Scientists Identify the World’s Oldest Biological Colours
A team of international scientists including researchers from the University of Liège, Florida State University and the Australian National University, in collaboration with a colleague based in Japan have discovered the oldest colours preserved in the fossil record. An analysis of the remains of microscopic, 1.1 billion-year-old cyanobacteria suggest that life back in the Proterozoic was “in the pink”. Pink coloured pigments have been extracted from ancient marine shales that form part of the Taoudeni Basin of Mauritania (north-western Africa).
When Held Up in the Light the Pink Colouration can be Seen
The oldest colours found to date.
Picture credit: Australian National University
Pink in the Fossil Record
One of the authors of the scientific paper, published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA”, Dr Nur Gueneli (Australian National University), explained that the pigments taken from the marine black shales were more than six hundred million years older than previous pigment discoveries.
Dr Gueneli commented:
“The bright pink pigments are the molecular fossils of chlorophyll that were produced by ancient photosynthetic organisms inhabiting an ancient ocean that has long since vanished.”
Samples of the shales laid down during the Stenian, the last geological period of the Mesoproterozoic Era, were ground into fine powder before the ancient molecules of long extinct cyanobacteria could be extracted and analysed. The fossils reveal a range of colours from a blood red to a deep purple in their concentrated form, but when diluted, it is the colour pink that dominates.
Dr Gueneli, who undertook this research whilst studying for a PhD added:
“The precise analysis of the ancient pigments confirmed that tiny cyanobacteria dominated the base of the food chain in the oceans a billion years ago, which helps to explain why animals did not exist at the time.”
A Lack of Things for Higher Organisms to Eat
Complicated animal life was not able to evolve, according to one hypothesis, as it was restrained by the lack of food in the ocean. In essence, life on Earth could not pick up the evolutionary pace as food webs were constrained by the amount of primary producers in the ecosystem.
Through the team’s discovery of molecular fossils of the photopigment chlorophyll in 1.1-billion-year-old marine sedimentary rocks, they were able to quantify the abundance of different organisms that uses the sun’s energy to produce food (phototrophs). Nitrogen isotopic values of the fossil pigments revealed that the Pan-African Ocean was dominated by cyanobacteria, while larger planktonic algae were very scarce. These findings support the hypothesis that small cells at the base of the food chain limited the flow of energy to higher trophic levels, potentially retarding the emergence of large and complex life.
Associate Professor Jochen Brooks, of the Research School of Earth Sciences (Australian National University), one of the authors of the scientific paper, stated that the emergence of more complex life forms was likely to have been restricted by the limited supply of larger food particles, such as algae.
Associate Professor Brooks explained:
“Algae, although still microscopic, are a thousand times larger in volume than cyanobacteria, and are a much richer food source. The cyanobacterial oceans started to vanish about 650 million years ago, when algae began to rapidly spread to provide the burst of energy needed for the evolution of complex ecosystems, where large animals, including humans, could thrive on Earth.”
In a far corner on the ground floor of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, there can be found an amazing trilobite fossil exhibit. This piece of sandstone preserves the remains of three different genera of trilobites, a death assemblage that attests to the diversity and success of these marine arthropods. The fossil, which was acquired by the museum in 2005, is known as “the Selenopeltis Slab”.
Fantastic Fossils – The Selenopeltis Slab
Trilobites galore – the Selenopeltis slab. Can you identify three different types of trilobite?Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Trilobite Fossil from the Ordovician Period
A slab of sandstone from the Mecissi-Alnif area of Morocco preserves the fossilised remains of three genera of trilobite. The sandstone was deposited some 450 million years ago (Ordovician), a time when invertebrates dominated oceanic biotas. The trilobite Selenopeltis is the most common fossil arthropod on the slab, it is characterised by the presence of long spines on both flanks of the body. The second genus Calymenella, is a large, elongate trilobite with an evenly rounded outline. The third type of trilobite represented in this mass death assemblage is Dalmanitina, a smaller animal with a long spine extending backwards from the posterior end of the pygidium (tail piece).
