Prehistoric Times - 2013 Winter

Writers in This Issue: Mike Fredericks Tracy Ford

www.prehistorict

Randy Knol

imes.com

Phil Hore

Tom Moore Paul McFarland Allen Debus

Ron Lemery Steven Brusatte David Milner

Steven DeMarco

Robert Peck

Artists in this issue: Mike Fredericks

Raul Martin

Roz Gibson

Rudy Hummel

Tracy Ford

Paul Passano

Meg Bernstein

Kimar Ponos

Brian Ford

Leelan Lampkins

Nazir Brown

Alberto Gennari

Paul Machabee

Connor Ross

Dr Mike Adamson

Arthur Machabee

Mike Landry Tallack Refshaw

John Sibbick Julius Csotonyi Kevin Hedgpeth

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Peter Marzitelli

Frederik Spindler

Steven DeMarco

Lara Strilisky

Dan Holland

Sergey Krasovsky

Mark Hallett

Brett Booth

Joe Choate

Jason R Abdale

Juanjo Castellano

Wade Carmen

Trisha Brumitt

Russell Hawley

Robert Martinez

Fred Dengler

Trey Baldwin

Terry McKee

Simon Zoppe

Bob Walters

Tom Vasquez

Peter Schouten

Roman Uchytel

Gary Sutphin

Chris Alfaro

Tian Ogn

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$30 U.S. Only (one year, 4 issues) third class postage. $35 U. S. first class postage and Canada $45 South of the border & across the Atlantic $50 Across the Pacific Publisher/Editor: Mike Fredericks

PT Interview: Artist Terry McKee. . . . . . . . Fredericks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Prehistoric Whales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 How to Draw Dinosaurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Dinosaur Collector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Knol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

145 Bayline Circle, Folsom, Ca 95630-8077

Collectors Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fredericks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

(916) 985-7986 between 8-5 PST M-F business hours only please.

Dino Park Prague . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . McFarland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

FAX (916) 985-2481

What’s New in Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fredericks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

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Frozen Moments Diorama Art . . . . . . . . . . . Lemery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Troodon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

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Mesozoic Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fredericks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Sue - Cretaceous Queen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Demarco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Jurassic Con . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Peck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

FROM THE EDITOR

Ad graphics by Michael Stevens

Happy New back issues and perhaps other goodies. Please stop Year! If you are by the table and say hello and talk dinosaurs with reading this, we must have survived the end of the me. See ad on inside cover of this issue. world that the Mayan calendar supposedly predicted. A few years ago, several internet companies as Congratulations. Remember to seize the day (Carpe well as some other organizations asked if I would diem quam minimum credula postero) and stop and accept subscriptions from them at a vastly reduced smell the roses. Once again, many of you are seeing price. While I am a small businessman, I accepted, this magazine for the first time. We continue to get so hoping that it would help my advertisers make more many new readers; more than any previous issue. I sales, bring some “new blood” into the writing and welcome you and hope you stick with us for a long art sent into the mag and just basically build up PT’s time. Please let us know what you think of PT. subscribership numbers. I don’t know if it has I am again honored to thank amazing artist Mark helped PT advertisers make more sales and the Hallett for our front cover art. His giant Leviathan amount of art and articles, while plenty, doesn’t melvilli is the whale that ate whales. We feature preseem to have gone up alot. It did, however, help historic whales for the first time in this issue and Phil TOO WELL with the number of new subscribers. Hore has written a very good article about them. I was This would be good news if we weren’t being paid surprised at how excited PT readers were about this only a small fraction of the $30 each of you new subject and man, did we ever receive the artwork! readers paid to the internet/school subscription Thanks everyone, I’m again so sorry that I didn’t have companies. Plenty of these new subscribers are © Mark Hallett room to show it all! Our featured dinosaur is the little renewing with the internet companies too, causing meat-eating Troodon which Phil also informs us me to lose money on all of these thousands of subabout. I thought I would receive more Troodon art than scriptions a second time (even though I’ve begged whale, but not true. With it being the 20th anniversary them not to for years now.) It is for this reason that of the movie Jurassic Park (plus the 20th anniversary of this magazine I have stopped accepting subscriptions from other sources. So, while you too) (look for Jurassic Park 3D in theaters in April) we plan to talk alot will no longer see PT listed for sale through these other companies, I can about the movie in PT this year including interviews with some of the assure you that only my death will stop me from the enjoyment of continartists behind the film (like Mark Hallett, for example). Velociraptor was uing to publish my mag (and I’m still portrayed as a very intelligent dinosaur in the movie. Troodon is a drokickin’). You can still mail your submaeosaur too and was possibly the most intelligent of all the dinosaurs. scription payments to our California Since we now know that dinosaurs evolved into birds, I think that corvids address or use Paypal to pay through must be the modern day dromaeosaur. Corvids include blue jays, crows www.prehistorictimes.com, but only and ravens. These noisy, but fascinating creatures have been called “apes directly through us; no longer with wings” because of their great intelligence. You can read on-line through any other company. some of the amazing things they do and if you ever get a chance, watch MOVING?? PLEASE let us them in action. We certainly have plenty around my neighborhood. know your new address the second Good old Tracy Ford has a really interesting article about injuries you plan to move. The magazine is among ceratopian dinosaurs, like receiving a chomped off horn by a T. NOT forwarded and it costs us to rex. Yikes! Modeler Steve DeMarco shows us how to paint Jon Rader’s resend the magazine a second time “Sue” T. rex model kit to give it a very professional, realistic look. I also to your new “digs.” Thanks so much. really have to commend Dr. Steve Brusatte for an outstanding Paleonews ARTISTS! PT does not pay for end-of the year article that brings us up-to-date on the latest paleontologsubmissions but many artists whose © Universal/Amblin ical discoveries. Plus Allen Debus is back and we got Paul McFarland’s work is seen in Prehistoric Times get article and on and on, so please enjoy. paying work from other sources. Please send jpg files of your artwork scanned at 300 DPI resolution. Send PT PIX! as an approx 4” jpg with your name in the title of the image--exampleYou voted and the 2012 “winners” are: -Triceratops by John Smith.jpg to our e-mail address or send good Best book of 2012 “Charles R Knight - The Artist Who Saw Through copies (that you don’t need returned and that aren’t too big to fit our 9 x Time by Richard Milner” 12 scanner bed) to our mailing address in California. We need your art and Best new 2012 scientific discovery Yutyrannus huali info. For #105 (20 year anniversary issue)Triceratops/Dire Wolf (Mar 10, Best new toy figure of 2012 CollectA Megacerops 2013) #106 T. rex/Postosuchus (June 10, 2013) #107 Best new model kit of 2012 Sean Cooper’s Machairodus vs 3-toed Utahraptor/Uintatherium (Sep 10, 2013). Thank you! horse sold by The Alchemy Works Reader Randy Garlipp had a good idea recently when he suggested that at the end of each year, PT honor those in the paleo field that we have lost. We mentioned the passing of Daniel Varner who died on new years day of 2012. He was a very talented PT contributor who specialized in underwater prehistoric animals. Frank C. Whitmore Jr., a paleontologist who worked for the U.S. Geological Survey for 40 years, died March 18 at his home in Silver Spring. He was 96. Also, vertebrate paleontologist Professor Alan Turner passed away. He was a prominent expert on the evolution of carnivorous mammals, and also contributed to the dissemination of vertebrate paleontology to wider audiences thanks to his books, and he devoted many years to teaching at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. And finally, Farish Jenkins, a paleontologist who discovered, most notably, a 375-million-year-old fossilized fish with skull, neck, ribs and part of the fins that resembled the earliest mammals, died on Nov. 11 in Boston. He was 72 and was apparently an Indiana Jones of the Yukon. I absolutely love the following description from his obituary. “Dry wit was only part of his personality. He delighted his Harvard students with his “Moby-Dick” lecture, in which he impersonated Captain Ahab stomping around on a peg leg to demonstrate human locomotion. When digging for fossils near the North Pole, he wore his trademark Czechoslovak rabbitfur hat, and carried a flask of vodka for warmth and a rifle for warding off polar bears.” If you are aware of the passing of anyone from the paleoworld, please let us know here at PT. Don’t forget that Prehistoric Times issues and subscriptions are now also available as Apps for your computer or other electronic devices. I am extremely happy to announce that I will again be manning the Prehistoric Times table at Wonderfest this May in Louisville, Ky selling Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

5

ME S O Z O I C

Sperm Whale vs Giant Squid © John Sibbick www.johnsibbick.com

MAIL Hi Mike: I read the "plea" for an article on Neave Parker, and will follow through accordingly, targeting PT # 105. Also, in the meantime, interested readers will find a well rounded summary of Parker's paleoart career in Chapter 17 of my 2002 book, “Paleoimagery: The Evolution of Dinosaurs in Art” (McFarland, pp.111-114). But I will have other things to say concerning Parker later in a 2013 PT issue. My best, Allen A. Debus

Mike, Like a lot of people, we get lots of catalogs in the mail. Recently, my wife got one that had an item in it that I just had to share with you. It's a full-size T. rex skeleton made out of cast resin. Apparently, you can get either the full skeleton or just the skull. Now for the kicker - the whole skeleton costs $249,000.00 (that's right - just under a quarter of a million dollars) or you can get the skull for just $24,900.00. The ad says that the skeleton is more than 39' long, over 13' tall, and a width of 10'. You can see the catalog online at www.museumtour.com. I think this has got to be just about the ultimate dinosaur collectible. Imagine owning your own full-size T. rex skeleton! If you want to get one, better start saving now. Take care, Robert Mantovani, Stanford, CA

Dear Editor, My eye fell on this plea for more information about Neave Parker. The Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K. bought 17 (and then one more) original Neave Parker drawings in 1989. We then put on an exhibition of these drawings with a brief biography of Parker. We drew on reminiscences of Parker from Natural History Museum, London staff who worked with him. Yours sincerely, Kenneth James. Curator (Geology), Ulster Museum. Northern Ireland Hi, Mike, Thanks for the review of the new edition of my “Dinotopia, the World Beneath.” Also, I loved the latest issue of PT. I'm a huge fan of Burian, and he's the one who got me hooked on dinosaurs, so it's great to read the article about him. All the best, James Gurney Gary Sutphin’s 40 foot concert artwork made entirely nuts, bolts and other metal parts.

Mike:Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to showcase artist Gary Sutphin's work. He uses bolts, screws, nuts, and other found objects embed into concrete. The end result, is an anatomically-correct prehistoric fossil. His art appeals to all ages-especially those who love dinosaurs. The photo (right) is the large, 40 foot outdoor installation that he created for the Lakewood Mall in Denver, Colorado. Sincere Regards, Pamela L. Fiedler See more at: www.EstudioMariposa.net

Mike, In my discussion of the Princeton Field Guide including some new illustrations (PT 103), one shows a more seemingly complete growth series of T. bataar, made possible by the inclusion of a quite small juvenile specimen incorrectly designated a supposedly much earlier Raptorex. But more recent information suggests that juvenile specimen may not belong to the Nemegt formation T. bataar after all (but it is not an early Cretaceous pretyrannosaurid as originally thought). So be skeptical about the bottom end of that growth series. Also presented was a revised restoration of Saichania, 6

based on what is supposed to be a nearly complete specimen. But later information indicates that it is actually a composite mount, with a skull and some other elements from a taxon different from the bulk of the skeleton. And the later may belong to a taxon that has not yet been described. So don’t believe that restoration either (but the belly IS as broad as shown). Gregory S Paul, Baltimore MD

Hey, Mike. I didn't have time to write a poem this time, but I had to make a pinata for Spanish class, and I made a life-sized Deinonychus.

Bob Walters & Tess Kessinger

Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

Here are some pictures. Warning: The sender of this message has Paleonerd Syndrome, a moderately contagious yet harmless and nonexistent disease consisting of an excessive knowledge of prehistory. Thanks! Rudy Hummel

Hi Mike, Just wanted to compliment you on your perfect timing! The fall issue arrived on my birthday and I couldn’t have asked for a better present. However my girlfriend was a bit chagrined because she had bought a sexy outfit with a romantic evening in mind only to find upon entering the bedroom . . . my head buried in the pages of the latest issue. She wasn’t very happy but I suppose it’s hard to be second bested by Amargasaurus but we all have our priorities! Yes – we dino lovers are insane. I confess that I thought no one could possibly fill the shoes of Riff Smith with his featured prehistoric animal articles but I have to admit Phil Hore has done a stellar job of doing so. He is even listing commercial figures that have been produced of each animal which is something I always loved about Riff’s articles! Being a prehistoric figure collector I immediately go to Randy Knol’s Dinosaur Collector page to be followed by your What’s New In Review. I’ll never reach Tracy Ford and Steven DeMarco’s skill levels but I love reading the articles all the same. In fact I read the whole magazine so thoroughly that I barely get finished before the next one arrives. I have every issue (not easy to get) and it is amazing to watch how you have progressed into the slick, professional magazine of today. I’m with you for life, Mike, but please don’t let it arrive on my birthday again or I won’t be able to guarantee it. Randy Garlipp, Omaha, NE Hi Mike! Even on a cruise through Hawaii, PT is required reading (See photo of me reading PT #102). I just got back from Hawaii and was greeted by PT #103 in the mail! The trip is complete! Love the article on Mr. Zdenek Burian. He was part of the BIG THREE that had a real Mark Kreiss “At sea with influence on me as a lad. PT!” Burian, Charles Knight and Rudolph Zallinger. In fact, because of Mr. Zallinger, when I was a kid, every time I drew a Brontosaurus, I had to include a Ramphorhynchus flying by Bronto's neck; did that for the longest time. Every time we had "library time" in grade school, I'd zip over to the section that had the Life Nature Library books and take out the Evolution book. I'd drool over Mr. Burian’s work in there.We also had some of his prehistoric books that I would horde. My teacher would complain that I only looked at dinosaur books! So sad to hear that any royalties from Mr. Burian’s work isn't going to his descendents. How frustrating! This man has created a body of work that others can only dream about (including moi) and has inspired thousands of people all across the globe and it's hidden away somewhere not to be enjoyed by the millions who care about it. BTW, I won Mojo Fun’s diorama contest on facebook. I entered a dinosaur diorama. They are sending me their whole line as a prize! I guess that's why they call them... Mojo FUN! Mark Kreiss, Warren, NJ Hi Mike, Wow, it is really hard to believe that another year has gone by along with four wonderful issues of PT! I really look forward to each issue and enjoy the articles and am always amazed at how many talented artists we have out there. This has certainly been a Dinosaur year up here in Ontario, Canada. There is a fantastic exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum called Ultimate Dinosaurs - Giants from Gondwana. Six visiting paleontologists have been discussing their work in lectures there as well. There is also Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

Jurassic Juniors

Rudy Hummel’s Deinonychus

Tallack Refshaw

a new theme park at Canada’s Wonderland called Dinosaurs Alive! It includes over forty animatronic dinosaurs, some of which can be controlled by the public. The Indian River Reptile Zoo, outside of Peterborough, has brought in eight animatronic dinosaurs to draw visitors to help fund a home for three salt water crocs. I have enclosed payment for another year of PT and I am looking forward to the interesting articles, dino-mite art and informative book reviews. Betsy Cotton, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Hi Mike, Enclosed is my check for another four issues of the only magazine I look forward to reading cover to cover when it arrives. Each year when I renew my subscription I say the same thing, but if you ever stopped PT, I think I would slip into a deep depression, that’s how much your publication means to me. Please keep up the terrific work that you and your contributors do to produce the magic that is the Prehistoric Times. Best, John Dennett, Horsham, PA. Wow, thanks John, no pressure there, right? Your mental health balances on my shoulders. And thanks to everyone for your nice letters in this issue and many more that were not printed - editor

Origami by Paul Machabee

Connor Ross

7

The PT DinoStore

Vintage dinosaur collectibles for sale from PT magazine “Dinosaur Collectibles” price guide co-written and signed by PT editor $49 Linde 1950s Coffee Premium plastic dinosaur figs 7 from Austria. @$12 Rare 8th Linde dinosaur to complete above set: Rare Rhamphorhynchus $45 Marx orig. sm/med 50s/ 60s dinosaur toy figs (green, brown, gray) $5 Marx orig. Krono, T-rex (pot-belly or slender) $39, Brontosaurus $34 Marx original second series dinos/mammals $12 each, set of 8 - $79 Marx 45mm cavemen (6 diff) $7 ea Marx 6” cavemen (6 diff) $15 ea. Multiple (MPC) dinosaur plastic figures many colors $5-10 each (inquire) J H Miller waxy plastic nice Prehistoric cave toy $49 Dimestore dinos J H Miller waxy plastic1950s Dimetrodon, broken feet -stands fine $49 SRG J H Miller waxy plastic1950s Stegosaurus, short tail $59, Woolly Rhino $69 J H Miller waxy plastic 50s Bronto in good shape $79 J H Miller plastic RARE SMALL Dimetrodon or Brontops $129 each. Sinclair bank J H Miller plastic 50s Mastodon short tusk $59, Triceratops short horn $59 Linde Sinclair 1960s Bronto bronze metal bank $89 JH Miller cave Sinclair 1960s green plastic 10” brontosaur bank $24.95 Sinclair 1934 Dinosaur book $25 & Sinclair1964 Worlds Fair booklet $15 Sinclair 60s colorful Hardback “The Exciting World of Dinosaurs” $39 Sinclair hollow dinosaurs 64 NY World’s Fair dinos in several colors @$30 Sinclair rare hollow NY Worlds Fair Brontosaurus looking backward $59 Sinclair album and complete stamps set1935 $35 or 1959 $20 Sinclair 60s solid Worlds Fair dinos (6 diff. various prices) (bagged set $99) Palmer Og, Son of Fire Hollow, dimestore plastic dinos, 60s/70s six different $8 each (see photo) dino Alva 1960s metal Stegosaurus or Duckbilled Trachodon (each damaged) @$49 Sinclair hollow dinosaurs 1934 Book SRG Small metal dinosaurs Mosasaurus $89, caveman $85, Plesiosaurus $60, Pteradactyl $49, T. rex, Triceratops, Dimetrodon, Trachodon, Brontosaurus or Stego $40 ea. SRG Large metal Tricer $79, Tracho $79, or T. rex $69 Vintage1930s “Og, Son of Fire” Metal Three Horn Dinosaur ~ Libby's Milk Premium $59 60’s Japan Porcelain Dimetrodon, Stego, Bronto, T-rex or Protoceratops 5” @$30 1960s, salt & pepper shakers, bone china, intertwining neck Brontosaurus Nabisco cereal prehistoric Nabisco silver prehistoric mammal cereal premiums early 1960s $10 ea. All 8 $75 mammals Nabisco/Fritos dinosaur premiums, gray (60s) $5 each, 1950s green & red $10 ea. ROM (Royal Ontario Museum)plastic dinosaur figures. $15 ea, Pteranodon $25 Kleinwelka German large plastic Anatosaurus $59, Deinosuchus $19 MPC Multiple View Master Prehistoric Animals 1960s comp. 3 reels/booklet nm $24 dinos Topps complete set of 12 - 2” plastic dinosaur figures Nice! Early 90s. $25 Animals Of The Past Golden Stamp Book 1968 - $35 Teach Me About Prehistoric Animals Flash cards 1960s $49 Brooke Bonde 60s dinosaur trading album w/ comp. set of cards attached $59 Rare Bandai motorized Dimetrodon or Brontosaurus model kit in box @$49 Topps dino set Pyro Protoceratops model kit in orig. 1960s box@ $22 Palmer 1960s Mastodon skeleton or Brontosaurus skeleton $45 each MIB Alva metal 1960s ITC - T. rex, Brontosaurus or Neanderthal man skeletal model kits @$59 Stegosaurus PT back issues 23, 24, - $16 32, 46, 54, - $11 27, 31, 33, 38, 41, 42, 45, 52, 66, 74, 75, 76, 78, 82, 85, 89, 93 - 103 only $7 each on sale (PT issue prices include shipping) Please add $5 shipping in U.S. Call or e-mail me for details about condition. Mike Fredericks Prehistoric Times ITC/Ringo 145 Bayline Cir. models Folsom, California 95630-8077 (916) 985-7986 [email protected]

Nabisco dinos

Brooke Bond

Above: 1960s salt & pepper shakers w/ intertwined necks. 5” long each.

