southern Africa). In 1907 a German engi- taxonomic publications authored by the two antagonists were hurriedly neer named Sattler was searching for semiprecious stones near the port of compiled and error ridden. In 1903 Elmer Riggs (1869-1963) argued that Lindi below Tendaguru Mountain in Tanzania when he stumbled upon an Marsh’s genus was synonymous with the genus (= deceptive enormous fossil bone. Sattler notified the regional governor at Dar es lizard) found by Cope in 1877. In 1905, the American Museum of Natural Salaam who filed a report without further action. Soon after, the curator of History retained the name conferred by Marsh when it unveiled a compos- the Natural History Collection, Eberhard Fraas (1862-1915), visit- ite specimen of B. excelsus with a Camarasaurus-like skull fashioned by the ed Dar es Salaam where he heard of Sattler’s report and asked to view his museum (the original was lacking). Decades later it was realised that the file. Upon reaching the site of the discovery he realised that Sattler had correct skull was likely to have been more slender and Diplodocus-like. In probably found the largest known dinosaur. However Fraas was destined not 2015 a joint UK-Portuguese study determined that Brontosaurus was a valid to be involved in the excavation after he contracted a debilitating tropical genus distinct from Apatosaurus though not all palaeontologists concur with disease from which he died eight years later. Fraas was succeeded at this view. Tendaguru by (1878-1969) who was custodian of ’s Although Brontosaurus was traditionally described as a far heftier ani- Museum für Naturkunde (also referred to as the Humboldt Museum because mal than Diplodocus, its weight is now estimated at around 15 tonnes (the it is part of Humboldt University). Janensch was assisted by the 27-year-old upper range of Diplodocus), and it reached a length of 22 m. The neck ver- Edwin Hennig (1882-1977), who later helped to describe the Pliocene tebrae housed an extensive network of air sacs, and there were tall spines on hominin Australopithecus afarensis. During four seasons of fieldwork each vertebrae, which were highest at the base of the neck and along the (1909, 1909–10, 1911, 1912–13) Janensch and Hennig supervised teams of torso. As is true for other sauropods, the neck vertebrae are bifurcated and native labourers who excavated numerous late Jurassic dinosaur skeletons support paired spines that render the neck both wide and deep. The cervical from some 100 quarries. Many of the fossils uncovered closely resembled vertebrae of Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus are more stoutly constructed dinosaurs that had been found by Cope and Marsh in the Morrison than those of other diplodocids, and the dorsal ribs of Brontosaurus (10 per Formation of the central western US. The stegosaur was a side) were loosely articulated to the vertebrae rather than fused. The ribs are smaller East African counterpart to Stegosaurus, and the remains of East very long compared to those of most other diplodocids and provide for a African allosaurs ( tendagurensis) and ceratosaurs deep chest cavity. Brontosaurus limb bones are especially robust and the (Elaphrosaurus) were also present at Tendaguru (as were those of croco- humerus resembles that of Camarasaurus. As in Diplodocus, Brontosaurus diles, amphibians, , pterosaurs, squamates, mammals, and inverte-

12 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 brates). The is now considered to be the richest Upper explosives and during a daytime raid by US planes on Feb 3 of 1945, a 500 Jurassic strata of the African continent and, although comparable to the kg bomb fell on the east wing, causing it to collapse to its foundations. By Morrison Formation, also includes a marine component. With periodic the end of hostilities many of the Tendaguru fossils that had been sent to interruptions from heavy rains, the excavation of the Brachiosaurus fossils other locations (including most of the Kentrosaurus material) had unfortu- consumed 21 months of arduous field work. In 1914 Janensch recognized nately been destroyed or lost, but the museum’s main gallery with its resi- two species from Tendaguru: B. brancai, for the larger and more complete dent giant largely escaped damage. For more than four decades after the end taxon (from which three skulls were collected), and B. fraasi, for the small- of WWII the brachiosaur proved a favourite attraction for generations of er and less complete species. Janensch also named a far smaller diplodocid East Berliners and, since German unification, has also become one of the from Tendaguru as (= bifurcated lizard, referring to the bifur- city’s major tourist drawcards. Before it ceased to exist in 1990, one of the cated spines of the neck vertebrae), and he distinguished two species; D. last official acts of the DDR postal service was to issue five Tendaguru hansemanni and D. sattleri. Dicraeosaurus was around 12 m long with a rel- dinosaur fossil stamps commemorating 100 years of natural history research atively large skull and a neck that contained 12 short vertebrae. This sauro- at the Museum für Naturkunde, one of which depicts the brachiosaur skele- pod is thought to have browsed on low-level vegetation up to heights of 3 m. ton (50 Pf) and another showing its skull in profile (85 Pf). Beginning in 2004 the Titan of Tendaguru was disassembled, and some sections including 6. Berlin’s beloved brachiosaur the spinal vertebrae were re-cast in lightweight carbon fibre before being re- A total of 250 tonnes of fossil monoliths were transported from erected in a different and somewhat less imposing stance than Janensch’s Tendaguru to the port of Lindi from where they were shipped to Hamburg classic mount. The 1930s armature was replaced with a modern system to and on to Berlin’s Museum für Naturkunde. The Kentrosaurus was the first permit the removal of individual bones during research, the tail was raised mount to be erected (1924) followed by Elaphrosaurus (1926) and Dicraeosaurus (1930-31, which was actually a composite of several animals from both species). The crown- ing jewel of Janensch’s remarkable East African collections was the titanic specimen of Brachiosaurus brancai, an animal that not only dwarfed the other Tendaguru fossil mounts beneath it but was clearly very different to the better known diplodocid sauropods. Apart from the forelimbs being longer than the hind-limbs, the brachiosaur’s neck was held in an upright (but not vertical) position compared to the near horizontal diplodocid necks. The distinctive bra- chiosaur skull featured a helmet-like dome formed by an extended nasal bone, and the rela- tively large spatulate teeth numbered 11 per maxilla and at least as many in each side of the dentary. The first digit of the forelimb was clawed, as were digits I-III of the hind-limb. The preparation and mounting of this colos- sus (which included the bones of several speci- mens) continued unabated through WWI and was only completed after a protracted period of 26 years. In August 1937 it was ceremoniously unveiled in the museum’s cavernous main gallery accompanied by an ominous backdrop of Nazi swastika banners. Standing almost 13 m above the floor in the classic swan-necked pose with splayed forelimbs and stretching 23 m in length, its remarkable height well off the floor, and the once splayed forelimbs were repositioned direct- could be accommodated only because of the gallery’s great vaulted glass ly under the torso, thus further elevating the neck and skull. In 2007 a pub- ceiling. However, it was almost destined to hold the title of the world’s lic vote by museum visitors conferred the affectionate name of ‘Oskar’ on largest and tallest mounted dinosaur skeleton for the shortest ever time after the updated mount. Although Oskar’s dimensions have been exceeded by the clouds of war gathered over Europe, and, as was the case with Andrew subsequent finds of South American titanosaurs (it should be noted that the Carnegie’s Diplodocus cast gifted to Russia, Janensch’s Brachiosaurus size of isolated brachiosaur bones from Tendaguru far exceed those of found itself in the firing line. By 1942 major German cities were being sub- Oskar), Berlin’s brachiosaur looks set to remain the world’s most iconic and jected to allied bombing raids, and that year the museum staff began to internationally recognizable sauropod skeleton. package much of the Tendaguru collections into storage either deep in the This then concludes the first instalment of our sauropod review. In Part museum’s basement or at other institutes believed to be less likely targets. 2 we will briefly consider the Cretaceous titanosaurs followed by a discus- The exercise was completed by April 1943, but the brachiosaur was consid- sion of sauropod ecology and behaviour, and finally an evaluation of ered too large to be disassembled and thus it remained in place. In Zdenek Burian’s relevant restorations. November 1943 sections of the museum suffered damage from incendiary

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 13 animals to move across the wet, slick mud that makes up the floor SauropeltaSauropelta of the flood plain. Here they feed on the rich plant life—such as young seedling cycads and conifers—that sprout along this fertile By Phil Hore region. [email protected] Not too far in the future this waterway will expand until it cov- ers much of central North America, splitting the continent into two separate landmasses, but that’s a problem for the descendants of these early ankylosaurs. Today it’s a rich region full of life, all sur- viving off the occasional floods washing sediments in from the inte- rior of the continent, turning the braided river plain into a roaring torrent of death and destruction.

© Chuck Egnaczak

This is the last time that many of the original American dinosaur ©Andreas Forrer species dominate the land because the future will belong to invasive species from Asia. Dinosaurs like the tyrannosaurs and ceratopi- ans—groups that would evolve into iconic species like T. rex and A of Deinonychus dart from the dense forest they had been Triceratops—would slowly replace the allosaurs, stegosaurs, and moving through across the broad floodplain to the tree line on the far sauropods of the Jurassic. side. Although highly From behind the intelligent and danger- herd, a large figure ous, the sheer size and © Marcus Burkhardt moves out of the thick-armored skin of the tree line the raptor numerous dinosaurs flock just escaped feeding along the water- from. Most of the way afford these herbi- nodosaurs were vores the luxury of bare- scattered along the ly registering the move- river edge, but a ment of the small preda- few individuals had tors. separated to feed Short and squat bodied, off a small copse of these nodosaurs slowly bushes sitting under march along, with their a dozen or so tall heads lowered and trees between the swinging back and forth plain and the forest. as they feed. Each animal These are what keeps its distance from have drawn the the next because of the . large cone-shaped bony Scars across the spears projecting from enormous thero- their shoulders. pod’s tree-trunk Broad feet with thick legs are proof of webbing between the how dangerous toes allow these heavy anky-

14 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 losaurs could be, especially © Phil Wilson between them. One of these crops a in a herd, but solitary ani- large mouthful of leaves and begins mals are a different matter. munching and luckily looks about for Alone, they are more con- any danger—and finds some. trollable as long as a preda- With a muffled bleat the herbivore turns tor holds its nerve. Even an and faces the oncoming predator, swing- individual Sauropelta can be ing its enormous forward-facing shoul- dangerous if not dealt with der spikes toward the approaching dan- carefully. ger. Sensing trouble, the second herbi- The odds of a successful vore nearby automatically repeats the hunt are even greater if there movement. are two hunters, and step- Two victims were still manageable, ping out of the tree line especially because the actual attack was behind the first theropod is going to come from the rear, but as the another, even larger first Acrocanthosaurus took another Acrocanthosaurus. Both ani- step forward, expecting its mate to mals have been spending the strike, nothing happened. last week in the ornate, com- In frustration the predator raised its plex mating ritual of the vision from the to the water’s

© G. De Benedictis

© Aaron Marsh

edge behind the bushes, looking to throw its mate a displeased, dirty look. Instead, it found itself staring at a barren riverbank. species, but even when trying to win over a mate, one had to stop Quickly the Acrocanthosaurus begins waving its head about, and eat occasionally. scanning the entire region, and finally catches a glimpse of its mate While the first Acrocanthosaurus stands its ground, as though walking back toward the tree line. Following close behind are about following some unseen , the second walks toward the a dozen of the ankylosaurs, their bodies pressed together to create a water’s edge, as though moving for a drink. This is a ruse: instead it’s combined defensive front against the attacked ones. It would seem moving out of eyeline so that it can then start circling around the that while this side of the bushes had only a few herbivores a large bushes. part of the herd was on the other side, napping the heat of the day Once the second animal is in place, the first Acrocanthosaurus away under the shade provided by the trees. These had been quick to starts walking toward the bushes and the two animals feeding

© Cody Zaiser © Arthur Machabee

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 202 15 react to the presence of the second preda- tor and had quickly ©Wade Carmen seen off any chance of an attack. The first thero- pod, no longer see- ing an opportunity for a meal, turns and trots after his depart- ing mate, deciding it was far safer to back away and hunt another day than take on so many dan- gerous prey animals. Although their stom- achs were empty today, it would not take them long to find another victim, small bony nodules (called osteoderms) running across their backs and then they could and skulls are starting to receive a lot more attention. eat their fill once When this armor reached the hips, they began to interlock and more. form a band of protection called a sacral shield. Also found on other For many of us © Jacob Micallef growing up there were just a handful of dinosaurs that represented their major fami- ©Mike Landry lies; species like Stegosaurus, T. rex, Triceratops, and Iguanodon exemplified vast groups, many of which were rarely if ever heard about. I’m sure most of us had plastic dinosaurs on our bookshelves of all those icons. I recall that the representative for the armored dinosaurs dur- ing my childhood was the great club-swinging herbivore Ankylosaurus, but there’s another family that’s been slowly winning the hearts and minds of dino-fans recently, the nodosaurs. Although Edmontonia was larger, has there ever been a more aggressive-looking herbivore in history than Sauropelta? Between 17 and 25 feet long and weighing over 2 tonnes, the ‘lizard shield' was a wide, low-to-the-ground, powerful animal. Unlike its close cousins, the ankylosaurs, Sauropelta wasn’t backed by a large, heavy tail club for defense. Instead, these animals were fronted by a series of small to enormous spikes menacingly protruding from the neck and shoulders. For years the nodosaurs were the lesser known ankylosaurids, yet these heavily armored, squat quadrupeds, with their rows of large-to- ankylosaurids, this shield makes a lot of sense because the largest, most vulnerable part of these animals was their hips and rear legs. sculpture by Jaime Martinez Enormous predatory theropods could target these locations, helping

sculpture by Quentin Brendel

disable or get past the various defenses these animals had, be it spikes at the front or a swinging club at the back, and so having heavy armor here to protect these vulnerable sections just made a lot of sense. Originally it was believed this armor and those defensive spines formed a single row running down each side of the neck, but recent-

16 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 © M. Elliot Massion

Although Sauropelta was one of the first nodosaurs, it still con- © Jac Conte tained all the features that would help define the group and were seen on the Borealopelta fossil. They had wide, triangular skulls with leaf-shaped teeth. Where they partly differ from the anky- losaurs was in the tail, where they did not sport the classic bone-club ly paleontologists like Ken Carpenter and Jim Kirkland realized weapon and reinforced vertebrae. Instead, the nodosaurids possessed there were actually two rows, one lying above the other. It’s believed elongated tails. Up to half their body length was tail, which con- the upper spines faced forward and upward, while the lower spines tained a whopping 40 to 50 vertebrae; the entire body con- pointed backward and upward. The position tains only 33! The tail also contained of the species indicates they may have © John F Davies ossified tendons, giving it strength yet evolved to deter attackers much taller than allowing the appendage to remain some- they were, such as the enormous what flexible. This helped make this Acrocanthosaurus or perhaps even group far more agile than other large Deinonychus, which, as we’ll soon see, may ankylosaurids, though this is only in have found another defensive measure used comparison because they were still enor- against them if they attacked one of these mous, heavy dinosaurs with front legs herbivores. shorter than the rear legs. The spines were fused at the bottom, The tail wasn’t without protection restricting the amount of movement of the though because a series of triangular neck in these animals. This makes a lot of blades ran down both sides, getting sense since, with so many dangerous spikes smaller as they got closer to the tail. It’s and horns protruding from the shoulder and been suggested these blades could act neck, a flexible head would only be asking like scissors because as the animal for trouble. It would be more than embar- moved, flexed, and bent, the gap between rassing to lose an eye to your own shoulder these blades would open and then just as spike after all. quickly snap shut. Anything caught In 2011 a closely related mummified inside these gaps when this happened, be nodosaur called Borealopelta was it a theropod’s fingers or leg would be unearthed in Canada, giving us a real idea lacerated, if not cut completely off. If of what these animals looked like when they were capable of this, then attacking alive and how their armor fitted together. these larger nodosaurs would have been like juggling chainsaws. One false move and you lost a digit, if not a limb. by Mike Fredericks

© Nick Papadimitriou

Continues on Page 31 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 17 18 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 NOW AVAILABLE!! Dinosaur Playsets: An Illustrated Guide to the Prehistoric Playsets of Marx and MPC Revised Third Edition by Jeff Pfeiffer

Finally, the long-awaited third edition of the widely popular book Dinosaur Playsets: An Illustrated Guide to the Prehistoric Playsets of Marx and MPC is now available for immediate purchase. Response so far has been overwhelmingly positive and Jeff is very excited to be able to share this new revised edition with collectors of Marx and MPC dinosaur figures and playsets. This NEW edition now boasts over 245 full color, high gloss photographs of each and every playset on 202 pages, com- plete and with original packaging, produced by Marx and MPC available at the time of printing. Also included are the numerous playsets that incorporat- ed the figures manufactured from the Marx and/or MPC molds once they had found their way into the hands of other companies, such as Toy Street, Superior, Dapol, Spaulding, and others. And as before, there are handy side-by-side color photo comparisons of the Marx vs. MPC figures to allow the collector to identify his or her dinosaur with ease! Also included are additional facts, information, and photos of playsets that were not available previ- ously, as well as the inevitable corrections of details that were in error or missing in previous editions. And possible most importantly, this new volume is printed in GLOSSY paper for the first time rather than the flat matte layout of the earlier books. This new glossy paper makes the photos practically pop off the page in crisp detail! Additionally, the photos have all been digitally enhanced to ensure the sharpest and most detailed images yet of these iconic playsets and other prehistoric items! Price for this new edition is $46.99 + $4.10 shipping/handling. The book is currently available directly from the author at [email protected] (PayPal payments can be sent to that address….please BE SURE to include in the PayPal notes your name & mailing address when making payment!). Additionally, copies are usually available on eBay and listed on Amazon.com as well. Please don’t hesitate to email Jeff for any information! And remember…coming soon will be Jeff ’s companion book More Dinosaur Playsets & Figures, which will cover those dinosaur figures by such companies as Ajax, TimMee Toys, Nabisco, Sinclair, Winneco, Invicta, etc., as well as the various dinos produced in Hong Kong (including the numerous Marx and MPC knockoffs). This will be considered a direct follow-up to the original book, covering those “other guys” that look like Marx & MPC…but aren’t! Please keep an eye out here in Prehistoric Times for updates and availability on this new book!

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 19 HHooww tto DDrraaww DDiinnoossaauurrss

By Tracy Lee Ford [email protected] Putting it all together, the body of Ankylosaurus Figure 2. Feet of Pinacosaurus (after Currie et al. 2011). A, top, Dorsal view of manus; bottom, anterior view of manus. B, Anterior of pes.

Even though Ankylosaurus magniventris has been known for over 100 shaped in cross section (Figure 1). The front of the pelvis was wider years, its iconic body shape isn’t what was than the back part. The first section of the tail had what is termed “free first and subsequently depicted (because vertebrae,” with the last section having there is only one species of Ankylosaurus, I elongate prezygapophyses and postzy- won’t be adding the species name for the gapophyses, which stiffened the tail, rest of the article). There are no complete allowing for the very tip of the tail to Ankylosaurus specimens; just bits and have a tail club. pieces of the body are known. So, this arti- As per typical of dinosaurs and cle I’ll be taking information from other in general, the manus, or genera to help explain what Ankylosaurus hand, had five fingers, and only the looked like. This is what paleontologists do first three fingers had claws, and the until a more complete specimen is found. last two did not. The metatarsals were I’ll hold off on what the armor looked like held vertically with a half-moon shape, for the last part of the article. similar to that seen in sauropods. The The body of Ankylosaurus is usually unguals, or claws, were wide and flat, depicted as having a short neck, body, and which was good for digging (Figure 2). tail. This is incorrect. For the most part, a The pes, or foot, had three to four toes, complete ankylosaur vertebral column is depending on the genus. either unknown or, more properly, not yet And now, the armor: Without hav- described, and so an accurate count of the ing a mummified specimen, the exact entire vertebral column is difficult to deter- placement of ankylosaur armor is pure mine. There are a few nearly complete speculation. I’ve been studying anky- specimens known from Asia and North Figure 1. Ankylosaurus magniventris skeleton. A, Anterior losaur armor for decades. In 2000, I America that still need to be described. For view of the rib cage showing how wide the animal was. B, had an article published where I put the most part they had a neck with 7 or 8 Lateral view of a dorsal . C, Dorsal view of the skele- forth a list of names for different vertebrae (not including atlas/axis) about 9 ton. D, Side view of the skeleton. armored regions on the body of anky- to 13 “free” dorsal vertebrae, with the last 3 losaurs (which I also published in an to 6 that form the presacral rod (the vertebrae that attach to the sacrum earlier PT article, no. 45, 2000-2001) (Figure 3). The regions are skull, and forming the synsacrum), which has ribs “attaching” to the anteri- cervical (neck), pectoral (shoulder region), thoracic (dorsal), pelvic orly long iliac blade. The pelvis had 3 to 6 fused sacral vertebrae and (pelvis), and caudal (tail). I also suggested different rows of armor possibly up to 40 caudal vertebrae. The body was wide and barrel (which I alluded to in the last article), the majority of which are paired.