The sandstone slab also contains the fossilised remains of numerous brittle stars, a type of echinoderm related to starfish, (look for the small, disc-like bodies with five, slender, tapering arms).
We spotted an old friend whilst on a visit to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (Oxford, England). In a display case showing fossils of ammonites we noted that a Bullyland ammonite replica had been placed inside the display case to give visitors an idea of what an ammonite actually looked like. Ammonite fossil shells may be relatively common, but it is surprising how few people understand that living inside the shell was an animal with tentacles, a creature related to today’s squid, cuttlefish and octopus.
Spotted in a Museum Display Case – the Bullyland Ammonite Replica
A Bullyland ammonite model is used to help illustrate a display of ammonite fossils.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Bullyland Ammonite Replica
The ammonite model from Bullyland is a robust replica of this iconic mollusc primarily known from the fossil record of the Mesozoic. It is a super addition to any fossil fan’s collection. Ideal for creative play, school or home study and for use in museums as the display case at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History testifies. It is wonderful to see a Bullyland figure used in such a way, helping to educate and inform.
To view the Bullyland ammonite model and the rest of the figures in the Bullyland range available from Everything Dinosaur: Bullyland Models and Figures.
The Bullyland Ammonite Figure as it Appears on the Everything Dinosaur Website
The Bullyland ammonite replica.
Helping Out at Many Museums
Lots of museums have fossils of ammonites within their invertebrate fossil collections, we suspect that many curators and exhibition managers have taken advantage of this excellent replica and used it to help illustrate what these enigmatic cephalopods looked like. After all, when our team members visit schools to conduct dinosaur and fossil themed workshops, we use this same Bullyland ammonite replica to explain to children which bit of an animal is likely to become a fossil and which bits are not likely to fossilise.
At a little under eighteen centimetres in length and with a shell diameter of around nine centimetres, this model was certainly at home amongst the Jurassic ammonite fossils on display. Seeing the Bullyland ammonite replica being used in a museum got us thinking, are there any other examples of prehistoric animal models and figures being incorporated into a scientific exhibition or display?
It was a pleasure to peruse part of the extensive fossil collection at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and to discover an old friend.
Ingentia prima – Giant Late Triassic Sauropodomorph from Argentina
Argentina might have been home to huge, plant-eating dinosaurs associated with Cretaceous-aged strata, after all, one of the biggest terrestrial vertebrates known to science is the titanosaur called Argentinosaurus (A. huinculensis), just one of a number of super-sized leviathans from this part of the world. However, a team of scientists, writing in the academic journal “Nature Ecology & Evolution” have announced the discovery of yet another giant, South American dinosaur. However, this one is a Triassic dinosaur. One that roamed northern Argentina around 210 million years ago.
A Giant Triassic Dinosaur
The dinosaur, classified as a member of the Sauropodomorpha, has been named Ingentia prima and it was certainly very big for a Late Triassic animal, with an estimated body weight of around ten tonnes and a length of approximately ten metres. To provide a comparison, the sauropodomorph Plateosaurus (P. engelhardti), from the Late Triassic of western Europe, that would have been a contemporary of Ingentia prima, is estimated to have reached a length of about eight metres with a body mass of around four tonnes. The later sauropodomorph Lufengosaurus (L. huenei), from the Early Jurassic of China, might have been around six metres long and is estimated to have weighed more than 1.5 tonnes, Ingentia is much, much bigger.
Sauropodomorpha Size Comparison
Sauropodomorpha size comparison Plateosaurus, Lufengosaurus and Ingentia prima compared.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur with I. prima illustration by Jorge A. González
First Giant
The discovery of Ingentia prima does rather upset the dinosaurian apple cart. It had been thought that gigantism in the sauropodomorphs evolved in the Early Jurassic, however, here was a ten-tonne giant, comparable in size to those Early Jurassic sauropods that roamed some thirty-five million years later. The evolution of giant, plant-eating, long-necked dinosaurs came about as a result of the development of numerous anatomical characteristics but I. prima displays many features of the body plan of basal, small sauropodomorphs and lacks most of the anatomical traits previously regarded as adaptations to gigantism.