60s Japan 60s Viewmaster

ROM plastic dinos Left: Sinclair 1960s hardback

8

60s Marx large cavemen Sinclair 1959 Oil dino stamps & album

Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

The PT Interview: Artist

years I studied and manufactured primitive weapons and tools, flint knapping, bow and arrow, atlatl & dart systems and such things using all natural plant and animal materials. I enjoy making model, old style, wooden boats from my own plans and materials. I have created small 3-inch sculptures of a variety of mega fauna from clay. I have been interested in prehistoric animals and people since I was a small boy, 4 years old, I suppose. I have always been curious about natural history, evolution, animals, plants, rocks and nature in general. I do not know why.

Terry McKee by Mike Fredericks All artwork © Terry McKee

Prehistoric Times magazine is certainly proof that there are many artists creating prehistoric animal art out there, and only a small handful of them are well known. When Terry McKee offered to send some of his artwork to be shown in the magazine for the first time, I was impressed with his colorful and lively style and amazed at the amount of paintings he has accomplished. I decided to interview a less known; yet very talented artist as Terry for this issue and let him tell his story. I realize this will open it up for many more of you who also are not famous - yet, to offer to be interviewed and that’s fine. I will try to get around to many of you, in time.

A neighbor cattle farmer gave me a set of oils paints when I was 15 and that started my oil painting path from then on. First I painted wildlife, landscapes, mountain men and their time period and North American Indian subject matter. When I got older I sold my paintings at art shows and such places and at Mountain Man Rendezvous. I also did commission work for anyone who wanted something painted. About 8 years ago I decided to paint what I was interested in when I was a little boy … prehistoric critters and their environment. There is a creek, Pecan Creek, on my farm in Oklahoma, which is still in my family, on which I was raised. This Pecan Creek cut through a limestone outcrop that supports crinoid fossils. Also, 2 miles west of the farm is a hill

PT: Terry, please tell us all about yourself and how long you have been interested in prehistoric animals and art. TM: I was born in 1947 in Kokomo, Indiana of Scotch-Irish and Chippewa Indian decent. I was raised on a dairy and cattle farm in northeast Oklahoma. I now live in the forested area of Conifer, Colorado. Conifer is at an elevation of 8900 feet and is 20 miles west of Denver in the mountains. I have been married to my wife, Cheri for 42 years. I have a 37 year old son who has a family and lives south of Denver in a town called Castle Rock. I have a 40 year old daughter. She lives with her family south east of San Diego, CA. I have 5 grandvarmits. I spent 4 years in the Marine Corps, of which 3 years were at 29 Palms Marine Corps Base in the Mojave Desert in southern California as a Radar Repairman in the 2nd Light Anti Aircraft Missile Battalion for the ground to air HAWK missile system. I have a BS in Biology with an emphasis on Zoology with minor degrees in Geology and Chemistry from Northeastern Oklahoma State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. No formal art schooling. Self taught trial and error by always studying the natural world around me.

about 100 feet high that is a Mississippian and Pennsylvanian fossil reef containing a variety of invertebrate fossils such as blastoids, crinoids, coral, brachiopods, etc., which I use to visit and collect from as a small boy and still visit at times. I also have a skull collection of over 50 species of animals of North America. I am currently and have been employed by the US Army Corps

I do a lot of wood working, simple furniture making and anything out of wood that I need. I have a coal forge and create tools and items with the forge. I make wooden Plains Indian flutes. For 30 10

Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

of Engineers for 32 years as a stream and wetland Natural Resources Specialists. PT: Sounds like a very interesting life, so far. What mediums and materials do you use to create your art and do you paint from home? TM: I use oil paints on canvas and sometimes paint on slabs of rock copying the cave paintings of primitive man. I always paint in the house, in my chair in the living room while watching television. I spend a lot of time out of doors for my job

PT: I love the ocean and consequently underwater prehistoric animals. What is their o bv i o u s attraction to you, as I see you paint more of them than terrestrial animals. TM: When I started to do paleo art my first paintings were of dinosaurs and then I started painting some marine reptiles, mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs, etc. I would place ammonites in the paintings. Then I decided that ammonites could be a good main subject. From there I went to trilobites and crinoids, and Stromatolites (which I got interested in during my college geology courses). I am currently doing illustrations for an author who is writing a book on stro-

and also to just scrounge around, mostly in the states of Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and Arizona looking for fossil sites as subject matter for my paintings. PT: Does an artist have to have a “special eye” to paint well? Any artistic methods you use that you could share with artists reading this interview? TM: Always know where your light source is. Study the way light lies on the earth around you and how light creates highlights, shadows, shading, and how things near the subject being illustrated may affect that subject. Constantly and consciously (eventually subconsciously), notice how animals move. Study their muscles, bone structure and skin or hide of modern animals and apply that to your paleo creatures. Study the interaction of animals with each other. Never ignore plants and the anatomy of plants. Always study geology and geological formations. Be aware of the way water effects everything above and below its surface. I enjoy viewing other artist’s work, talking to other artists and noticing how they create their paleo scenes. I also very much like going to museums. Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

matolites. That is why there are stromatolites on my website. I visit fossil sites that are mostly marine. Dinosaurs are hard to find (although a friend and I did come across a part of one protruding from a Jurassic bluff in central Utah), and I prefer to paint what I find; therefore, the marine fossil paintings. I have dived lakes in Oklahoma and have snorkeled in various locations, which include the Hawaiian Islands, so I do feel like I know about underwater situations and how light under water can look. It seems as though I study a subject and then move on to another. A couple of months ago Cheri and I spent a week in Yellowstone, one of many trips there. Now I am doing paintings of mega fauna in Yellowstone. Mastodons, mammoths, giant ground sloth, Bison latafrons, short face bear, and the saber tooth … even though I can find no 11

good sources identifying mega fauna in that area.

as to where you get scientific help to make your paintings accurate as possible? In the field, right?

PT: Well, what is your favorite prehistoric animal and what would you most like to see if you could go back to prehistoric times with a time machine?

TM: Finding fossils in the field and studying their features is my source for accuracy and inspiration. Invertebrate fossils are easier to find compared to vertebrate fossils. It is easier to find a crinoid instead of a dinosaur; and in most cases you can collect the invertebrates but not the vertebrates. I prefer to paint what I have encountered. That’s why most of my paintings have been of invertebrate species. But, I do refer to books and scientific literature, the internet, person to person conversations with people that are knowledgeable in this field, television programs, movies, visiting museums and viewing and studying other artists work as well. I use the living world around us today to incorporate into my paintings.

TM: The Dimetrodon … and Masses of Ammonites swimming around me. And also, I think the ammonites would really taste good, especially with garlic. PT: Hmm, could be. I know mosasaurs would agree with you as they have found ammonite shells with mosasaur teeth marks on them. What other

PT: And you have a world class natural history museum near you in Denver. Where can we see your work and what is in store for you in the near future? TM:1) I have a website: terrymckeepaleoart.com 2) I participate every other year in a Symposium and Paleo Art Show put on by the Western Interior Paleontological Society (WIPS), a local Denver paleo and fossil organization. 3) Contin-Tail Rock and Gem Show in Buena Vista, CO, 4) Denver Coliseum Mineral and Fossil Show in Denver, Colorado 5) AGMC Fall Gem and Mineral Show, Albuquerque, New artists influence and inspire you (both

paleo and non-paleo)? TM: I like impressionistic art best, verses photo realistic art. Be that as it may … other artists that influence and inspire me are Karen Carr and John Gurche (because of their diverse subject matter), Rembrandt, Howard Terpning, Robert Bateman and of course Claude Monet… and my 7 year old granddaughter, Elizabeth. There are so many good artists; especially today with the use of computer graphics. I just threw out these names, but really, I would say Howard Terpning. He has a touch of impressionism in his art work and I appreciate his subject matter. PT: While I’m unfamiliar with Elizabeth’s art (ha!), I certainly am also a fan of all the other names. Monet is the best impressionist. You paint with a somewhat impressionist style so I can see his influence. Terpning is awesome but I think you might love his subject matter (the old west) at least as much as his painting style. So, you have already answered my next question 12

Mexico I suspect I will continue with my paleo art for a few years. I don’t give much deep thought about the near days to come, except to set plans for field trips, much less about the far ahead future … in my life I just try to avoid social, mental and physical discomfort as much a practical. PT: For someone who used to be a marine - yes, I know, once a marine, always a marine - you sound alot like an old hippy, Terry, but nothing wrong with that. Anything else you want to say, perhaps to aspiring young paleo-artists? TM: As for aspiring artists, young and old - keep studying, knowing that mistakes will be made, and allow yourself to improve by making those mistakes. Always be cognizant of your immediate environment. Check out more of Terry McKee’s art, some for sale, at: terrymckeepaleoart.com

Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

Prehistoric Whales

were two men—more wild dog than human—who snarled and whined in terror when the Dauphin’s crew tried to take them onboard.

by Phil Hore

The pair were eventually captured and presented to Captain Coffin, who recognized one of the gaunt faces as his distant cousin George Pollard, Jr. Babbling, as though telling his tale would remove the stain from his heart, Pollard admitted some of the bones in the longboat belonged to another cousin of both men, Owen Coffin. The whaler’s horror at this news only grew as the tale of the Essex was recounted.

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In 1819 Pollard sailed the whaler, Essex, into the Pacific to hunt sperm whales. The oil from these beasts was needed to grease the engines of the coming Industrial Age, while the odd fluid from the beast’s head, the spermaceti, made smokeless, odorless candles along with a horde of other products.

Zygophyseter © Alberto Gennari albertogennari68.blogspot.it

To leeward the South American coast began to shrink away until it was little more than a tiny green line on the horizon. The Dauphin had made her final turn from the coast of Chile into the South Seas, ready to spend the next few seasons hunting the great prize these waters held, whales. Nantucket-born Captain Zimri Coffin was deep in thought planning just where he felt his ship would find the great behemoths, when the lookout high above the Dauphin’s deck called, “SAIL THERE.” The crew all crushed together on the forward deck looking for the other vessel. Was it a pirate, maybe a hot-tempered Spaniard? With so many vessels sailing the Pacific these days you could never be too careful. Almost wave by wave the men from Nantucket watched as an impossibly small speck on the horizon grew into a longboat, bobbing with the tide under a rudimentary mast and caked in dried sea salt. Lines were dropped, and men, like spider monkeys, scrambled down the side to help gather in the stricken vessel. What they found inside sent ice-cold fingers gripping their very soul. In the longboat, gnawing on the naked bones of their fellow crew mates,

That season there were so many whalers at sea that finding a crew became a problem, and Pollard ended up taking a lot of inexperienced sailors, including his young cousin, Owen Coffin, to sea with him. Tragedy nearly struck only four days after leaving when a violent storm fell on the ship and tipped her almost 90 degrees. The Essex was damaged, several whaleboats were destroyed, and Pollard considered returning home, but his crew, who were keen to start making money, persuaded him to go on. By the following year the Essex had sailed under the “Horn” and was harvesting whales when, some 1,500 miles west of the Galápagos Basilosaurus © Tom Vasquez Islands, the vessel came across a large pod of sperm whales. For weeks now the Essex had lowered its whaleboats at the sight of a plume of expelled air only to fail each and every time to land a beast. Worse, just four days earlier a whale had surfaced under one of the boats and severely damaged it. Now, with whales surfacing about them in the twinkling ocean from the morning’s bright sun Pollard ordered his men into the water once more. Almost instantly one boat was damaged when it harpooned a whale and took a hit from a swinging tail. No help was available because the other two boats had managed to catch their own animals and were being dragged for miles, so the stricken vessel Cetotherium returned to Essex.

© Alberto Gennari albertogennari68.blogspot.it

Work repairing the damaged whaleboat was just ending when one sailor pointed to something lying off Essex’s port bow. A bull sperm whale, 85 feet long, just shy of a hundred tons, was acting strange. It wasn’t running, wasn’t even moving really; it was just sitting in the water, occasionally blowing out huge gusts of air, with its massive, scarred head pointing directly at the whaler. “His appearance and attitude gave us at first no alarm, but while I stood watching his movements and observing him, I involuntarily ordered the boy at the helm to put it hard up, intending to sheer off and avoid him. The words were scarcely out of my mouth before he came down upon us at full speed and struck the ship with his head. He gave us such an appalling and tremendous jar as nearly threw us all on our faces. The ship brought up as suddenly and violently as if she had struck a rock and trembled for a few moments like a leaf. We looked at each other in perfect amazement, deprived almost of the power of speech. Many minutes elapsed before we were able to realize the dread-

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Georgiacetus ©Frederik Spindler

is—he is making for us again." I turned around and saw him about one hundred rods directly ahead of us, coming down with apparently twice his ordinary speed, and to me it appeared with tenfold fury and vengeance in his aspect. The surf flew in all directions, and his course toward us was marked by a white foam of a rod in width, which he made with a continual violent threshing of his tail. His head was about half out of water, and in that way he came upon and again struck the ship. I was in hopes, when I descried him making for us, that by putting the ship away immediately I should be able to cross the line of his approach before he could get up to us and thus avoid, what I knew, if he should strike us again, would be our inevitable destruction. 1 called out to the helmsman “hard up," but she had not fallen off more than a point before we took the second shock. I should judge the speed of the ship at this time to have been about three knots and that of the whale about six. He struck her windward, directly under the cathead, and completely stove in her bows. He passed under the ship again, went off leeward, and we saw no more of him.” www.frederik-spindler.de

Basilosaurus © Dr Mike Adamson

© Meg Bernstein

ful accident, during which time he passed under the ship, grazing her keel as he went along, came up along-

side her leeward, and lay on the top Sculpture by Leelan Lampkins of the water, apparently stunned with the violence of the blow, for the space of a minute. He then suddenly started off in a direction leeward. After a few moments' reflection and recovering in some measure from the sudden consternation that had seized us, I, of course, concluded that he had stove a hole in the ship and that it would be necessary to set the pumps going. Accordingly they were rigged but had not been in operation more than one minute before I perceived the head of the ship to be gradually settling down in the water. I then ordered the signal to be set for the other boats (at that time in pursuit of whales), which I had scarcely dispatched, before I again discovered the whale apparently in convulsions on the top of the water about one hundred rods leeward. He was enveloped in the foam that his continual and violent thrashing about in the water had created around him, and I could distinctly see him smite his jaws together as if distracted with rage and fury. He remained a short time in this situation and then started off at great velocity across the bows of the ship windward. By this time the ship had settled down a considerable distance in the water, and I gave her up as lost. I, however, ordered the pumps to be kept constantly going and endeavored to collect my thoughts for the occasion. I turned to the boats, two of which we then had with the ship, with an intention of clearing them away and getting all things ready to embark in them if there should be no other resource left. While my attention was thus engaged for a moment, I was roused by the cry of the man at the hatchway, "Here he

Understanding they were in real trouble, the whalers set about saving their lives. They pulled canvas and ropes from the stricken ship, along with any food and water they could find. They even managed to grab some maps and navigation equipment before, with a last groan, the Essex slipped under the waves. The other whaleboats soon returned to the distressing sight of an ocean full of © Fred Dengler

© Roz Gibson

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Squalodelphis &Llanocetu ©Frederik Spindler www.frederik-spindler.de

the flotsam of a shipwreck, and their shipmates were waiting with a tale to tell. The news they were now stranded over 1,500 miles from help, with only their tiny whaleboats and the supplies they’d removed from the Essex, must have been crushing. Pollard wanted to sail for the Marquesas Islands, but some of the crew refused because, ironically, they’d heard there were cannibals on the island. With a stretch they had food for 60 days, and they set off for a small, near barren island called Henderson. There was no way they could all survive here though, and after a week of looking for food, most continued on. Those left behind struggled to survive and were eventually rescued after nearly four months by a trading vessel, the Surry.

Medicom Basilosaurus figureCollection Sean Phillips

Odobenocetops © Roz Gibson

The three whaleboats continued eastward, but after a nasty storm one vessel snapped its moorings and disappeared. For the rest, with the food gone and men one by one dying, there was only one choice. Day after day, week after week, the men who perished were eaten by the survivors until only four remained.

Time passed and starvation was a real threat for all until it finally came down to a draw of lots to see who’d be next on the chopping block. The four drew straws and, to Pollard’s dismay, it was his cousin Owen Coffin who drew the short straw. © Joe Choate

By the time the Dauphin appeared, only Pollard and another were still alive. . .or so they thought. When the rescue ship arrived in Valparaiso they were greeted by the faces of those from the lost third whaleboat, who’d been Dorudon © Mike Landry

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Odontobenocetops ©Dan Holland

rescued by the British ship, the Indian.

Basilosaurus ©Dan Holland

The last act of this bizarre whale attack came just a few months later when Pollard had what must be the most awkward conversation of all time when he explained to his aunt what had happened to her son, Owen Coffin.

The above story is true and was the obvious inspiration for H e r m a n Melville’s Moby Dick. The book, considered a true classic, is oddly loaded with accurate information about whale evolution, and even has a chapter devoted to fossil whales.

© Russell J Hawley A succession of fossils that, in almost every instance, adds to the picture of a group slowly adapting in clear, obvious steps in their physiology to an environment recently devoid of the largest, scariest animals the world has ever known…oh, and of course Dorudon atrox © Simon Zoppe pirates and cannibalism.

“Detached broken fossils of pre-adamite whales, fragments of their bones and skeletons, have within thirty years past, at various intervals, been found at the base of the Alps, in Lombardy, in France, in England, in Scotland, and in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.”

This amazing tale starts with Darwin, who wrote at a time when most considered whales fish: “I can see no difficulty in a race of bears being rendered, by natural selection, more and more aquatic in their habits, with larger and larger mouths, till a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale.” Darwin was crucified in the public arena for this claim, yet it’s scary to think he was almost right (well, except for the bears bit). The best way to get a picture of whales, their discoveries and evolution, is to follow the sequence of animals as they evolved. I should point out this

Georgiacetus ©Dan Holland

“sequence” is of my own making, since the following animals may not actually have been in a linear line. Instead they’re likely members of a group, some of which were the direct ancestors of modern whales, whereas others were extinct offshoots.

Cetacean development is one of the most interesting in all of paleontology, giving us possibly the best fossil sequence for the proof of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Researching the family has been like opening Pandora’s box, with secrets, stories, and surprises enough to fill a dozen such articles because it has almost everything a science writer could want. Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

Like all animals, cetaceans, as they spread across the globe, diverged and evolved into different families as each “branch” adapted to a new environment. Eventually some increased in size and began encroaching on the range of other whales, while others cohabited an area. The actual animal that whales evolved from still eludes us, though the proof it was a terrestrial (land-based) species is there for all to see. Modern whales are often found with small, vestigial legs and hips, evidence they 17

once ran about on land. A small, possibly aquatic artiodactyl from India could well be this missing link because it had features found only in whales, though due to its age (around 48 mya) it’s likely one of those deadends. Indohyus was the size of a large cat and had very thick limb bones, which could have been used like a diver’s weights. With so many large, fearsome predators in the area, the ability of Indohyus to jump into the water may have been more about survival than hunting.

never returned. The first step in whale evolution we’ve found is a 54-million-yearold, 6-foot animal called Pakicetus (‘Pakistan whale’), whose teeth were similar to those of Andrewsarchus. This was no ordinary whale, however, because it was only in the first stages of an aquatic life. Its nostrils were at the front of its snout, while its body still had four sturdy legs and was likely covered in fur. If anything, Pakicetus would have looked something like a four legged seal, spending much of its time at sea yet coming ashore to sleep and give birth. More importantly its ears were nothing like a whale’s, an indication that it hunted by sight and smell rather than echolocation.