Figure 4. Ankylosaurus magniventris half-ring pieces (a-h, j, k); Euoplocephalus half-ring (i). a, Interior. b, Anterior. c, Exterior. d, Posterior. e, Dorsal. f, Close-up of dorsal area of exterior view. g, Close-up of distal end of exterior view. h, Ventral view. i, Figure 3. Ankylosaur armor regions. A, Cranial. B, Cervical, C, Euoplocephalus half-ring anterior view. j, Ankylosaurus anterior view Pectoral. D. Thoracic. E, Pelvic. F, Caudal. 1, Medial row; 2, primary modified from Carpenter (2003). k, Oblique view after Carpenter row; 3, secondary row. (2003). Measurement bar, 10 cm. 20 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 The dorsalmost is the medial and then the primary, secondary, and finally the tertiary. For the most part, ankylosaurids have two cervical bands of armor (which can consist of a bony half circle) with three paired , though some nodosaurids have three bands consisting of medial, pri- mary, and secondary rows. Over the shoulder the scutes are not attached to a solid “bony ring” (Figure 4). Beyond the cervical area, the armor can be a hodgepodge of scutes (some nodosaurs) or in rows (nodosaurs

Figure 7. Ankylosaurus magniventris tail club. A, Lateral view. B, Dorsal view. C, Ventral view. (After Coombs and Maryanska 1990.)

Figure 5. Ankylosaurus magniventris. a-f, Tertiary (body) scutes. g, Lower tertiary . and ankylosaurs) (Figure 5). It appears that only the lower secondary row has scutes in a line. This “tertiary” line continues along the lower pelvic area and onto the caudal. Since the pelvis is immovable, a solid pelvic shield could be present (most notably in polacanthids). The cau-

Figure 8. Ankylosaurus reconstructions. A, American Museum of Natural History sculpture. B, Zallinger Yale Peabody painting. C, George Olshevsky’s illustration. because there are ankylosaurids that lack a tail club. The genus that showed this feature is the one described and named by Jim Kirkland and myself, Aletopleta coombsi. When we described the specimen, we independently came to the conclusion that the specimen found in Carlsbad, San Diego, was not a nodosaur (which was originally thought to be) but an ankylosaur. The specimen is fragmentary; the only skull material is teeth, fragmentary skeleton, a few scutes and “pelvic shield,” a few caudal vertebrae, and no tail club was found. It wasn’t until Victoria Arbour, who agreed with our conclusion, that the clubless Figure 6. Pelvic armor of ankylosaurs. a, Stegopelta. b, ankylosaur was described. The distal caudal vertebrae lack the typical Glyptodontopelta. c, Aletopelta. long pre- and post-zygapophyses, which allowed for the tail club. Aletopelta is a young adult, which should have had a tail club for its age. dal region has two rows of scutes, the medial and the secondary, with Ankylosaurus itself has generally been depicted with Euoplocephalus- the primary missing (Figure 6). The tail of ankylosaurid ankylosaurs like armor and a lower row of pointed scutes. I have been unable to ends in the tail club. The club itself can vary in specimens—genera and determine the date of the model of the Ankylosaurus at the American species (PT 28/29, 1998) (Figure 7). It is generally believed that if an Museum of Natural History, and so I don’t know which came first, that ankylosaur is found with a tail club it is an ankylosaurid and if it lacks or the Zalllinger painting of Ankylosaurus, which has been a staple for a tail club it is a nodosaur. However, this has been shown to be false Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 21 Figure 10. Ankylosaurus magniventris, new reconstruction showing taller medial ridge scutes than previously.

Figure 9. Sauroplites armor. A, B, Tertiary body scutes. C-H, Tertiary The features of the caudal scutes are unknown in Ankylosaurus and flat body scutes. I, Lower triangle tertiary scute. are presumed to be similar to those of other ankylosaurs with two rows of scutes running down the tail. The club itself is made up of several the depiction of Ankylosaurus. George Olshevsky published a poster of sections: the larger two outer osteoderms and a paired triangle tip. ankylosaurs, and he had a different interpretation of Ankylosaurus (and, Ankylosaurus armor is different from that of other North American frankly, many of his interpretations of ankylosaurs and nodosaurs are ankylosaurs: Scolosaurus, Euoplocephalus, etc. However, the armor is still used today) (Figure 8). similar to an early Asian ankylosaur Sauroplites. What little is known of I published a paper on the armor of Ankylosaurus in 2002, in which that genus indicates body scutes were more similar to that of I illustrated the armor of the type specimen of Ankylosaurus, which is Ankylosaurus (broad flat scutes with a distal ridge) than other Asian totally different from what was depicted before that. Ken Carpenter ankylosaurs (Figure 9). This would mean there was another Asian inva- (2003) also published a paper on the Ankylosaurus, and he came to a dif- sion to North America. I will also be describing this in more detail in ferent conclusion on how the armor was placed on the body. The armor the future. of Ankylosaurus is broad and flat with a ridge at one end, not the more A new interpretation of Ankylosaurus with the taller ridge on the typical oval, centrally keeled scute. The only section of cervical “bony medial scutes is based on this paper (Figure 10). ring” is two cojoined scutes. The smaller lower secondary, a keeled, I have a new website http://www.TracyLeeFord.com. It is about more triangular scute, and a broader flat scute, with the ridge at the myself, my art, research, books, etc. I have links to my research pub- very top. I placed the smaller scute at the lower edge of the ring, where- lished works, links to the books I’ve published as well as the coloring as Carpenter placed it at the top. Carpenter also connected a medial books with Mike Fredericks. scute to the top of the two cervical-ring scutes. The top ridge edge of I’ve published my research on theropod lips (Paleofile Bulletin, 1a, that scute is tall, and I’ve added the opposite side to see how it would Theropods did not have lips); that and all my other books are available look, which is different from what I had originally thought (Figure 4). at Amazon. I need to relook at this specimen at the American Museum of Natural Don’t forget to visit my two websites: my original Dinohunter History for my research. There is no medial cervical scute, but there (http://www.dinohunter.info) and Paleofile (http://www.paleofile.com). are other large flat broad scutes, which I believe were placed on the tho- Paleofile has several areas and an easy index (just click on the name, racic area but not the pelvic region. Unlike in other ankylosaurs the and it will take you to the systematic list), or you can go directly to the preserved cervical ring of Ankylosaurus, the bony ring, is squarish and systematic list (eggs and ichnology included). After 5 years I have final- not a half circle. The medial scute could have been at an angle and not ly been able to update the cite. Click on the name in the list, and it will perpendicular to the primary scute. The large flat scute has a ridge at take you to a more compressive listing: genus, species, etymology, holo- the distal upper region running anterior to posterior. If the medial scute type (lecto-, para-, etc.), locality, horizon (formation), biostratigraphy had the same morphology, then it would also have a ridge on its distal (faunal zone if known), age, material, and referred material. There will end. The opposite medial scute would have a similar ridge that would be two faunal lists, one in which you can check your area or any area in face each other. This would also mean all the other similar body scutes the world to see what animals were found there and the other will be would face the same way. ages. If you’re interested in Biostratigraphy, you can see which animals Carpenter (2004) and Arbor and Mallon (2017) placed smaller, broad lived with which at that time from around the world. flat scutes over the pelvic area. I (2003) did not and still do not. For the most part, the armor over the pelvic area is unknown, except for one specimen in the collections of Glen Rocks Paleontological Museum in Wyoming (on which I presented a poster at the SVP in 2018). The pelvic armor is partially preserved, and it lacks the large flat scutes. The pelvic shield center is smooth, whereas the outer edges show tightly packed octagonal scutes, a feature that may be an indication of its matu- rity. This is similar to the pelvic scutes of Stegopelta, Glyptodontopelta, and Aletopelta and is totally unlike that seen in Euoplocephalus and other ankylosaurs. This specimen proves that Ankylosaurus did not have large flat scutes over the pelvis. I will be describing this specimen in the future.

22 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 ing behind a tree. The deployable frill, also fabricated specifically for the screen, makes the attack on Nedry all the more alarming Jurassic Park: An (and maybe unexpected) in the film. Everything happens so quickly and Evolution of precisely in that sequence. And just like that, the human villain of Jurassic Park meets his ignoble demise. Paleontology and While the size is deliberately misleading, and the sudden appearance of the frill makes for a more theatrical sequence, the onscreen depiction of Cinematography Dilophosaurus is not all that close to reality. There are other examples of Jurassic Park fauna, however, whose image was not intentionally marred per By John Tuttle se. One instance of this is the . In Jurassic Park III, an installment often overwhelmingly dismissed by franchise fans, Spinosaurus challenges T. rex for the fandom throne for most If you happen to follow entertainment or paleontology in your newsfeed, ferocious predator. It seems now, in light of recent research, there's yet you may have come upon articles titled to the effect of “Jurassic Park got _ another flaw to point out in Joe Johnston's trilogy-capper. And it has to do wrong.” For one thing, it's a movie. So it's not going to be perfect. For anoth- with Spinosaurus, a relatively popular antagonist in what is frequently er, the creatures in the Jurassic Park/World fran- accepted as the most lacking addition to the chise are genetically altered hybrids. Even then, Jurassic saga. the question is raised: Why have the movies got- Cover art of Similar to Jurassic Park III's display of a Prehistoric Times #2 ten so many things wrong about dinosaurs? semi-aquatic lifestyle, it is believed that in by Mike Fredericks The floor is open to discussion. Yet, the short reality Spinosaurus also enjoyed the ability of answer is that scientists' prehistoric preconcep- swimming for extended periods of time. tions as well as filmmakers' capabilities have Though it might be disputable whether this is been evolving by leaps and bounds over the past the only known aquatic dinosaur (once upon a few decades. As paleontologists' knowledge of time, paleontologists thought Brachiosaurus now-fossilized organisms has increased, so might have been a water dweller), it is clear we've seen slight to the physicality Spinosaurus was perfectly adapted for swim- of onscreen dinosaurs. ming. In the many years leading up to Steven This conviction comes after detailed Spielberg's 1993 classic, dinos were depicted in examination of the skeletal structure of movies employing methods as varied as clay Spinosaurus's tail. As suggested by a paper models and cheesy costumes worn by actors. published by Nature in April, Spinosaurus When Jurassic Park hit theaters, it was clear the aegyptiacus is reenvisioned with a tail closely world of cinema, enhanced via stunning anima- resembling a fin. Almost immediately, pale- tronics and computer-generated graphics, had oartists began coming up with more up-to- been changed forever. date renderings of Spinosaurus with the fin- Based on Micheal Crichton's heavily like tail rather than with the straight, generic researched novel, Spielberg's film also included tail it has previously been pictured as having. a great deal of expert consultation in depicting Obviously, Jurassic Park III offers us an the realistic appearance and movements of creatures that had gone extinct old-school manifestation of the aquatic dinosaur in which the fin-tail is millions of years before. absent. But neither the most upset fan nor the harshest critic can blame this However, in hindsight, there have been a number of factors concerning fault on the filmmakers' part. At the time, paleontologists had not focused the portrayal of Jurassic Park's dinos that simply haven't stood the test of their energies so precisely on the tail structure. Hence, this newly-acquired time. This comes about, at least in some cases, on account of discoveries perception of Spinosaurus as having a fin-tail was not a feature given thor- that have shed new light on certain dinosaur species. In other circumstances, ough consideration in the field of paleontology in the early 2000s. it seems filmmakers have made needless alterations to dinosaur body types Finally, we get down to one of the most iconic predators of Jurassic and their individual capabilities. Park eminence. Ever since they showed up in the inaugural film, they've One such unnecessary change was the appearance of the infamous remained a staple for the classic storytelling concoction. These are, of Dilophosaurus. The first noticeable feature that was distorted from its fos- course, the enthralling, stealthy, and lethal . It also seems these sil specimens, and one which was substantially clear even at the time of Spielbergian raptors have long struggled with an identity crisis. filming, pertains to the animal's size. In the Jurassic Park film, the stature As Dougal Dixon relates in The World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & of Dilophosaurus is nothing intimidating. Seen in comparison to Dennis Prehistoric Creatures, the raptors from the original film were not modeled Nedry, the dino is more comparable to a large . Nedry even treats it as after but, in fact, took their shape after Deinonychus. Now clas- he would some domesticated pet. sified as a completely separate genus from Velociraptor, Deinonychus was In reality, an adult Dilophosaurus came plowing through its natural ter- previously considered one of several Velociraptor species just as were rain at a length of somewhere between 19 and 20 feet. Even Crichton, in his Saurornitholestes and Bambiraptor. These dinosaurs were gradually reclas- first Jurassic novel, makes a point at showing the daunting size of this crea- sified, finding their place in individual genera. This alteration in paleo cat- ture being described as ten feet tall. egorizations may account for some of the “raptor” characteristics we see in The reasoning behind this distinctive change may be that it set the stage the movies being a bit off. for the aesthetics of cinematic excitement. After all, a predator towering Deinonychus, the original model for the cinematic Velociraptor, has the above your head is more menacing at first glance than a shy little dino hid- majority of features the raptors possess in Spielberg's original film.

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 23 Dispersed across America, being unearthed in several states including and dietary content of Deinonychus antirrhopus (an ancestor of Montana, Deinonychus could grow to sizes up to 13 feet and had a -like Velociraptor), it is proposed by the paper's writers that Deinonychus was body structure. Like Velociraptor, Deinonychus had a fatal slashing claw on unlikely to be integrated into a lifestyle. Varying tooth chemistry the middle toe. The close similarities between these now-distinct genera between the young and the adults suggests a diet that evolved – not one make it easy to see where the iconic raptors of Jurassic Park were derived which remained constant. It's proposed that the juveniles of the species had from. to fend for themselves in the face of danger, not excluding the adults of their However, the cinematic evolution of Velociraptor was far from over. By own kind. Cannibalism might have been a legitimate threat. This idea puts a Dr. Grant's observations in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III, it is clear that dent in the theory that raptorial dinosaurs were common and efficient pack – according to cinematic canon – the raptors are portrayed as problem-solv- hunters. ing predators as well as efficient pack hunters. Grant outlines their pack Joseph Frederickson, the head author of the paper, stated in an interview strategy in the franchise's first installment – and does so in some detail – with Phys.org: “The young were not being fed by the adults, which is why when he wants to demonstrate the power of Velociraptor to the only boy in we believe Jurassic Park was wrong about raptor behavior.” Hence, whether the world who thinks dinosaurs aren't engrossing. Needless to say, Dr. Grant you look at the cinematic raptors as renditions of the Velociraptor or got his point across. Deinonychus genera, there is data suggesting raptors typically did not con- The raptors, like the T. rex, became a benchmark of the franchise, mak- figure themselves to the pack unit. ing prominent appearances in all the subsequent films. In Jurassic Park III, With this, the franchise, though it is reported to be com- along with the return of Dr. Grant, the raptors find themselves in the spot- ing to a ceremonious end, has a choice to make – whether it's going to light. Once more, attention is given to their heightened intelligence, inter- change the way it depicts the raptors once again. The dilemma is that the personal communication, and predatory pack dynamics. The raptors' physi- pack formation is something that's been engrained clearly and repeatedly cality has also undergone a subtle change, particularly in the addition of a throughout the films. It would be hard to depict multiple raptors in a film patch of on the head. This is another example of the filmmakers' and remove their pack-hunting attributes. willingness to go to great lengths to portray onscreen dinosaurs in as realis- On the other hand, there does seem to be an easy out for the franchise. tic a fashion as possible. In the last film, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the only outstanding, pure- However, the beef the scientifically-in-tune community has with the rap- bred Velociraptor is Blue, with whom Owen has a strong bond. However, tors in Jurassic Park III is the same it will now have with most of the fran- Blue exists as a solitary animal without a pack. If the forthcoming film chise's past installments. It shows raptors hunting in packs. Based on recent focuses only on Blue and not on raptors in a broader sense, it may dodge the research, the notion of Velociraptor as a pack hunter has come under ques- issue altogether. In this way, Blue would provide the raptor nostalgia with- tion. Earlier this year, a paper associated with work done at the University out arousing the problematic topic of what kind of social life raptors expe- of Wisconsin Oshkosh noted that raptorial dinos might not have had the rienced. But, of course, that is something we'll have to wait to see in Colin social tendencies we have asserted up until recently. Trevorrow's Jurassic World: Dominion. From the observations and further speculation concerning the teeth type GG--FaFann For fans of Godzilla and Kaiju! Subscribe Today!

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24 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 By Mike Fredericks

Toy dino collector Fred Snyder of Hoboken, NJ was thrilled to find this rare British Museum (Invicta) in a marbled plastic color, unknown prior. The normal figure is shown behind it.

ABOVE and BELOW: Jeffrey Pfeiffer sent these two photos of sets from his collection. “The Ark” is an interesting group of prehistoric figures and below is a beautiful vintage boxed set of Starlux prehis- toric figures from France. See Jeff’s book ad on page 19.

ABOVE TWO and Right: Known for his and caricatures, Russian ceramic artiste Nikolai Abramovic returned into fairly large prehistoric animal figures a few years ago. This time each cast was available in a variety of color combinations (greens, browns, yellows). Robert Telleria's sets are pictured here in a gray/brown combination. Probably the best ceramic dinosaurs since the 1990s German porcelains.