The Fossilised Material in the Field (Partial Exposure)
The fossil material representing a single, large individual dinosaur is partially exposed.
Picture credit: Cecilia Apaldetti
Lead author of the scientific paper, Dr Cecilia Apaldetti (Universidad Nacional de San Juan, San Juan, Argentina), commented:
“It [Ingentia] was enormous. It was at least twice as large as the other herbivores of the time and until now it was believed the first giants to inhabit the Earth originated in the Jurassic, about 180 million years ago.”
The dinosaur’s scientific name pays tribute to its size, the name translates from the Latin to “first giant”. It had been thought, that if the first dinosaurs appeared around 230 million years ago, it took fifty million years for the first giants to evolve, the discovery of a partial skeleton in San Juan Province (north-western Argentina), has changed all that.
Quebrada del Barro Formation
The fossil material consisting of shoulder blades, cervical vertebrae (neck bones) and elements from the forelimbs, heralds from the Quebrada del Barro Formation. The Ingentia fossil material was found adjacent to the fossilised remains of three individuals belonging to the already known and closely related species Lessemsaurus sauropoides, which had been named and scientifically described back in 1999.
The researchers, in addition to describing I. prima formally for the first time, were able to examine the three new specimens of Lessemsaurus sauropoides. Ingentia has been placed in a newly erected family of long-necked dinosaurs, the Lessemsauridae, a branch of the Sauropoda that evolved gigantic forms like the later Eusauropods (true sauropods). The Eusauropoda includes those famous Jurassic giants such as Diplodocus, Brontosaurus and Brachiosaurus, as well as the later titanosaurs such as the mighty Argentinosaurus, which roamed Argentina some 115 million years after Ingentia became extinct.
Circular Saws were used to Help Extract the Large Fossil Bones
Circular saws were used to remove the larger blocks of fossils after they had been jacketed.
Picture credit: Cecilia Apaldetti
Why was a Triassic Dinosaur so Big?
Early sauropodomorphs were small, agile bipeds, but the ancestors of Ingentia adopted a different evolutionary strategy.
A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:
“Developing a larger gut would allow more effective processing of tough vegetation, enabling these types of dinosaurs to extract more nutrients from the plants that they consumed. Furthermore, by becoming big, these dinosaurs would have had less to fear from the predators that shared their environment, including theropod dinosaurs. If you are very large, a meat-eating dinosaur might avoid you and look for an easier meal elsewhere. Becoming a giant is an evolutionary strategy found in a number of herbivorous animals”.
The Remarkable Skeleton of Ingentia prima
The lessemsaurids (Ingentia, Lessemsaurus and a third Early Jurassic dinosaur from South Africa named Antetonitrus), may have lacked the extremely long necks found in later eusauropods, but their bones reveal some remarkable adaptations nonetheless. Pneumatic structures have been identified in the vertebrae (air sacs), this indicates that these dinosaurs had a sophisticated and extremely efficient bird-like respiratory system. These air sacs will have also helped to prevent these animals from overheating, a problem with large creatures, (surface area to volume ratio – hence one of the reasons why African elephants have large ears). This kind of respiratory system implies the presence of cavities in their bones – a pneumatised skeleton that would have helped to lighten the animal and make locomotion more efficient.
Although Ingentia shows these adaptations to gigantism, it lacks many of the features associated with the later sauropods. For example, its legs were more bent and not the huge, weight-bearing columns associated with the Diplodocidae and the Macronaria.
The Remarkable Bones and Respiratory System of Ingentia prima
The air sacs of Ingentia (green) the lungs shown in brown.
Picture credit: Jorge A. González
A Triassic Dinosaur Ahead of its Time
The quality of bone preservation permitted the research team to examine the histology of the dinosaur’s bones. The scientists compared the bone growth in the new fossils with those of an earlier, bipedal sauropodomorph as well as a later eusauropod. The histology of the earlier sauropodomorph revealed a cyclical growth pattern, the animal growing in spurts, whereas, the eusauropod bones, when examined in cross-section, revealed another pattern of growth. This dinosaur grew acyclically, growing throughout its long life. Members of the newly erected Lessemsauridae family grew differently. Their bones show evidence of growth spurts, a trait found in their ancestors but when they grew, they really put on a spurt. The researchers identified a growth rate of around two to three times faster than the already impressive rate of the later eusauropods.