© Russell J Hawley

Two groups of predators are often cited as the likely ancestor of whales. The Mesonychids were an order with jaws and teeth similar to the first whales, some of which resembled wolves in both size and attitude. Wolves are very Ambulocetus (‘walking whale’) was from the same area though its body adaptable hunters, perhaps explaining why was slightly more adapted for life in water; in early whales entered the sea. Those similarifact the shape and size of the skull is suggesties may be a case of convergent evolution tive that it may have lived a lifestyle similar to Georgiacetus © Lara Strilisky since Mesonychids are not the likely ancesthat of a crocodile by killing larger prey that tors of whales. Recent molecular tests show came to drink. their closest living relative is the Ten million years later the 8-foot Hippopotamus though there is now a suggesProtocetus was well on its way to becoming a tion that the most whale-like mesonychid, whale. It had reduced rear legs and wide padthe enormous Andrewsarchus, may actually dle-like front legs. Its body was also longer have been a whale, reaffirming their relawith the vertebrae at the end of its tail possibly tionship. possessing a pair of flukes for propulsion. The Whichever of these two groups whales skull was also more whale-like, having evolved from, both shared a single feature become elongated and grown narrower with that could be the most important step in a ears more suitable for hearing underwater. It large terrestrial mammal entering the sea— still had defined elbows though, an indication geography. that these animals could still drag themselves “When wedged bastions of ice pressed onto land. hard upon what are now the Tropics; and in Rodhocetus (from the mid-Eocene) was an all the 25,000 miles of this world's circumimportant find because it still possessed ference, not an inhabitable hand’s breadth of ankles, strengthening the link between whales land was visible. Then the whole world was and hippos. (It was named from the Rodho, or the whale’s; and, king of creation, he left his ‘bald’, flank of the Zinda Pir anticlinorium on wake along the present lines of the Andes the east side of the Sulaiman Range in and the Himmalehs. Who can show a pediPakistan.) The best description I’ve read for gree like Leviathan? Ahab’s harpoon had this animals was that it looked like a giant, buff shed older blood than the Pharaoh’s.” otter. Melville was on the money because the first whales evolved around Pakistan, along the shores of the shrinking Tethys Sea. At the time the island of India was approaching Asia from the south, shrinking the once gigantic prehistoric ocean into an ever smaller area. By 48 mya all that was left was a shallow, extremely warm stretch of water almost completely devoid of large carnivores. Gone were the pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and mosasaurs of the Cretaceous, replaced by monsters with blood far hotter. This warm water became a breeding ground for small fish and the big fish that fed on them. All this food and nothing to eat it. At first, land-based carnivores and scavengers were likely encouraged onto the beaches by the sea creatures washing ashore, which led to them entering the water more and more until some 18

The 20-foot Zygorhiza (‘yoke-root’) was more like what we’d consider a whale though with an elongated body more like an eel. Its large skull was only one sixth of its body length, whereas modern whales have a skull-to-body ratio more like one fourth. It also still possessed a lengthy neck and was similar in shape to: “by far the most wonderful of all Cetacean relics. . .the almost complete vast skeleton of an extinct monster, found in the year 1842, on the plantation of Judge Creagh, in Alabama. The awe-stricken credulous slaves in the vicinity took it for the bones of one of the fallen angels. The Alabama doctors declared it a huge

Basilosaurus © Trey Baldwin

Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

reptile and bestowed upon it the name phin’) is a great example of convergent evoof Basilosaurus. But some specimen lution because its top jaw was longer than its bones of it being taken across the sea to lower one making it look and possibly live Owen, the English Anatomist, it turned like the Jurassic ichthyosaur out that this alleged reptile was a Excalibosaurus or a modern swordfish. whale, though of a departed species. . . The second, and in some ways more . So Owen rechristened the monster advanced group, are the Mysticeti Rhodcetus skeleton © Dan Holland Zeuglodon; and in his paper read (‘Greenland whale types’). These mostly before the London Geological Society, have teeth replaced with a horn-like subpronounced it, in substance, one of the most extraordinary creatures which stance made of keratin called “baleen.” This group contains the most recogthe mutations of the globe have blotted out of existence.” nizable whales, such as the minke When first found, this 60-foot whale (possibly named after the Norwegian was believed to be a marine reptile like whaler Meincke), humpback, right Archaeocete skull © Russell J Hawley a mosasaur (thus the name ‘king (so called because their oil-filled lizard’), and its skeleton was used as bodies were the “right” ones to proof for the existence of sea serpents. hunt), and the largest creature alive Although looking like a modern whale, today, the 100-foot, near 200-ton, Basilosaurus still had some primitive blue whale. Unlike the Odontoceti features such as a small head, different these whales sing instead of using types of teeth, nostrils only half way echolocation—perhaps because they between its snout and its eyes, and most hunt much smaller prey, they don’t importantly a fully functioning (though need to “see” as well with their heargreatly reduced in size) set of rear legs. It may have also been the world’s ing. first truly international whale because remains have been found in America, The earliest baleen whales were Llanocetus (George A. Llano + whale) Egypt, and Australia. from Antarctica, Japan’s Joumocetus (Jÿmÿ ‘upper-hair’, old name of Primitive whales have been placed in their own order, the Archaeocetes. Although resembling modern whales in many ways, they had enough basal (primitive) features to be placed outside the two modern families. Something I found interesting was the fact that some early whales suffered from the bends (as did plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs), suggestive of their no longer simply living and eating in the shallow, warmer parts of the sea but were diving deep in search of food or perhaps even exploring their world. The roughly 80 species of living whales do not suffer from the bends because they’ve developed bodies that become saturated by the air they breathe, stopping the formation of nitrogen bubbles in their bloodstream. Modern whales are split into two families. The first, the Odontoceti (or ‘toothed whales’ like dolphins, porpoises, sperm whales, and beaked whales) have skulls with an enlarged feature at the front called the “melon.” This and the reduction in both their eyes and nasal sensors indicate that Odontoceti whales may have had echo location to help them hunt and navigate since their first ancestor. This may have been Australia’s Prosqualodon (‘priorshark-tooth’), which had its nose on top of its skull creating a true blowhole. At 7.5 feet long and looking like a dolphin, Prosqualodon was described by the father of Tasmania’s most famous son, Errol Flynn (Theodore Thomson Flynn). Unfortunately these fossils were thrown out one day with the garbage, and so we no longer have the original specimen.

Janjucetus © Wade Carmen

Gunma Prefecture, + whale), New Zealand’s Mauicetus (Maori demi-god Maui + whale), and Australia’s Cetotherium (‘whale-beast’). Although small and some still had teeth, all possessed strange features that were probably early forms of baleen.

It is unsurprising that baleen whales evolved in the Southern Hemisphere (where most are located today) since, for most of the last 30 million years, much of the north was covered in the radiating ice sheets of the last Ice Age. Any aquatic life in these waters would have either faced extinction or been driven south. As the north froze, the Pacific grew larger and deeper. New Zealand pulled away from the east coast of Australia, which in turn sepaMiocene © Dan Holland rated from Antarctica. Between these landmasses great rifts and trenches appeared, and these deep waters created updrafts of nutrients to feed large numbers of krill (tiny shrimp-like creatures that collectively make up the single largest protein source on the planet), squid, and fish—a perfect feeding ground for baleen whales. Their relocation south may also explain why so many whales seek out warmer equatorial waters for calving before returning to colder waters to feed, a behavior possibly echoing an ancient time when whales first entered the warm Tethys Sea. © Janjucetus © Robert Martinez

Another primitive odontocetian, Eurhinodelphis (‘typical nose dolPrehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

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Figure 1. Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai frill pathologic conditions, misaligned horns, reabsorbed horns. A, RTMP 89.55.1085. B, RTMP 1988.55.46. C, RTMP 89.55.1503. D, This is the one I found, RTMP 1987.55.210. E, RTMP 1986.55.261 (normal frill). F, RTMP 1987.55.164.

How to Draw Dinosaurs By Tracy Lee Ford

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The Rough and Tumble Primeval World, Part Two (Ceratopians) There are several factors that can cause a pathologic condition; fighting, whether predator vs prey, or interspecific combat; disease; by accident; or some unknown reason. I’ll be concentrating on the skull of ceratopians in this issue. In ceratopians a lot of the pathologic conditions are found on the skull. I won’t be going into every kind of cranial pathologic feature there is, just emphasis on those that could be easily used for life reconstructions. Before I start talking about ceratopian pathologic conditions, I must stress the horns of ceratopians were covered with a keratinous horny sheath (not hair) on the nasal, orbital, and horns along the rim of the frill. This horny sheath I believe would be 20 to 30 percent more than the horn core. The Figure 2. Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai life reconstruction of the one with a pathologic face, RTMP 89.55.1234. Nearly complete skull, paleopathologic conditions are on the right side of skull with a large circular penetrating lesion, 4 punched-out lesions, right squamosal, resorption zone, raised protuberance, right maxilla.

nasal boss in Pachyrhinosaurus has been suggested to be pathologic (Norman 1985, Dixon et al. 1988), but dozens of pachyrhinosaurian skulls have been found with a boss, and it is widely accepted that the nasal boss is a natural occurrence. Like “normal” horns the “boss” would have had an irregular horny sheath covering it. It has been suggested that the nasal boss had a huge horn extending from it. Unlike some modern mammals, ceratopian horns were not a by-product of “hair” and were not grown annually. There is NO evidence, whatsoever, that Pachyrhinosaurus had a large nasal horn. There is a specimen of a Centrosaurus that apparently had its nasal horn snapped off at its base, and the animal lived. The Pachyrhinosaurus (Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai) bone bed at Pipestone Creek, Alberta, has produced several pathologic specimens. My good and long-time friend Darren Tanke was in charge 20

of the site, and I went up to work at it for a few days more than 25 years ago (wow, it’s been that long). Unfortunately there was a huge storm in that part of Canada, and the site was closed down for a few days because of high water. I eventually did get to spend half a day at the site before we had to shut it down and go to a symposium at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology. I must say that site was amazing. The rock was soft, the bones were hard, and all the small bones were just put in bags and glued together back at the camp site. One of the pieces I was uncovering when I was at the site went under a large boulder. We thought it was a juvenile ilium, but it turned out to be something more amazing. This was before the internet, and Darren would write to me and tell me I wouldn’t believe what it was, but he did not tell me. It was months later when he finally did tell me. It was a pathologic parietal, and the piece we thought was an ilium was the right corner of the parietal. In fact, the parietal is missing one of the upper horns altogether. Other pathologic parietals have the horns offset or going in different directions (Figure 1). Another Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai (Figure 2) has a very interesting pathologic condition. One side of the skull is perfect, the other has a dinner-plate-sized hole in front of the eye that was pathologic. I don’t know if it was from a disease or an injury. Either way, on that side of the skull its eye would have been closed and the “hole” was more than likely infected with pus and blood. That animal was in pain!

Figure 3. Centrosaurus pathologic frills. A, RTMP 64.5.191. B, Possible reconstruction of RTMP 64.5.191. C, Normal frill (CMN 971). D, Styracosaurus albertensis type showing telescoped frill (CMN 344).

Pachyrhinosaurus wasn’t the only ceratopian with a pathologic frill, Tanke and Rothschild (2010) described several pathologic ceratopians, one being a Centrosaurus with a very asymmetric parietal (Figure 3). This was natural and not caused by preservation. A specimen of Styracosaurus has unusual conditions (excess bone growth) at the base of some of its frill spikes, and the type skull (Styracosaurus albertensis) has its upper frill “telescoped” down onto the lower frill spikes (Figure 3). The squamosal in ceratopians also show many pathologic conditions but not so many as one would expect if

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they fought with each other, as Lull (1933) and Farlow and Dodson (1975) speculated. They thought that if centrosaurs fought head to head, the horns would have punctured the squamosal. The problem is that even in the centrosaur bone beds pathologic squamosals are far and few between. Another time I was with Darren and Dr. Hans Larsson as we were surface collecting at Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta. They decided to try to collect a ceratopian parietal coming out of a small, cement-hard hill. I asked what I could do, and Darren looked around and said, “Collect that small ceratopian squamosal.” It was in much softer substrate and looked like a juvenile ceratopian squamosal, but it turned out to be a pathologic squamosal of an adult Centrosaurus with some of the lower edge missing. Farke and Alley (2006) describe a very pathologic Triceratops squamosal that is missing a huge chunk of the lower part of the squamosal bone (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Pathologic and normal squamosals. A, Normal Centrosaurus squamosal. B, This is the squamosal I found, RTMP 90.36.411. C, Normal Triceratops (T. serratus) squmosal, YPM 1823. D, Pathologic Triceratops sp. squamosal, TLAM G. BA 2004.024.0001.

Dozens of ceratopian specimens show that some of their skull was being resorbed, either horns (whether with small pits or being nearly completely resorbed) or pits (the squamosals, parietals, jugals with small to large pits, or holes). Ceratopians with resorption pits are Centrosaurus, Anchiceratops, Pachyrhinosaurus, Chasmosaurus, Nedoceratops (old Diceratops), and Triceratops to name a few, and those with resorption of Figure 5. Pathologic ceratopian skulls. A, Centrosaurus apertus, C. nasicornus, AMNH 5351, with absorbed orbital horns. B, Centrosaurus apertus reconstruction with pathologic nasal fragment, RTMP 82.16.289. C to F, Ceratopians with absorption pits, C, Pentaceratops fenestratus, PMU R200. D, Torosaurus sp., EM P16.1. E, Arrhinoceratops brachyops, ROM 796. F, Nedoceratops (Diceratops) hatcheri, USNM 2412.

thing akin to turtle pit disease), or did the horny sheath reflect the pit? Also, did the pits on the frill reflect on the skin? Did the skin over the pit reflect an indentation or dimple (some which would have been quite large), or did the skin follow the outline of the hole and be a festering pit? I’ve asked both Darren Tanke and Andy Farke (both who study ceratopians and ceratopians with pathologic conditions) how the resorption would have reflected on the living animal’s skull. Both said it was more likely than not that the resorption areas would have been like a dimple and not a festering pit. Happ et al. (2008) describe a Triceratops skull that is missing one third of its left supraorbital horn; it also has tooth marks from a Tyrannosaurus rex. What they speculated is that a Tyrannosaurus rex bit the horn off. Erickson et al. (1996) have shown that the Tyrannosaurus rex had more than enough bite force to bite off the horn. Denver Fowler (pers. comm.), however, has reservations on this conclusion. There are other specimens that are also missing part of their horns (Hatcher et al. 1907, Moodie 1923, Kaye 1997 in Tanke & Rothschild 2002; Pete Larson, pers. comm.). The supraorbital horncores show healing and missing up to nearly half their lengths. Aside from the “bitten” subraorbital horn, there are tooth marks on the frill of a Triceratops (new specimen being studied by Horner and Fowler). These finds prove Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops really did fight and not just in the movies.

So what’s going on with Paleofile? I am still working on putting in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic fishes. I will take my time with this and not rush into it. Also when it is done, it will have a different format, one that I will eventually make in the same way for the rest of the site . This will mean that I won’t be listing all the tetrapods but all the vertebrata of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic. This will take me a few months. After that I’ll be working on putting more illustrations on the site.

horns are Centrosaurus, Triceratops, and Chasmosaurus to name a few. What these pits are and how they were caused is not understood. It’s been suggested that it may be females needing extra calcium for egg development. Most but not all Centrosaurus have small orbital horns, but those adults that lack orbital horns may have had them completely absorbed. For example, Centrosaurus nasicornis lacks orbital horns, and they may have been resorbed (Figure 5). Ontogeny does show that some ceratopians go from a small orbital horn to an orbital boss. The problem is that it isn’t known if the pits would have been visible on the animal’s skin. Were the pits on the bony horncore just on the inside of the horny sheath and did not show on the outer horny sheath (possibly somePrehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

The site has several areas: an easy index (just click the name and it will take you to the systematic list), or you can go directly to the systematic list (eggs and ichnology included). Click on the name in the list, and it will take you to a more compressive listing: genus, species, etymology, holotype (lecto-, para- etc.), locality, horizon (formation), biostratigraphy (faunal zone if known), age, material, and referred material. There will be two faunal lists, one in which you can check your area or any area in the world to see what animals were found there and the other will be ages. If you’re interested in biostratigraphy, you can see which animals lived with which at that time from around the world. There are also smaller sections: paleopathology, histology, extinction, taphonomy, skin, coprolites, etc. Eventually it will be fully illustrated. www.paleofile.com The site is now a free site, no subscription. I do have a donation button for those who would like to donate money to help keep the site going. Tracy L. Ford 21

Camarasaurus caudals

Juvenile Apatosaurus

Jurassic Dinosaur Bones & Teeth, Minerals and Paleo Art (e) [email protected] Stegosaurus, Apatosaurus and Diplodocus specimens available!