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 25 spinosaur look was created. Later, similar looking relatives were found in Africa, South America and Indochina. Seasonally fish were important for Dinosaur Collector News many carnivores. There is evidence of Allosaurus, and Torvosaurus all exploiting fish as a food source from the Late Jurassic. The Weald Clay Formation in England was home to . The CollectA by Randy Knol 2020 popular release captures the most modern and detailed figure. It is part [email protected] of their Wealdon collection that includes the apex predator Neovenator and medium predator Eotyrannus. There are brachiosaurid sauropods, iguan- odons, and the armored plant eater Polyacanthus. CollectA www.dinosaurcollectorsitea.com provides you with the entire fauna. This 2020 Baryonyx is a step up from the 2007 release. The figure is bipedal with avian legs supported on a base. The old figure had a Jurassic Park hunchback look and was goblin green. The

CollectA Baryonyx Terms like ‘Mid-Cretaceous’ and ‘Middle Cretaceous’ keep appearing in the literature, implying a three-fold division rather than the more generally accepted two-fold division of the sys- tem/period. However, a Mid-Cretaceous’ interval, ranging from base Barremian to base Santonian, was the golden age of spin- osaurs. A swath of tropical river environments that included deltas, lakes, swamps and brackish mangrove-like settings stretched from Brazil to Indochina and extended north into the archipelago of Europe. The heart of the system was in North Africa, where new figure has a narrow torso, and the long crocodilic jaws are articulated. fauna tied to a freshwater food web developed. It was, perhaps, an echo of The large foreclaws and small head crest are the calling cards for all spin- the Early food web that supported the fin back Dimetrodon. A triad osaurs. There is a repainted Mojo brand Baryonyx this year with a very of theropods dominated the formations from this time; a common spin- robust reconstruction that is an interesting contrast. For 2021 we can expect osaurid, an uncommon large a new Wild Safari Baryonyx and a carcharodontosaur, and an new CollectA Neovenator. uncommon medium theropod. A few million years later in the There were two or three rare African Elrhaz Formation, there is sauropods and even rarer iguan- another spinosaur fauna. This was odonts and small theropods, as a freshwater environment of well. Crocodylomorphs and rivers. Suchomimus, the most pterosaurs were diverse. common theropod present, was a and mammals were not found. rare carcharodontosaur, The ratio of carnivores to plant CollectA Spinosaurus anabelisaur with the sauropod eating dinosaurs is an anomaly being common, when compared to other formations. along with a rare titanosaur. The iguanodontians Lurdusaurus and Charles Knight, Rudolph F. Zallinger, and Zdenek Burian created the Ouranosaurus were common. Lurdusaurus is usually reconstructed as a for the Late Jurassic Morrison Fauna and the Late Cretaceous Hell robust Iguanodon. Creek formation that captured the public's vision of the dinosaurs. Although Ouranosaurus, another fin-backed dinosaur, is often portrayed as living our perception of these paleoenvironments has been modified over time, with Spinosaurus but actually lived earlier. There were also small dryosaurs their art is still embedded in the and noasaurs. There were a variety public vision. Davide Bonadonna Kinto swimming Spinosaurus of crocodylomorphs; the most has created images of the Kem well-known was the giant Kem that inspired me. For me his Sarcosuchus. A Sarcosuchus fig- work captures the modern vision ure was released by both of the Spinosaurus’s world. and Wild Safari this year. Both are Spinosaurus has been known in the high walk posture seen in since 1915 from the Bahariya living and well Formation. It was fragmentary armored. This is not the first and strange and did not generate Sarcosuchus from Safari; there is any art from the masters. Starlux the small figure from the very col- produced a figure based on the lectable Prehistoric Croc toob. It is Stromer 1936 reconstruction. The larger than the CollectA and Mojo Carnegie Safari and Schleich Humboldt figures capture the early look and figures. It integrates with their Suchomimus and Nigersaurus figures. feel. It was a generic carnosaur head, Kangaroo posture, with a fin on its Ouranosaurus has a collectable history going back to Battat, Schleich and back. In the 1970s, Spinosaurus was a subject of speculation by paleoartists. but only the CollectA is in production. CollectA Deluxe There was art portraying it as a quadruped; the Wild Safari figure is a good Nigersaurus is also still available. representation of this reconstruction. Mostly, the four-footed models At around 100 MYA in Africa, from the Atlas Mountains to the Red Sea looked like a Dimetrodon. Baryonyx was discovered in 1983, and a new 26 Prehistoric Times No.135 Fall 2020 Hills AND stretching down the incarnate great river mon- into central and east Africa, a Papo Limited Edition Spinosaurus ster. Kinto My Favorite released new biome developed. North a swimming version. This year Africa was cut into pieces by a . released their swim- massive inland sea. There ming Spinosaurus. What Safari were river systems flowing Ltd. has to offer is a river full of west, creating tidal channels monsters. Safari Ltd. has the and swamps, an ecosystem not fullest range of inhabitants for unlike the deltas of Australia’s the river. They have a giant Northern . The brack- Coelacanth and a smaller ver- ish mud flats and Mangrove sion from the Cryptozoology forest analogs and more inland toob. They have toob versions flood plains with seasonal Safari Ltd. of the polycotylid plesiosaur lakes. The theropod triad is Sarchosuchus and hybodont shark. I would made up of Spinosaurus, include the sturgeon from the Carcharodontosaurus, with Great lake toob. You can make the medium theropod being the whole Kem Kem fauna at Rugops or . In Safari. In 2018, new fossils 2014, Nizar Ibrahim redefined changed the reconstruction of Spinosaurus based on the first the Spinosaurus tail. The newly substantial new fossils since discovered fossilized tail indi- 1915. In an industry first, cated that Spinosaurus had a CollectA produced two broad keeled tail that was well quadrupedal Spinosaurus, one adapted to propelling the ani- walking on land and one in a mal through water more like a swimming pose. In the scien- than a crocodile. tific wold, there was a big For 2021 Safari Ltd. has Safari Ltd. debate on posture and how the released a new Spinosaurus Spinosaurus front legs were used, but with the latest tail. Papo is not Spinosaurus was accepted as known for its dedication to paleontological detail, prefer- ring figures to reflect images from popular media. This year they produced a limited release large figure with a modern tail reconstruction. It is a well- done figure if pricey, and I hope it sets a trend for Papo. It is a stand-alone figure, but you can use the new CollectA Xiphactinus, Sawfish and Dolichorhynchops to add verisimilitude to your paleoenvironment.

Prehistoric Times No.135 Fall 2020 27 Fig. 2. This described it WHAT I DID ON MY and identified it as a new species LOCKDOWN of Stokesosaurus, as Stokesosaurus by Dougal Dixon langhami. Published - and Fig. 1. still the local So, what did you do, dur- media didn’t pick ing your Covid-19 lock- up on it. The local down? Here is one of the people knew things that distracted me. nothing about it. I first heard about our But, of course, as a science writer and communicator, it was my job, wasn’t local tyrannosaur from it? The little museum in my home town of Wareham does a presentation given at Fig. 3 an annual meeting of have some acknowledgement of the dinosaur heritage of the SVPCA (the the area, but it could do with some expansion. And it was Symposium of undergoing a refurbishment at the time. This is where the V e r t e b r a t e local tyrannosaur should make its presence known. By this Palaeontology and time the animal had been reclassified as Juratyrant lang- Comparative ) hami. sometime in the early Brusatte, S.L.; Benson, R.B.J. (2013). "The systematics 2000s. The story was of Late Jurassic tyrannosauroids (Dinosauria: ) that a partial skeleton of from Europe and North America". Acta Palaeontologica this beast had been Polonica. 58 (1): 47–54. doi:10.4202/app.2011.0141 excavated from the Accordingly I offered to make a sculpture and design a Kimmeridge Ledges – a presentation about it. The trustees of the museum grateful- coastal cliff formation ly accepted my offer. So here is what I about a mile east of Kimmeridge Bay in Fig. 4 did. Dorset on England's south coast – and just The sculpture was about two feet about seven miles from where I live. long. I worked under the guidance of A tyrannosaur in the local area? How cool! Roger Benson from the University of I know the late Jurassic is a bit early for Oxford, and John Hutchinson from the tyrannosaurs, and it would be quite primitive Royal Veterinary College. The first job and a bit small. But a local tyrannosaur. was to build a skeleton. Wire and card- Wow! Just wait until the local media get to board, with the rigid bony bits sculpted hear about that! from Milliput. This was based on the But they didn’t. bones of the original specimen added The next thing I heard about it was its to Scott Hartmann's work on small paper in the Journal Paleontology. tyrannosaurs. Fig.1. Benson, R.B.J. (2008). "New information I did the head separately. Milliput on Stokesosaurus, a tyrannosauroid skull, Super Sculpey flesh and skin, (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from North America and the United teeth from Sculpey Bake & Bend (I was experimenting with this at the time, Kingdom". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (3): and surmised that the slight flexibility of the product would make the fine 732–750. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[732:NIOSAT]2.0.CO;2 teeth less brittle) and hawk’s eyes from a taxidermist supplier. Fig. 2. The individual muscles were added to the whole form with Super Sculpey. The muscle arrangement was basically that of Greg Fig. 5 Paul's Allosaurus drawing from 1987. Fig 3. Next, the skin, also made with Super Sculpey, with a scaly texture tooled on to it. Fig. 4. But then, of course, the plumage. I just wished that this had been twenty years previously, when no-one would have expected the animal to have been feathered. I hated the idea of all my lovely skin texture being lost under a layer of feathers. And so I went minimalist. I kept the face naked arguing that it would have been like the face of a vulture – an absence of feathers that would otherwise have been fouled by reaching inside carcasses. I kept the legs naked as well – after all, the ostrich of a similar size has naked legs. And this was the final figure presented to the museum in July 2014. Fig. 5. But time rolls on. And scientific discovery waits for no museum presentation. Now it is clear from subse- quent research that small theropods had feathery faces, and legs with feathers that ran down to their feet. So, with the closure of the museum for lockdown, I

28 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 reclaimed my sculp- Fig. 6 ture and reluctantly covered up the lovely detailing of the face and of the legs. Fig. 6. Now it is back in the locked down Fig. 7 museum, in its new clothes, just waiting to show off to the public once the estab- lishment is reopened after the crisis. So, dear readers of Prehistoric Times, you are having a pri- vate preview of the result. Fig. 7. Fig. 8a As a footnote, it is not the first time I have had to dress up one of my sculptures to keep abreast of changing scientific knowledge. Between the

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

years of 1994 and 2006 I had an annual lecture tour of elementary schools in the States, speaking to the students about dinosaurs. This tour was spon- sored by Boyds Mills Press, one of my American publishers. As a visual aid I brought along a full-sized sculpture of a Troodon – made of wire and bendy rubber so that it could fold up into a box and be flown to wherever my next engagement was. This Troodon, Trudy, had completely naked, lizard-like skin – acceptable at the time. Fig. 8 & Fig. 8a. Since then I have rebuilt her, with a covering of feathers. I wonder if any readers of Prehistoric Times were present at any of these lectures, and remember Trudy. If so, here she is as you have never seen her. Ta-raaaa! Fig. 9.

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 29 30 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 Concluding from Page 17 C o l u m b i a . Sternberg creat- Their main defense would ed a new cer- have been those shoulder atopian ichno- spikes though. These were genus based on impressive for any animal, these four-footed with the largest appearing p r i n t s , above the shoulder and rising Tetrapodosaurus high above the animal’s back. b o r e a l i s . Not only were they visibly Carpenter exam- imposing, perhaps deterring ined these prints any attack by making the her- closely and real- bivore look far larger than it ized that not was, they would have also only did they created a nasty surprise for belong to an any tall theropod that would a n k y l o s a u r have attacked them from instead of a cer- above. atopian, but they also belonged Discovery specifically to Sauropelta. Although named in 1970 Footprints can by , Sauropelta carry a lot of fossils go back much further information, than that. The first remains such as if the were unearthed by Barnum animal was Brown in the 1930s in walking or run- Montana’s Cloverly Formation, Big Horn © by Sergey Avtushenko for #Facts: Dinosaurs ning, heavy, bipedal, injured, alone, County. This was inside the Crow Indian even the weather conditions at the time Reservation, and although he never officially if you’re lucky. Thanks to the work of named the species, in lectures and various notes Brown used the Carpenter, his 1984 paper describing Sauropelta also contains name Peltosaurus to describe his nodosaur. This name was official- another interesting tidbit; the reason why so many ankylosaur fossils ly dropped though when it was recognized that this name already are found on their backs. He points out that in 1970 Sternberg sug- designated a species of lizard. It was John Ostrom’s expedition in the gested the heavy armor on the animal’s back meant that when in 1960s to the same location with the Peabody Museum of Natural water they’d sink legs up and thus were buried that way. In 1928 History at Yale (which unearthed more fossils), who tied all these Baron Franz Nopcsa suggested dinosaurs could be flipped over in specimens into the genus Sauropelta, creating the full name S. the way that happens with some . Carpenter points out these edwardsi. This was corrected by George Olshevsky in 1991 to con- ideas are flawed because the armor on a living nodosaur would have form with Latin grammar rules to S. edwardsorum. The continued had “a spongy core and a dense cortex. Fossilization fills the spongy use of Brown’s Peltosaurus in some places has created some confu- core with minerals, thus exaggerating armor weight.” As for the idea sion over the years, but its official species name is Sauropelta of being flipped “the general flatness of the Late Cretaceous coastal edwardsorum. plain would not provide many opportunities for that.” Their discovery has also highlighted something long suspected. Instead, the paleontologist points out what happens to a modern The nodosaurs appeared across armored species (the armadil- Europe and North America at lo’s) body after death. Either roughly the same time, indicating dead on the side of the road or they evolved from a closely relat- experiments with their corpses ed species shared between both near a swamp, the “limbs bloat, land masses. This could occur with the limbs extending stiffly only if there were still existing away from the midline…often land bridges between both causing the animal to roll onto its regions; land bridges that would back.” Carpenter of course soon disappear as, from this point points out comparing such a on, the dinosaurs of both regions small animal to something the would evolve into very distinct size of an elephant is problemat- species. ic but then went on to agree, explaining larger animals like Footprints cows and elephants do similar things, but they “do not roll onto Rarely can we classify ichno- their backs because their bodies fossils like footprints to a specific are laterally compressed”; in species, but in 1984 other words, they do not flip Carpenter took a serious Digital Sauropelta edwardsorum sculpture for #Facts: Dinosaurs. Ground base onto their backs because look at a sequence of fossil and model block-in by Raul Ramos. Sergey Avtushenko detailed and Joanna their bodies are taller than prints reported in 1932 by Kobierska painted, textured, rigged, posed the model/the base the model is stand- wide. Charles Sternberg in British ing on, and final renders. Raul Ramos and Steven Bellettini also supervised.

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 31 IDA the Darwinius maxillae

Art & Article © Esther van Hulsen

The fossil Darwinius maxillae was discovered in the Messel pit (an unused quarry near Frankfurt) in Germany in 1983. It is the oldest and most complete primate skeleton ever discovered, with even the out- line of her fur and contents of her stomach intact. The fossil is 47 million years old. Messel in the time of the Eocene was much closer to the equator, and so much warmer. The environment showed lush sub- Here we see Ida as a baby. In the trees are hidden animals, like a , a walking stick and a beetle. tropical forests. In what is today the quarry, was an inland sea, with volcanic gases erupting from time to time. These gases overwhelmed ani- mals coming close to the surface of the water (for example to drink, or just fly- ing over) and they ended up in the bot- tom of the lake. The lake was very deep, and the water at the bottom Before reconstructing Ida, I made a lot of sketches and studies. The fossil contained few bac- shows quite a bit of hair on top of her head. Her colouring is speculative, teria and little oxy- but the rings on her tail are based on the fossil again, where it looks like gen. This made the there is some ring-like patterning in the tail fur. animals turn into beautifully pre- served fossils. If you look at the fos- sils, they appear to be almost peaceful, like they are sleep- ing. This was almost the case, being unconscious when they drowned. The most famous fossil from Messel, of course, is that of the primate Darwinius masillae, aka Ida (named after the daughter of her discoverer, Prof. Jørn Hurum). Not many primate fossils have been found, probably because these animals do not come to lakes to drink often, but get their water from fruit and dew in the trees. Ida’s skeleton however, shows she is quite young (she still has her milk teeth) and has a broken wrist, which is partially healed. This probably meant she could not climb that well, being forced to go to the lake to drink. Due to this she could have been overwhelmed by gases and turned into the fossil we know today.

The contents of Ida’s stomach show some seeds and fruit.

32 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 20210 In the Eocene, mammals were still small and developing. The top The lake, with an early predatory mammal (Messelogale), a small tapir, predators of that time were massive birds. Here we see Gastornis. crocodiles, Ibis, Buxolestes and Eocoracias (a kingfisher like bird)

The small ancestor of modern horses, Eohippus, lived in the dense under- Ida sinking to the bottom of the lake. Fish were not affected by the vol- growth in the forests of Messel. Here, Ida spots some. She has a broken canic gases in the water. Here we see Atractosteus. wrist and can’t climb trees for a while.

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 33 2020 Papo extraordinary horns on its head. Much like Dracorex, “Stygi” is a bit What’sWhat’s NewNew with movable controversial because there are those jaw that believe it simply is a in review Pachycephalosaurus, just showing variation in the genus. By Mike Fredericks Papo also surprised many with its Megaloceros figure. The Irish elk also called the giant deer or Irish deer, is an extinct species of deer; Papo of France creates highly 2020 Papo one of the largest deer that ever detailed prehistoric animal figures (if Chilesaurus lived. Its range extended across not always the most scientifically accu- Eurasia during the Pleistocene, from rate.) They were a bit late releasing Ireland to Siberia. Papo isn’t known their new figures for 2020 presumedly for producing prehistoric mammals because of the virus. Dean Walker and so let’s hope this is a new trend. his amazing dejankins.com was kind Their majestic Irish elk will be a fine enough to send us these figures for 2020 Papo Megaloceros addition to your collection. And the review here in “What’s New - In fifth figure from Papo is their existing Review.” Let’s start with what might 2020 Papo feathered Velociraptor figure with a new be the most controversially posed of Stygimoloch speckled paint job on its feathers. the group, the Giganotosaurus. Dejankins.com sent these to me so you Giganotosaurus was a giant theropod know where to get them. Check out their dinosaur of the Late Cretaceous of site with its enormous inventory of pre- (Argentina.) One PT read- historic animal figures for sale at the er said, the Papo figure is posed lowest prices. Also, you will receive their standing so upright that it looked a friendly service. little like a man wearing a dinosaur costume. Another told me it remind- 2020 Papo Feathered Although not in hand yet, CollectA ed him of the Dilophosaurus pair of Velociraptor has sent us photos and descriptions of figures that Safari Ltd. released many (Spreckled) their 11 new prehistoric animal figures years ago in which the two are posed for 2021. So, let’s take a look, shall we? in combat (Papo’s Giganotosaurus Xiphactinus - having already fea- has no fighting companion, however. Recently Papo produced a tured it in their CollectA Box mini Pentaceratops whose feet were cleverly designed to allow it to stand on four series, designer Anthony Beeson had legs or rise up on its back legs. Its upright pose would make it a fitting bat- wanted the opportunity to introduce tle partner with Giganotosaurus but they never would have actually had the this Late Cretaceous fish into the main pleasure of making each other’s acquaintance) Holding the figure, it is very series for some time. When viewed large (8”) and super detailed, as Papo figures always are. It has the move- from above it is modelled moving in a able lower jaw that is so in fashion with dinosaur figures these days. It is a gentle S pose which unfortunately does shame it can’t be cantilevered into a pose more parallel to the ground. It is, not show in photographs taken from the sides. As a large predatory and otherwise a gorgeous dinosaur figure. fanged fish Anthony based its color scheme on that of the present day preda- The second figure that is a bit controversial in pose is the Chilesaurus, tory tarpon (to which it is not related). It is produced for the Deluxe series. as it is posed as a quadruped when most believe it was a biped. In fact, of Elasmosaurus - A popular size figure of the Late Cretaceous plesiosaur all the art of Chilesaurus on the internet, I couldn’t find a single illustration is also included. It is depicted in the act of turning to hunt a shoal of fish of Chilesaurus on four legs (or even three legs as this figure is actually (again proving difficult to photograph to show this!) The tail bears a fluke posed. I know one of you wise guys reading this was thinking it) as CollectA first introduced with their Chilesaurus was a herbivore of the Late Jurassic period that lived in - you Dilophosaurus earlier model of Thalassomedon. guessed it - Chile. Papo’s Chilesaurus is an interesting and original This year's addition to the prehistoric dinosaur to produce as a figure. It is detailed with a nice camo paint beasts is the glyptodont Doedicurus from scheme and moving jaw (of the South American Pleistocene- course.) And, who knows; scien- Holocene eras. CollectA has rejected the tists change their mind and maybe Mamenchisaurus idea of long spikes on the club as these someday Papo will have the last would be in danger of snapping off. They laugh when it is decided that would not be practical in what was Chilesaurus was a quadruped all Elasmosaurus probably its main purpose in mating along. conflicts between males where the Papo’s third new dinosaur is idea is to show strength and not to kill Stygimoloch. This beautiful figure rivals. One can give a harder blow is painted green on top and a tan with a knobbly club. Although no doubt used as well in defence, the or flesh color on its underside. It Neovenator is marvelously detailed and limited movement afforded to the head appears to be bellowing with its Megalosaurus would rather limit the animal's ability to tongue slightly sticking out. use the club effectively against an attack- Stygimoloch looked much like a er. pachycephalosaur except with Dilophosaurus - A new Deluxe model