Ingentia demonstrates that the first wave of colossal giant dinosaurs evolved some thirty-five million years earlier than previously thought. In addition, with an accelerated growth rate, unique limb adaptations and a bird-like respiratory system, the Lessemsauridae got big but they did it in a different way when compared to the later long-necked dinosaurs.
When it comes to the “LESSemsauridae” – Less may actually mean more…
The scientific paper: “An Early Trend Towards Gigantism in Triassic Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs” by Cecilia Apaldetti, Ricardo N. Martínez, Ignacio A. Cerda, Diego Pol & Oscar Alcober published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.
A Video Review of the Rebor “War Pigs- Ankylosaurus Figures
The latest JurassicCollectables video to be posted up on their YouTube channel features not one, but three Rebor replicas to be exact. All three of the recently introduced Ankylosaurus 1:35 scale figures have been reviewed in a single video, permitting collectors and dinosaur model fans to get a really good close up look at these armoured dinosaurs and compare the three different colour schemes. Palaeontologists are not sure in which habitat Ankylosaurus (A. magniventris) lived, so Rebor have cleverly introduced three different versions – “plain”, “mountain” and “woodland”.
JurassicCollectables Reviews All Three War Pigs – “Plain”, “Mountain” and “Woodland”
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Video credit: JurassicCollectables
A Flexible Bony Club Tail
In this detailed and most informative review, (the video lasts a little under nineteen minutes), viewers are given the opportunity to have a really good look at all three of these skilfully crafted replicas of one of the most famous plant-eating dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous. In the video, viewers are shown just how flexible that bony club tail is. The figure comes as a two-piece set, the tail can be inserted into a slot and this saves on packaging and helps to protect the tail and the rest of the figure during transit. Once inserted, the tail can be moved into a variety of poses, collectors can depict their Rebor Ankylosaurus model swinging its club tail.
JurassicCollectables Demonstrating the Flexible Bony Club Tail
Demonstrating the flexible tail of the Rebor War Pig Ankylosaurus (Mountain colour variant).
Picture credit: JurassicCollectables
The head of each model can also be twisted and put into a variety of poses. This is not demonstrated in the video, but JurassicCollectables cover this point in their most helpful comments section.
Although named and scientifically described around 110 years ago and now representing an entire family of armoured dinosaurs (the Ankylosauridae), palaeontologists are increasingly becoming aware of just how atypical this armoured giant actually was. Rebor’s interpretation follows the principles laid out in several recently published scientific papers and the narrator from JurassicCollectables carefully guides the viewer over some of the finer points of each colour variant.
The close up of the interior of the mouth with its glossy look and the demonstration of the articulated jaw are worthy of special mention, as is the comparison with the Papo Ankylosaurus figure that occurs towards the end of this video review.
The medium of video permits the differences between the three colour schemes to be clearly seen. The narrator’s personal favourite is “plain”, seen on the left of the picture below.
All Three Rebor War Pigs Shown Together
All Rebor War Pig models “Plain”, “Mountain” and “Woodland” shown together. Which one is your favourite?
Picture credit: JurassicCollectables
The three figures together make a very impressive display, the idea of providing three distinctive colour schemes for this 1:35 scale replica based on different habitats is an inspirational one from Rebor.
All Three Rebor War Pigs can be Purchased as a Set from Everything Dinosaur (whilst stocks last)
All three War Pigs (Ankylosaurus models) are available as a set from Everything Dinosaur (whilst stocks last). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Comparing the Rebor War Pigs with Other Rebor Replicas
Off-colour Alan makes his customary appearance, there is a nice shot of Alan patting the head of one of the Rebor replicas. JurassicCollectables have built up an extensive database of Rebor model reviews and it is pleasing to note that a size comparison is made using the Rebor Y-rex figure (Yutyrannus huali).