Diplodocus foot

Camptosaurus femur

Torvosaurus tooth

Apatosaurus caudal

Allosaurus tooth

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that the old Marx trees were intended to represent. They have the advantage of scaling with almost any size figures and give context to any display. In an homage to the old Aurora and Tamiya model kits, the bases of the Bennettitaleans conform in a way that allows them to be joined with the Hypsilophodon and Koreaceratops bases. The new CollectA T-rex figure reviewed last spring will also be released with a base that can be inteBy Randy Knol grated. The Koreaceratops group is a solution to the problem of how small [email protected] scale figures can be marketed with larger figures. These small relatives of www.dinosaurcollector.150m.com the horned dinosaurs were discovered in 2011. The reconstruction is cutting-edge as it includes tall Safari Ltd’s Wild Safari figures of 2012 spines over the back and tail. CollectA’s Argentinosaurus Most any other company would proudly and is typically on the wish list of loudly acclaim Safari Ltd’s Wild Safari series most collectors. The size and as a fine Museum line if they had produced paucity of fossils makes it a them. Originally intended as a low price afterchallenge to reconstruct. This thought with its design outsourced to China, giant was a high-browsing the Wild Safari series has become a leading titanosaur. Its legs are pillarsource of collectable paleoart. Safari Ltd’s like, not elephantine but prosculptors are recruited among well-known portionally graceful. Overall, paleoartists, whose work has often been feathe figure calls to mind the tured in PT. This year’s Acrocanthosaurus is giraffe rather than the whale. a telling creation. In 1996 Battat released the Acrocanthosaurus as part of the Boston Museum of Science line. The The details for the back frill and skin are all referable to related species. It Battat figure has a spinosaurid feel as the high vertebrae was thought to is uncontestedly the best Argentinosaurus toy figure available. The use of show a relationship to the African spinosaurs. The Battat jaws are longer the small scale, which is the only practical approach, means I have to look with a crocodilian look, the legs are relatively short, and the skin is done further for compatible size figures to display it with. A logical companion with elephantine folds. The Battat design was crippled by deformed limbs to Argentinosaurus is Mapusaurus, the gigantic carnivore. It is a relative due to premature release from the molds. The Wild Safari figure, on the of the more widely distributed Giganotosaurus. The Mapusaurus figure is other hand, benefits from current scholarship, which relates this animal to in a larger scale than the Argentinosaurus. The hunting posture is parallel allosaurs and carcharodontosaurs. It also benefits from a higher production with the ground as if tracking. The back is frilled and with large irregular scales. The head ridges are reddened and process. The Wild Safari skin is a series of small scales with larger osteoderms embedded. There New 2012 CollectA figures the skull predatory. The skin is camo green, fading at the water line. This is a stronger, is a row of tall neural spines on the back that are more realistic, figure than the Playmates’ painted black, making for an increased silhouversion. ette that could have been used to intimidate CollectA likes to go where no man has rivals. The distinct ridges run along each side of gone before. They have gone to India. the hatchet-shaped skull from behind the eye Rajasaurus is a relative of Carnotaurus nostril back to the tip of the snout. This is a and Majungasaurus. It is a slender activeheroic apex predator and much different from looking animal with a distinctive rounded the sinister, hunched Battat figure. Dracorex is an uncommon toy figure, and that makes it extra intriguing horn over the eyes. The skull is shorter and wider than other theropods and for a collector. Dracorex got name recognition from being featured in the the top is covered with rows of rough bumps. The body is brown with scales TV series Primeval. The Wild Safari figure is colorful and dynamic, unlike and osteoderms. The arms are vestigial with the tail high and expressive. We most pachycephalosaur figures. They mostly seem to be either butting heads will need an Indian sauropod next year to go with it. India is a source of new or posing in a kangaroo stance. Dracorex may actually represent an earlier discoveries and has a history of local museums; all who will want to stock this figure. growth stage of Pachycephalosaurus. The idea I was bemoaning the lack of ceratopsians was proposed by Jack Horner and has generatother than Triceratops or Styracosaurus but ed debate. The skull is flat, decorated with things are changing. Kosmoceratops was dishornlets and spikes. The face has a red flush covered in 2010 so it has not had time to with a beaked mouth. The stride is wide and become a household name. This is another cutdynamic, as if the animal is being pursued. The ting edge CollectA reconstruction. It has 15 strong bipedal stance balances well. The choice horns or horn-like structures on the skull. I was a surprise and has been a success with colcounted all the horns on the model and they lectors. are faithfully reproduced. Like most CollectA CollectA produces two series of prehistoric horned dinosaurs, the legs are directly under figures, the Deluxe and the Popular (also the body. The dark green body with black spots referred to as the Standard). The Popular series, is appropriate and the skull is intensely which consists of mixed scale figures balancing detailed, with the horns splayed to the side, production and price, represents the original bovine style. The overall impression is more CollectA line. The idea was to make a wide buffalo than rhino. Horned dinosaurs came range of figures available for both collectors with a range of different headgear which and kids. I think they succeeded in both. The GeoWorld dinosaurs makes their figures some of the most exciting company’s new tree figures include the extinct to collect. Bennettitaleans: Monanthesia and Dolichorhynchops is not a new find. The 10 Williamsonia. The Monanthesia cluster is reprefoot long short-necked plesiosaur has been sentative of the barrel-shaped cycadeoids. mostly ignored since the 1920’s. The animal Williamsonia is the classic prehistoric “palm”

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was recently revived by National Geographic’s “Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure.” The CollectA Popular model successfully captures the reconstruction from the film. Dolichorhynchops fossils have been recovered from mosasaur stomachs. With the large number of recent mosasaur models, this gives you something to feed them. The Neanderthals have always been the iconic cavemen for toy sets. Marx included them in their prehistoric playsets and the new owners of the Timmee Toys molds will again be producing the Timmee caveman figures. Cavewomen are more problematic. It was obvious to me as a child why Neanderthals were extinct. Look at my Marx playset—no girls, so no babies. Bare-chested cavemen are realistic and acceptable but the same cannot be said for cavewomen. CollectA’s new cavewoman figure is tasteful, anatomically accurate, and suitable for all age groups. (Some of the internet comments gave me a sense of déjà vu recalling memories about complaints of Barbie not having detailed secondary sex characteristics.) The CollectA Neanderthal figures are robust, light skinned, and fair haired with implements that reflect their prehistoric technology. This was a very strong year for the CollectA Popular series. Schleich 2012 figures GeoWorld wants to be a serious player in the figure market and last year they partnered with the Dinosaur Dan TV franchise. GeoWorld’s Jurassic Hunters series are solid plastic figures. The original garish Dinosaur Dan figures we reviewed previously have been repainted in more restrained colors. PT received review copies of some of the best sellers for dinosaur toys. All the high volume sellers are here: the T-rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus, and Velociraptor. Jurassic Hunters contains a much wider range that you can see in their advertisement for this issue. These reconstructions are faithful to the TV show and easily recognizable by young coll e c t o r s . GeoWorld has developed a distinct style. Theropods are on bases to support a bipedal stance Tomy Dinosaur Train and slim proportional limbs. The Velociraptor has a very attractive plumage and shows a commitment to feathers in GeoWorld’s other small theropods. The packaging is complex and lends to display both for the retailer and the collector. The figures come with value-added items. There are collectable cards and punched information sheets that can be put into a binder to create a reference book. Other sets have CDs and display sheets. I look forward to seeing the full range of the figures as they become available. Schleich, in its original release contained only one figure not from North America. In the current incarnation a full one-third of the figures are from Asia, Africa, or South America. The iconic Saichania from Mongolia has been retained. This figure is found in Japanese collections. Ankylosaurus is the standard armored dinosaur in the west going back to the days of Marx. This is the fourth iteration of the figure and stays consistent to the original concept. There are changes—the closed mouth and the detailed painting that brings out the fine points of the armor. The figure is much stronger for display than past figures. The South American Giganotosaurus is slightly smaller than the original with the same posture. The detailing is the same, but the new paint brings it out better. The big change is the articulated jaw that opens. The joints are well concealed. The African Spinosaurus has changed the most from its original release. The original was a generic blue theropod with a fin on its back, the most common toy figure reconstruction for the time. The current version is a smaller, lighter-colored version of the last Humboldt Museum Replicasaurus figure but with the trademark Schleich movable jaws. It and the new Velociraptor are both done in a Jurassic Park format. The Velociraptor is a new figure with the suggestion Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

MicroKingdom

of feathers on the forelimbs. I would like to see the paint bring out the feathers more as this is a new feature to the Schleich style. Hints have been dropped that Schleich will be releasing 2013 details soon and it will be interesting to see where Schleich goes and if there will be new dinosaurs released. Tomy-Takara from Japan has been doing small toy releases in Japan for years. The Dinosaur Train line seems to be moving away from traditional collectable figures and concentrating on large automated figures like Imaginext from Fisher-Price. Only four collectable figures were added to the line for

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2012 and they are hard to find. We can ToysRUs continues to market only think that the original campaign Animal Planet dinosaurs with some did not meet expectations and is being exclusives. The latest offering Micro phased out. With Imaginext fading on Kingdom is more interesting for the the shelves and moving to a Dino presentation rather than the content. Rider format, it is hard to see that this There are three sets. One is a Micro will be more successful. Machines Jurassic Park imitation, The Dino Kingdom 2012 is more interesting (See a review of the show another is a carrying case, and the third, an Earthquake set. Each set has 3in this issue.) They are Expo figures sold in capsules from vending 4 dinosaurs and there are 3-packs containing 5 dinosaurs, each with a vacmachines in Japan. There are seven figures, Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, uumformed landscape. The dinosaurs have a wider range of animals than I Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Zuchengtyrannos, Sinoceratops and expected and include Pachyrhinosaurus, Protosuchus, Stygimoloch, and Yutyrannus. The last three are unique Asian dinosaurs. There is a quality to Amargasaurus. The larger figures in this style have been sold for years by figures that are unique that always attracts ToysRUs. The sets run for over $25 and the CollectA’s Przewalski horse enthusiasts. There is a fun thread on the dinosaurs are not well done. I like the idea, but coming this year dinosaur toy forum about identifying figures why use such poorly made figures? They comrepresenting one of a kind species that have pare badly with competitively priced Safari Ltd been portrayed as toys. The high level of trafDinosaur Toobs. It is hardly a surprise that fic on the thread tells you that this is a hot ToysRUs continues to drop market share. button topic. The 2013 Figures: The new ritual is to PlayMobil released its Ice Age figures. announce new releases in the fall for the comThere are a large number of hunters with ing year. Safari Ltd has a big release planned. accessories. The prehistoric animals are well Carnegie: Concavenator. Wild Safari: done but limited in range and hard to find in Elasmosaurus, Dimorphodon, stores. The best part as always is the rocks Diabloceratops, Gastornis, and and trees. For 2013 we can Gryposaurus. This is supplemented by a CollectA’s Pachycephalosaurus expect more dinosaurs. Cambrian Toob and new Good Luck Mini figures. CollectA has smaller for 2013 Papo released their masreleases this year. Deluxe: Parasaurolophus and Ankylosaurus (repaint). sive Brachiosaurus this year The Popular series: Diabloceratops, Daspletosaurus, Diplodocus, and and I picked one up. It is big Pachycephalosaurus. This is extended with the addition of new mammals and expensive, retailing at Przewalski and Akhal-Teke horses with Deinotherium. Bullyland will be about $50. The workmanship releasing the new sabertooth cats, Smilodon and Eusmilus. Papo is going is high, the design traditionfor a Woolly Rhino. Mojo will now have Prehistoric mammals, al, with the head being done Deinotherium, Entelodont, Brontotherium, and Hyaenodon. Kinto is in the old Carnegie style. It is redoing all thirteen of its Favorite figures. The wide prehistoric mammal a must for Jurassic Park or release from European companies is a surprise and leaves you wondering Papo collectors. I continue to what is happening that we do not know in North America. be amazed at Papo’s higher prices for its toys, but then hey, I bought one too.

LEFT: An assortment of small, vintage bone china dinosaur figures. The Stego in the foreground is mounted as a souvenir from Prehistoric Gardens in Oregon. This life-sized dino park unfortunately closed a few years ago, but their giant T. rex statue still stands out front to this day.

LEFT: Napco made a beautiful series of large ceramic dinosaurs in the 1960s. This Stegosaurus is a fine example from the set.

RIGHT: Could we call it “Collectors Corner” without a Sinclair collectible? I think not. These two clayware trays/business card holders from the 1960s are charming if you can see past the fact that they look like artwork from a kindergarten class. (I’m kidding) (sort of) Each is around four inches long and very tough to find today.

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RIGHT : Certainly high on any vintage dinosaur figure collector’s most wanted list are the 1950s composition prehistoric animal figures by Chialu of Italy. Here is the approximately 6” long Ankylosaurus, made even more rare with its original packaging.

ABOVE: Last issue we showed you four green prehistoric animal figures from

packages of Ovomaltine of Switzerland. We now have learned that in 1971, a combined promotional campaign in Europe featured this collection of plastic prehistoric animal premiums. Figures were made in soft plastic by Ovomaltine (Swiss chocolate drink mix in dark forest green color), Henkel (German soap powder in forest green color), and Yoplait (France in bright orange). These figures are tough to find today. The figures in this photo are unusual - they are the same sculpting and size as the Ovomaltine / Henkel / Yoplait series of figures, except they appear to be of an even older vintage, and in hand painted hard plasABOVE: Anthony Beeson has been telling us the history of the tic. It is possible that these were from a much earlier vintage company and used British Museum prehistoric animal figures by Invicta in PT. Here is a as templates for the soft plastic unpainted promotional figures. The fascination photo of the Cetiosaurus in packaging sold in Asia plus the with foreign made figures is that there is so little information available and Cetiosaurus and Diplodocus in odd, neon colors. Hopefully Anthony researching them can be both rewarding and maddening at the same time. This will tell us about these in future articles. group of figures includes a Plesiosaur, Dimetrodon, Diplocaulus, and Allosaurus. The Dimetrodon measures 1 and 15/16th inches tall x 3 and 3/8th inches long. LEFT: This group of gray, soft plastic figPlease let us know if you have more information. ures are vintage and made in Europe. Not much is known about them except they sold for a high price on the internet recently.

ABOVE: Another porcelain dinosaur figure by Metlox of California. We showed a green, mottled version of one of these in issue #99. This cream colored, small figure is valued by collectors.

LEFT: A fairly recent Japanese model of Tyrannosaurus rex - apparently #3 in the Jurassic Series.

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ware, the sculptures perform various movements, even emitting howls, shrieks and grunts! Some of the head and mouth movements with eyes blinking and staring straight at the visitors, give the sculptures an uncannily, realistic effect! These sturdy creatures are built to withstand all types of weather conditions, too. At the very entrance, visitors are presented with numerous dinosaurs on display including pair of intimidating Tyrannosaurus rexes that greet you Spinosaurus

The DinoPark in Prague By Paul McFarland The beautiful medieval city of Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, has just added a brand new shopping mall in the northern neighborhood of Ceskomoravska street. The ultra-modern mall ‘Harfa‘ with over 160 shops on three levels opened in 2011. Its next-door neighbor - the ‘O2 arena’ a special events center - is just a few years older. The top floor of the mall, just beside the food court, houses the one-year old ‘Harfa DinoPark’, an outdoor exhibit. Covering almost 7000 square meters, it offers more than 30 dinosaur exhibits all set in a roof-top garden, with pathways meandering through a Mesozoic landscape overlooking the surrounding neighborhood and the O2 arena. The park represents yet another dinosaur-themed center operated by the Czech firm West Media. Based in Plzen, this company has planned and executed the complete turn key project, including landscaping, decor, dinosaur exhibits, museum, a 3-D theater and other technical aspects.

just as you pass through the monumental entrance gates. Further along the landscaped pathway you will find a charging Spinosaurus, a family of Stegosaurs that graze languidly around another bend of the walkway; and a couple of giant Brachiosaurus tower over the nearby skyline. Next to the Hadrosaurus skeleton at O2 Arena

Both children and adults will enjoy visiting the static and animatronic T. rex couple

O2 arena is an interesting exhibit of the marine reptile Dolichorynchops and many, many others, some engaged in fierce combat! Looking around you will be surprised to see another exciting exhibit of a DinoPark helicopter crash which is being attacked by a band of meat-eating dinosaurs!

dinosaur exhibits which began their lives in West Media's manufacturing facility. Here the concept of the dinosaur sculptures were conceived, preVisitors can also admire a live Wollemi Pine. This prehistoric tree from pared in drawings and manufacAustralia has been thriving on Earth for tured into a skeletal steel frame. roughly 175 million years and can be Much thought was planned in the found at all seven DinoParks in the Czech location of pneumatic valves that Republic and Slovakia. Some of the will control head, mouth, eye, and other DinoParks are located next to zoos neck movements, as well as other so you can also see live animals! parts of the body, including the tail, which sways back and forth! You will not want to miss a 3-D movie, The life-size structures are “Triceratops,” the story of a young anatomically correct. Each dinosaur struggling to survive in the dinosaur species has a unique skin Jurassic wilderness, produced by West texture and fantastic, imaginative Media’s own studios. body coloring! Operated by speParents will also find a special chilcially designed dedicated softA Stegosaurus interests a Czech child dren‘s playground, a museum, several 32

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thing more exciting? Shopping, eating, rock concerts and dinosaurs all in the same place! All photos used by permission of West Media. My thanks to Jiri Machalek of West Media. For more information visit the DinoPark websites: www.dinopark.eu and www.west-media.eu DinoParks is a member of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions IAAPA. Raptors will work for food

snack bars, ‘Photo points’ and a DinoPark store with T-shirts, coffee mugs, Dinopark Entrance Gate

Two Dolichorhynchops

dinosaur posters and other dino memorabilia. Harfa DinoPark is not the latest of West-Media operations to open recently, however. In 2012, another DinoPark opened in Liberec, a picturesque town on the south slopes of the beautiful Krkonose Mountains, in northwestern Czech Republic and another is scheduled to open after the first of the year near the Kosice Zoo in eastern Slovakia!

Two Czech kids pet what appears to be a dwarf sauropod

During my visit to the Harfa Mall, the Foo Fighters were getting ready to open the following weekend at the O2 arena. Can you really imagine anyBrachiosaurs in front of office building

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Sculptor David Silva’s Masiakasaurus is his latest resin dinosaur offering in 1/8th scale. Masiakasaurus was a theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar. Its name means "vicious lizard". Masiakasaurus knopfleri, was named after the musician Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), because the paleontologists listened to his music while digging up the fossil. Scott D. Sampson and others named the dinosaur. (I’m not sure how I feel about this. I love rock music plus I’m happy for paleontology to lose some of its “stuffy” reputation, but as soon as new dinosaurs start getting names like Ankylosaurus Justinbeiberi or Kardashianasaurus, I’m going to have to draw the line.)

What’s New

in review

By Mike Fredericks

Sideshow Collectibles presents the Euoplocephalus in Egg Maquette, also referred to as the Ankylosaurus, this newborn dino is Newly Available depicted just as it emerges from the shell. Measuring approximately 8 but already sold out is Sideshow’s inches tall, each Euoplocephalus in Hatching Egg is individually painted and finEuoplocephalus ished with exceptional attention to detail, an outstanding addition to any collection or the perfect gift for any dinosaur enthusiast. Euoplocephalus in Egg is available exclusively at SideshowCollectibles.com. Or would be, had it not sold out; the same day it went on sale, as I understand it.

Unlike most theropods, the front teeth of M. knopfleri projected forward instead of straight down. Its specialized diet probably included fish or other small prey. M. knopfleri was bipedal about 6–7 feet long. Dave portrays his dinosaur standing defiantly on a sea cliff. He Available soon: Sideshow’s Dilophosaurus pair

I have been telling you for a few years now just how great the Sideshow Dinosauria line is and if you have interest in purchasing any of these beautiful statues, you really have to stay informed on what is coming out and when it will be available because they almost always sell out quickly. Well, at the super low price of only $39.95 and with a Limited Edition of only 200 being produced, it is no wonder this Euoplocephalus was gone within a day. We thank Marissa Black at Sideshow for remembering to send us a review copy. Jorge Blanco has again done a fantastic job of sculpting this figure and when you add the amazingly professional paint work of Steve Riojas, you have a classic, must for your collection. The dinosaur, the ground and even the egg are so realistic that I know you would love it. Even though this one is sold out, more new dinosaur statues will be coming including the next model, a pair of Dilophosaurus dinosaurs just in time for the 20th David Silva’s latest dinosaur model Masiakasaurus

The new Aurora “What If ” Plateosaurus kit from Alchemy Works. (Shown unpainted and painted.)

Jeff Johnson gives his new Aurora “What If ” Plateosaurus a snarl & sharp teeth. anniversary of the movie Jurassic Park (to commemorate the famous “spitter” seen in the film, although this is a more accurate depiction of the animal.) It too is sculpted by Jorge and painted by Steve.

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has waves crashing against the provided translucent green base (to help with painting the water realistically.) Dave told PT, “The base is translucent to mimic a water effect, much like my Styracosaurus.” It is tough to sculpt water but Dave does about as good a job as anyone could expect. It looks great. I have exclaimed with amazement many times before about the intricate “scale” sculpting that Dave accomplishes on his dinosaur figures; each one carved individually. I swear the man is going to go blind before much longer. The anatomy looks accurate, well researched and life-like. All the many scutes and teeth were cast well and are present. This resin model comes in numerous parts to be assembled by the modeler. It should make for a very impressive addition to your collection. And last, but not least, I’d like to say how nice it is to see some of the newly discovered and lesser known dinosaurs offered as models. Check out David Silva’s full page ad in this issue plus his site at creative-beast.com. What’s next? Dave says, “I'm currently working on my epic Dragon vs. Raptors piece.”

Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

New Brachiosaurus figure by Papo. To right is a first look at the Papo Carnotaurus, Dimetrodon and Woolly Rhino coming soon.