34 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 Kamuysaurus Xiphactinus male Pteranodon, has an articulated jaw. The Late Cretaceous North Dead Brontosaurus prey American pterosaur is shown in a grounded quadrupedal posture. Uniquely the model has been given a tail 'tassel', perhaps used in mating rituals, suggested by the existence of the skeleton. Also produced is a Doedicurus novelty Advent calendar with a mini dinosaur behind each door and an AR function Dinosaur CollectA Box 3 - A new selection of ten CollectA Pteranodon mini dinosaurs. All, apart from the Pliosaurus are new models based on existing CollectA models and can of course be used as juveniles with the larger models including , Therizinosaurus, , Utharaptor, Pliosaurus, Pravitoceras , Mercuriceratops, Guidraco, Iguanodon and Mapusaurus. Also in CollectA’s Popular series is a model of the Late Cretaceous Japanese hadrosaur Kamuysaurus with a short flat crest on its forehead. In their dinosaur prey collection introduced in 2012 is added a dead Brontosaurus to the collection. The ani- mal is depicted in an ungainly pose of collapse, with wounds shown on its body. CollectA AR dinosaurus CollectA Box of mini dinosaurus In the Deluxe series comes a model of the Chinese Late Jurassic sauropod of the Early Jurassic theropod Mamenchisaurus Dilophosaurus will replace the old with a tail club sug- Popular series model. The new model gested by the fused incorporates the recently announced vertebrae on its tail. alterations to the double crests and CollectA have also upper jaw of the animal produced a second Pravitoceras - The Late Cretaceous CollectA AR gift Japanese ammonite Pravitoceras joins set using minia- the range of prehistoric sea creatures. tures. The attractive body shell is S-shaped and forms a retroversal hook. While we haven’t heard directly from Safari Ltd yet, our spies (ha) Also included are two British tell us they are adding an accurate, swimming Spinosaurus, plus theropods to replace earlier models in Baryonyx and Daspletosaurus that all look fantastic. An interesting addition the Popular series that will now be discontinued plus a Pteranodon to be are an Armored T. rex and Armored Triceratops. These fantasy figures added in the Supreme series. The Middle Jurassic dinosaur Megalosaurus remind me of the old Tyco Dino Riders series of toys (which Mattel is bring- incorporates the recent suggestion of dinosaurs having lips and based the ing back - sort of). Also new are “Dino Dana” adult and baby T. rex aug- model with its elongated head on the mented reality figures. Watch them move. Hear them roar. anatomy of Torvosaurus, a close rel- 2021 Safari Ltd. Daspletosaurus ative. The model was designed to show the theropod lying in wait for 2021 Safari Ltd. armored 2021 Safari Ltd. armored Triceratops prey and hence the descriptive title T. rex of 'Megalosaurus in ambush' designed to be placed within, or behind a glade of CollectA's prehis- toric plants. The Popular model of the Early 2021 Safari Ltd. Baryonyx Cretaceous Neovenator is a new take on the theropod and again incorporates lips. As the animal is credited with large nostrils and its snout contained a complex system of neurovascular canals, seemingly function- 2021 Safari Ltd. Spinosaurus ing as sensory organs, the descriptive title given to the model is 'Neovenator scent- ing prey'. The Supreme model of a

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 35 al different “raptor tactical PNSO Lambeosaurus The Chinese Dino teams”($75,) a Sinoceratops in red or green, a Spinosaurus and an Connection Allosaurus. They make a “Berserker” 1/35 Giganotosaurus or Dino in a Nanmu Ankylosaurus ($113.) There is also their 1/35 JP “Alpha” raptor in green or brown China Shop and JP Ceratosaurus in red or blue. by Mike Fredericks There is a JP 1/35 Mosasaurus, JP Apatosaurus “Bastion,” As an extra to “What’s New in Stegosaurus in red or green ($63) and Mace red or blue Ankylosaurus. Review” I present a report on the Rebor In their Dino-Soul series is a wounded many dinosaur models being sold in Nanmu Jurassic World Sinoceratops China, most available on the inter- Ankylosaurus. There is a beautiful gray net for westerners to purchase. My in 1/35 ($95) and attempt here is an introduction and Carnotaurus ($75.) There is also a (with some scales and prices when I Indominus rex that includes a know them) not an all inclusive list. Hammond-like character figure. I’ve talked about the Rebor Vitae makes both small affordable Company in PT before. They give dinosaurs and large more-pricey ones. their dinosaurs human names. They In their small $20 range of soft figures offer 1/18 Sweeny the Velociraptor, 1/35 Rebor are such Chinese dinos as Killer Queen rex ($70), 1/35 Hercules Velociraptor Wuerhosaurus (stegosaur), Acrocanthosaurus, 1/35 King Kong V rex Zhejiangopterus (pterosaur), ($70 from the movie), 1/35 PNSO Microraptord Chilantaisaurus (Theropod), and the Dilophosaurus pair ($80, why are Dilophos armored Zhejiangosaurus. Among models in pairs so often?), their 1/35 models are Sinraptor Ankylosaurus ($60), Sinoceratops PNSO Spinosaurusd ($85,) Giganotosaurus ($125,) (as seen in Jurassic World) in two Teratophones ($270 w/base,) different colors ($180), Jack, ($300,) leaping Velociraptor ($48) Majungasaurus ($85,) plus various Armatus Stegosaurus figure fossil home decor. ($59.95) and Baby Clover PNSO is an incredible company Hatching Stegosaurus Limited that is making some of the best look- ing dinosaur figures available. I own edition ($149.95) W-Dragon I don’t always know a lot about the several of their dinosaurs that have Giraffatitan Nanmu Mosasaurus companies themselves. The next one is arrived in nice, photo box packaging. called W-Dragon and some of their stat- Here is a list of just some of their uber- ues are pricey. I have heard that a lot of detailed figures: $40, collectors were buying their recent “Wilson” T. rex $40, Lambeosaurus $25, Giraffatitan (Brachiosaurus) for around Atopodentatus $23, Triceratops $50, $100, but that’s not the pricey dino. They Corythosaurus $39, Spinosaurus $68, offer a 1/20 male, resin T. rex $500, and Basilosaurus $50, Tuojiangosaurus $25, Rexy, a female T. rex (around $90) plus Ankylosaurus $25, Mosasaurus $60, Female T. rex bust ($700.) These T. rex Stegosaurus $20, Giganotosaurus on base statues all have a distinct Jurassic Park $75, Tsingtaosaurus $12, influence. W-Dragon also offers Chungkingosaurus $70, Giganotosaurus ($90), Deinonychus on base $56, Spinops $25, ($400), Spinosaurus ($100) and splashing Nanmu Yangchuanosaurus vs Chungkingosaurus Allosaurus ($75.) Stegosaurus on base $76, Mamenchisaurus $65 and IToy Studio produces many PNSO Borealopeltad Dakosaurus $19. They also offer a large dinosaur models. Don’t let the series of small prehistoric animal figures name fool you. These are not toys. at $7. There is a T. rex and Velociraptor gift set, a “Resurrection” Dilophosaurus (by itself with mov- ing jaw $200.) Also in the ITOY Ceratosaurus Resurrection series is a Ceratosaurus ($75) and a 1/35 Velociraptor ($45). Also for sale is a male Velociraptor head bust, 16” Rexy T. rex on base, and Juvenile Velociraptor for $50. Also produced is a Jurassic Park II T. rex for $140. Another big producer of dinosaur figures is Nanmu Studio which are ITOY Studio almost exclusively Jurassic Park themed dinosaur figures. They offer sever- Velociraptor

36 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 LLoongngisisqquauammaa © Roz Gibson

By Phil Hore [email protected]

©Aaron Marsh of Siberia now behind them and having bypassed a large rift valley they dubbed the Tethys Rift, the expedition is now entering what will one day become Europe as they try to find a path south into future Canada. © Cody Zaiser Thanks to the spon- sorship of Time Inc, the Imago Mundi Society and vehicle supplier Forota, join us now as the Pangeans travel from sea to shining sea.” The camera pans around the three fig- ures standing in the middle of the glade of giant tree ferns. Payment Received. About them flitters Transmission incoming from Time Inc. Entertainment. various , with “Determined to travel from the North Pole to the South Pole, Amos Barrett their tiny bodies glowing in the darkening evening sky. and his team of adventurers have arrived in the Late Triassic to drive the “This was unexpected,” one of the figures exclaims, catching one of the length of Pangea, the only time in the planet’s history when the continents insects in a glass vial and then putting the vessel up to his tiny eye magnifi- had fused into one giant landmass. er, a loupe, usually used by jewelers. “As I thought, these are not naturally Having traveled less than one-third distance and with the tropical forests bioluminescent.” Dr. William Clarence, the group’s entomologist, gathers a few more specimens in similar vials and hands them out to the other two. “These could be handy if you ever lose your torch.” © Andreas Forrer “If they’re not naturally lumi- nescent like a firefly, why would they be glowing?” one of the figures in the dark asks. “So far they’re all ©Mike Landry

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 37 © Roz Gibson © Chuck Egnaczak

dence though that at sea luminating species are almost as old as life itself.” One of the other figures turns to a camera floating by and states. “The males; so my glowing bugs were unexpected, and they’re not the reason we guess is they are are here. When it was announced we’d be passing through what ©Jeff Slack feeding on some would one day be Russia, one species we were tasked to col- unseen lumines- cent fungus and using the light to attract a mate.” Clarence places his vial in a speci- men box for later investigation before explaining. “True biolumines- cence has evolved dozens of times independently, though in verte- brates it likely did not appear until the late Cretaceous, or lect was these….” perhaps even just With that the expedition’s zoologist, Darlene Page, lifts her before the Ice torch beam into the tree canopy above their heads. Age. There is evi- “Longisquama, arguably the first terrestrial vertebrate to ever fly.” Above the night comes alive with strange, sleek creatures with odd wings

© Arthur Machabee

© Anders Bang

38 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 zipping from branch to branch, snatch- © John Sibbick the word “if” ing any that crosses their path. more times www.johnsibbick.com “These animals don’t look like much than I have in compared to a world filled with birds, my life. but this was a big step evolutionarily. 1. Guinness No longer were tetrapods tied to the World Record earth; now they could enter the skies Holder. How above.” often do we Having either misjudged its leap or cover a true misidentified the time travelers as a GWRH? In tree, one overly ambitious 2000 the offi- Longisquama lands on the head of the cial description third figure, a mechanic called Ray of “feathers” in Monarch. Gingerly Page places a hand this species led over the shoulders and back of the rep- the folks at tile, ensuring it could not escape, and GWR to lifts the creature up. “Terrarium?” she asks. announce that this prehistoric animal was the first ever feathered creature, a The ‘former tree’ picks up one of the small packages at their feet and record they still hold. I even contacted GWR to maybe get their famous logo opens the receptacle. In one smooth, practiced motion the zoologist has the to use for the magazine, and they did reply, but I ran out of time to get the specimen in the container, and the door is closed. thing organized. “This little fellow is worth a lot to our sponsors. A breeding pair of living 2. Researching this species I discovered a new clade I was not aware of, specimens were all our Russian media partners asked for, and bringing them the Avifilopluma. The avifiloplumes contain all animals with feathers— back gives us sponsor deals and free-to-air rights in the nation for this very simple; well, maybe not so simple because this clade is based on apomor- program.” phy, a single, unique, shared feature. This clade contains many theropod “The world of modern media rights,” Ray says, unconsciously brushing dinosaurs, birds, and possibly Longisquama. Larry Martin was a firm his hair with a hand in case the reptile had deposited something there. “Who believer in this idea, producing a paper on Longisquama, proposing it was knew such a little thing could enflame so much national pride?” the ancestral form of dinosaurs and birds. “Nonavian Feathers in a Late Dr. Clarence watches as a lizard flies out of the night and snaps at one Triassic ” leads us to the obvious question that’s been asked since of the bugs flittering past his face. “People and countries have found pride the fossil was first unearthed: Are these odd, complex structures on the back in all sorts of things over the years, and so the Russians asking for a speci- of Longisquama true feathers, strange physical projections, weird reptilian men of the world’s first flying vertebrate is little enough to ask for the enor- scales, or something else? mous financial support they have backed the expedition with.” Some ornithologists who were never comfortable with their beloved birds “True enough,” Page says, loading the reptile into the back of the truck. being reassigned as dinosaur relatives were quick to jump on this specimen. “Now grab three more, preferably a male and two females judging by this Here was a chance to separate the two groups once more, and the fella’s anatomy. They’ll be the basis of a new breeding program in Moscow.” Smithsonian’s Storrs Olson told the New York Times in 2000 that these “Three more,” Ray says, looking up at the trees above. “Who knew I “extraordinary structures really can be only feathers…. It's extremely would become a lizard wrangler?” important, more important than the discovery of .” “The ability to adjust to highly unusual circumstances and take part in Originally it was thought there was a double row of these odd projec- all sorts of activities,” Page replies, while smiling and recalling the phrase tions, and they made up a strange sort of wing surface, more like a gliding from the contract all expedition members had to sign. mammal’s than a bird’s or pterosaur’s. “Unusual circumstances,” the mechanic agrees as he slowly pivots, The possibility next arose that the appendages originated from follicles revealing another lizard that had landed on his back. “They’re not paying me around the neural ridges running along the top of the vertebrae. These enough for this.” appendages have been described as feathers, scales—maybe even hair- “Well, you could quit.” Clarence says, absently trying to catch a non- like—and after 60 years that’s about as close as we know what the structures glowing female bug responding to the male in the vial he was holding. “I’m were actually used for. Were they feathers? Did they fly? Were these elon- pretty sure 200 million years will easily cover the two weeks’ notice gated skin protrusions used for sexual display, intimidating rivals, or per- required to leave the position.” haps even a warning signal against predators? “Funny, you’re all soooo funny,” Ray says as Page pulls the reptile off his Possible evidence of the last was that of the numerous specimens back. “I’ll be in the truck when you want to leave.” unearthed, not all of them display these features or have more or fewer pro- As the mechanic walks off into the dark toward the vehicle’s cabin, the jections than the original specimen. Are they missing some? Are we seeing two scientists hear a meaty whack and the the difference between males and man curse. From the dark he eventually © Nick Papadimitriou females, mature and juvenile mutters, “I think I have your third lizard, specimens? Did these features Dr. Page.” appear only on males and grow Loud, uncontrolled laughter echoes as the individual aged? throughout the forest, sending many more Some of these appendages startled leaping into the night sky. can be nearly 12 inches in length, making them longer than the Longisquama, the ‘Long Scale’ actual animal’s body length and a sizable biological investment, but I’ve been working in the paleo-world for so what? Peacocks have ridicu- over two decades, and rarely does anything lous tails, yet without those catch me by surprise anymore. insane feathers they’re simply Researching information for this article I not going to get the girl. In view really did keep coming across some amaz- of those birds, is not anything ing facts about this odd species. I also read possible when it comes to sexual

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 39 display in animals? Compared to the pea- Sharov looked at his fossils and cock, Longisquama seems to have gotten off © M. Elliot Massion believed the parafeathers appeared rather lightly IF it turns out they were used from the posterior of the humerus and for displays, and let’s face it, even if they forearm and likely overlapped to cre- flew, there’s every chance they still used ate a flying surface, much the way but- these projections for display, be that sexual terfly wings do. To add to the opinion or as a defensive measure against attack. these were feathers, the Russian As mentioned above,the appendages believed he saw another feature that seem to have attached to the tops of the ver- belonged on birds, a furcula. Others, tebrae, with the largest running longer than however, do not see a bird’s wishbone the actual animal’s body (up to 12 inches). in the fossil; instead they see paired Many birds today have such displays, and , meaning the specimens are it’s not just peacocks. Ribbon-tailed not closely related to dinosaurs and astrapia—and my vote for the greatest birds at all but manifest simply as a species name ever, the Greater Racket-tailed basal reptile. Drongo—all sport tails longer than their 7. There was a brief suggestion bodies, and all fly. Many animals sport sim- these animals were warm blooded and ply ridiculous body features, ones you would evolved and used their feathers not for consider far more hindrance than help to flight, but as insulation. I found it hard their everyday struggles. Sex in the animal to find anyone who ever supported kingdom can create some weird, weird things, and so a few feathery projec- this theory, however, and it seems to have been dropped early on during dis- tions from the back of a small lizard that might have helped them soar from cussion about the nature of this reptile. tree to tree is not even close to the most bizarre feature an animal could 8. Although Longisquama may not have flown, the idea that such evolve in the name of procreation and survival. in the Triassic could not fly is a little inaccurate. One of the Late 3. Some modern reports note there’s likely only one row of projections Permian/Triassic groups they may have belonged to (or evolved into) was on the body, not two, meaning they’d be useless for flying because you don’t the Avicephala, which means if true then there’s a fair chance these odd lit- get very far with only one wing. Things got even stranger when some tle reptiles were indeed the first to take to the air. reports claimed that these weird features never even belonged to the animal Scurrying around either at the same time or a little after Longisquama in the first place. These authors suggest the structures were merely back- did, the avicephalans show clear signs of flight. Coelurosauravus, ground plants, perhaps fallen leaves from a fern, and that the animal had Kuehneosaurus (possibly Ozimek volans) and Sharovipteryx fossils reveal simply been buried with this incidental material. This last idea has been all of these lizards had similar structures to allow them to fly or glide. The pretty much dropped by most scientists because the evidence for the struc- modern forest of southern Asia also contains the modern flying lizard, tures being botanical is pretty flimsy. Very few plants found in the fossils Draco volans; so it’s not like the theory of a flying Longisquama is without around the area look like the structures, and the one that does is missing the merit. kick at the end that makes each projection resemble a mini-hockey stick. Clearly, more definitive specimens are needed before this mystery will ever be solved. 4. David Peters has also stepped into the Longisquama debate, claiming here is the long sought-after gliding ancestor of the pterosaurs. With this in mind Peters has placed these lizards in a new group, the fenestrasaurs, which includes pterosaurs. More likely they are Archosauromorphs, a group that includes all rep- tiles that are more closely related to archosaurs like dinosaurs and croco- diles than they are to other reptiles. Because pterosaurs are also archosauro- morphs, well for a brief moment I started to ponder if Peters had been entirely wrong with his speculations. Just as I was editing this article to send to Mike, though, Facebook erupted with an announcement: “The origin of pterosaurs has been one of the most enigmatic issues of paleontology since the first discovery of pterosaurs in the late 18th century,” said Martin Ezcurra, a paleontologist from the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences in Buenos Aires. The author of this new paper on pterosaur evolution goes on to explain “that lagerpetids are the closest-known rela- tives to pterosaurs and bridge the anatomical gap between pterosaurs and other reptiles.” [Lagerpetid means ‘rabbit-reptile’.] 5. Although discovered in the 1960s, very few western scientists ever got to see a Longisquama fossil thanks to the ongoing cold war. Even sci- ence found itself hindered during the midpart of the twentieth century, and many discoveries behind the Iron Curtain remained a mystery for decades. In fact, the first time western paleontologists got to see firsthand a Longisquama was in the 1990s, when a fossil exhibit from Russia began traveling the West. 6. The original specimen was described by a Russian paleontologist, Aleksandr Grigorevich Sharov. I just love the name of the paper he wrote on that first specimen: “A peculiar reptile from the lower Triassic of Fergana.” Do we need any more evidence than this that these reptiles were a bizarre, unique, peculiar group?