The Rebor Y-rex Figure Compared to the Rebor Ankylosaurus War Pig (Plain Colour Variant)
The Rebor Y-rex figure (Yutyrannus) compared to the Rebor War Pig Ankylosaurs “plain” colour scheme.
Picture credit: JurassicCollectables
It is these little touches and these details that really help to make the JurassicCollectable’s YouTube channel stand out from all the other review channels.
Everything Dinosaur recommends the YouTube channel of JurassicCollectables. Visit the YouTube channel of Jurassic Collectables here: JurassicCollectables on YouTube, don’t forget to subscribe to the JurassicCollectables channel, after all, some 71,000 dinosaur and prehistoric animal model fans already have!
One of the iconic animals of the Devonian is the large, placoderm predator Dunkleosteus (D. terrelli). This huge, prehistoric fish with self-sharpening shears for jaws and an armoured head is just one of more than 200 genera of placoderms described to date, but as it measured around six metres in length, it competed with early sharks for the role of apex marine predator. The new for 2018 CollectA 1:20 scale replica of this carnivore is one of just a handful of models that have been produced, as such, it is very rare to have any Devonian vertebrates included in the model portfolio from a mainstream manufacturer.
The CollectA 1:20 Scale Dunkleosteus Model
The CollectA 1:20 Scale Replica of Dunkleosteus
The CollectA 1:20 scale Dunkleosteus replica which was introduced in 2018.
To view the CollectA 1:20 scale Dunkleosteus model and the other figures in the CollectA Deluxe range: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Life.
Dermal Armour Up to Five Centimetres Thick
The formidable, armoured head might have made up more than a third of the animal’s entire body length and there is no doubting that this fish had a ferocious bite, but scratches, puncture wounds and gouges preserved on the dermal plates (which in the very biggest specimens were up to five centimetres thick), attest to the fact that these carnivores were attacked themselves. Whether this pathology, preserved on the fossils represents a record of attempted predation, or whether these wounds were caused by intraspecific combat remains open to debate.
Intriguingly, if other Dunkleosteus fish did not cause these wounds, then what sort of marine predator did? Is there some unknown Devonian assailant still awaiting discovery in Late Devonian strata somewhere?
A Reconstructed Skull of Dunkleosteus on Display at the Senckenberg Nature Museum
A Dunkleosteus cast on display at the Senckenberg Nature Museum (Frankfurt, Germany). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Class Placodermii
The placoderms (Class Placodermi), arose in the Early Silurian and they persisted for tens of millions of years, evolving into a myriad of forms. However, as far as the fossil record goes, there is no record of placoderms surviving into the Carboniferous. The last of these armoured fish became extinct at the end of the Devonian (Famennian faunal stage of the Late Devonian).
Win “You’re Roarsome” – Dinotastic Puns and Quotes
WIN! WIN! WIN! with Everything Dinosaur!
THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.
Everything Dinosaur has teamed up with those clever, creative people at Summersdale Publishers and we have two copies of their latest offering “You’re Roarsome” to give away. “You’re Roarsome” is an uplifting little book, full of dinosaur themed puns and quotes to rock your world.
Win a Copy of “You’re Roarsome” – (Front Cover Picture)
This pocket-sized, prehistoric publication is jam-packed with quotes, sayings and puns to tickle your “funny bone”, enthuse and inspire. With a pink Tyrannosaurus rex in sunglasses on the front cover and quotes from such luminaries as William Shakespeare, Nelson Mandela and Bruce Lee inside, nothing like this has been published for over 65 million years!
Win a Copy of “You’re Roarsome” Thanks to Everything Dinosaur
All you have to do is “Like” Everything Dinosaur’s FACEBOOK page, then comment on the “You’re Roarsome” front cover picture, just tell us your favourite dinosaur and we will enter you into our free prize draw.
We will draw the lucky winners at random and the “You’re Roarsome” competition closes on midnight Monday 30th July. Good luck, we hope you win this “Pterrific” little book.
To view Everything Dinosaur’s range of dinosaurs and prehistoric animal models and toys: Everything Dinosaur.