They hope to bring back their A Plateosaurus resin 1970's 'smooth series' dinosaurs soon too. model kit is sculptor Jeff Johnson’s newest addition As usual, CollectA will be offering to Mike Evan’s Alchemy many exciting, new prehistoric animal figWorks line titled Aurora Prehistoric Scenes “What If.” Aurora had a great ures for the new year. You can see several idea with their 1970s line of prehistoric animal model kits called of them in their ad on the inside front “Prehistoric Scenes.” but ended it far too early. Alchemy Works has been cover of this issue. Their rearing New Favorite Collection T. rex Diplodocus should be available very soon. adding on to the line with many prehistoric animal models that Aurora should have made. Also new is a Pachycephalosaurus, a colNewly released Timmee mountain orful Diabloceratops (a newly discovered ceratopian You read alot about the old Marx dinosaur toy figures and cavemen dinosaur from Utah) and a sitting Daspletosaurus. I here in PT. That’s because they had such a great effect believe CollectA is giving a nice homage to paleoartist on baby boomers, myself included. The lowly Marx Michael Skrepnick with this figure as he painted a porPlateosaurus figure was usually a snack for the big trait of a sitting Daspletosaurus back in 1997. The new Marx Tyrannosaurus during child’s play. Aurora might figures for CollectA’s Deluxe 1:40 line include have thought that the plant-eating prosauropod Parasaurolophus, an Ankylosaurus and a very Plateosaurus would not have been a great seller as a impressive looking Deinotherium (prehistoric stand-alone kit. But if they had made one, it would elephant.) All of these figures are created under undoubtedly have had a snarling expression and sharp the wise and watchful eye of good friend to PT teeth (like they did with their other herbivore kits to aid Anthony Beeson. I thank him and also want to in sales) and that’s exactly what sculptor Jeff Johnson thank CollectA owners Esther and Peter Leung has done here. Of course, Aurora would have made their for their beautiful toy figures and their continPlateosaurus bipedal like this kit, even though, today, ued support of this magazine. They were also the animal is thought to have walked on four legs most of the time. Jeff has kind enough to use my dinosaur art at their Toy scrutinized the original Aurora kits and gives all his “What If ” kits similar Fair Booth. A great source for CollectA figures is DansDinosaurs.com. detailing and the same general look. Just like with Aurora, all of the kit’s bases can be locked together to create one enormous diorama. This Plateosaurus even includes a nameplate and two piece base like Aurora would have provided. Nostalgia among baby boomers should make this kit a best seller. I like the way it was painted like the Plateo in the famous Age of Reptiles mural by Rudolph Zallinger. You can do the same or use your imagination for another paint scheme for this walk down memory lane. Price is $129.95 plus shipping. http://thealchemyworks.com or 817-471-9096 Dan at Dan’s Dinosaurs sent us the latest dinosaur figure from the French Company Papo; Brachiosaurus. This is quite a large figure and as usual with Papo’s dinosaurs, is similar to the one seen in Jurassic Park. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful figure for your collection. Get yours today at Dans dinosaurs.com. Dan tells us that the new Papo 2013 line will include: Woolly Rhino, Dimetrodon, and Carnotaurus (w/moveable jaw.) Dan also tells us that “The Carnotaurus is a rather shameless copycat of the Sideshow model.” Nonetheless, we look forward to reviewing these in a future issue. Dan also tells us that Favorite Co. of Japan is revamping their vinyl prehistoric animal figure line. He said, “I was told some of these might be ready this year, though I always anticipate delays.” Check out the look of the new line at: http://www.f-favorite.net/contents/weblog/products/000254.cgi The company (VictoryBuy) that now owns Processed Plastic and Tim Mee toys has reissued some of their old figure sets. So far, they've brought back Tim Mee soldiers and space figures, and they're actually being manufactured in the USA. They also have brought back a set that includes a prehistoric mountain and caveman figures in 2 colors and sent it to PT. Get yours now where toys are sold. Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

Safari Ltd produced some amazing dinosaur figures in their Wild Safari series last year. Canadian artist Doug Watson is a long time PT friend and does a fantastic job sculpting these prehistoric animal figures. The new 2013 figures are coming so if you don’t have the 2012 dinosaur figures, pick them up now. They include the Acrocanthosaurus, Dracorex, Ceratosaurus and Vagaceratops. A series of Dino babies in an egg was a line you might have missed but is still readily available too. The hatchlings include Brachiosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus and Triceratops. In my puny arms with two fingered hands, I now hold Safari Ltd’s thick, new 2013 catalog. In the upcoming months the newly released Wild New CollectA Safari figures will include a new Elasmosaurus, the Parasaurolophus & duckbilled dinosaur called Gryposaurus, and a flying Diplodocus Dimorphodon. I really like the look of their Gastornis, terror bird too. And lastly, apparently both Safari Ltd and CollectA like the newly discovered Diabloceratops as a Wild Safari version of this dino is coming too. The really great news is The Safari Ltd Concavenator figure in their Carnegie Museum series. We were shown a photo of this strange meateater with a “dorsal fin” figure in their ad last issue. You’re also going to want to collect all 36 dino models from GeoWorld’s Jurassic Hunters line. Each of these beautiful, hand painted figures was developed under the supervision of a paleontologist and there are plenty of great choices of dinosaurs in the group, from well known to many lesser known dinos. Each is sold in great-looking packaging with info about the dino inside including a collectible data card. See ad on page 37 and start collecting your Jurassic Hunters now. 35

Fig. 1

Frozen Moments • The Art of the Diorama with Ron Lemery

Corythosaurus The “Corinthian Helmet Lizard” was a lambeosaurid hadrosaur from Late Cretaceous North America. It’s a well-known fossil from Alberta and Montana and we even have fossilized impressions of its skin. Max Salas did a fine job on his 1:35 scale model, but gave a bit of an “overbite” to his beak, which I didn’t like and so removed. The figure was then washed and primed and given a thin coat of Liquitex Parchment followed by a spraying of

Testor’s Dullcoat. Next, glazes made from Liquitex Glazing Medium, the Parchment, and either Black or Tri-Art Sap Green were brushed on and then wiped off with damp rags. This brought out Max’s beautiful skin detail (Fig. 1). Next I airbrushed a transparent mix of Life Tone Freestyle Yellow Ochre with a bit of Tri-Art Naples Yellow and some Tamiya Clear. This was followed by another transparency using Lewiscraft Soft Green. To lighten up the green I then airbrushed a light coat of Life Tone Yellow Ochre mixed with Golden Yellow. These paints are great for giving realistic skin tones to figures. After practicing on a toy model, I hand-painted a striped pattern on the tail using Sap Green and, once dried, Lifetone Light Green on the inside, then misted Raw Sienna over this to push in the pattern. The beak was lightly dry brushed with Liquitex Baltic Green for contrast. The eye orbits were painted Titanium White, then Raw Sienna and then Amicana Satin Varnish. Use watercolors for the black pupil so that you can quickly correct mistakes. I use 20/0 brushes from Micro Mart for this (Fig 2). The base was blue styrofoam over 3/4 inch plywood, with 1/8 inch hardboard for the sides. A depression was dug out of the styrofoam using a hot

Fig. 2

foam cutting tool; this would be where the “pond” would go. Durham’s Water Putty was used on the base followed by Activa Scenic Sand. We covered modeling shallow water last issue, so I’ll just say that I used Envirotex Lite with a couple of drops of Woodland Scenics Black Earth Color C1220. Make sure your base is level and sealed tight. We reviewed making evergreens in Issue #92; the other flora is a mix of Root Scraper aquatic plants, home made pussy willows, and Scale Link ferns, suggesting a nice transition from a forest to a lakeside area. Right then, see you next time! Fig. 3.

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Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

TROODON by Phil Hore

[email protected]

© Peter Schouten

those who’d produced early clutches, their chicks were already out and about by the time the summer heat had arrived. These had m o v e d away, chasing the her© Paul Passano bivores as they migrated. As the sun dried the land out, those whose young were either too small or yet to hatch had to wait. . .and then there was this Troodon. His mate had been suffering from a wound after their last hunt when she’d been cut by a young ankylosaur spike, opening a gash along one leg. For some time she looked to be recovering, and after their usual if very late courtship, she’d laid this last clutch of eggs. What neither could know was the production of so many eggs had taken its toll on the female’s already overtaxed body. The infection she’d been fighting in her leg flared up again, and with the drought gripping the land about them, she’d finally succumbed to the wound. That had been two weeks ago, and the male, his mate dead and suffering © Chris Alfaro

The sun beats down on the scorched earth raising waves of heat, which shimmer and flow across the baking landscape like a river. The bright blue sky above holds not a cloud to shelter those below from the burning heat, and the temperature is so intense that even the surface of the earth has blistered and cracked beneath the unending sun. What plants were left in the region are now little more than dry tufts, containing little nourishment for a grazer, if there were any such animals left. Those still alive had moved off, chasing the green, while any who stayed were dead, along with most of their predators. A small breeze blows as hot as a furnace across a land more known for snow than sun. It picks up dust and ruffles the feathers of the last living creature in the drought-stricken land. Sitting over his clutch of eggs, the Troodon raises his head at this small interference. Eyes caked with dirt, the theropod stares at the dust swirling about it, as though hoping the long lost rains had finally come. Spring had been too many months ago, and even then there had been little rain. For © John Sibbick www.johnsibbick.com

from malnourishment, now refused to abandon the eggs and save himself— a wild devotion that had made him stay, even after almost everything else with a heartbeat had left the region. The few lizards and a dead bird that had fallen from the sky like a gift had kept him going, but that had been a week ago, and he’d had no food or water since then. The wind died down, and, weakened to the point of death, the Troodon gave a last, feeble snarl of frustration and gently tucked his head back under his feathered arm. It would be the last action he’d ever make. His body would continue to protect the eggs and the tiny bodies inside them from the growing mound of sand and dirt slowly building up until, at last, the light in those tiny containers flickers out and they grow cold and still. Not often does a dinosaur start out as a lizard, be transformed into a megalosaur, and then morph into a head-butting pachycephalosaur, but this is the journey Troodon once went on. This series of misidentifications was all down to the dinosaur’s odd little teeth or, more precisely, tooth. Troodon

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Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

© Raul Martin

© Russell J Hawley

www.raul-martin.net

(or ‘wounding tooth’) was described by Joseph Leidy in 1856 and was one of the first dinosaurs found in North America. Despite this length of time, even today the creature’s weird tooth has many paleontologists arguing about the nature of Troodon. Recent discoveries have shown the body belonged to a small theropod, but back when only teeth were known (teeth containing features similar to the pachycephalosaur Stegoceras) and because Troodon was found first, this confusion meant for a short time that all pachycephalosaurs became troodontids. It took Charles Sternberg in 1945 to change this relationship when he decided those teeth were far more theropod than herbivore (or omnivore), © Brian Ford

and he placed Troodont with another theropod he’d found, Stenonychosaurus. It then took another two decades before a far more complete specimen of Stenonychosaurus was discovered when the entire picture became clearer: it was a Troodon. More than a century after that first tooth was discovered, numerous species have been unearthed across Asia and North America (well, mostly Asia). Some contain the remnants of feathers, whereas others have revealed that these dinosaurs roosted like birds. In the 1990s a batch of eggs with embryos from Montana were described belonging to a small herbivore called Orodromeus. Eventually it was recognized the remains were actually those of Troodon, and the identification once more came down to those odd teeth. Troodontidae ©Frederik Spindler

www.frederik-spindler.de

Peter Marzitelli knives www.marzknives.com

The nests also showed something else. Some contained 24 eggs, and these had been laid in pairs, while another nest lay under the protecting remains of an adult Troodon, proving they incubated and reproduced like birds. The strangest eggs came

Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

39

from Mongolia, where an oviraptor nest had been found with troodontid hatchling remains (likely from Byronosaurus) inside. Were the hatchlings predator or prey to the oviraptor, or, more bizarrely, had they hatched in the nest? Were some troodonts the Cretaceous equivalent of a cuckoo bird, sneakily laying their eggs in another species nest for the other to act as parents?

© Tian Ogn

Eight feet in length and weighing just over 100 lbs, Troodon was no

© Jason R. Abdale

We learned everything there is to know about this Invicta Stenonychosaurus figure from the British Museum in a recent PT article by Anthony Beeson

realized emus were incapable of learning how to use it. Now we know some birds are extraordinarily intelligent, far surpassing most mammal groups in tool use and communication, but if you’re using ratites as your marker, © Sergey Krasovskiy you may well be doing Troodon a great disservice. The fantastic futurist dinosauroid that Dale Russell came up with in the 1980s. which was his idea of what an evolved, intelligent © Trisha Brumitt

heavyweight in the advanced dinosaur world. If a hunter, dino-being it certainly wasn’t armed could look like its fellow theropods like, would because its teeth were small probably have and the sickle-shaped claw ended up on its inner toe was rather more like the small (and not always that dodo if it sickle-shaped either). Their really did eyes and ears were large, start out as and their bodies sleek, with intelligent as proportionately longer legs an emu. than those of other theropods. This may indicate a well-developed, agile, and nocturnal creature. Their large hands were also capable of great dexterity, an adaptation for manipulating prey or the environment. Perhaps Troodon was a hunter of insects © Mike Landry and the small mammals that normally used the cover of darkness to stay out of the way of dinosaur predators. We also return to the teeth for evidence of lifestyle since most show very little wear, and eating insects or small, bony mammals leaves evidence in the form of scuffing. Pristine teeth indicate Troodon ate meat from large animals, where they didn’t have to deal with anything abrasive. © Arthur Machabee

© Juanjo Castellano www.juanjocastellano.com

There’s been much made about the size of Troodon’s brain (largest of all dinosaurs when compared to its body size) and that the dinosaur was as intelligent as a modern ratite. As an Australian, let me just say that this is no real claim to fame. Emus are dumb, really dumb. They are utterly, mind-blowingly stupid. Recently in Australia a planned underpass for the birds to stop them crossing a highway was binned when it was 40

Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

Notes on the hump-backed, highspined Megalosaurus of yesteryear. By Allen A. Debus

When it comes to dinosaurs, especially those we’ve become so familiar with like the African genus Spinosaurus, elongated spines forming a prominent “fin” or sail seem cool (which may have been their purpose, partially; i.e. to cool!) whereas at least in certain cases an incongruous hump would seem (with apologies to Lon Chaney Sr.) downright Quasimodo-like. Particularly, since early phases of the dinosaur renaissance, we’ve been accustomed to so many startling life restorations of Spinosaurus that we unquestionably accept how it absolutely had a prominent sail, right? I agree, although many of you may not be aware of paleontologist Jack Bowman Bailey’s researches. During the mid 1990s Bailey reconsidered consensus opinion, opting instead for a “buffalo-back” interpretation. (Jack Bowman Bailey, “Neural Spine Elongation in Dinosaurs: Sailbacks or Buffalobacks,” Journal of Paleontology, vol. 71, no.6, 1997, pp.1124-1146.) I interviewed

reclassified as Megalosaurus! Meanwhile, considerations that (bipedal) theropods, presumably including Megalosaurus (as established in Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World (1912), in the chapter titled “It was Dreadful in the Forest”), hopped like kangaroos persisted among some scientific circles and reigned in popular culture until the early 1930s. But, no, this article isn’t about Megalosaurus’ anatomical stance nor whether it displayed a springing, kangaroo-type locomotion like Cope’s “Laelaps,” but rather about its presumed “hump”! Hump? Yes, hump, although I’m also not going to debate presumed physiological merits of humped vs. finback functional anatomy. I’m merely going to probe into where the humped interpretation may have begun and how it may have perpetuated. In the most recent volume of “Glut’s Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia Supplement 7,” (2012, p. 506) a silhouetted skeletal restoration credited to R. B. Benson, shows Megalosaurus more or less as a “generic”-looking theropod, without a hump or elevated spinous processes – reflecting modern opinion. But that isn’t entirely how it used to be. Cut back to 1965. By then I had already witnessed Neave Parker’s celebrated Megalosaurus life restoration appearing on a British Museum postcard, where our subject dinosaur has a horizontally inclined posture - rather precocious for the late 1950s when the postcard was issued. This image was later reproduced in Edwin H. Colbert’s “Dinosaurs: Their Discovery and Their World” (1961), as Plate 40. Gee whiz - to my eleven-year old mind, "Smit-Meyer-Megalosaurus": Smit's 1893 'spino-megalosaur skeletal reconstruction.

Allen A. Debus' 1991 sculptural restoration showing 3 historically, interacting interpretations of how Megalosaurus may have appeared in life. Note the humped quadrupedal form at left (after Hawkins & Owen) Diorama base is 18" long.

Dr. Bailey concerning this paper (“Dinosaur World interviews Dr. Jack Bowman Bailey of Western Illinois University,” in Dinosaur World, no.5, Summer/Fall 1998, pp.65-71). Accordingly, I even sculpted a humped Spinosaurus for him (a photograph of which was published in “Donald F. Glut’s Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia – Supplement 1,” McFarland, 2000, p.332.) Other “high-spined” theropod genera have come to the fore lately as well, including Suchomimus now considered a second species of Baryonyx, as well as newcomers Concavenator and Ichthyovenator – both also adorned with curious spinous projections. But what about a real oldtimer? Yes - our very “first” theropod, Megalosaurus, named & described in 1822/1824, (i.e. dismissing Robert Plot’s “Scrotum humanum”). We’re all familiar with those mid 19th century, Victorian restorations of Megalosaurus in quadrupedal pose, made famous by paleoartists such as Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins. But, no, this article isn’t about whether Megalosaurus had bipedal vs. quadrupedal posture. The bipedal interpretation was more or less established by the 1880s, particularly following O. C. Marsh’s analysis of dinosaurs judged similar to Megalosaurus such as Ceratosaurus and Allosaurus, as well as contemporary anatomical reconsiderations of the ornithischian Iguanodon. By 1893, Richard Lydekker considered Megalosaurus and Ceratosaurus to be “generically inseparable.” Furthermore, he opined, perhaps Ceratosaurus should be instead Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

isn’t that how this particular dinosaur was supposed to look?! Much of our personal perspective is shaped by early life experiences, based on things or events that were meaningful or enjoyable to us in youth, which made it difficult then (as well as even today) to deny the “accuracy” of Parker’s restoration (which, like it or not, retained “canonical” status). Often, when it comes to paleo-restoration, “accuracy” is a relative term, progressing in tandem with scientific discovery and interpretation. And so, during that impressionable time, along came a genuine curiosity, M. Jean Craig’s “Dinosaurs and More Dinosaurs,” published by the Scholastic Book Services, featuring restorations by George Solonevich, (many of which unfortunately were printed along the middle page creases). Under Craig’s two-page entry for Megalosaurus there appears a picture of what certainly seemed to me then as a “humped” dinosaur. Now in retrospect this seems an atavistic reproduction of much earlier humped renderings. Yes - including the large cement model still displayed on the Crystal Palace grounds sculpted by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins under Sir Richard Owen’s supervision (1853 to 1854). A humped Megalosaurus? Most of us don’t think of the genus that way (anymore). How in blazes did the interpretation come about? Today, Megalosaurus is considered a messy “grab bag” of fossils and names, although it certainly was an important, if not downright “stellar” dinosaur back in the early days of paleontological understanding. As Glut’s 2012 published skeletal reconstruction (“after Benson”) testifies, there are relatively few distinctive bones which may be confidently assigned to this dinosaur genus. In his 2012 “Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs,” Gregory S. Paul states for megalosaurs that the “…validity of this group is not certain; may be splittable into a larger number of divisions.” A common prac41

Smit's 1893 life restoration of the Megalosaurus, published in Hutchinson.

tice has been that when you didn’t know exactly what the fossil was & it’s likely “theropod” – why not just call it “megalosaur.” Besides those early quadrupedal restorations, copycat versions of which persisted into the very early 20th century, Megalosaurus appeared in a skeletal reconstruction for the first (or more likely, second) time as a bipedal dinosaur in an 1893 publication by Hutchinson. What’s rarely noted, however, about this particular reconstruction is the spinosaur-like vertebral projection, (predating Spinosaurus’ 1915 description). How did this 1893 “spino-megalosaur” reconstruction come about? Well, six decades prior, in 1832, paleontologist Hermann von Meyer had stated that Megalosaurus’ “…spinous process is moderately high….” Of course, this remark was published during the time when the genus was regarded as quadrupedal, not bipedal. Later, Richard Owen also examined a then new backbone segment discovered by Samuel H. Beckles in 1850, which Owen attributed to Megalosaurus bucklandi. The enlarged spines observed on Beckles’ specimen may have granted added basis for Hawkins to build his quadrupedal Megalosaurus with a hump over its shoulders. In 1922, the particular backbone fossil found by Beckles (a picture of which appears in Don Glut’s massive “Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia” (1997, p.206), sporting proportionally enlarged neural spines (or according to Glut (1997), “…with spines about five times longer than diameter of centra…” was incorporated into Friedrich von Huene’s genus, Altispinax (meaning “tall spine”). Much later, through the smoke & mirrors of taxonomic mitosis and reassemblage, the high-spined fossil, formerly attributed first to