40 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021

New: “What Color Were Horned Dinosaurs & their Kin, Prehistoric Times Coloring Book?” Tracy Lee Ford and Mike Fredericks have now created eight coloring books of prehistoric animals. Over 50 illustrations per book. Only $9 each and packed with artwork. Next will be The PT Coloring Book of Prehistoric Birds. Only at Amazon.com

All Eight for you to color. Available ONLY at Amazon.com Coming Soon: “What Color Were Prehistoric Birds? Prehistoric Times Coloring Book” 42 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 20210 Montana. All for $13,995. Mike Dawson 307-655-3359 longer available through PT, Marx dinos in metallic WANTED: Thinking of selling your dinosaur collec- green and gold, Pom Poms candy boxes w/ Aurora CCrreettaacceeoouuss tion in whole or in part? Contact me first for options. I Prehistoric Scenes art on them, SRG metal Dinychthys may just be interested. [email protected] or fish, Chialu (Italian composition) Brachuchenius & 412-901-8982 Pteranodon, La Brea (Wm Otto) T. rex, For CCllaassssiiffiieeddss WANTED: David Krentz's bronze pieces and 1/72 Trade/Sale: vintage dinosaurs of most manufacturers. resin apatosaurus, Michael Trcic's 1/35 T-Rex from I’ve got a ton of old dinosaur figures for sale. I’m Meso-Zoo series, Tony McVey's Deinonychus "bird- always buying pre-1970s dino collectibles --Please watcher" Contact me at: [email protected]. contact Mike Fredericks 145 Bayline Cir, Folsom, Ca FOR SALE from FRANCE : WM OTTO La Brea 95630-8077, (916) 985-7986 [email protected] Tar Pits (American cave bear, ancient bison, Smilodon, Free to subscribers but must be Colombian mammoth, Teratornis ), HENKEL / OVO- Wanted: Hobby Trading Post (Nu-Card) updated each issue MALTINE numerous figures including rare DINOSAURS cards (B&W, post-card size) #'s 7, 13, Scolosaurus, Pterichthys and Pteranodon , YOPLAIT 15, 28. I will gladly purchase these but I also have (yellow scolosaur), STARLUX (possible complete set many duplicate cards available for trade. I would prefer For Sale: Dinosaur Fiction. Dinosaur fiction in and many figures), very rare CAFE BOCA (= mini "nice" condition cards (e.g., VG+ to Mint) without Pulps, Digests, Regular Paperbacks, Trade Paperbacks, Starlux 35 millimeters : Brontotherium, Deinotherium, major creasing or other significant defects. Please con- and Hardcovers. Great illustrations and stories. Many Baluchitherium, Saltoposuchus), PANINI, SCHLEICH tact me (Mike Riley) at: [email protected] or at like new condition. Send for listing. (classics series), LINDE (several complete sets with the 303-566-1267 (weekdays, 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, MDT). [email protected] or Richard Dumont, 750 Rhamphorhynchus from Austria), BASEL MUSEUM MODELERS: PT build up writer, Sean Kotz, now Whittemore Road, Middlebury, Ct. 06762. Tsintaosaurus, WAGNER dinosaurs (like Shreddies), has a national hobby column on line at the Examiner. I Australian-NZ PT readers - Reluctantly I have to NABISCO cereals (complete sets of mammals & am committed to bringing paleo models, sculptors and get rid of my PT back issues, but I'd like them to go to dinosaurs). Please contact me (Jean-Marie LEONARD) a good dino-loving home. I have 57 well-loved issues kits to the forefront on a regular basis, as well as all at: [email protected] other forms of modeling from plastic kits to rocket between No. 44 and 116 for sale [I'm missing 45, 49-57, WANTED: Bullyland Dire figure. If you have ships. Go to www.examiner.com and search for "Model 76, 88, 91, 93, 94, 97]. Selling together for AU$235 one I shall offer you a higher price. Contact: plus postage (if required) in Australia or NZ. Please [email protected] Building Examiner" or my name and bookmark or sub- contact me on [email protected]. Zdenek Burian souvenirs- Post cards, coffee mugs, scribe. You can also search on Facebook For sale: I’m thinning out my 30+ year collection of posters and more! See website at- http://www.zdenek- Playset Magazine Plastic heaven, America's best vintage dinosaur figures and memorabilia including a burian.com/en/ e-mail: [email protected] info on vintage playsets by Marx and others from the complete set of Brumm flat metal prehistorics, Chialus, SHREDDIES FOR SALE - I have the following Atomic Era and Beyond. Battleground, Zorro, news, Marx Linemar friction metal dinosaurs, Millers, includ- U.K. Nabisco Shreddies (1950’s) prehistoric animals for classifieds to buy, color glossy. Complete website list- ing a rare unbroken Ramphorynchus and Smilodon, sale. A full set of 20 in perfect condition (white) $650. ings too! www.playsetmagazine.com, email playset- Aurora Prehistoric Scenes models, Flintstone Hunting A full set of 20 in perfect condition except that the [email protected], or call (719) 634-7430 Party dinosaurs, original Shreddies and their Aussie Tyrannosaurus has the usual missing tip to the tail J H Miller repaired - your broken and incomplete variations, Timpo prehistoric figures, including the rare (mainly pale cream) $620. Single items all perfect vintage J H Miller plastic figures -expertly repaired. stegosaurus, which was never recast. Other available except for Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Ask for Nick Lamanec (484) 274-0315 sets or figures include a few Messmore and Damon Plateosaurus, Brontosaurus, , TOP DOLLAR PAID for prehistoric animal post- 1933 World’s Fair figures, World’s Fair triceratops bot- Palaeotherium, Mastodonsaurus, Tyrannosaurus (tip of cards including diorama scenes, statues, fossils, muse- tle opener and WF brontosaur paperweight, SRG, tail missing), Woolly Rhinoceras, Iguanodon. $25 each. um displays, etc. I also would like to purchase prehis- Cherilea, Alva, a few "mystery European metal flats, I can provide cream or white so please state preference toric animal museum or excavation site brochures and Partha Pewter, Perth Pewter, Sterling Lanier and I have others with slight damage for $10 -20 each. posters. If you have vintage dinosaur or prehistoric ani- (Smithsonian) bronzes, William Otto prehistorics, a The two time-wheels given with the ‘send-away for’ mal books or photographs from the 1900's up to 1980 near complete set of rare Kaiyodo Dinoland figures, sets $100. For Sale or Exchange: UK dinosaur toys please let me know since I also collect these. I have lots including the rare Quetzalcoatlus, books, postcards, and cards from the 1950's to the 1970's Timpo, for trade if that is preferable. Please contact Stephen souvenirs, and much more. Contact Larry at 703-527- Cherilea, Shreddies, etc. I will exchange for Sinclair, Hubbell (253) 851-7036 or email me at 0910 or [email protected] SRG, etc email [email protected] for my list. [email protected]. Jurassic Park Brachiosaurus vinyl model. Original Prehistoric Planet Store. “The Museum Where You kit in original box. Not recast. $85.00, includes ship- Can Purchase Every Exhibit”. We have over 1000 ping continental US. ANTS allosaurus skeleton kit. dinosaur skulls, skeletons, models, fossil, rock and min- Complete kit with instruction binder. Never started. All eral items at PrehistoricStore.com. Like our Facebook PT Subscribers! Did you parts still in separate plastic bags. Excellent description Page and post on our wall why you like check the address (not this particular item for sale) can be found here: dinosaurs.....We’ll enter you in our monthly drawing for http://brantworks.com/allosaurus-ants-kit.php a free replica dinosaur claw. label on your PT https://www.facebook.com/prehistoricplanetstore.com. $300.00, includes shipping continental US. envelope? If the number Dimetrodon, resin kit sculpted by Keith Strasser around WANTED: Aurora Prehistoric Scenes model kit pink 1996. Box opened but never assembled. A couple of the instructions from Canada (litho in Canada): after your address is tips of the spine may have snapped off, but I couldn't Neanderthal man (729), Cave (732), Tar Pit (735), Cave 135. it is time to tell if it was cast that way or not. Photos on request. Bear (738), Jungle Swamp (740), Three-Horned re-subscribe! $150.00, includes shipping continental US. Revell Dinosaur (741), Wooly Mammoth (743). Please send Quick Snap dinosaurs. Unopened, still in plastic bag. infos to: [email protected] Boxes show some shelf wear, some with old price stick- WANTED: & STOP- ers still attached. I have the following items: MOTION RELATED 'ZINES Colossa #1 (1993) / , Triceratops, & Dimetrodon. Your Hollywood Horror Classics #4 (1996) Cinemagram #1 (1964) / Cinefantastique #2 (Mimeo - Apr 1967) choice: $24.00, plus $7.20 shipping. Contact Elyse Mystification #6 (1965) / Animals Magazine (Aug Wong: [email protected], or (661) 327-8498 1969) - British Wonder #2 (Summer 1989) / Box WANTED: I've been searching many years for a Office Vol. 90 #16 (Feb 6 1967) Spectre #18 (Mar/Apr 1950-60s cereal premium Ajax Tyrannosaurus in tan 1968) / Photon #1, 7, 13 (1963, 1965, 1967) Vampire's coloured, waxy plastic. If you have this, I am very inter- Crypt #8 (Dec 1963) / Amazing Screen Horrors #6 ested to buy it for a very good price for the seller. (1966) Just Imagine #4 (1977) - British / Cosmos [email protected] Aventuras #9 (May 1964) Ray Harryhausen Journal For Sale: Dinosaur Museum going out of business, all (1973) / Animation Journal #4 (May 1965) Stop- exhibits. Life-sized T. rex Sue skull and 5 foot models Motion Monsters of Filmland #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 - Japanese Sue Alive and Sue skeleton by Joe Tippman. Life-sized (1990’s) King Kong: Unauthorized Jewish Fractals in Triceratops cast skull (BHI), T. rex, Triceratops, (1996) Contact: Scott McRae Velociraptor 1/12 scale models by Charlie McGrady ([email protected]) and large Triceratops sacrum fossil 65myo from Wanted: PT issues 1-22 & later back issues no

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 43 Fig.1 A couple of Daspletosaurus engage over the fresh carcass of a Centrosaurus. cess story in the history of land life”. Without a doubt, Bob’s influence would not have been so far-reaching were it not for the fact that he is also a gifted artist. His works are universally illustrated in his medium of choice (usually pen and ink), and bring his ideas about dinosaur ecology and behaviour to life. Best known of these, perhaps, is his famous 1967 illustration of Deinonychus in full sprint. His magnum opus The Dinosaur Heresies (1986, William Morrow and Co.) is likewise lavishly illustrated, and any dinosaur aficionado would recognize his work. Among Bob’s early admirers was Dr. Dale Russell (1937–2019), a ver- tebrate palaeontologist with the National Museum of Natural Sciences (NMNS, now the Canadian The Forgotten Dinosaur Art of Museum of Nature) who, in 1969, was tasked with the development of a new and long-overdue fossil Robert T. Bakker gallery in Ottawa. Coined “Life through the Ages”, the gallery was intended to walk its audience by Jordan C. Mallon & through Canadian fossil history, beginning with marine inverte- Darren H. Tanke brate fossils from the earliest Palaeozoic of British Columbia and culminating with the A renaissance marks a shift in the atti- Quaternary fossils of the tudes and behaviours of an entire soci- Chaplain Sea. At the centre of the ety. It can be hard to pinpoint any one hall would be a series of free- person as the focus of change. But we standing dinosaur mounts relay- can try. There were many key players in ing Dale’s ideas about dinosaur the so-called ‘’ of ecology and evolution. the 1960s through ‘80s, a time when Early in the design phase of the people were coming to understand gallery, Dale recommended Bob to produce the artwork for the dinosaurs as active, intelligent animals, Fig 2. A flock of Dromeiciomimus scatter as a young bursts rather than the dull brutes of inherited information panels. In July, 1970, wisdom. Some of these included Dr. forth from the forest behind. Bob received a contract from the John Ostrom (1928–2005), who named NMNS, stipulating that a series the speedy predator Deinonychus, and Dr. Peter Galton (1942–), who of ten restorations be produced—one per month—before May 15 of the fol- espoused the idea that dinosaurs did lowing year. These drawings were to not evolve from multiple, indepen- compliment planned new exhibits in dent stocks of reptiles, but rather the Life through the Ages gallery, and formed a single, successful evolu- were to feature restorations of: (1) tionary radiation. Perhaps the man Daspletosaurus, a new tyrannosaur who did the most to cement the coined by Dale in 1970; (2) ‘new look’ of dinosaurs in the pub- Dromiceiomimus, a new ostrich- lic consciousness was the forward- mimic dinosaur named by Dale in thinking Dr. Robert (“Bob”) Bakker 1972; (3) Euoplocephalus, an (1945–)—himself a student of armoured dinosaur; the horned Ostrom’s—who published a series dinosaurs (4) Anchiceratops, (5) of influential scientific papers and Styracosaurus, and (6) Leptoceratops; popular books and articles in the (7) and (8) ‘70s and ‘80s (not to mention Brachylophosaurus, both duck-filled appearances in numerous documen- dinosaurs; (9) Stenonychosaurus, a taries), pushing the idea of small, brainy dinosaur made famous dinosaurs as “the number one suc- Fig. 3 A pair of Euoplocephalus strike out against a looming Albertosaurus. by Dale; and (10) , a

44 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 small herbivorous biped. The initial contract did not specify the artistic medi- um to be used, and this was worked out in early conversa- tions between Dale and Bob. The men first got to know one another at Yale University in 1964, when Dale took up a postdoctoral fellowship there, and young Bob was an undergraduate student. The two spent countless hours dis- secting and illustrating animal anatomy in the basement of the Kline and Geophysics building. Dale encouraged Bob in the use of graphite and coquille board, which he himself had used to great effect during his recent PhD work on North American mosasaurs in New York. There was an efficiency about the medium that favoured its use over traditional pen and ink, and it was ultimately decided that Bob should use graphite to render his drawings on 24” x 40” coquille board for the museum in Ottawa. (Incidentally, for those dino-art buffs out there: Bob passed the technique on to Greg Paul later in Baltimore, so Dale unwittingly started a movement.) The concepts and initial layouts of the drawings were originally hashed out in person, during scattered visits by Fig. 4 A lone Anchiceratops is surprised by an irate and gutsy Struthiomimus hissing and Bob to Dale’s office in Ottawa. However, the finer points threatening to protect her chicks. were more often discussed by posted letter, something that Bob found slow and frustrating (timelines were tight, particularly with the “I understand your position with regard to the posture and habits of cer- flurry of other scientific projects atopsians and most certainly Bob was involved with). Dale’s respect it,” wrote Dale, feedback on Bob’s sketches was “However[…] I must ask you, often benign: the since I will bear the responsi- Dromeiciomimus should have a bility for input into the gallery, horizontal rather than vertical to make a few alterations in the pupil, the daspletosaur’s tail posture of Anchiceratops.” should be hidden in the trees, a In reply, Bob urged Dale to styracosaur should be removed check out the two articles on so as not to obscure the distant fossil tetrapod locomotor lambeosaurs. But there were mechanics that he had in press, more substantive clashes, too. totalling over 100 manuscript Regarding the piece featur- pages and 40 figures of dissec- ing two daspletosaurs fighting tions, ligament preparations, over the carcass of a dead cen- and stop-frame analysis of trosaur (originally a cine-film. Bob noted that the Styracosaurus), Dale and Bob idea that horned dinosaurs kept argued about the posing of the their elbows turned out was a animals. Bob had initially drawn holdover from early palaeon- one of the animals feigning a Fig. 5 A Styracosaurus pair is stirred by the passing of a herd of Lambeosaurus. tologists with limited under- blow from his hind foot, but Dale standing of forelimb anatomy demurred: daspletosaur claws and evolution, and he pointed are too blunt, they wouldn’t have struck with the hind feet. Bob countered out that the learned O. C. Marsh and J. B. Hatcher gave their dinosaur that and dogs strike with their restorations erect postures, too. It forepaws, and their unguals are even appears that little changed in the final blunter. Alas, Dale won the argument, product, and that Bob won the day. and the daspletosaur’s foot came These disagreements were always down (but not all the way to the professional in nature, and the work- ground). ing relationship between Dale and Bob Bob won his share of arguments, remained a lighthearted one. At one too. One of the longest exchanges point in their correspondence, when involved the Anchiceratops piece. As Dale realized that Bob would have to was his considered opinion, Bob illustrate two dinosaurs from behind, illustrated the animal fully erect, with he quipped, “You have a magnificent elbows tucked beneath the body and opportunity here to render the cloacha head held high in the air, as in rhinos [sic] in two orders of dinosaurs. I’ll be and elephants. Dale strongly dis- interested to note what the diagnostic agreed with this posture, and urged differences will be!” the artist to illustrate the dinosaur in a In the end, Dale and Bob’s collab- more widely-accepted semi-sprawl- orative efforts paid off to their mutual satisfaction, and Bob delivered all ten ing posture, with the elbows directed Fig. 6 On a Late Cretaceous floodplain, a couple of Leptoceratops pieces by the May, 1971 deadline. sideways. engage in intraspecific combat, as would a pair of wild boars today.

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 45 When Dale came to learn that additional mounts of Edmontosaurus and Triceratops would be displayed in the gallery, he petitioned the museum to contract another two restorations from Bob (this time at a higher rate, given that Bob had to purchase more materials). But although a few preliminary sketches were produced, it appears that a contract was never furnished. Illustrations by American artist Ely Kish (1924–2014) were displayed instead. Bob’s original ten drawings were displayed as part of the museum’s exhibit at the International Congress in Montreal in August of 1972. They were ultimately duplicated at reduced size and backlit to form part of the information panels that accompanied the skeletal mounts in the Life through

Fig. 7 A noisy threat display from two large male Hypacrosaurus awakens their sleepy conspecifics nearby. that hung in the halls of the Yale Peabody Museum and the American Museum of Natural History, depicting dinosaurs as languid animals on the landscape. Bob’s art would continue to be displayed in Ottawa until the last renovation of the fossil gallery was undertaken in 2004. His original pieces (and the associated correspondence) now reside in the archives of the Palaeobiology section of the museum. Some of the drawings have been reproduced in popular publications, but they are reproduced here together for the first time (the figure captions reflect the taxonomy of the day). Many have withstood the test of time and could still be used for museum exhibit signage, scientific papers, and public presentations today. For his part, Dale would continue to collaborate with other palaeoartists to great effect. Perhaps his most fruitful collaboration was with Ely Kish, Fig. 8 Two Brachylophosaurus dash into a ravine as a large Albertosaurus with whom he produced two lavishly illustrated books: A Vanished World gives chase. (1977, National Museums of Canada) and An Odyssey in Time (1989, University of Toronto Press). He also worked with Ron Séguin (1953–) in the production of wonderful life-sized models of Stenonychosaurus and his notorious ‘dinosauroid’ thought experi- ment. Sadly, Dale Russell passed away in December, 2019. As noted at the outset, Bob would go on to do great things, and he eventually put away the graphite and coquille board in favour of ink pens, which he still uses today. His latest artistic endeavour is a reconstruction of the skeleton of the small herbivorous dinosaur Drinker nisti, several skeletons of which—both young and old—he is currently digging up from Upper Jurassic deposits of Wyoming. Bob’s palaeoartistry shows no signs of slowing down, and we are all better off for it.

Thanks to Bob Bakker, Chantal Dussault, and Scott Rufolo for their help with this article.