Win a copy of the “You’re Roarsome” book with Everything Dinosaur. Like our Facebook page and comment on the front cover picture by telling us your favourite dinosaur to enter this free prize draw.
Plant Fossils Pinpoint the Timing of the Uplift of South-eastern Tibet
The immense Tibetan Plateau which borders the Himalayas, is sometimes referred to as the “roof of the world”. This foreboding landscape rises thousands of metres above sea level, it harbours a unique ecosystem and is the source of some of the most economically significant rivers in the world. However, when this plateau was formed and the geological mechanisms that led to this part of Asian being uplifted to form this elevated plain, are poorly understood.
Fossilised plants may help determine when the uplift occurred. This may seem unlikely, when studying tectonic forces, but by looking at living flora, scientists can determine information about the climate and habitat that the plants are living in from their shape, leaf size and structure. These same pointers can be identified in fossil plants too.
Plant Fossils Helping to Unlock the Geology of South-eastern Asia
Plant fossils associated with different layers in the Markan Basin provide an indication of climate change and geological uplift.
Picture credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Plants Interact with Their Environment
Plants live at the Earth’s surface and have to constantly interact with the atmosphere, their leaves are very good at recording their surroundings, including properties of the atmosphere that are related to altitude.
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), more specifically from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), have been examining plant fossils from the Lawula Formation in the Markan Basin, south-eastern Tibet. They have used plant fossil evidence to assess the date of the uplift of south-east Tibet. The mountain range building may have been accelerated when the Tibetan Plateau was already around three kilometres above sea level and rising to its present-day height.
Fortunately, the strata with plant fossils were found between volcanic ash layers that allowed them to be precisely dated using argon isotope degradation analysis. It turned out that the fossil assemblages were much older than their relatively modern appearance would suggest.
Several thousand fossil leaves were examined from four different layers of sediment. Two fossiliferous layers proved to be the most important for this study. The lower level (MK3), was dated using the isotope analysis to around 34.6 million years ago, whilst the upper layer (MK1), was dated to 33.4 million years ago. As such, these deposits span the Eocene-Oligocene Epoch Transition (around 33.9 million years ago), a time when there was dramatic climate change.
An Amazing Fossil Plant on Display at a Museum
A fossil palm frond from Wyoming (most likely). A spectacular fossil plant. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Fossil Plant Study
Intriguingly, the older layer MK3 is dominated by leaves of the ring-cupped oak and members of the birch family, whereas MK1 consists almost exclusively of alpine taxa with small leaves. The plant fossils suggest that the habitat changed from a relatively temperate evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved plant dominated flora to alpine scrub.
The CAS research team concluded that during the Eocene-Oligocene Transition, south-eastern Tibet was around three kilometres high and actively rising, close to its present-day height. The team’s results demonstrate that the onset of geological uplift took place earlier, some ten million years earlier than previously suggested.
The Elevation of Tibet
The results show that the elevation of south-eastern Tibet took place largely in the Eocene, which has major implications for uplift mechanisms, landscape development and the evolution of the flora and fauna of this region.
The argon isotope analysis of the volcanic ash layers helping to date the Markan Basin fossils, adds to a growing list of Palaeogene sites in this part of Asia, which are actually far older than biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic data indicate.
The researchers postulate that their study supports the growing body of scientific opinion that the evolution of the highly diverse Asian biota is s Palaeogene, not a Neogene phenomenon and took place before the end of the Eocene. The evolution of modern-day ecosystems may be deeply-rooted in the Palaeogene and this may have been driven by the changing and complex Tibetan topography and resultant climate change.
The scientists from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden are continuing to collect plant fossils from different parts of Tibet. They hope to build a model framework which permits a much better understanding of the uplift and the forces involved over deep time.
The latest prehistoric animal scale models from CollectA along with information about the new Rebor Velociraptor “Sweeney” and the Eofauna Straight-tusked elephant figure are all included in Everything Dinosaur’s latest customer newsletter (early July 2018). Four new CollectA scale models are in stock, plus the Rebor Velociraptor “Sweeney” reserve list is now open and the Eofauna Straight-tusked elephant model (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) is due to arrive very shortly.