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Megalosaurus in 1850, and much later to Altispinax, was assigned by George Olshevsky to a new genus, Becklespinax huenei in 1991, based on the aforementioned holotype specimen (i.e. figured in Glut’s D:TE, p.206). Sigh, unfortunately, the taxonomic history of fossils at one time or another assigned to Megalosaurus is fairly complex & I’ve probably yet (intentionally) only scratched the surface here. Olshevsky’s hypothetical life restoration of a sprinting, crested-back Altispinax appeared on p. 52 of Glut’s “The New Dinosaur Dictionary” (1982). Alright – now going back a century & more … in two of the Rev. Henry Neville Hutchinson’s popular books on prehistoric life, “Extinct Monsters” (1893 ed.) and “Extinct Monsters and Creatures of Other Days: A Popular Account of Some of the Larger Forms of Ancient Animal Life” (1910), we see the aforementioned skeletal (“spino-“) Megalosaurus reconstruction. Figure 13 in “Extinct Monsters” was probably (re-)drawn by artist J. Smit, although credited as “(After Meyer).” Hutchinson’s later “Extinct Monsters and Creatures of Other Days” establishes further anatomical ties between Megalosaurus and North American Ceratosaurus, even including Smit’s life restoration of the latter. Hutchinson acknowledged that, by the 1910s, through a host of anatomical studies on dinosaur fossils and skeletal reconstructions dating from the late 1860s onward, theropods were clearly considered bipedal & rather bird-like animals. Probably because “Meyer’s” speculative megalosaur skeletal reconstruction idea was presumably bedecked with proportionally long neural spines, as illustrated by Smit, that skeletal reconstruction in turn led to J. Smit’s life restoration of a peculiarly long-necked megalosaur (with a second restored live “specimen” seen in the distance, posed in kangaroo-like stance) Hutchinson, op. cit., Plate VI. In Smit’s 1893 life restoration, the longer neural spines have been translated into a humplike feature situated along its dorsal region. As Hutchinson envisioned in 1893, … “It is not very difficult to imagine a Megalosaur lying in wait for his prey (perhaps a slender, harmless little mammal of the anteater type) with his hind C. Whymper's Megalosaurus 1905 limbs bent under his body, restoration, analogous so as to bring the heels to the to Smit's 1893 restora- ground, and then with one tion. terrible bound from those long legs springing on to the prey, and holding the mammal tight in its clawed fore limbs, as a cat might hold a mouse. Then the sabre-like teeth would be brought into action by the powerful jaws and soon the flesh and bones of the victim would be gone!” (p.78) This is the scene Smit captured, at foreground, in a vivid restoration published as Plate VI. Note the kangaroo-like “bounding,” “springing” action of the megalosaur according to this verbal reconstruction/imagetext. In 1910, Hutchinson reproduced the same (i.e. Smit’s) spino-megalosaur skeletal reconstruction, although this time printed as Fig. 43, but the “(After Meyer)” credit was omitted. Also, Smit’s life restoration of the megalosaur pair was discarded. Incidentally, Henry R. Knipe’s contemporary “Evolution In the Past” (1910), takes note of the supposed ceratosaurian “horn” that “Megalosaurus” allegedly sported over its nose. It would seem that megalosaurs had become conflated with ceratosaurs. Disclaimer (of sorts): Now, Hermann von Meyer died in 1869, before the date of the earliest life restoration (e.g. – dated c. 1886 ) I’ve seen claiming Megalosaurus as a (non-humped) biped. And I cannot vouch that Hutchinson’s 1893 reference to a “Meyer” is THE Hermann von Meyer, cited previously. I also do not know when or where a “spino-megalosaur” bipedal skeletal reconstruction with elongated spines was first (if ever) published (i.e. before Hutchinson, although possibly in a lengthy 1884 German

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Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

A collectible postcard issued by the BMNH during the late 1950s, showing the first glimpse the author had of the Megalosaurus in a restoration by Neave Parker. (Purchased in 1959, author's collection)

is, until Neave Parker came along with his BMNH Megalosaurus restoration that proved “canonical” to several generations of paleo-philes. Meanwhile, North America’s Ceratosaurus (formerly thought to be genetically allied to Megalosaurus) became increasingly and antagonistically associated with Stegosaurus in 20th century life restorations and museum dioramas. Today, nobody discusses Ceratosaurus and Megalosaurus under the same breath anymore. Both Altispinax and a sexually repressed Megalosaurus merited cameos in Harry Adam Knight’s 1984 thriller novel, “Carnosaur.”

monograph by W. Dames, or maybe later in one of Richard Lydekker’s 1880s publications – just a crude guess). As stated here, Hermann von Meyer did note Megalosaurus’ “moderately high” spinous projection, although during the period when the genus was considered quadrupedal – not bipedal as in the 1893 reconstruction. So is the “Meyer” referenced in “Extinct Monsters” yet another paleontologist or an old, unheralded paleoartist who lived into the later 19th century? Sadly, on short notice I’ve been unable to trace any connection –if any exists - between the possibly two “Meyers.” Meyer’s, or rather, Smit’s spino-megalosaur skeletal reconstruction was also reproduced in E. Ray Lankester’s “Extinct Animals” (1905) as Fig. 146. The spirit or “mien” of Smit’s 1893 life restoration of the megalosaur pair also seems to have been swiped, albeit in a different more upright pose by artist C. Whymper, as published in Henry R. Knipe’s “Nebula to Man,” New York: J. M. Dent and Co., 1905, Plate XX. However, Whymper’s “megalosaur,” with its long neck and swollen, humpy-looking torso (also posed with legs in kangaroo posture) more closely resembles a carnivorous “plateosaur.” It is shown eating a small furry mammal, in a visual inspired by Smit’s and Hutchinson’s 1893 imagetext. (Needless to say, this unlikely restoration was eventually extinguished, one might say, with nary a “whimper.”) So, over a century ago, the high-spined megalosaur image was certainly making the rounds (first as a humped quadruped, & later borrowed over into bipedal reconstructions). For half a century, the tendency was not to create a sexy, spinosaurian (or pelycosaurian), sail-backed restoration, but instead a rather unpopular looking humped dinosaur.

Eventually, humps would yield to sails (of sorts), as in 1981 William Stout restored his impressions of a low sailback or “crested” Megalosaurus. However, today, consensus opinion favors that megalosaurs resembled the better known allosaurs, lacking humps, sails or crests. More so than any other modern paleoartist, Stout has remained on the forefront of documenting shifting views concerning the probable life appearance of Spinosaurus, particularly in light of more recently discovered, evolutionarily related European and African dinosaur genera. Today, North America’s finest “finback” dinosaur is arguably the Acrocanthosaurus. However, according to paleoartist Tracy Ford, Acrocanthosaurus’ slightly elongated vertebral spines were sheathed in muscle. (See “How to Draw Dinosaurs – Sails in the Mesozoic,” Prehistoric Times no. 50, Oct./Nov. 2001, pp.14-15.) So Acrocanthosaurus was not equipped with a proper sail or fatty hump, but instead was a tall-spined “muscle-back.” Undoubtedly, considering the rapid pace at which new dinosaur genera keep turning up lately, even more high-spined specimens will be increasingly discovered too. With apologies to Dr. Bailey, the humped look has had its day. Whenever warranted by fossil evidence, paleoartists simply prefer sails and faster running predators. Today, in our mind’s eye we envision bipedal & blood-thirsty Megalosaurus (lacking both hump or sail) charging after stampeding Polacanthus, stirring up clouds of dust along the way. But interpretations change as new evidence about paleoworlds emerges. If dino-humps ever become stylish again, remember – Megalosaurus was there first.

Possibly because of Megalosaurus’ incongruous humpy look, the general paucity of its fossil remains, and because Charles R, Knight never deified this genus in a popular life restoration, the “Great Lizard’s” reign wavered, falling into disfavor by the mid/early 20th century. We find for example, that in Gerhard Heilmann’s technically oriented 1927 book on “The Origin of Birds,” well illustrated for its time, there are no references to Megalosaurus. However, therein Hermann did publish his sketch of Ceratosaurus based on a 1915 sculptural restoration by Charles W. Gilmore (which may, in turn, have been influenced by several of Knight’s dramatic life restorations). The hunched-over pose while feeding, however, is clearly reminiscent of Smit’s 1893 restoration. Then by 1934, William E. Swinton had very little to say about Megalosaurus in his popular book, “The Dinosaurs: A Short History of a Great Group of Extinct Reptiles.” Swinton acknowledged the high-spined feature, stating, “… Megalosaurus parkeri von Huene, from the Oxford Clay near Weymouth, Dorset, is remarkable for the size of the neural spines, which are nearly ten inches long. This unusual length is a foretaste of what we shall see later in an Egyptian form, Spinosaurus.” (p.62) While there are no reconstructions or restorations of Megalosaurus printed therein, Swinton published a photograph of Vernon Edwards’ sculptural Antrodemus diorama (Plate V). Swinton also claimed Megalosaurus, Ceratosaurus and Antrodemus (e.g. Allosaurus) belonged to the same family, and even described the cunning, predatory nature of the latter genus in verbiage recalling Hutchinson’s aforementioned 1893 description of how Megalosaurus hunted prey. By the 1930s there were more complete, more fascinating & scarier looking dinosaurs to marvel at. Megalosaurus faded from the mainstream. That Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

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C re t a c eo u s Classifieds Free to subscribers but must be updated each issue FOR SALE Weta Collectibles mint in their original boxes: Vrex vs Kong, Venatosaurus Attack, Skull Island Natives, Kong's Last Stand (Empire State Building) and more. From Sideshow Dinosauria: Carnotaurus, Styracosaurus, Deinosuchus vs Parasauroluphus, T.rex vs Triceratops(no boxes on these) From Gentle Giant: Luke Skywalker on Tauntaun By X-Plus: ALIEN these last two are mint in their original boxes. All are made of resin.Please e-mail Pat at:[email protected] Attention Museums and collectors – Five original lamps designed by and made for Zdenek Burian's art studio for sale, contact me, Jiri Hochman for photograph, details and prices. Zdenek Burian post cards, posters, coffee cups and copyrights of Burian images for sale. Also looking for a producer/sponsor for: a Zdenek Burian exhibition in the USA/Canada etc ZB Great Monograph for sale in the USA/Canada etc production of copies of ZB original paintings for sale a completely new book (the best of) Zdenek Burian – Action Illustration - website: www.zdenekburian.com or contact [email protected] For Sale: My book, Lens to the Natural World: Reflections on Dinosaurs, Galaxies, and God by Ken Olson (Foreword by Jack Horner, endorsed by Kevin Padian of the National Center for Science Education). Celebrating the wonders of nature, this is a work of “science & religion & philosophy & literature,” and navigates a middle way between the vocal extremists on the issue of evolution. I have been a Research Associate in Paleontology at The Museum of the Rockies, Bozeman, MT for 24 years. List price is $26; add just $2 to ship in the lower 48 states. Send check or USPS money order to: Ken Olson, 1009 W. Blvd, Lewistown, MT 59457. For Sale: Horizon 1/19 scale vinyl Jurassic Park Brachiosaur kit. Original box and parts still in poly bag. $125 plus shipping. Dave Colton – [email protected] For Sale: Tamiya 1/35 Scale Brachiosaurus diorama sealed new in original box. $75 plus $15 shipping. MO to Gregory Flanagan 268 7th St Brooklyn, NY 11215 Wanted: Jurassic Park 3 Re-Ak Attack Dilophosaurus in original green color. Must still be in package and in good condition. Negotiable. Contact Adam at [email protected]. Wanted: I am interested in any playvisions animal figures but especially the African Forest Buffalo, Chital (Axis Deer) and Dhole. I am also looking for Jeols Bushpig, Safari Vanishing Wild Gemsbok (adult and calf), and ELC Kob. I would be interested in almost any mammal figures, prehistoric and modern. Please email me at [email protected], you can call at 801 597 8875 or write to Keith Brown, 3032 S 5990 W, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84128 For Sale: I am offering the complete U.S. set of 18 Battat dinosaurs, in mint condition with tags. Rex stands! Also, the complete US release of the Invicta (British MNH) set, the complete ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) set, complete Dinosaurs of China in boxes, and the complete early releases (first series through 2001) of the Carnegie Collection with tags, Wild Safari with tags, Safari Habitat Authentics Dinos I, II, and III in boxes, Safari Babies with tags, and miscellaneous older dino Toobs, boxes and retro bags. All mint condition, with tags as noted (some sets did not ship with tags). Also parting with PT issues #84-100. Contact Alan at [email protected] or (360) 656-6857 For Sale : Complete set of Battat dinosaurs for sale, as a set. I also have one of the few JP full size raptor promotional pieces. This piece is unreal. I'm also downsizing a very large collection of various pieces amassed over 20 years of collecting. I have many unique and extremely hard to find dinosaurs and mammals that are no longer in production. Most of these are sets, all are in mint condition and never used other than for display. Call and or e-mail for more information on what's available. [email protected] 513-737-6695 Wanted: Safari Ltd "dinosaur mountain" retail counter display. Replica collector looking for 1-3 of these large plastic racks to display ever-growing collection. Are you a museum,

Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

gift shop, or fellow collector with an extra one to get rid of? Contact Justin at [email protected] For Sale or trade: I offer all the large J H Miller prehistoric animals/dinosaurs, caveman, cavewoman and cave. I have many SRG, both large and small, including the caveman, a complete set of Linde dinos, complete set of Battat (Boston Museum) dinos, Castagna dinos, Alva Bronto, Marx, Chialu, Starlux and more. Call Jim Van Dyke 616-669-3897 [email protected] WANTED: Max Salas 1/35 Entelodon and Andrewsarchus. Needed for my collection. Will buy or trade. Contact Ron at [email protected]. WANTED: RAY HARRYHAUSEN & STOP-MOTION RELATED 'ZINES Colossa #1 (1993) / Hollywood Horror Classics #4 (1996) Cinemagram #1 (1964) / Cinefantastique #2 (Mimeo - Apr 1967) Mystification #6 (1965) / Animals Magazine (Aug 1969) - British Wonder #2 (Summer 1989) / Box Office Vol. 90 #16 (Feb 6 1967) Spectre #18 (Mar/Apr 1968) / Photon #1, 7, 13 (1963, 1965, 1967) Vampire's Crypt #8 (Dec 1963) / Amazing Screen Horrors #6 (1966) Just Imagine #4 (1977) - British / Cosmos Aventuras #9 (May 1964) Ray Harryhausen Journal (1973) / Animation Journal #4 (May 1965) Stop-Motion Monsters of Filmland #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 Japanese (1990’s) King Kong: Unauthorized Jewish Fractals in Philopatry (1996) Contact: Scott McRae ([email protected]) Wanted: PT issues 1-22 & later back issues no longer available through PT, Marx dinos in metallic green, Pom Poms candy boxes w/ Aurora Prehistoric Scenes art on them, SRG metal Dinychthys fish, Chialu dinos (Italian composition), NF Neoform dinos, La Brea (Wm Otto) Mastodon, both bears, peccary & horse plus T. rex and Brontosaurus, Smithsonian metal prehistoric animals, Messmore & Damon 1933 Chicago World’s Fair metal figs., and Starlux Cephalaspis (jawless-fish) to complete my Starlux set! For Trade/Sale: vintage dinosaurs of most manufacturers. I’ve got a ton of old dinosaur figures for sale. I’m always buying pre-1970s dino collectibles --Please contact Mike Fredericks 145 Bayline Cir, Folsom, Ca 956308077, (916) 985-7986 [email protected] WANTED: Prehistoric Times issues 79, 81, 83, and 84. Also looking for any books, magazines, and/or DVDs on whale evolution/extinct whales/dolphins, ancient marine reptiles, elephant evolution/extinct elephants, and shark evolution/extinct sharks. Will pay by money order only. Also looking for any information on fossils in Alabama, Mississippi, and the rest of the southeastern US. Please call 205-269-7054. FOR SALE: Hundreds of First Day Stamped Covers, thimbles, coins, library books for adults (like new), and hundreds of miniature dinosaur figurines including full set of LLADRO. Jon C Markin, 2688 York Street North, St Petersburg, FL 33710 Responses made to all serious inquiries. Wanted: any ice age animals for sale or trade that were recently available in PT, in a set of six. Interested in the whole set. Please be reasonable. Contact Gregory Ortiz [email protected] or phone at 714.679.6285 FOR SALE: Invicta Tyrannosaurus, Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus, woolly mammoth, Glyptodon, Dimetrodon, Blue Whale, painted Liopleurodon, and painted Plesiosaurus. Bullyland 1993 Parasaurolophus. Dinotales Series 1 Triceratops skeleton and Tyrannosaurus. Carnegie Collection Beipiaosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Spinosaurus, and Cryolophosaurus. Wild Safari Scutosaurus, Mosasaurus, Kentrosaurus, Allosaurus, Rhamphorhynchus, Coelacanth, and Field Museum Anatotitan. All new 2011 Safari LTD figures are available too. Wanted: Battat Ceratosaurus, Diplodocus, Tyrannosaurus, Maiasaura, and Parasaurolophus - Andrew [email protected] For Sale: 3/4'” cloisonne lapel pin that states: REUNITE GONDWANALAND and depicts Pangea and Laurasia united in one huge continent. Only a limited number are available. $8 includes the pin and postage. Contact Lynne Dickman, (406) 728-5221, [email protected] FOR SALE: Horizon 1/19 scale vinyl JP Brachiosaurus kit. Box in good condition, parts still in bag. $125 plus shipping. Kenner JP Triceratops with "dino damage", new in box $40 plus shipping. Horizon 1/30 vinyl Apatosaurus kit new in box $35 plus shipping. Please contact Perry: [email protected] for information or photos. Wanted: Hobby Trading Post (Nu-Card) DINOSAURS cards (B&W, post-card size) #'s 7, 13, 15, 28. I will gladly purchase these but I also have many duplicate cards available for trade. I would prefer "nice" condition cards (e.g., VG+ to Mint) without major creasing or other significant defects. Please contact me (Mike Riley) at: [email protected] or at 303-566-1267 (weekdays, 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, MDT). MODELERS: PT build up writer, Sean Kotz, now has a

national hobby column on line at the Examiner. I am committed to bringing paleo models, sculptors and kits to the forefront on a regular basis, as well as all other forms of modeling from plastic kits to rocket ships. Go to www.examiner.com and search for "Model Building Examiner" or my name and bookmark or subscribe. You can also search out the Facebook Fan page Playset Magazine Plastic heaven, America's best info on vintage playsets by Marx and others from the Atomic Era and Beyond. Battleground, Zorro, news, classifieds to buy, color glossy. Complete website listings too! www.playsetmagazine.com, email [email protected], or call (719) 634-7430 J H Miller repaired - your broken and incomplete vintage J H Miller plastic figures -expertly repaired. Ask for Nick Lamanec (484) 274-0315 FOR SALE: Looking for awesome paleontology-themed Tshirts? Visit www.cafepress.com/dannysdinosaurs! Featuring clever dinosaurian designs on everything from shirts to coffee mugs to bumper stickers, www.cafepress.com/dannysdinosaurs is a great place for all your dinosaur apparel needs. TOP DOLLAR PAID for prehistoric animal postcards including diorama scenes, statues, fossils, museum displays, etc. I also would like to purchase prehistoric animal museum or excavation site brochures and posters. If you have vintage dinosaur or prehistoric animal books or photographs from the 1900's up to 1980 please let me know since I also collect these. I have lots of paper ephemera such as this for trade if that is preferable. Please contact Stephen Hubbell (253) 851-7036 or email me at [email protected]. search4dinosaurs.com is always looking to add new artists. If you are looking to promote your work this is the perfect place to do so. Each image on the site is viewed by hundreds’s and sometimes thousands of visitors each week. Many artists receive commission work from publishers after being seen here.There is no charge, just e-mail 6 or more examples of your art work and I’ll create the gallery page. I only show full body examples of Mesozoic creatures, several in one scene is fine. Level of expertise must match that of the work already being shown on the site. Images should be at least 600 x 400 pixel jpg or gifs, larger is better. For more information [email protected] PALEOSCENE - Supplying fossils and museum quality fossil replicas at very affordable prices. Our replicas are carefully made from molds of the original fossil specimens.Each cast is meticulously hand painted to give a natural and realistic appearance closely matching the original fossil. Our replicas include many unusual and famous specimens, including Archaeopteryx, Seymouria, pterosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles, mammals, birds, fish, invertebrates (including trilobites), and a variety of dinosaur and pre-dinosaur tracks (will help artists get those feet and footprints right!). "Please visit our website at http://paleo.cc/paleoscene.htm or call 281-290-6751 or write to Glen Kuban, PaleoScene, 11702 Littlefield Ct, Tomball, TX 77377, Email: [email protected]. PALEODIRECT.COM Your direct source for the finest and rarest fossil specimens along with tools and weapons of primitive man. With several thousand pages of fossils and primitive man artifacts displayed online, PaleoDirect.com is truly one of the largest online paleontological suppliers across the globe. Categories include a BROAD DIVERSITY of both INVERTEBRATE and VERTEBRATE fossils. We also specialize in genuine TOOLS and WEAPONS of PRIMITIVE HUMANS from the Lower PALEOLITHIC through the NEOLITHIC Periods up to and including the Iron Age. PALEO DIRECT, Inc. is a full-time, professional supplier and a member of the American Association of Paleontological Suppliers.We acquire specimens direct from the source regions of the world through exclusive affiliations with the diggers and their management as well as conduct several of our own international collecting expeditions each year. Furthermore, many of our rare specimens are prepared in-house by our own conservation facilities and staff. This explains our consistently better quality fossils than is usually found in the marketplace. In addition to what is shown on the site, an even greater inventory of specimens are either yet to be listed or in various states of preparation. Please contact us if you have interest in an item that is not shown. New material from around the world is constantly being added. If you wish to be added to our email list for when new specimens are updated to the website, please email or call us and let us know. PALEO DIRECT, INC. P. O. Box 160305 Altamonte Springs, FL 32716-0305 (407) 774-1063 www.PaleoDirect.com [email protected] Supplying museums, educational facilities and discriminating collectors around the world.