Fig. 9 At nightfall, a small mammal scurries toward the safety of a fallen log in the Fig. 10 Two small Thescelosaurus stumble upon the enormous wake of big-eyed, predatory Stenonchosaurus. bulk of a sleepy Ankylosaurus. the Ages gallery, which opened in Ottawa in October, 1974. The senior author has fond memories of reading those panels during museum visits as a kid, which was his first introduction to Bob’s art. The junior author recalls that, as a teenager, he ordered a set of 35 mm slides of Bob’s art series sight unseen from the NMNH. Having grown up with the traditional image of dinosaurs, he was shocked when he received them. Here were dinosaurs as living animals—lifelike, active, and interacting—not swamp-dwelling dull brutes! The running Stenonychosaurus moving in three directions at once was the pièce de résistance of the series and his overwhelming favorite. It was somewhat ironic and appropriate that, a year or two later, on his very first day in the field with a museum crew, he witnessed the collection of the best skull cap of the animal known to date. Bob’s work for the NMNH holds a still greater significance in that it was among the first to introduce a museum audience to the modern look of the dinosaurs. Bob’s art stood out against the old Zallinger and Knight paintings

46 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 47 ook & N indle on K lable avai Also

48 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 49

The PT Interview: he grew up a “monster kid.” He went to the school of design but sold articles instead Gary Gerani - Creator of of art. His articles in Monster Times magazine led to his job the 1988 Dinosaurs Attack! card at the Topps Company in the early 1970s. There in set Brooklyn, New York he was writing trading cards before moving to the west coast in the Gary Gerani is a professional fiction/non-fiction writer and film critic. late 80s where he wrote As a screenwriter, he is best known for creating and co-authoring the screen- movies too. He wrote the play for (multiple Oscar winner) Stan Winston’s Pumpkinhead, a cult horror screenplay for Pumpkinhead film starring Lance Henriksen that has spawned three sequels. Gerani also with Stan Winston (Jurassic scripted Showtime’s adaptation of the popular Vampirella comic book (star- Park) a story that was original- ring Roger Daltrey), and now develops film/TV properties on a regular ly science fiction but evolved basis. He recently co-wrote the John Travolta racing car drama Trading into horror instead. Around Paint (2019), and another of his original scripts has been optioned by this time Gary also worked on Travolta. the Vampirella movie and Apart from screenwriting, Gerani has 35 years experience creating, devel- wrote his innovative book oping and producing countless items for the youth market. He worked on Fantastic Television. staff at Topps for over 20 years, writing and editing all movie/TV-related Before Gary’s time, Len products (including cards, books and magazines), in addition to creating Brown of Topps had created brand new franchises. In the early ‘80s, Gerani designed a significant pro- the Mars Attacks trading card totype for the phenomenally successful Garbage Pail Kids, and also helmed set at Topps in the 1960s. The the sci-fi cult property Dinosaurs Attack!, which was later optioned for a gruesome images of skull- movie adaptation by directors Tim Burton and Joe Dante. His work has faced Martians shockingly appeared in similar products published by various youth-oriented manufac- (c) The Topps Company, Inc. mutilating earthlings horrified turers, including Upper Deck, Artbox, Comic Images, Rittenhouse parents but of course kids loved them. A sequel to Mars Attacks didn’t pan Archives, and Inkworks. Gerani’s creative work for Topps, which started in out (although the cards later became a collectible, cult item with adult baby 1972, has continued all the way into 2020. boomers.) Also at that time, along with Mars Attacks were other Topps trad- Non-fiction author Gerani has also written a number of books/articles ing card sets like Civil War News and Battle which were all colorful and dealing with the movie and TV industry. His celebrated 1976 tome Fantastic beautifully painted by the great Norm Saunders but were also graphically Television was the very first book to explore science fiction, horror and fan- bloody and gruesome. tasy on the small screen. himself wrote the introduction to The Dinosaurs Attack! trading cards were also notable for their graphic one of Gerani’s non-fiction trade paperbacks. A new book, The Art of Joe violence and gore, intended to evoke memories of the suc- Smith (Hollywood movie painter extraordi- cessful Mars Attacks trading card series of 1962. The series naire), is due in 2020. And in 2021, the first was created as a follow-up to these successful trading card of a five-book Gary Gerani series called The series. Like Mars Attacks, Dinosaurs Attack! was intended as Card King Chronicles will be published, an homage and a parody of 1950s B-movies. Gary said that tracing and reviewing the hundreds of pic- dinosaurs were “making a comeback” in the 80s and he ture card, book, magazine, sticker album decided to do a dinosaur version of Mars Attacks for Topps. and candy products the author was in charge He named it, conceived it and drew much of it. Along with of since the early ‘70s. Gary were nine other artists that created the amazing In 2010, a number of Gary Gerani pro- Dinosaurs Attacks! artwork; Chet Darmstaedter (also known jects surfaced. He was at the helm of a new as Xno painted 80% of the cards), George Evans, Paul IDW graphic novel, Bram Stoker’s Death One of the less gruesome cards, auto- Mavrides (stickers), John Nemec, Earl Norem, John Pound Ship released on a monthly basis as a four- graphed by the artist Herb Trimpe (also painted many Garbage Pail Kids cards), Hal Robins part comic book series before the complete (c) The Topps Company, Inc. (stickers), Herb Trimpe (pencils) and James Worhola. Topps version hit bookstores. This spooky tale was fully behind the project even showing a provided the “lost facts” of what happened thirty second commercial spot for the cards on the fateful sea voyage that brought a rav- during kid’s TV shows. Joe Dante, Tim Burton enous Count Dracula from Transylvania to and Warner Brothers Pictures optioned for the the shores of Whitby, England. He also rights for the project to make Dinosaurs launched his own publishing company that Attacks! into a major motion picture. Michael year: Fantastic Press, a moniker inspired by Chrichton is said to have been heavily influ- his first trade paperback success, is an inde- enced by Dinosaurs Attacks! in writing his pendent imprint of parent company IDW. book Jurassic Park and ultimately Jurassic Gerani has also written a number of comic Park replaced Dinosaurs Attack! WB/Joe books and graphic novels based on his own Dante abandoned the Dinosaurs Attacks! successful creations, Pumpkinhead and movie project. Tim Burton made his Mars Dinosaurs Attack! Attacks movie instead and Universal made a different dinosaur movie; Jurassic Park. I started off by asking Gary a little about Gary said Dinosaurs Attack! was meant to be his early years and how he came up with the a melodrama with touches of parody, humor idea for his Dinosaurs Attack! He said that Another of the less gruesome cards (c) The Topps Company, Inc. and over the top cold war paranoia. For those 50 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 20210 of you few who are not familiar with the osaurus from the film The Giant Dinosaurs Attack! cards, here is a brief Behemoth and the Rhedosaurus from synopsis. Orbiting earth is the space lab- the movie The Beast from 20,000 oratory Prometheus, where Dr. Elias Fathoms destroying the Leaning Thorne will demonstrate his invention; Tower of Pisa, Gary’s tribute to the Time Scanner. Thorpe hopes it will Special effects wizard Ray allow him to view Earth’s past. First on Harryhausen. I like card #13 in the agenda: a view into the dinosaur era which a pair of plateosaurs? attack a to discover why they became extinct. The rock band on stage ripping off their experiment goes awry and all creatures hair. The back of the card shows the from the Period to the Late band members bald headed while a Cretaceous are brought forward into the reporter explains that the dinosaur 20th century. Around the world prehis- mistook their hair for the plants they toric monsters devour hysterical human ate in the Mesozoic. I pointed out to beings while Thorne and his associates Gary that card #15 “The on Prometheus work feverishly to correct Colonel...Shredded!” had the idea of their cataclysmic mistake. They succeed two dinosaurs tearing a man in two in returning the dinosaurs to their own pieces before it happened in the film time literally ripping many of them apart Lost World, Jurassic Park. Card #17 with the sudden jerk through time. It “Blue Water, Savage Death” was looks like the cause of the dinosaurs (c) The Topps Company, Inc. Gary’s tribute to the movie Gorgo. was us. But first a giant All the cards were tongue in cheek as hand reaches through the time screen card #36 “Comics Con Catastrophe!” has a dinosaur attacking patrons of a and grabs Dr. Thorne ultimately comic book convention and card #42 “Lights! Camera! Carnage!” portrays killing him. It is the evil life-force that a Japanese giant monster film being made when a real dinosaur’s foot comes watches over the dinosaurs known as crushing in, and card #43 “Business Lunch” has a double meaning when the Supreme Monstrosity - a dino executives having a business meeting themselves become the lunch of a devil god. It too is successfully sent dinosaur. back with the other prehistoric ani- The stickers that made up the set each showed a different dinosaur or mals. other prehistoric animal causing havoc with a scientifically accurate (for the Most all of the pictured in time) description of each on the back. the cards are real people working at I had to ask Gary which were his Topps including Gary Gerani as Dr. favorite cards in the set. He said he espe- Elias Thorne. A photo of Gary’s face, cially liked the idea of the T. rex attacking made up to look injured is on the back the dinosaur skeleton in the museum of card #52 “The Ultimate Sacrifice.” (#29 “Monster in the Museum”) and the The card set was made up of 55 trad- school room being attacked (#5 ing cards and 11 stickers. Topps “Homeroom Horror”) in which a four- braced themselves for feedback from fingered Allosaurus eats students and a shocked parents but didn’t hear too (c) The Topps Company, Inc. substitute teacher alive. much of it; the difference between the I thank Gary for taking the time for 60s and the 80s apparently. Comics and a graphic novel were made based this fun interview. If you are in the mood upon Dinosaurs Attack! A TV show was even planned with a promotional for a horror movie, watch Gary’s image showing a kid with a hatched Pteranodon. Gary pushed for a possi- Pumpkinhead. Also see if you can find a ble Dinosaurs Attack! sequel card set. His idea was to show dinosaurs in his- copy of Gary’s original book Fantastic toric settings like “The real reason the Titanic sank” etc. but it was not to be. Retailer’s promotional poster Television which talks about such great I couldn’t let Gary get away without only half-seriously chastising him (c) The Topps Company, Inc. old TV shows as Star for scientific inaccuracies in his prehistoric animals. On card #6 herbivo- Trek and The Twilight rous stegosaurs are shown eating policemen at the precinct and on the next Zone. And speaking of card toothless, fish-eating Pteranodons are shown attacking the good citi- the Twilight Zone, zens of Washington D.C. with beaks full of sharp teeth. This got Gary check out the Twilight laughing. (He truly seemed to enjoy the interview, as did I.) He told me that, Zone BluRay box set in of course, the cards were a bit of a parody and intentionally “over the top.” which Gary provides But I was relentless and pointed out that Dimetrodons were maybe ten feet commentary for many long at best and not as big as the soviet embassy as seen on card #27. His of the episodes. But response, with a laugh, “the bigger the better.” On card #39 trilobites are most of all, grab a set portrayed ripping open a man’s face. “But Gary, trilobites were vegetarian.” of Dinosaurs Attack! He explained to me that the devil dino god was making all the prehistoric cards that can still be animals evil, getting revenge for taking them from their own time. found for sale on the Other cards of interest include #8 “Crushing a Canine” which was a trib- internet. Gary is in the ute to the Mars Attacks card #36 “Destroying a Dog” in which the Martian process of writing a fires a ray gun at a dog while his heartbroken child owner looks on. Card book about his years #9 “Nuptial Nightmare” shows an enormous Triceratops gouging both the working at Topps so be bride and groom with two of its horns. Gary wrote all of the clever descrip- sure and look for that. tions on the back of each card. This card back just shows a wedding invita- tion with blood drops on it. Card #10 “ Under Seige!” portrays a pale- The comics (c) The Topps Company, Inc.

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 51 and Origin of Metazoans have been entirely rewritten to reflect substantial advances in these topics, plus there is a new focus on careers in paleobiology. This thick (and heavy) textbook is full of semi-technical and technical infor- MMeessoozzooiicc MMeeddiiaa mation. most pages include photos, illustrations or diagrams, mostly in by Mike Fredericks color. Quite an achievement. The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries - The Evidence and the People Who Found It by Donald R. Prothero, Columbia University Press, Hardcover : 376 pages, ISBN-10 : Jurassic West, Second Edition: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison 0231190360, ISBN-13 : 978- Formation and Their World (Life of the Past) second edition by John 0231190367. The theory of evolution Foster (Author), Dale A. Russell (Foreword) Indiana University Press; sec- unites the past, present, and future of ond edition, Hardcover : 560 pages, ISBN-10 : 0253051576, ISBN-13 : 978- living things. It puts humanity’s place 0253051578. The famous bone beds of the Morrison Formation, formed one in the universe into necessary perspec- hundred and fifty million years ago and running from Wyoming down tive. Despite a history of controversy, the evidence for evolution continues through the red rock region of the American Southwest, have yielded one of to accumulate as a result of many separate strands of amazing scientific the most complete pictures of any ancient vertebrate ecosystem in the world. sleuthing. Jurassic West, Second Edition tells the story of the life of this ancient world In The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries, Donald R. Prothero explores as scientists have so far been able to reconstruct it. the most interesting and important breakthroughs in piecing together the Aimed at the general reader, Jurassic West, Second Edition recounts the evidence for evolution. In twenty-five vignettes, he recounts the dramatic discovery of many important Late stories of the people who made crucial discoveries, placing each moment in Jurassic dinosaurs such as the context of what it represented for the progress of science. He covers top- Apatosaurus, Allosaurus, and ics like what it means to see evolution in action and what the many transi- Stegosaurus. But dinosaurs compose tional fossils show us about evolution, following figures from Darwin to barely a third of the more than 90 lesser-known researchers as they unlock the mysteries of the fossil record, types of vertebrates known from the the earth, and the universe. The book also features the stories of animal formation, which include crocodiles species strange and familiar, including humans and our ties to some of our and turtles, and , closest relatives and more distant cousins. Prothero’s wide-ranging tales other dinosaurs and mammals, clams showcase awe-inspiring and bizarre aspects of nature and the powerful and snails, and ginkgoes, ferns, and insights they give us into the way that life works. Easily read and entertain- conifers. ing while firmly grounded in fundamental science, The Story of Evolution It has been some thirteen years in 25 Discoveries is a captivating read for anyone curious about the evidence since I reviewed the first edition of for evolution and what it means for humanity. As the book claims, every- Jurassic West and this second edition thing evolves and changes. From reptiles to birds to mammals to humans features nearly all new illustrations. and everything inbetween, this fast moving book covers them all in a most This classic work includes new taxa interesting way. named since 2007, updates to the naming and classifications of some Fossil Men - The Quest for the Oldest skeleton and the Origins of old taxa, and expanded sections on Humankind by Kemit Pattison, William Morrow, Hardcover : 544 pages, numerous aspects of Morrison ISBN-10 : 0062410288, ISBN-13 : 978-0062410283 A decade in the mak- Formation paleontology and geology. This thick, hardback is highly recom- ing, Fossil Men is a scientific detective story played out in anatomy and the mended. Most every page has fossil photography or beautiful art; most in natural history of the human body. This is the first full-length account of the full color, to help illustrate the information. A wonderful description of the discovery of a startlingly unpredicted human ancestor more than a million American west’s Jurassic period. years older than Lucy. It is the ultimate mystery: where do we come from? In 1994, a team led Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record 2nd Edition by by fossil-hunting legend Tim White uncovered a set of ancient bones in Michael J. Benton and David A. T. Harper, Wiley-Blackwell; 2nd edition, Ethiopia’s Afar region. Radiometric dating Paperback : 656 pages, ISBN-10 : 1119272858, ISBN-13 : 978- of nearby rocks indicated the resulting 1119272854. A comprehensive overview of the science of the history of skeleton, classified as Ardipithecus life. Paleobiologists bring many analytical tools to bear in interpreting the ramidus (nicknamed “Ardi”) was an fossil record and this book introduces the latest techniques, from multi- astounding 4.4 million years old, more than variate investigations of biogeography and biostratigraphy to engineering a million years older than the world- analysis of dinosaur skulls, and from homeobox genes to . All famous “Lucy.” The team spent the next 15 the well-known fossil groups are included, including microfossils and years studying the bones in strict secrecy, invertebrates, but an important feature is the thorough coverage of plants, all while continuing to rack up landmark vertebrates and trace fossils together with discussion of the origins of both fossil discoveries in the field and becoming life and the metazoans. All key related subjects are introduced, such as increasingly ensnared in bitter disputes systematics, ecology, evolution and development, stratigraphy and their with scientific peers and Ethiopian bureau- roles in understanding where life came from and how it evolved and diver- crats. When finally revealed to the public, sified. Some unique features of the book are the numerous case studies Ardi stunned scientists around the world from current research that lead students to the primary literature, analyti- and challenged a half-century of orthodoxy cal and mathematical explanations and tools, together with associated about human evolution—how we started problem sets and practical schedules for instructors and students. walking upright, how we evolved our nim- New to this edition: the text and figures have been updated throughout ble hands, and, most significantly, whether to reflect current opinion on all aspects, new case studies illustrate the we were descended from an ancestor that chapters, drawn from a broad distribution internationally, the chapters on resembled today’s . But the dis- Macroevolution, Form and Function, Mass , Origin of Life,

52 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 covery of Ardi wasn’t just a leap forward funny business. On a field trip! And if she doesn't stop, we'll miss the school in understanding the roots of humanity, it bus.” All her grandchildren want to do is have a simple, no shenanigans, fun was an attack on scientific convention day at the museum. But when magic museum dust makes Grandma start and the leading authorities of human ori- sneezing, we know we're in for a wild time. With each sneeze, Grandma gins, triggering an epic feud about the turns into a different dinosaur and takes off. It falls to the kids to track her oldest family skeleton. down and keep her from making a mess of the museum. There are dinosaurs In Fossil Men, acclaimed journalist galore as each of Grandma’s sneezes trig- Kermit Pattison brings us a cast of gers a new transformation, giving readers eccentric, obsessive scientists, including the chance to identify different White, an uncompromising perfectionist dinosaurs and learn fun facts about each whose virtuoso skills in the field were one. In the book grandma turns into matched only by his propensity for mak- some well known but also some lesser ing enemies; Gen Suwa, a Japanese known dinosaurs, with a few words savant whose deep expertise about teeth about each as an introductory education. rivaled anyone on Earth; Owen Lovejoy, With each transformation she runs off to a onetime creationist-turned-paleoan- cause a little trouble with her grandkids thropologist with radical insights into in tow attempting to mitigate the dam- human locomotion; Berhane Asfaw, who age. It’s a fun idea for younger children survived imprisonment and torture to who will hopefully be interested enough become Ethiopia’s most senior paleoanthropologist; Don Johanson, the dis- to ask to learn more. I wouldn’t be worth coverer of Lucy, who had a rancorous falling out with the Ardi team; and the my salt as a dinosaur magazine editor if Leakeys, for decades the most famous family in paleoanthropology. I didn’t point out that Ankylosaurus is Based on a half-decade of research in Africa, Europe and North America, misspelled repeatedly in the book. Fossil Men is not only a important investigation into the origins of the human lineage, but the oldest of human emotions: curiosity, jealousy, per- severance and wonder. It is an extremely informative book that reads like an adventure novel.

Life Through Time: The 700-Million- Year Story of Life on Earth by John Woodward, Publisher: DK Children; Illustrated edition, Hardcover: 32 pages ISBN-10 : 0744020174, ISBN-13 : 978- 0744020175, Reading age: 7 - 11 years. Unearth 14 double-page scenes with illus- trated footnotes inside Life Through Time as it explores the origins of species that still exist today in early fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals. It takes readers through the years of dinosaurs and up to the appearance of our first human ancestors around six million years ago, to the evolution of hunter-gathering Homo sapiens in the Ice Age and the first civilizations. Perfect for children and parents to read together and discover the incredible story of life on our planet. Open the book to travel back in time and let the incredible 700-million-year journey begin! Dorling Kindersley produces many beautiful books on prehistoric life and we need to review more of them in PT. With artists like James Kuether and Davide Bonadonna (whose art is often seen in PT) their artwork is not only amazing but scientifically accurate. While their publications are mostly written for young readers, kids are far from the only ones to enjoy looking through and reading books like this latest of DK’s.

Prehistoric Pocket Calendar 2021 with Notes, Anti-Stress Coloring Pages and Interesting Facts about Extinct Animals by Stan Uchytel and Alexandra Uchytel, and Roman Uchytel (Illustrator), In 2021 you will find many prehistoric creatures. Jeffersonian Mammoth leaves its big footprints in the snow in January. In February you get into the cave to the mysterious hobbit; Flores Man. And in March you will recount the teeth of the giant ancient shark Megalodon. Twelve extinct animals with its interesting stories are on the page of each month including sheets for notes and anti-stress coloring pages for each ani- mal. You will love Roman’s photo realistic CG images of the animals plus pertinent facts to read about each. Available at amazon.com for $11.99.