Everything Dinosaur’s Newsletter (Early July 2018) Features the New for 2018 CollectA Scale Models
Two new Permian prehistoric animal figure models have arrived in stock at Everything Dinosaur – CollectA Dimetrodon and the CollectA Estemmenosuchus.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Four New CollectA Scale Models
The latest CollectA scale models have arrived at Everything Dinosaur and feature in the company’s latest newsletter. Fans of CollectA have requested that more Palaeozoic figures be added to the range. Earlier this year, a 1:20 scale Dunkleosteus was added and now joining this Devonian placoderm are two Permian figures, representing Dimetrodon and the dinocephalian Estemmenosuchus. Both these figures are also in 1:20 scale.
To view the new CollectA Deluxe scale models and the rest of the CollectA scale model range: CollectA Deluxe Models.
The 1:40 Scale CollectA Deluxe Ceratosaurus and the CollectA 1:20 Scale Gomphotherium Figure
The CollectA Ceratosaurus and the CollectA Gomphotherium models.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
In addition to the CollectA Dimetrodon and the CollectA Estemmenosuchus, also just in are the 1:40 scale Ceratosaurus dinosaur model and the prehistoric elephant Gomphotherium. Like the CollectA Dimetrodon figure, the 1:40 scale Ceratosaurus dinosaur model has an articulated lower jaw.
The Reserve List for the New Rebor Velociraptor “Sweeney” Has Opened
Newsletter subscribers are among the first to learn that another Rebor 1:18 scale Velociraptor replica is on the way. A reserve list has been opened for Rebor “Sweeney”, subscribers can ensure that they are able to purchase this new theropod figure when it arrives at Everything Dinosaur’s warehouse later this month.
To reserve a new Rebor Velociraptor figure “Sweeney” or to request a subscription to Everything Dinosaur’s regular company newsletter, simply drop us an email: Email Everything Dinosaur.
The New Rebor Velociraptor “Sweeney” and the Eofauna Straight-tusked Elephant
The new Velociraptor figure from Rebor “Sweeney” and the Eofauna Palaeoloxodon antiquus.Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
The Everything Dinosaur newsletter is a great way for subscribers to keep up with new model introductions, information about figure retirements and other news about collecting dinosaurs and prehistoric animal figures.
The New Eofauna Straight-tusked Elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus)
Readers of our latest newsletter were also provided with an update on the progress being made with the eagerly awaited Eofauna Straight-tusked elephant figure (Palaeoloxodon antiquus). This new prehistoric animal replica, the second in the exciting Eofauna range, is due to arrive at Everything Dinosaur’s warehouse in just a few days.
A reserve list has been opened for this popular 1:35 scale model, collectors don’t need to tie a knot in their trunks to remember, let Everything Dinosaur take care of reserving a model for you. When the stock arrives, we will set a figure aside for you and even drop you an email to let you know that this model is available to purchase.
Newsletter subscribers can look out for more updates about other new for 2018 figures shortly. At Everything Dinosaur, we do all we can to keep our readers and subscribers informed.
By Mike|2023-10-18T07:16:14+01:00July 3rd, 2018|General Teaching|Comments Off on A Very Big Trilobite
A Very Big Trilobite
The Wren’s Nest/Castle Hill site near Dudley in the West Midlands is one of the most important sites anywhere in the world for Silurian fossils. At this location there are superb exposures of Middle Silurian strata (Wenlock and lower Ludlow series). Coal seams in the surrounding hills date from the later Middle Carboniferous. The lime and coal at this location made this part of England a focal point for the industrial revolution.
There are lots of fossils to be found too, including trilobites.
A Commemorative Plaque Recognising the Significance of Wren’s Nest
A trilobite plaque at the Wren’s nest SSSI (Dudley, West Midlands). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
“Scour the ground for geological litter my feet drenched in an ancient sea.”
The fossils preserved at Wren’s Nest represent marine life on an ancient reef system which is around 420 to 425 million years old. This an amazing (and free) place to visit, a beautiful nature reserve that was designated Britain’s first National Nature Reserve for geology back in 1956.