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A Day at the Museum: A Visit to the American Museum of Natural History, New York City

They claim the AMNH to be the home of the single largest collection of dinosaur fossils in the world. While there is some that would debate that claim, it is beyond dispute that the Museum, in its long history, has been a driving force behind what has become modern paleontology. Any text on dinosaur research is liberally sprinkled with references to the Museum. And face it; biggest or not, it is still big enough to rate a visit! I had a chance to journey to NYC, and I was determined to not leave until I had completed a pilgrimage to the famous Museum. Turns out, it wasn’t a hassle at all! A short and not too terrifying taxi ride from my hotel, and there I was, facing a large gray building, feeling like a school kid all over again.

by Tom Moore New York City. The Big Apple. It has earned its nickname well – it is full of big things, big buildings, big dreams, big entertainment, a big park, and the occasional big traffic jam. It seems only proper that is also the home of one of the biggest Museums of Natural History in the world. And here’s a heads-up – if you base your perceptions of this place on Ben Stiller’s movie “Night at the Museum”, you are in for a real shock! This place is too huge, too full of displays and Halls for one guard to cover in one night, let alone chase monkeys and cave men around! This place is much better than the movie shows it to be, believe me! Just one example – a three story main gift shop, okay?

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

A word on tickets… I was advised to go online and purchase my tickets ahead of time and simply pick them up at their ‘Will Call’ counter off the 81st Street Entrance. This was the best advice I have been given in a loooong time! I arrived at the Museum ten minutes before the scheduled opening and walked right in at the stroke of ten. A simple and pleasant moment spent at the pick-up counter, and I was off to the Fourth Floor. The famed Dinosaur and Fossil Halls. The Museum holds a collection of nearly one million vertebrate specimens, with more than 600 on display. Of this total, nearly 85 percent are claimed to be the actual fossil, not cast replicas. More than 100 of these specimens are dinosaur mounts or displays. I use the old museum–goers rule-of-thumb…if the mount has an external steel framework, it is most likely a real fossil, while the ‘cleaner’ mounts with internal frames are the cast replicas. But that rule doesn’t work as well here. Many of the mounts are molded into a white stucco-looking block, made to resemble a stone matrix, and this serves to support the bones without resorting to steel framework at all. I’m of mixed opinion on this approach. The large blocks of white ‘rock’ make the Halls very bright and airy – the entire series of Halls on the Fourth Floor are models of space and light. This isn’t the dark and dusty museum of old! But I found the mounts weren’t as impressive being

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Dinosaur Paleontology:

argued that the dinosaur extinction is a more complex topic than often assumed.

The Year in Review 2012

A few months later Jonathan Mitchell and colleagues from the University of Chicago looked at the ecology of dinosaurs and other organisms during the latest Cretaceous. Based on fossils, they constructed hypothetical food webs for several Cretaceous ecosystems. These food webs are similar to what many of us used to draw out in grade school science classes: an interconnected network of species showing who ate who, which links together all members of an ecosystem from the smallest bacteria to the fiercest apex predators. Mitchell and his colleagues then performed an interesting experiment: they used computer programs to simulate what would happen to these food webs if various species went extinct. For instance, the extinction of a certain plant may cause the death of the herbivorous animals that eat that plant, and therefore the death of predators that eat the herbivore. They performed thousands of simulations, randomly erasing various groups of species and seeing how the consequences reverberated through the ecosystems. What they found was very interesting: those ecosystems at the very end of the Cretaceous, which existed when the asteroid hit, were much more susceptible to devastating extinctions—caused by the extinctions of a few species that then cascaded through the food web—than ecosystems earlier in the Cretaceous. This suggests that bad luck was a big factor in the extinction of the dinosaurs: the asteroid happened to hit at a time when ecosystems were particularly vulnerable and weak.

by Steve Brusatte, American Museum of Natural History/Columbia University, New York Another year, another news roundup. I’m happy to report that 2012 was another good year. More than 30 new dinosaurs were named and hundreds of research papers were published. As you’ll see below, one common theme from this year is that a great variety of new data and new research techniques are bringing new information to bear on some of paleontology’s most debated questions, such as the dinosaur extinction and the evolution of birds. Much of this new research is driven by the incredible surge of young people studying dinosaurs, all around the world. I’m one small part of this youth wave, and I’m happy to also report that I (finally) finished my PhD this year at Columbia. It’s the end of a long journey, which as some of our most grizzled readers may recall, began so many years ago when the brazen teenage version of me began sending a flood of articles to Mike (and Lynne Clos at Fossil News and Allen Debus at Dinosaur World). It’s a pleasure to continue writing for PT today, and to do my best to bring the academic perspective into these pages. And while I have your attention, I’d like to put in another plug for my new book “Dinosaur Paleobiology” (2012, Wiley-Blackwell), which was featured on the review pages here a few issues ago. If you enjoy learning about the latest in dinosaur research, the methods we use to study dinosaurs, and our contemporary understanding of dinosaur biology and evolution, then I’ll be narcissistic and recommend “Dinosaur Paleobiology.”

The Dinosaur Extinction: New Information Why did the dinosaurs go extinct? This question has probably generated more research—and rank speculation—than any other topic in the history of dinosaur paleontology. We now know that dinosaurs (except for birds, of course) died out about 65 million years ago, at about the same time a giant comet or asteroid smashed into the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. But did this impact cause dinosaurs to rapidly die out? Or was it just a coincidence that had nothing to do with the dinosaur extinction? Two new studies published this year help to address these vexing questions. One of these studies was presented by my colleagues and me, in a May paper in the journal Nature Communications. We looked at the evolutionary trajectory of dinosaurs over the final 12 million years of the Cretaceous— the final stanza of dinosaur evolution before the asteroid hit. We looked at how the morphological disparity of various dinosaur groups changed over this time, with the aim of seeing if dinosaur evolution was steady or perhaps if dinosaurs were declining or even increasing in their diversity. Morphological disparity is a measurement of the anatomical variability of a group of organisms. As a quick example, a group such as living mammals has great disparity—just think of the range of size and the diversity of anatomical features in species ranging from whales to humans. Living crocodiles, on the other hand, have little disparity because most species look quite similar to each other. By measuring disparity changes over time in dinosaurs we found that some groups, such as the theropods and pachycephalosaurs, changed little over the final years of the Cretaceous. But the large-bodied plant-eaters (ceratopsians and hadrosaurs) experienced a great decline in disparity over this time, perhaps suggesting that they were undergoing an evolutionary decline before the asteroid hit. Based on this, we Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

Dinosaur Metabolism: New Information Along with their extinction, the physiology and metabolism of dinosaurs has been a frequent topic of debate. Were dinosaurs active and energetic creatures, powered by a warm-blooded metabolism? Or were they more reptile-like in their behavior, dependent on the external environment to control their body Yutyrannus temperature? Most research over © Brett Booth the past two decades tilts strongly in favor of the former: dinosaurs were probably dynamic creatures more like birds and mammals than reptiles. But one thorny issue has remained. Many dinosaurs have bones with growth rings, just like those of a tree. These can be seen when a cross section of the bone is ground thin and looked at under a microscope. The rings of trees are caused by differences in seasonal growth: trees often grow fast in the summer but much more slowly, or not at all, during the colder winters, when nutrients are scarce. The same is likely true of dinosaurs with growth rings. But wouldn’t this suggest that dinosaurs were not warm-blooded, because warm-blooded animals could grow year-round due to their high metabolisms? This turns out not to be the case. This past summer Meike Köhler and colleagues published a study in Nature showing that growth rings are common in many species of living mammals, which obviously are warm-blooded. This means that there would be nothing unusual about warm-blooded dinosaurs with growth rings, which erases one of the last lines of evidence against the theory that dinosaurs had high metabolisms and active lifestyles.

The Evolution of Birds and Feathers: New Information Keeping with the theme of new evidence for old questions, several discoveries in 2012 have helped scientists better understand that most remarkable of evolutionary events: the evolution of birds from theropod dinosaurs. The theropod-bird link used to be controversial, but this is no longer the case, thanks to thousands of feathered dinosaur fossils and reams of additional evidence. Several new feathered dinosaur specimens were described over the past year and have revealed a few surprises. One of the neatest discoveries of the year is a veritable prehistoric “Big Bird”: the feathered tyrannosaur Yutyrannus from the Early Cretaceous of 47

China. Yutyrannus is only the latest in a long line of feathered dinosaurs from Liaoning’s famous Yixian Formation, but it is unusual because it is absolutely huge, whereas almost all other feathered dinosaurs have been human-sized or smaller. The best specimen of Yutyrannus is over 30 feet (9 meters) long and would have weighed over two tons! It is clear evidence of two important facts: 1) tyrannosaurs did have feathers; 2) even huge dinosaurs could have feathers. So it wasn’t just the small, very bird-like dromaeosaurs and troodontids that were sheathed in a coat of feathers, but more likely all or most dinosaurs had some kind of feathery covering. Several other new discoveries reiterate this last point. And these discoveries also show that it’s not only China that can boast feathered dinosaurs, but now also Canada and Germany can claim famous feathered fossils. Earlier in 2012 Oliver Rauhut and colleagues described a new small feathered theropod called Sciurumimus, which comes from the Late Jurassic of Germany. It is found in rocks very simiIchthyovenator lar to those which preserve the most iconic of all feathered fossils: the first © Brett Booth bird Archaeopteryx. Sciurumimus is important for a couple of reasons. First, it is known from a remarkable specimen that preserves nearly the entire skeleton and a beautiful array of feathers. And second, it is not a particularly bird-like dinosaur. It is a more distant relative of birds than even the tyrannosaurs are. In fact, it is a close relative of the British Megalosaurus and the peculiar longsnouted spinosaurids. So once again, more evidence that many dinosaurs were feathered, not just the closest relatives of birds. And what about the North American specimens? Late in 2012 Darla Zelenitsky and colleagues published a paper in Science describing not only feathers, but wing-like structures on the forelimbs of a few specimens of Ornithomimus from Alberta. Ornithomimus is also a distant relative of birds, and the most important implication of this study is that true wings may have evolved long before birds and long before flight, possibly to assist in brooding eggs. If so, wings are a classic example of exaptation: a feature that is first evolved for one function (in this case reproduction) but then takes on another use (flight). And finally, one of the coolest new areas of research in dinosaur paleontology is reconstructing the color of ancient fossils. A few years ago a team of scientists led by Jakob Vinther discovered that many fossil feathers, including those of dinosaurs, preserve microscopic structures called melanosomes. These structures impart color, and melanosomes of different shapes are associated with different colors. Therefore, if melanosomes are preserved and their shapes observed, then scientists can determine the color of fossil feathers. Two studies this year took this research further. One study found that Archaeopteryx had black feathers, whereas another showed that the four-winged feathered dinosaur Microraptor was iridescent like many living birds!

New Dinosaur Species By my count, 32 new species of non-bird dinosaurs were named in 2012. These include several new carnivorous theropods, such as the early abelisaurid Eoabelisaurus (a very old relative of the bull-headed Carnotaurus) and Ichthyovenator, a fish-eating spinosaurid from Asia. Eoabelisaurus is particularly interesting because it is approximately 170 million years old (Middle Jurassic), whereas most of the abelisaurids such as Carnotaurus, Majungasaurus, and Aucasaurus are from the very end of the Cretaceous, about 80-65 million years ago. Furthermore, Eoabelisaurus helps us better understand the development of one of the most unusual features of any dinosaur: the tiny, stubby forearms of Cretaceous abelisaurids like Carnotaurus. These puny little arms are even smaller than those of T. rex, and scientists have debated if they even served 48

any purpose. The forelimbs of Carnotaurus and kin are small because all of the individual bones are small—the humerus, the radius and ulna, and the many bones of the hand. Eoabelisaurus, on the other hand, has a relatively normal-sized humerus, radius, and ulna for a theropod, but the hand is tiny. This suggests that the hand of abelisaurids became small first, followed later by the other bones of the arm. This seems to be the opposite of what happens in tyrannosaurs, in which the upper arm bones become small first and only in the largest species like T. rex is the hand tiny. Perhaps no new dinosaur received more press than Pegomastax in 2012. This new species of small heterodontosaurid (a type of ornithischian) was discovered many years ago in Early Jurassic rocks in South Africa but named only this year by Paul Sereno. Sereno’s description was part of a massive, and characteristically impressive, monographic publication on the entire heterodontosaurid group. Heterodontosaurids are one of those unusual groups of dinosaurs that often turn up in paleoartistic reconstructions and children’s books, but which have been the subject of comparatively little scientific work. That has changed in recent years, as Sereno and many other scientists (most notably Richard Butler from Great Britain) have described several new species and reassessed the diet and genealogical position of heterodontosaurids. Most species were quite small—about human-sized or so, and some like Fruitadens were absolutely tiny (only about 30 inches long and weighing 1-2 pounds!). Although heterodontosaurids are ornithischians they may not have been pure plant-eaters, but rather omnivores which also took down small prey. The fang-like teeth at the front of the snouts of some species may have been used for slashing prey, but they may have been nothing more than display structures used to attract mates or advertise dominance. And where do heterodontosaurids fit into the larger dinosaur family tree? It now seems like they are among the most primitive ornithischians of all, which is not surprising because most known species are from the Early Jurassic. Eoabelisaurus, Pegomastax, Ichthyovenator, and a few other new dinosaurs may have gotten most of the press this year, but the many other new species are also important, and some also have fun stories behind their names. Philovenator, a new troodontid from China, was named after esteemed dinosaur paleontologist Philip Currie. Unescoceratops, from the latest Cretaceous of Canada, was named after UNESCO—the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization—as an homage to their efforts in preserving natural history sites and advancing scientific education. Fernando Novas and colleagues named the new small coelurosaur Bicentenaria after the 200th anniversary of the Argentine revolution. The ceratopsian Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum—a new species of the long-familiar gnarly-nosed Pachyrhinosaurus—was named after the family of Ross Perot, the famous US businessman, twice-presidential candidate, and great philanthropist of science, who has given dinosaur-sized donations to the natural history museum in Dallas, which now bears the name Perot Museum of Nature and Science.

The Year of the Hadrosaur Five new hadrosaurs were named in 2012, a respectable haul. But more importantly, our understanding of the biology and behavior of these famous duck-billed dinosaurs was advanced by three innovative studies. First, Greg Erickson and colleagues studied the detailed microstructure of the teeth of duck-billed dinosaurs. In the most derived species, like Edmontosaurus and Parasaurolophus, several hundred teeth are packed tight in the jaws to Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

create what is often termed a “dentary battery”. The exposed teeth form a single large cutting surface, which allowed hadrosaurs to quickly shear and chew a large amount of plant material. As these teeth wore down they were replaced by new teeth, which were stacked underneath the exposed teeth. Erickson’s team showed that the individual teeth were remarkably adapted for strength. Each tooth was comprised of six distinct dental tissues, which is greater than the four distinct tissues of modern hyper-herbivorous mammals such as bison and horses. It seems, therefore, that the teeth of hadrosaurs were among the most complex teeth ever evolved and were well suited for grinding plants. These features probably helped hadrosaurs become the dominant large-bodied herbivores during the final 40 million years of the Cretaceous in the northern hemisphere.

Finally, a study of bone histology by Anusuya Chinsamy and coworkers suggests that some Edmontosaurus individuals found in Alaska were able to endure polar winters, and therefore probably lived at the poles year round. Other Edmontosaurus individuals from more temperature southern climates had a very different type of bone histology. This suggests that Edmontosaurus individuals may not have migrated between the poles and the more temperate regions, but rather that there were distinct populations in each area. If correct, this indicates that some dinosaurs were well adapted for enduring the cold, dark conditions of the poles.

Although the teeth of hadrosaurs were clearly adapted for grinding large amounts of plant material, there has been much debate about whether hadrosaurs could chew their food like living mammals. Chewing—in which the jaws can move in several directions to break down food before it is swallowed—is actually a fairly rare behavior among living animals. We can chew, but most dinosaurs probably could not. Instead, they would swallow their food relatively whole and rely on the gut to do most of the work in breaking down the food into a digestible mass. Hadrosaurs are probably different. Their dental batteries and patterns of wear on their teeth indicate that some chewing was possible. It has long been thought that chewing was driven by the relatively loose skulls of hadrosaurs, as many of the individual bones could move relative to each other. In particular, it has been argued that the upper jaw would literally swing outwards relative to the lower jaw as the two jaws came together, thus producing a side-to-side chewing motion. This is called the pleurokinesis hypothesis. A new study, however, sheds doubt on this idea. Robin Cuthbertson, Natalia Rybczynski, and colleagues constructed a 3D digital model of an Edmontosaurus skull and subjected it to a series of movements. These experiments show that pleurokinesis was probably not possible, but rather that chewing was permitted by a wide degree of motion at the jaw joint itself. The lower jaw could slide quite extensively back-and-forth and side-to-side, as the articulation between the upper and lower jaws was not tight.