The Adventures of Grandmasaurus by Caroline Fernandez, Shannon O'Toole (Illustrator) Common Deer Press, Paperback: 32 pages, ISBN-10 : 198876145X, ISBN-13 : 978-1988761459, Reading age: 5 - 8 years. Half Grandma, Half Dinosaur, All Mischief! “Grandma keeps running off doing

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 53 islands during a hurricane borne on debris. In another, a tortoise from the PALEONEWS Seychelles floated hundreds of kilometers across the Indian to wash up in Africa. "Over millions of years," said Longrich, "Once-in-a-century events are The first duckbill dinosaur fossil from Africa hints at how dinosaurs likely to happen many times. Ocean crossings are needed to explain how once crossed and hippos got to , The first fossils of a duckbilled or how monkeys and crossed © Raul Martin dinosaur have been discovered in from Africa to South America." Africa, suggesting dinosaurs crossed But the fact that duckbills and other hundreds of kilometers of open water dinosaur groups spread between conti- to get there. The study reports the new nents, even with high sea levels, sug- dinosaur, Ajnabia odysseus, from gests dinosaurs travelled across oceans rocks in Morocco dating to the end of as well. "As far as I know, we're the the Cretaceous, 66 million years ago. first to suggest ocean crossings for Ajnabia was a member of the duckbill dinosaurs," said Longrich. dinosaurs, diverse plant-eating Dr. Nour-Eddine Jalil, from the dinosaurs that grew up to 15 meters Natural History Museum of Sorbonne long. But the new dinosaur was tiny University (France) said: "The succes- compared to its kin at just 3 meters sion of improbable events (crossing an long, about as big as a pony. ocean by a dinosaur, fossilization of a Duckbills evolved in North America and even- terrestrial animal in a marine environment) tually spread to South America, Asia, and Europe. highlights the rarity of our find and therefore Because Africa was an island continent in the its importance. Late Cretaceous, isolated by deep seaways, it "Ajnabia shows us that hadrosaurs have set seemed impossible for duckbills to get there. The foot on African land, telling us that ocean bar- discovery of the new fossil in a mine a few hours riers are not always an insurmountable obsta- from Casablanca was "about the last thing in the cle." world you would expect," said Dr. Nicholas Longrich, of the Milner Centre for Evolution at Dilophosaurus Is a Lot Different Than We the University of Bath, who led the study. Dr. Think Longrich said: "It was completely out of place, Dilophosaurus made a deadly cinematic like finding a kangaroo in Scotland. Africa was debut in 1993's Jurassic Park, but over 27 years completely isolated by water, so how did they get later, science has provided a more accurate pic- there?" Map showing the location of ture. A newly published paper reveals that the A study of Ajnabia's distinctive teeth and jaw- duckbill dinosaurs during Jurassic-era Dilophosaurus was a lot different bones show it belonged to the Lambeosaurinae, a the Late Cretaceous period. than how it has been depicted in mainstream subfamily of duckbills with elaborate bony head Credit: Dr Nick Longrich media. Findings indicate that the dinosaur was crests. Lambeosaurs evolved in North America much larger than what we’ve seen in movies before spreading to Asia and Europe, but have never been found in Africa and that its bone strength, including in its crest and jaws, was significantly before. more powerful. Duckbills must have crossed hundreds of kilometers of open water by New research published in the Journal of Paleontology reveals that D. rafting on debris, floating, or swimming to colonize the continent of Africa. wetherilli was actually quite large. In fact, it was the “largest animal known Duckbills were probably to have lived on land powerful swimmers—they A new look for in North America had large tails and power- Dilophosaurus during the early ful legs, and are often Jurassic,” some 183- found in river deposits and million years ago. marine rocks, so they may Researchers studied have simply swum the dis- D. wetherilli skele- tance. tons from the "Sherlock Holmes said, Kayenta Formation once you eliminate the in Arizona’s Navajo impossible, whatever Nation and discov- remains, no matter how ered that this speci- improbable, must be the men could grow “up truth," said Longrich. "It to 20 feet in length” in addition to having more in common with was impossible to walk to birds than dinosaurs. Africa. These dinosaurs D. wetherilli, who was one of the earliest known large bipedal evolved long after conti- dinosaurs, and is “pretty much the best, worst-known dinosaur,” nental drift split the conti- according to Adam Marsh, lead paper author. “Until this study, nents, and we have no evidence of land bridges. The geology tells us Africa nobody knew what [it] looked like or how it evolved.” was isolated by oceans. If so, the only way to get there is by water." A news release from the University of Texas at Austin, where Marsh con- In reference to this feat, the dinosaur is named "Ajnabia odysseus". Ajnabi ducted his research alongside a professor from the university’s Jackson being Arabic for "foreigner", and Odysseus referring to the Greek seafarer. School of Geosciences, reports that five nearly whole D. wetherilli speci- Ocean crossings are rare, improbable events, but have been observed in mens were analyzed. This helped the researchers assert that, despite previ- historic times. In one case, green travelled between Caribbean ous claims that D. wetherilli had a “fragile crest and weak jaws,” the oppo-

54 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 site was actually true. Marsh’s analysis showed that D. Pennsylvania, said the find- wetherilli jawbones acted as scaffolding to buttress its ings, while interesting, don't strong mandibular muscles and that air pockets prove that raptors didn't hunt in throughout the skeleton served to “reinforce [the packs. Jasinski was one of the body] including its dual crest.” scientists that identified, D. wetherilli is not the only animal to have such air Dineobellator notohesperus, a sacs; today’s birds and even some dinosaurs, like cheetah-like raptor that lived Katepensaurus goicoecheai, also shared this anatomi- about 67 million years ago. cal feature with D. wetherilli. Jurassic Park author Deinonychus antirrhopus That animal had scars on its Michael Chrichton made his Dilophosaurus into a © Fred Wierum bones from injuries that had “spitter” of poison because he thought its jaws too healed before it died. weak to catch prey otherwise. He said different species of modern mammals behave differently, so it In birds, the air sacs help them fly by making them lighter in addition to makes sense that different raptors might, too. Lions live in big prides, for helping some of them inflate portions of their bodies to put on display for example, while other cats hunt alone, he said. potential mates. It’s also an effective heat dispersal method. D. wetherilli "I would venture to be on the side of things that there's a lot of variation had a complex network of air pockets spread between its sinus cavity and its among the behavior of these animals, and even if Deinonychus was not a crests indicating that it may also have been capable of putting on a similar pack hunter, that doesn't necessarily mean none of the others were," Jasinski show for potential mates (or to fend off predators) just like birds. In said. He said the study shows that young Deinonychus probably grew up dinosaurs, air sacs helped with mobility by alleviating some of the weight separately from adults, but that doesn't mean that they didn't rejoin the the massive creatures had to move around. adults when they get older. Marsh’s findings have also revealed that there may be several other rel- "It's possible that they became completely solitary and just kind of came atives of D. wetherilli we have yet to discover due to “a significant evolu- together when resources and food was available. It's also possible that adults tionary gap between [this specimen] and its closest came back together to pack hunt later dinosaur relatives.” Dineobellator notohesperus © Sergey Krasovskiy on," he said. "So it definitely gives us some information, but I don't think it Turns Out Raptors Didn't Hunt Like Pack completely negates that concept." Animals Frederickson said that his findings add The fearsome raptors that terrorized visitors to a new wrinkle to scientists' understand- "Jurassic Park" may not have hunted in packs, like ing of raptors, but agrees that it doesn't they did on screen. That's the finding of a new settle the debate. study that analyzed teeth from Deinonychus antir- "That's why we study these things rhopus, wolf-sized raptors that lived in what is now because ... there's still this mystery of North America during the Cretaceous Period more 'What are they doing?' 'What are they than 100 million years ago. like?'" he said. In the blockbuster 1993 movie, raptors were por- trayed as highly intelligent predators that worked Newly discovered together to stalk their prey, including one famously "clever girl" that out- was one of the last raptors before extinction smarted a veteran hunter. That idea is based on real science, says study About 67 million years ago, a feathered raptor dinosaur with the grace author Joseph Frederickson. He said fossils found in the 1960s included and hunting skills of a cheetah took down prey with grasping sickle-like multiple Deinonychus antirrhopus around the remains of larger, plant-eat- claws. The fossils of the newly discovered dinosaur, Dineobellator notohes- ing dinosaurs that were too big for a single raptor to bring down. But the perus, were discovered in New Mexico, according to a new study. raptors' closest living relatives, birds and so-called (alligators, Robert Sullivan, research associate at the New Mexico Museum of crocodiles and their kin) don't tend to hunt in packs. Natural History and Science, first discovered the fossils in 2008. The fossils "They might live in groups, and they might all attack the same thing at were in rocks dating back to the Cretaceous period in the San Juan Basin in once, or take turns, but they're not really using coordinated strategies, like New Mexico. Sullivan and his colleagues, including State Museum of we see it in, you know, African wild dogs or something like that," said Pennsylvania curator of paleontology and geology curator Steven Jasinski, Frederickson, a paleontologist who directs the Weiss Earth Science Museum excavated and collected 20 fossils over four separate digs. at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, "It's really hard to understand the They named it Dineobellator notohesperus, which means "Navajo war- behavior of an animal that went extinct 108 million years ago by just look- rior from the Southwest" to honor the Navajo people who live in the same ing at the fossils." region. The funky-looking dinosaur was on the small side, only about three Fredrickson and his colleagues Michael Engel and Richard Cifell at the feet tall at the hip, reaching between six and seven feet long and only weigh- University of Oklahoma hypothesized that the diet of young and adult ing about 40 to 50 pounds. Deinonychus could help indicate if the raptors hunted in packs. They stud- Researchers now believe that all dinosaurs in the raptor family, includ- ied the chemical makeup of adult and baby Deinonychus teeth found in ing the Velociraptors of "Jurassic Park" fame, were covered in feathers. Oklahoma and in Montana to look for differences in their diets. The baby Dineobellator is no exception, with the presence of quill knobs, or bumps, dinosaur teeth had higher levels of the element carbon-13, Frederickson left on fossilized bone, suggesting the same. said, which suggested that they ate things like lizards and other small meat- The raptor family of dinosaurs is known as dromaeosaurids. And this new eaters. Adults teeth had lower levels of carbon-13 because their diet was fossil sheds light on their diversity and evolution — especially as one of the mostly plant-eating dinosaurs. last surviving raptors before all dinosaurs went extinct. He said this pattern was similar to what they saw in crocodilia and sug- Dineobellator was built to be a carnivorous predator who thrived, even gests that they may have worked together, but they probably weren't pack during the reign of Tyrannosaurus rex at the end of the Cretaceous period hunters like wolves. before the mass extinction event 66 million years ago. Jasinski was able to "Behavior is complex," he said, "It's not as simple as they do one thing, visualize the dinosaur's specialized, unique features by studying its fossils or they don't do the other, but there is this level that of pack hunting that — things that may not have even been apparent if you observed a live mammals do that we just don't know if dinosaurs were capable of [doing]." dinosaur. The shape of its bones, like its upper arm bone, allowed muscles Steven Jasinski, curator of paleontology at the State Museum of to be attached from a different angle, providing more strength. It also had

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 55 excellent grip and grasping strength. beasts that were possibly locked in com- Compared to other dinosaurs at the time, bat when they died are finally spilling like Tyrannosaurus rex, they had relative- their secrets. The iconic fossils are head- ly larger, longer arms, Jasinski said. ing to the North Carolina Museum of "Combining the large claws with the Natural Sciences (NCMNS), where a cut- stronger arms and grasping ability sug- ting-edge interactive exhibit will be built gests Dineobellator could have used this around them, the museum announced. combination to jump on and attack much The fossils are steeped in controversy. larger dinosaurs than themselves, and They're remarkable specimens, thought to this would have been especially useful if include 100% of both creatures' bones, as a pack went after dinosaurs several times well as body outlines, skin impressions their size," he said. and possibly even the remains of soft tis- This particular dinosaur bears scars on This illustration shows what may have happened to the ceratopsian sues and stomach contents. But after their its bones from some of its rough encoun- and tyrannosaur just before they died and were fossilized about 67 discovery by commercial collectors in ters. Something caused an injury to its million years ago. ©Anthony Hutchings/ of the North eastern Montana in 2006, the dinosaurs ribs, but the dinosaur survived and its Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences failed to sell at auction and were later bone even regrew and healed. There is involved in a lawsuit that attempted to also a gouge and puncture mark on one of its claws that was likely caused redefine fossils as minerals. Plus, the scientific community was torn about by another Dineobellator sinking its own claw into it. The conflict was like- the fossils; many were excited to learn about the dinosaurs, but some said ly over a mate or resources. they were scientifically useless and others disliked that they were being sold "It is interesting to find out new things about a species of dinosaur, but by for-profit collectors. it's especially surprising when you can understand a bit more about the life Now, after a tremendous fundraising project, the 30,000-lbs. fossilized of a single individual," Jasinski said. chunks holding the “Dueling Dinosaurs” have arrived in North Carolina One of the most unique features was its tail. “Raptors” were known for where scientists plan to study them before the public's eyes. And the duel- having long, stiff tails that helped provide balance and allowed for greater ers definitely aren't "scientifically useless," said Lindsay Zanno, head of speed, stabilized by bones and tendons. But Dineobellator's tail was more paleontology at NCMNS and associate research professor at North Carolina mobile at the base, which was near its hips. State University, who spearheaded "Think of a cheetah chasing a gazelle," Tyrannosaurus skull of the “Dueling the project to bring the fossils to the Jasinski said. "The tail is held straight, but Dinosaurs” in matrix museum. when the gazelle changes direction, the chee- "What is remarkable about these tah whips its tail around to counterbalance its specimens is they still preserve all change of direction. This increases the chee- their context about the Late tah's agility by having the tail act as a counter- Cretaceous period surroundings,” balance for the sudden changes in direction." Zanno said, "So we can really dive So not only was Dineobellator able to run in and know there is integrity in the with balance and speed in a straight line, but it scientific data that will come from could also turn quickly and change directions, these specimens." "making it an excellent pursuit predator, and The sediment around the bones potentially better than other dromaeosaurids," had the color of light-colored sand. Jasinski said. "The bones were almost dark Geographically, the discovery puts chocolate black. They're just beauti- Dineobellator in southern North America at a time when most raptors had ful," Phipps told Live Science. "These dinosaurs are like art." already disappeared from the fossil record. It's most closely related to The Dueling Dinosaurs were discovered by Clayton Phipps, his cousin Velociraptor and other species like it, which originated in Asia. This means Chad O’Connor and his friend Mark Eatman. Clayton, as seen on the Dineobellator's ancestors not only migrated from Asia before the mass Discovery Channel show "Dino Hunters," is a cowboy, but "I prospect for extinction, but raptor dinosaurs likely ventured back and forth on this route dinosaurs on my horse now more than I ever look for cows," he joked. multiple times. In June 2006, the three went prospecting for dinosaurs and found an her- Living in a diverse ecosystem filled with a wealth of other Late bivore's pelvis weathering out of a hill. Phipps and Eatman weren't too excit- Cretaceous dinosaurs, Dineobellator would have thrived by hunting prey ed, but O’Connor was fascinated, so they agreed to follow up. Phipps got across open habitats. Tyrannosaurus rex, however, likely stuck to the forest's permission from the landowners to dig there and returned with a crew about edge, Jasinski said. a month later. That's when he realized the site held far more than a pelvis; it "All of this leads to the picture of an active, swift, agile predator living held an entire tri-horned ceratopsian dinosaur and Tyrannosaurus, side-by- in the twilight of the time of the dinosaurs without realizing that a catastro- side. phe was just around the corner," Jasinski said, "This dynamic ecosystem "Here we have this world-class ceratopsian skeleton. It appears to be was doing well, with a large variety of dinosaurs and other animals, right up 100% complete from what we have exposed at that point. And now we have until the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous." a meat-eating dinosaur — obviously they weren't friends," Phipps told Live Jasinski warned that it's not too dissimilar from the current state of things. Science. "What the heck's going on? I had to sit down and take it all in for "If we don't want our tigers and polar bears and other endangered animals a second." to suffer the same fate as Dineobellator, we must seek to change what's hap- Were these paleo-beasts fighting when catastrophe struck, entombing pening and stop being a modern day 'asteroid,' " he said. them together? Were they strangers with randomly neighboring burials? Only a full excavation of the skeletons may solve this mystery, for instance Cretaceous cold case of 'dueling' T. rex and Triceratops may finally be by finding whether the T. rex's teeth are embedded in the Triceratops' body. solved The horned dinosaur is likely a Triceratops horridus, although that still needs to be confirmed, Zanno said. The tyrannosaur, however, has potential The "Dueling Dinosaurs" fossils — the 67 million-year-old remains of what to be a Nanotyrannus, a controversial species that may or may not exist. may be the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops on record, Several studies suggest that Nanotyrannus is a juvenile T. rex, not a separate

56 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 species. But "assuming that the science is correct at the moment and this have corroborated the occurrence of this form of bone inflammation in specimen does in fact belong to a juvenile T. rex, then we are going to be the Sauropodomorpha,” said lead author Dr. Tito Aureliano and his colleagues only museum in the world that has a 100% complete specimen of the tyrant from the University of Campinas, the Federal University of Rio Grande do king," Zanno said. Norte, and the Federal University of Paleontologist Jack Horner origi- Sao Carlos. nally called the Dueling Dinosaurs “Evidence of fossil endoparasites of "scientifically useless" but has since vertebrates has already been found in changed his mind upon learning that coprolites and invertebrate vectors Zanno had access to the Montana preserved in . However, fossil excavation site, which provides criti- parasites preserved directly in verte- cal context. "Now it is scientifically brate tissues were unknown until the worth something," Horner said. present date.” Once the fossils were out of the In the study, the researchers looked ground, Phipps couldn't find an insti- at the 85.2-million-year-old fragmen- tution interested in paying for them. tary fibula of a titanosaur from So, when Bonhams auction house Brazil’s Adamantina Formation. They contacted him, Phipps reluctantly used CT scanning to create a 3D agreed. He wanted the fossils to go to model of the full fossil. They also science, but he also needed money to examined the specimen with petro- pay the landowners and for the team’s graphic and non-filtered optical labor, he said. The 2013 auction was microscopes. Acute osteomyelitis an enormous undertaking: The fossils with elliptical ulceration pathologies Life reconstruction of the titanosaur from the Upper Cretaceous were sent to New York and appraised were found in the 85.2-million-year- Adamantina Formation in São Paulo backcountry, southeastern Brazil. The for between $7 million and $9 mil- old titanosaur’s fibula. They identified animal was reconstructed based on associated saltasaurid specimens in the . But bidding reached only $5.5 dozens of fossil parasites preserved area. Image credit: Hugo Cafasso. million, so the specimens failed to inside the specimen’s vascular canals; sell. the first clear example of a parasite Meanwhile, the landowners, Mary Anne and Lige Murray, were sued by preserved inside fossilized bone tissue. Bone inflammation was either the two brothers who had sold them the land. The brothers, Jerry and Robert caused by the referred parasites or facilitated its infestation. Severson, retained mineral rights to land, and argued that the fossils were “Our research documents for the first time the detailed histological minerals and therefore belonged to them. After several trials and appeals, description of severe bone inflammation and the exceptional preservation of the brothers lost that case. soft-bodied parasitical microorganisms inside the vascular canals of a non- Few museums have millions of dollars to spend on fossils. In this case, avian dinosaur,” the scientists said, “The results bring new insights into the the nonprofit organization Friends of the North Carolina Museum of fields of parasitology, pathology, and histology in the fossil record.” Natural Sciences raised private funds to buy the $6 million Dueling Dinosaurs from the three discoverers, landowners and excavators, and then the nonprofit donated the specimens to the museum. The exhibit will be one-of a kind; museum visitors will be able to wan- der into a new laboratory known as DinoLab, where they can talk with researchers and see the fossils and tools up close. Live streams will show the research, Zanno said. In a public lab next door, visitors can try their hand at paleontology tools, techniques and technologies similar to those being done just a few feet away. Zanno's team plans to have the specimens CT scanned, so they can cre- ate digital 3D images of the dinosaurs' remains. They'll look for preserva- tion of any soft tissues or proteins and analyze the fossils for evidence of diseases and wounds. The specimens have the only known preserved skin impressions from a Triceratops' frill and a possible T. rex's feet. Regarding the frill, "that's going to be cool to answer some questions about what the covering was like on the face," Andrew Farke, curator and director of research and collections at the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology at The Webb Schools in California, who is not involved with the dueling dinosaurs said. "There's been speculation that it was maybe entirely covered with keratin, so think of Triceratops as like a giant finger- nail. Or maybe it was more a scaly kind of thing. I think [the dueling dinosaur is] going to be big for answering that question." Construction for the DinoLab is set to open in 2021. Once it's open, vis- itors will be able to go into the lab as scientists conserve the dinosaurs, which will take about five years, and study their remains, Zanno said.

Cretaceous Titanosaur Suffered from Blood Parasites and Severe Bone Inflammation A giant sauropod dinosaur that lived 85.2 million years ago (Cretaceous period) in what is now Brazil had an aggressive case of osteomyelitis in its leg and soft-bodied parasitical microorganisms in its vascular canals. “The occurrence of osteomyelitis in dinosaurs is rare, but recent studies

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 57 Reminiscing Over Svengoolie’s Dinosaurus! broadcast I could finally declare, ‘lesson learned.’ Dinosaurus! Dinosaurus! is largely ignored today too. Few would consider it to be a ‘classic’ movie. Why? The story (i.e. screenplay by Dan E. Weisburd By Allen A. Debus and Jean Yeaworth—from an original idea by co-Producer Jack H. Harris) isn’t too far-fetched for this genre, and actors perform reason- “Alive! After 70 million years! ably. Authorities concur that actor Gregg Martell’s characterization of Roaring! Walking! Destroying!” (Ad the resurrected Neanderthal Man is rather exceptional. But the movie’s line for Dinosaurus!) special effects pale beside magnificent cgi-animation inaugurated in Sometime in the early 1960s (post- 1993’s Jurassic Park (and many fantastic films thereafter). Therein lies September 1961), our dad began a root of today’s problem. Dinosaurus!’s two dinosaurs—Tyrannosaurus semi-regular ritual that continued and Brontosaurus just don’t cut it anymore. So is such disregard tanta- through the next decade—taking my mount to a ‘referendum’ against old-school stop-motion animation? brother Rick and I to see the early Here’s an outline of the overall plot, for now skipping lighthearted Saturday afternoon prehistoric monster scenes. movie at the show. One of the earliest of these was a delightful and master- Not unlike Hollywood’s Frankenstein Monster, during a storm, light- ful—that is, to my then 2nd or 3rd grade psyche—movie titled, Dinosaurus! ning revives well-preserved corpses of two dinosaurs—Tyrannosaurus and (Fairview Production/Universal-International, 1960). I departed exuberant- Brontosaurus—and a caveman recovered from a near-shore deposit in the ly from the theater that day, in a daze thinking I’d just seen the most utterly Caribbean. There are subtle indications that this ‘Triassic trio’ may have fantastic special effects projection of ‘real’ dinosaurs since those witnessed been alive together—Flintstones-like, prior to burial. Further, against all in RKO’s King Kong, (which by then I’d seen televised two or three times). odds and logical sense, they were discovered “frozen” on the seabed. Well, As was common back in the day, one had no way of knowing when you a dismal effort is made to explain this mysterious in situ condition. For soon might have opportunity to see a movie released at the cinema ever again— handsome good guy “Bart” posits, perhaps counterintuitively, that dynamit- televised (unless you went back to the theater for the next matinee). In my ing during dredging operations “… must have blasted through the rock that case I didn’t see the film again until over half a century later when it was entombed them. Some compressed gas must have caused the freezing, I broadcast on horror movie host Svengoolie’s Chicagoland program one guess.” Saturday evening (e.g. during the mid- to late 2000s), with occasional Meanwhile, one greedy, heinous islander “Mike” wants to procure the repeated airings over the next decade. caveman specimen, and sell him on the U.S. mainland for lots of cash. The By then I had read about the movie in two books published between 1999 boy character “Julio” doesn’t like Mike—especially when he dastardly and 2002 (Neil Pettigrew’s The Stop-Motion Filmography, and Mark F. destroys his plastic Marx toy dinosaurs. Julio befriends Caveman and their Berry’s The Dinosaur Filmography, respectively). So I had re-acquainted brontosaur ‘steed,’ while being chased by the hungry tyrannosaur. Inevitably myself with the movie … twice … without having actually seen it again … the two dinosaurs fight, with carnivore triumphing. The wounded bron- yet. But reading their written summaries tosaur later drowns in quicksand. Sacrificing his only whetted my appetite for that exalted life, Neanderthal heroically rescues Julio and a day when Dinosaurus! might air again kind woman named Betty. Frightened islanders someday, which then did happen only a seek refuge in an abandoned shoreline fortress, few years later when Rich Koz (e.g. with a surrounding gasoline ‘moat‘ ablaze. “Bart” Svengoolie) must have ‘telepathically’ bravely battles tyrannosaur from within a “steam’ received my urgent alpha-cerebral trans- shovel. Its swinging metal arm forces the missions pleading for its broadcast. dinosaur over a cliff—thus plunging the final pre- My adult reaction to Dinosaurus!? historic relic into the sea. (We’ve since seen anal- Well, on the positive side it still held ogous ‘manned-machine versus tenacious mon- charm. Remorsefully, anticipated feelings ster’ climactic scenes subsequently in 1986’s of nostalgia were swept asunder by har- Aliens and also in 1993’s Carnosaur.) rowing regret for all the years gone by in- Dinosaurus! offers continual ‘hang-on-to- between—quite a contrasting kind of per- your-seats, boys & girls’ action, tension and spective relative to my first viewing! For drama—plus bits of genuinely funny comedy per- if I felt that differently about this once formed by the Caveman to boot. So how couldn’t beloved film, then how drastically had my this be a great memorable film, not merely a per- mindset changed over the years? The sonal favorite! Why is it so overlooked, (yes, even answer should have been glaringly obvi- by Svengoolie in recent years)? ous, but had eluded detection. I was The matter becomes more perplexing when beguiled not realizing as I should have considering some of the familiar names ‘behind known that few fondly remembered ‘chil- the movie’ (e.g. besides actors who have relative- dren’s movies’ remain as enchanting for us ly few credits and are largely unknown today). in maturity. That evening watching First, two famed science fiction writers, Alfred

58 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 202 Bester and Algis Budrys, hammered out an steam-shovel fight). But as Bill initial story outline and idea; Budrys’s Warren notes (in his Keep Watching ‘synopsis’ ran up to 600 pages long! the Skies—the 21st Century ed., According to Bill Warren, “Dan Weisburd (2010) the tyrannosaur constantly was brought in to write the screenplay, (be- “shrieks … eventually sounding ) cause Budrys was all wrote out.” And comic. Its tongue wabbles up and those featured dinosaurs weren’t created by down much of the time, and the hacks. After consulting with Willis sculpted-in expression of furious rage O’Brien, the models were sculpted by makes the tongue-waggling seem Marcel Delgado—of 1933/RKO King Kong even sillier.” (vol. 1, pp.233-34) fame! According to Mark Berry (author of Warren offers scant praise for that The Dinosaur Filmography, 2002), O’Brien cool steam shovel versus ‘Rex’ fight. “helped convince Jack Harris to use the Brontosaur’s shuffling movement stop-motion technique.” (p.91) To my scenes appear even more problematic. brightly lit youthful eyes then, Delgado’s Pettigrew stated Delgado’s brontosaur Tyrannosaurus model seemed the best such model was “massive and caused diffi- made ever appearing in a movie. Other stal- culties for the animators.” (p.178) wart pros, Wah Chang, Phil Kellison and Furthermore, Warren has another Dave Pal, did animation photography, (Victor Delgado, Marcel’s brother, insight—that the models “were so unstable (they are very light for anima- worked on armature-building and “mechanicals”). Not a shabby behind the tion models) and the work had to be done so fast there’s little even a master scenes lineup! animator could do.” Furthermore, Warren notes that the models don’t hold And the script, especially inspired scenes written by Jean Yeaworth for their positions well in scenes “resulting in a true jerkiness … the cumber- Martell’s Neanderthal persona, is generally decent. Further, while most of some models never seem real, and the complete lack of flexing in the body the acting in this movie is at least passingly good, Martell’s performance is of the brontosaur makes it look like a big toy being pulled along by a string.” consistently praised. Michael Klossner, author of Prehistoric Humans in (vol. 1, p.233) Furthermore, that small brontosaur puppet was also reused Film and Television (Mcfarland, 2006, p.225), even declares that “Gregg for a pivotal scene in The Twilight Zone (“The Odyssey of Flight 33”), in Martell’s work as the Neanderthal Man in Dinosaurus! is the finest perfor- which it looked more convincing, but only because “… the action of the mance ever by an actor playing a model was so limited … perhaps prehistoric person.” because more time was available to However, let’s probe aspects of the animator.” (p.234) the movie that critics have And for the clincher—despite what denounced. First—those two it had going for it in a positive sense, dinosaurs. Their menacing visages overall, as noted by Warren (p.235), were projected through both appli- Dinosaurus! rated “pretty lousy” in cation of smaller stop-motion Psychotronic Video magazine. Ouch! models as well as several larger Although not of Academy Award- props (e.g. the Brontosaurus neck winning caliber, beyond Gregg and head), built for close-up, inter- Martell’s acclaimed acting perfor- active scenes with human actors. mance—lighthearted and comical in Scenes when these larger, wire- one extended scene and heroic when controlled head and neck props he stood up for others in peril—the intercut with stop-motion anima- rest of the cast performed reasonably tion appear joltingly ‘noticeable,’ well—at least acceptably for a run of rather than seamlessly spliced-in, the mill genre movie involving as the larger models don’t closely anachronistically rejuvenated match respective smaller ones. Neil Pettigrew (author of The Stop-Motion dinosaurs. But still they’re “colorless,” opines Warren, mindful that most of Filmography, 1999) complains that movie jungle sets through which them were relatively inexperienced. dinosaurs move aren’t as lush or of high quality as those appearing in King Popcorn, fighting dinosaurs, a club-wielding/brontosaur-riding caveman, Kong—sci-fi movie maven Bill Warren refers to the sets as “highly unimag- another boy who played with the same dinosaur toys that I did … and even inative” and “boring.” Pettigrew also isn’t pleased with the “exaggerated a pretty girl to be rescued from the bad guys! As a Saturday afternoon mati- doll-size of the (dinosaurs’) eyes.” (p.176) Now in adulthood, I cannot dis- nee in the early 1960s—this was perfect kiddie fare, and that’s how I choose agree. to remember Dinosaurus! Not like the experts. Here’s hoping Svengoolie Several stop-motion animated scenes involving the tyrannosaur are gen- shows it again sometime soon. erally well performed and state-of-the-art, for that time sufficiently ‘con- (This article was excerpted from the author’s latest book, Prehistoric vincing’ (i.e. when, after awakening, ‘Rex’ kills a man on the shore; its Monster Mash: Science Fictional Dinosaurs, Fossil Phenoms, Paleo-pio- attack on a bus; the tumultuous battle with brontosaur; and in the climactic neers, Godzilla & Other Kaiju-saurs. See ad in this issue.)

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 59 Dinosauriana Imagined 13 Dinosauriana Iberiana (A Spain-ful Endeavor)

by Robert Telleria [email protected] dinosauriana.webs.com

Jecsan set

especially noted for their toy soldier figurines and unique playsets Vintage dinosauriana hunters around the world own at least some (i.e. Matadors, Ben Hur, El Cid, Circus, Safari, Prisoners of War to American-made toy dinosaurs, such as those sets from Marx, MPC, name a few). or J.H. Miller, all of which can be considered common. British-made These “Animales Antidiluvianos” by Jecsan were boxed togeth- toys from Invicta, Timpo and Cherilea, and French toys from er with seven primitives and two palm tree accessories; later a few Starlux, again, are rather obtainable via various auction sites if you of the dinos were recast monochrome. Each dinosaur is a good six only recently started collecting. In previous articles I covered some to eight inches long and hand painted, giving the figures an almost of the German-made gems from Saurierpark and Plaho to very com- composition figure look similar to Chialu. However, these toys do mon Bullyland and Schleich. Still rarer are Italian toys from the rub- not share the Rudolph Zallinger-derived look of many 1950s toy ber Orsenigo set and the composition Chialu set. I will be visiting dinosaurs. Zdenek Burian artwork undoubtedly informed those products soon as well. Diplodocus and Triceratops while Stegosaurus seems lifted from the Unlike a Dali, Picasso, Velasquez or Goya, it seems no Spanish then-new Pyro model kit. The head of Tyrannosaurus is based on the toy dinosaurs are works of art, so to speak. Little interest in these Matthew Kalmenoff image in The Golden Stamp Book Dinosaurs make them mostly overlooked by collectors. As a result they also and Other Animals of the Past, while its body seems fancifully tend to be rare. On the Iberian peninsula, the late 1980s-90s improvised with five fingered arms. Woolly Mammoth is not dis- Comansi, Yolanda, Miniland and Matutano sets are frequently found, tinctively sculpted enough to positively identify an artistic reference. making them perhaps the best known dinosaur sets made in Spain. As any collector knows, five prehistorics is not enough. The box Realistic Portuguese-made toys are seldom found. Pech, Oliver, art shows Pteranodon which was not a part of the set. I used this as Reamsa, Sotorres and Teixido were Spanish companies that never a guide but decided to do a standing pose. I fused elements of Burian offered any dinosaurs in their toy animal ranges. In 1959, Spain's and Kalmenoff artwork in the Golden Stamp Album when I made first original toy dinosaurs were made by Jecsan, the Louis Marx of Plesiosaurus and Dimetrodon. I tried to capture features I noticed in Spain at that time. the real Jecsans - rather stoic pose, mostly looking ahead, foreshort- Rather than hard plastic, Jecsan figures were made of semi-hard ened tails, oversized heads. The seven hombres primitivos that came vulcanized flexible rubber which makes them very fragile – espe- with the sets originally would have been better suited for an Ice Age cially after 60 years! One of Spain's leading toy manufacturers up Playset. I modeled Smilodon after Jecsan's tiger, and Megatherium, until 1981 when Industrial Pucol bought their molds, Jecsan were Woolly , Glyptodon (Doedicurus) were the other mam-

60 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 20210 mals. Images of these will be exclusive to subscribers of Protoceratops for the primitive ceratopsian. Unique form is impor- Dinosauriana. tant to be inspired to create another figure. Other than its trademark Thirty years after hands, I felt Jecsan dinosaurs, El Iguanodon would Cigarral, a cheese Cigarrel set seem redundant of brand in Spain, the other released a set of ten hadrosauroids as premium “El adding Allosaurus Dinosaurios de El would to Cigarral.” These are Tyrannosaurus so hard plastic miniature I spared the set toys in the Tim Mee any more bipeds. vein without any iden- A quadrapedal tifications on the fig- Plateosaurus ure itself or on the almost was before header card package. I changed my Easy to find today mind to do an they were cast in Asian pachy- monochrome colors of gray, tan, green, blue and red. Some seem cephalosaur . designed to look like Wondering dinosaurs rendered in Danone set what that the 1950s by British painful pun artist Neave Parker. par- alluded to in the t i c u l a r l y article subtitle? Tyrannosaurus , The answer is Trachodon and simply tracking Iguanodon. The Parker down and influence is less appar- receiving older ent in the other big Spanish figures. names Stegosaurus, P u r s u i n g Triceratops and Spain's rarer Dimetrodon. With no dinosauriana is ankylosaurid I made a difficult for the Parker-style simple fact that Scolosaurus. I could they are seldom have added one more found in a) pterosaur to their Rhamphorhynchus or even a crested hadrosaurid exceptionally good condition, b) Spanish sellers tend to be stubborn, or another theropod (though the set's Struthiomimus technically is charge nasty broker fees, inflate shipping costs and/or demand pay- one.) I was more concerned with balancing out the lone marine rep- pal payments to friends / family to avert paying fees and c) the Postal tile Tylosaurus which now has Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus to Service 'Correos' can be particularly problematic. This is not slow keep it company. The puzzling tenth creature is what appears to be a delivery due to COVID – this is a chronic problem with Correos. Komodo monitor (or is it a giant ancestor Megalania?) This could Comprador y vendedor tener cuidado (Buyer and seller beware). have been a sauropod, so I went with one that could pass for Dinosauriana: The Essential Guide to Collecting Figural, Toy Brachiosaurus or Diplodocus. Overall it's a fun little set. and Model Dinosaurs is akin to drinking from a firehose of knowl- Another common set available to collectors are Danone's twelve edge about the hobby. There is no resource online remotely close to premiums for Jurassic Park. The four theropods include the amount of data in this 60,000 page digibook. Tyrannosaurus, a John Sibbick-influenced Dilophosaurus, an over- sized Velociraptor and an unusual choice, Oviraptor. Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus negate the need for additional sauropods. Ornithopods, both bipedally posed, include Parasaurolophus and the odd Asian selection Bactrosaurus. The only armored dinosaur is Stegosaurus unless you include Triceratops, reminiscent of the 1985 Bullyland toy, along with the only pterosaur Pteranodon. The only other non-dinosaur in the set is pelycosaur Dimetrodon. None are to scale but all have much in the way of character. What attracted me to the set is that none of these resemble their screen counterparts whatsoever; they look decidedly retro. Indeed most of the choices were in neither the film or novel. The artistic source for any of the figures remains obscure (at least to me) and that gave me freedom in choosing both the types of dinosaurs to expand the set and their styling. They only need to be uniform in for- ward facing stoic poses, heads with closed mouths The first thought is the set needs ornithomimid , the only dinosaur in the movie they didn't do. In keeping with Asian surprises Pinacosaurus would be at the expansion's lone ankylosaur. Plesiosaurus and Mosasaurus for requisite non-dinosaurians which are sea reptiles.

Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021 61 that dried, I followed with a dry brushing of the pure purple. Then after that dried, I applied another The Thunderbird light dry brushing of purple mixed with white on the highlights. The unfortunate young boy was painted by David Bengel with Vallejo Model Color acrylics. The base was primed with gray Today we have an excellent, new kit based upon a scene from primer then base-coated with craft Ray Harryhausen's cowboys vs. dinosaur film, "The Valley of acrylics followed by an overall wash Gwangi." It is of thinned Vallejo Model Wash. sculpted and Some minor spot washes of various released by Joe colors Laudati. This all w e r e resin 9 piece kit is t h e n approximately added 1/20th scale. Each t o wing is 7" and the give it rock it's mounted to m o r e is 8" tall. The cast- color. ings are very nice, T h e and as a super added washes are pretty subtle and don't bonus for the builder there is an extended wire cast into the wing really show up well in the photos. for insertion into a predrilled hole at the top of the rock. This gives After painting the nameplate yellow, a fantastic illusion of flight. Wires are also cast into the legs that I used chalk pastels on the rocky sur- nicely fit into the predrilled holes in the young boy’s shoulder, making face around the let- assembly much easier. ters to make them I started with the four part base. The fit was a bit loose so with a sanding stand out and drum in my Dremel I ground the parts for a tighter fit and used Aves Apoxie sealed the pas- Sculpt as the adhesive between the parts. This worked great! I mixed the tels with a thin Apoxie, rolled it out into some misting of dull thick snakes that I pressed between coat. I finished the base by air- brushing a thin layer of Tamiya Buff overall to give it a more dusty look. Grab your own copy of this clever, well done 11” tall model at: www.joelaudati.com. Price is $99.00 plus $15 shipping. Payment via check, money order to: Joe Laudati, 5 Southside Ave #8C, New Paltz, NY 12561. Inquiries or PayPal orders: [email protected]. You can also read Joe’s the parts, letting the excess squeeze novelization of The Valley of Gwangi from his site. Check it out. out. I proceeded to sculpt the excess Apoxie to blend the resin base pieces together matching the sculpted texture. There’s about 45 minutes of work time with the Apoxie Sculpt After 24 hours, it had completely cured. I then dappled on some Acrylic Modeling Paste using a coarse, short bris- tled brush to fine tune the blend between the parts and to fill any pinholes. Moving on to the Pteranodon. Although probably not necessary for a kit this light, I inserted pins into the body just to make sure it didn't fall apart. I drilled two holes straight through the body, inserted a wire and cut it so that the ends of the wire did not protrude outside. After super gluing everything together I used modeling paste to fill both the holes and the seams. I then used the same dabbling technique described above using the coarse, short bristled brush to match the texture on the parts. In the film, the Pteranodon is purple - not quite Barney bright purple, but purple none the less. I doubt the stop-motion puppet was purple, but because of the process photography that's how it looks in the film. Using craft acrylics, I started with a mix of purple and black as a base coat. After

62 Prehistoric Times No.136 Winter 2021