Sadly, space is running out, but a few more discoveries deserve brief mention. A study of theropod skull shape by Anjan Bhullar and colleagues suggests that birds are paedomorphic theropods—in other words, living birds have skulls very similar to the skulls of juvenile theropod dinosaurs. A study of ornithopod dinosaurs from Europe indicates that the classic story of dwarfed dinosaurs in the Late Cretaceous of Transylvania may be a bit more complicated than normally assumed, and some of the supposed dwarves may just be close relatives of small species present on mainland landmasses. And Joe Peterson and colleagues presented evidence for numerous scars and other injuries on the skull domes of pachycephalosaurs, which may swing the pendulum back in favor of the theory that pachycephalosaurs head-butted each other. And with that, I’m afraid I’m out of space. It’s been another great year in dinosaur research, and as always, I look forward to what the next year may bring. And this article wouldn’t be complete without one final plug for my book “Dinosaur Paleobiology,” and a call to keep your eyes open for a spectacular new “3D Walking With Dinosaurs” movie (and a slew of associated books, toys, and other media) in late 2013…

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Other Loose Ends

Stephen Brusatte, PhD. American Museum of Natural History/Columbia University [email protected], http://sites.google.com/site/brusatte/ My New Book: Dinosaur Paleobiology, published by WileyBlackwell

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Dino Kingdom 2012 by David Milner

Dino Kingdom 2012, the most recent in a series of very large temporary dinosaur exhibits put on at the Makuhari Messe International Convention Complex located just outside of Tokyo, Japan, took place from July 21st to September 23rd. Among the highlights of the exhibit was the world premiere of Yutyrannus huali, the largest feathered dinosaur discovered to date. The 30foot-long animal had been announced by famed Chinese paleontologist Xu Xing and colleagues of his only three months before the exhibit opened. Many of the approximately 200 other fossils on display came from China as well. In fact, the exhibit was arranged in part through the Chinese Embassy and the Japan-China Friendship Association “to commemorate the

40th anniversary of the normalization of Chinese-Japanese diplomatic relations” – only a very short while before the dispute over the Senkaku Islands broke out. Among the other Chinese dinosaurs was Sinoceratops zhuchengensis, the first ceratopsian discovered outside of North America. The 23-foot-long animal was unique in that it had characteristics of both of the two major groups of Ceratopsidae – the Centrosaurinae and Chasmosaurinae.

period. They generally were instead grouped by size. Many of the smallest were presented first, perhaps in an attempt to wet the appetite of the visitor, and the largest generally were presented last. Psittacosaurus sp., Compsognathus longipes, Zuniceratops christopheri and Eoraptor lunensis were among the smaller dinosaurs on display. Some of the larger dinos were the Chinese hadrosaurs Zhuchengosaurus maximus and Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens, both of which were approximately 60 feet in length. The 30 or so animatronic and static life restorations were interspersed amongst the fossils. Most of the life restorations were of feathered dinosaurs. Four of those that weren’t were static, full-scale heads of different familiar sauropods displayed in a row so visitors could easily compare the variations in shape between them. Although almost all of the fossils exhibited were those of dinosaurs, a number of pterosaur fossils

Skeletons of a number of much more familiar dinosaurs such as Allosaurus fragilis, Stegosaurus stenops and Tyrannosaurus rex also were on display. Unlike the fossils at Dino Expo 2011, which was held at the Japanese National Museum of Nature and Science, those at Dino Kingdom 2012 were not grouped by geologic time 52

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also could be found. Represented were not only well-known species such as Pterodactylus antiquus, but also Jeholopterus ningchengensis, Anhanguera santanae and other lesser-known pterosaurs were on display. No marine reptiles were included. There were both fossil excavation and interactive activities for children. The event store was very well stocked with figures, models, b o o k s , videos, plush toys, dinosaurs h a p e d candy and other items. There were a number of event-exclusive items, including two different program books and a seven-inch-long, museum-quality feathered Tyrannosaurus rex figure made of polystone. Han Project 21, the company that put on Dino Kingdom 2012 and the other recent dinosaur exhibits at Makuhari Messe, declared bankruptcy one month after the exhibit closed. The announcement, which likely was a result of lower-than-expected attendance stemming from the weakened condition of the Japanese economy, makes the future of such exhibits very uncertain. The Dino Kingdom 2012 Web site is still available for viewing at http://dino2012.com/. The site is almost entirely in Japanese. A collection of more than 150 photographs of the exhibit, as well as pictures of Dino Expo 2011, Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Giants – African Dinosaurs and one dozen other dinosaur exhibits, can be found at https://picasaweb.google.com/107747966331221796816. There is no charge and registration is not required.

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Mesozoic Media With such a glorious cornicopia of beautiful books to review in the last issue (right before Christmas), small wonder I only received three for this issue. The Great Fossil Enigma: The Search for the Conodont Animal (Life of the Past) by Simon J. Knell Hardcover 440 pages Indiana University Press ISBN-10: 025300604X ISBN-13:9780253006042 $45.00 Stephen Jay Gould borrowed from Winston Churchill when he described the conodont animal as a "riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." This animal confounded science for more than a century. Some thought it a slug, others a fish, a worm, a plant, even a primitive ancestor of ourselves. The list of possibilities grew and yet an answer to the riddle never seemed any nearer. Would the animal that left behind these miniscule fossils known as conodonts ever be identified? Three times the animal was "found," but each was quite a different animal. Were any of them really the one? Simon J. Knell takes the reader on a journey through 150 years of scientific thinking, imagining, and arguing. Slowly the animal begins to reveal traces of itself: its lifestyle, its remarkable evolution, its witnessing of great catastrophes, its movements over the surface of the planet, and finally its anatomy. Today the conodont animal remains perhaps the most disputed creature in the zoological world. I don’t mean to spoil the end of the book but it turns out the conodont animal was an eel-like, underwater vertebrate with eyes positioned on the front of its head and sharp teeth. Those are some of its fossils on the head of a pin on the front cover of the book. The Dodo and the Solitaire: A Natural History (Life of the Past) by Jolyon C. Parish Hardcover 432 pages $75.00 Indiana University Press

NEW Machairodus vs 3-Toed Horse resin model kit by Sean Cooper Available Exclusively from The Alchemy Works

Voted best prehistoric animal model kit of 2012 by Prehistoric Times readers

http://thealchemyworks.com 817-471-9096 54

ISBN-10: 0253000998 ISBN-13: 9780253000996 “The Dodo and the Solitaire” is a very comprehensive book about these two famously extinct birds. It contains all the known contemporary accounts and illustrations of the dodo and solitaire, covering their history after extinction and discussing their ecology, classification, phylogenetic placement, and evolution. Both birds were large and flightless and lived on inhabited islands some 500 miles east of Madagascar. The first recorded descriptions of the dodo were provided by Dutch sailors who first encountered them in 1598—within 100 years, the dodo was extinct. So quickly did the bird disappear that there is insufficient evidence to form an entirely accurate picture of its appearance and ecology, and the absence has led to much speculation. The story of the dodo, like that of the solitaire, has been pieced together from fragments, both literary and physical, and carefully compiled and examined in this volume. The extinction of any animal is sad but this thick, coffee table book tells us everything we know about these animals and is quite interesting. The author is actually a paleontologist specializing in dinosaurs and tells a great story with many photos and illustrations. Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live by Marlene Zuk $27.95 Hardcover 336 pages W. W. Norton & Company ISBN-10: 0393081370 ISBN-13: 978-0393081374 While “Paleofantasy” sounds like a great title for me, your PT editor’s autobiography, it is not. It is an exposé of pseudoscientific myths about our evolutionary past and how we should live today. We evolved to eat berries rather than bagels, to live in mud huts rather than condos, to sprint barefoot rather than play football—or did we? Are our bodies and brains truly at odds with modern life? Although it may seem as though we have barely had time to shed our hunter-gatherer legacy, biologist Marlene Zuk reveals that the story is not so simple. Popular theories about how our ancestors lived, and why we should emulate them, are often based on speculation, not scientific evidence. Armed with a sharp wit and eye-opening research, Zuk takes us to the cutting edge of biology to show that evolution can work much faster than we think, meaning that we are not biologically the same as our caveman ancestors. Contrary to what the glossy magazines would have us believe, we do not enjoy potato chips because they crunch just like the insects our forebears snacked on. And women don’t go into shoe-shopping frenzies because their prehistoric foremothers gathered resources for their clans. Zuk argues, such beliefs incorrectly assume that we’re stuck; finished evolving, and have been for tens of thousands of years. She draws from evidence that examines everything from adults’ ability to drink milk to the texture of our ear wax to show that we’ve actually never stopped evolving. Our nostalgic visions of an ideal evolutionary past in which we ate, lived, and reproduced as we were “meant to” fail to recognize that we were never perfectly suited to our environment in the first place. Evolution is about change, and every organism is full of trade-offs. From debunking the caveman diet to unraveling gender stereotypes, Zuk delivers well throughout analysis of widespread paleofantasies and the scientific evidence that undermines them, all the while broadening our understanding of our origins and what they can really tell us about our present and our future. With 15 illustrations, the author takes the time to articulately explain all her beliefs and theories in easy to understand text. A fun read for the caveman or cavewoman in you! Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

Concluding from Pg 46

embedded in plaster behind Plexiglas cases – call me old-fashioned, but I like standing under a dinosaur and looking up through the massive ribcage and feeling small. The ‘matrix’ approach didn’t make the dinos feel as approachable to me. Having said that… I have to give the AMNH a nod on one point. Some of the fossils mounted in this fashion were missing bones – the missing bits were filled in with painted outlines to complete the total skeleton. That is refreshingly honest! I have to say I was impressed as that lent a feeling of it being the real stuff. Not all the mounts were matrix-types, of course! There were some very impressive specimens scattered about. The famous Brontosaurus/Apatosaurus (formerly of the wrong head) was paired with a nice T. rex and formed a nice center display with the smaller types spread around the sides of the Hall. The head-on view of a Triceratops was breathtaking. The front quarter of an Ankylosaurus, matched with that big chunk of tail club…this is the stuff of dreams! Forget Broadway…. There are two Dinosaur Halls, divided into Saurischian and Ornithischian species. The Museum is very proud of this arrangement, claiming it helped to pioneer cladistics, the method of determining evolutionary relationships through scientific analysis of physical characteristics. The Halls are set up to emphasis this relationship by the way they group dinosaurs. Well, okay….My personal take on this is that for the layman; for the common man on the street (or just in from the street, actually), this simply leads to confusion. Lumping all the dinosaurs together using what is basically a rather high-level system of classification is what leads to mental scenes of stegosaurs romping around with T. rex and maniraptors. After all, the Museum shows them all grouped together and they can’t be wrong! Dividing the dinosaurs the way the Museum has chosen to do may be correct in one criteria, but it can lead to the feeling that all these guys existed at the same time, in one place…not that they thrived and changed over the millions of years that they did. The museum’s approach won’t faze a true fan, but it could present some misinterpretations in the masses. I didn’t perceive this as much in the Hall of Extinct Mammals. Maybe I wasn’t paying as much attention, but it seemed to be arranged with the Triassic mounts first and ending up with things like Glyptodont and a group of Giant Sloth mounts. A few steps away was the Hall full of things like the Irish Elk, Cave Bears, and Mammoths… it seemed to flow better, timewise. Aside from that small concern, the mounts are wondrous. Just a sample of the joys to be found; a row of Protoceratops skulls showing the progression of size due to age, the only juvenile Stegosaurus ever found, a Triceratops with a partly healed wound on its head – perhaps caused by another bull in a mating fight, and mummies of both Edmontosaurus and Corythosaurus! They offer several Allosaur mounts, a display of Archaeopteryx fossils in the original matrixes, and an elevated walkway (which is constructed over a ‘spare’ backbone column) to view the Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

Apatosaurus from a Pteranodon’s eye view. They also have one of my all-time favorites, a Styracosaurus, shown in matrix, but able to be viewed from all four sides. There is a large collection of Charles Knight paintings on display throughout the Halls, which often mirror the mounts on the floor – a nice touch! Like most Museums, the AMNH is making the displays more interactive. There are kiosks scattered about that offer short videos of the subjects being displayed on the floor, some ‘hands-on’ displays such as one that encourages you to touch a stegosaur’s back plate, and mobile displays staffed by Museum experts. At one of these I got the chance to handle pieces of petrified wood, the thagomizer spike of a Stego, and another back plate. The young ladies crewing the kiosk were personable and enthusiastic and were eager to share with the younger visitors in the Museum. They probably thought I was creepy, but I needed to hold that spike! I almost missed three very impressive dinosaur mounts. Because I came in from the lowest level, I didn’t see the Main Lobby. Unlike in the movie lobby, there is no T. rex waiting for nightfall to fetch bones – sorry to burst that bubble! However, on the rotundra is the famous mount of an Allosaurus threatening a mother Barosaurus and her baby. Mom is posed rearing up on her hind legs, which makes her one of the world’s tallest freestanding dinosaur mounts. It is well worth a detour to the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda to see this…and it is big enough that you can see it past the crowds waiting in line to get in! I must point out one troubling point. The displays of the Allosaurus and T. rex were somewhat dated and worse, contradicted each other! One of the Allos was shown in the old tail-dragging posture, plus it had three fingers on the forelimbs – the next display stated that Allos and T. rex were the same species and both had only TWO fingers on the hands. Further on, the data cards indicated that T. rex was a separate species. I asked the kiosk presenters about this and I was reassured that the displays were constantly being updated and corrected. I mentioned the amount of time required to fix the brontosaur’s head and hoped it wouldn’t take as long this time. For anyone that has heard that New Yorkers are rude and abrasive, all I can say is maybe the folks at the AMNH are from out of town, because I found everyone I spoke with to be very helpful, polite, and happy to answer questions. Even after I brought up the ‘wrong head on the display’ thing. They just smiled. The American Museum of Natural History can be found on Central Park West between 79th and 81st Streets, right beside Central Park in New York City’s Upper West Side. Hours are 10- 5:45 every day except for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Check the website www.AMNH.org or phone 212-769-5100 for current displays and shows, and for advanced ticket sales. And give the veteran book “Dinosaurs in the Attic” by Douglas J. Preston a read—it’s a wonderful look at the beginnings of this hallmark American institution. And Ben Stiller and company isn’t included, of course. All photos credit to author. 55

Jurassic Con By Robert Peck

Dinosaurs are invading; the Los Angeles Convention circuit, that is. This year marked the first Jurassic Con, a convention revolving around dinosaurs and archaeology. But what makes this show any different from other movie or comic based conventions? Well, Jurassic Con doesn't just focus on the fiction, but also science fact, as we found out first hand. Beginning the ceremony in style, the team kicked things off by driving up in their Jurassic Park Jeep and invited everyone inside. The museum itself hosted various fossils native to Orange County, including a full scale replica of Megalodon Jaws, the dreaded saber cat Smilodon fatalism attacking a fossil horse as a Ground Sloth grazes casually. As the crowd ventured further into the museum, one looks up to see a skeleton of a seal hanging from above as if swimming after a skeletal fish. Then you enter the marine displays as fossils of dolphins, giant ammonites and a giant skull from the largest species of Paleoparadoxid encircle an entire fossilized Ice

Velociraptor head from The Chiodo Bros in front Monsters in of large projector with the Motion. More King Kong reel dinosaurs catch our eyes as props and molds from other films such as The Super Mario Bros Movie (Supplied by the Super Mario Bro's M o v i e Archive) stand eager for our attention wrapped in movie fungus. Huge T-Rex heads of the main villain, King Koopa, All kinds of props were on display

Morgan Fairchild holding a Saber Toothed Deer skull (and Joshua Ballze holding the Sabertoothed cat skull)

sit posed to strike, synthetic drool glistening in the stage lights as a life cast of deceased actor Dennis Hopper stands solemnly in between both of them. To their left, dinosaurs and creatures from Midwich Entertainment's Disney Channel series stare back with frightening life. The show’s producer Richard Jones and the star actor of the series, Eric, wave hi to fans and greet the countless children attending as they stare wide eyed with wonder at the prehistoric world around them. Age whale. "Over here!" comes the cheerful voice of none other than actor Eric Boardman as everyone lines up against a huge Mark Hallett mural of Ice Age Orange County. "Welcome to the Jurassic Con exhibit!" he declares as everyone ventures into the darkened exhibit room. Stage lighting pours from various angles to highlight the displays as we circle around each of them. The first one we reach is the world of the Chiodo Bros as we pass by a TRex Puppet of Scarface (Land of the Lost), a Prototype Disney T-Rex, Tasha's Dinosaur Feet (Land of the Lost) and more. Other dinosaur heads appear as an animatronic bust looks back with frightening life. Next to it rests a casting of the Stegosaurus head from the original King Kong as we enter the familiar world of Jurassic Park. A huge T-Rex skull bursts through an electrified fence as flashing blue lights dance off the 10,000 volt signs. Various props and models are displayed behind rustic steel panels and military grade hard cases. The center piece includes a casting of John Hammond’s cane as pulled from the original movie molds and a prototype 60

Producer Richard Jones and Eric Boardman from the Midwich Ent Dino Disney series & cave woman

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The free one day event was very popular, as a line wrapped around the museum building proved, as attendees waited anxiously to gain access. Hosted by Gabe Santos of the Cooper Center and their Prehistoric OC event, there were plenty of additional things to do outside the museum as educational tables exhibited Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic artifacts. including stone tools and weapons from the archaeology department. There was also a volcano demonstration of exploding gasses and liquids echoing nearby, compliments of the geology department. Indeed, the science is well represented along with the fiction that actually enhances the experience as an Atlatl competition commences nearby.

were showcased together with real fossil dinosaur eggs.

Lou Ferrigno with Sabertoothed Cat Skull

Surprisingly, this was actually Jurassic Con's second show! Their first show happened earlier in June at the Frank and Son Collectable Show, the brain child of show creator Joshua Ballze and Frank and Son General Manager Johnny Gagne. From what we're told, the origins of Jurassic Con itself actually revolved around fossils, as told by Joshua Ballze,

So what about the future? It's unusual for a first year show to have, well, two shows in that same year. Is it a sign of success? Josh weighed in on this for us, "Myself and my partners, Patrick and Kitty, as well as Johnny, Richard, Eric and everyone else have been planning and plotting. I was actually impressed that we pulled off such an unorthodox show to begin with, but to do two shows, in the same year; our first year, was completely unexpected. And to have our second show out perform our first, at a smaller venue, was also unexpected. But we're all very grateful for how things turned out and now we're trying to take all that energy and plan the next show or if things turn out like this year (2012) we could

"I was talking Paleontology with Johnny in his office; he's a huge Paleobuff and a fan of fossils and history. I think we were looking over a fossil skull I had in transport, and he said, 'Hey, you should do a show!' It was something really never done before, which was key being there's tons of conventions. We had to be different, exhibiting things people usually see in museums or at studio tours was the key. I had connections to museums and I worked as a field excavator, but for the studio connections I partnered with Patrick Haughey and Kitty Contreras who contacted Renegade Effects. I was then contacted by Richard Jones, who got us in contact with the Chiodo Bros, the rest grew from there and the next thing I knew, we were putting on a show!"

The Museum exhibits

The science fiction was in abundance. Hosts Eric Boardman and Midwich Entertainment and the Chiodo Bros were in attendance, signing autographs and showcasing other props from Killer Klowns (Jurassic Con being the first to display Klownzilla!) along with many others. Renegade also brought additional props, supplying not only the items from Jurassic Park but also Indiana Jones. Other companies included Memory Lane Animation which showcased original animation cells from Don Bluth's dinosaur classic "The Land Before Time" and an original 35mm reel of the classic 1930's King Kong. More guests also included the crew from SyFy Channel's Monsterman series, as they arrived in a golden Jurassic Park jeep onto the showroom floor, but what about the science? Although sizably smaller then a museum, the science was still present as real paleontologists and archaeologists were on hand to interact and showcase fossils and artifacts alike; in particular, Dr Tim King from Berkeley and Trevor Valle of the La Brea Tar Pits. Together they interacted with the attendees as Trevor talked about various skull casting including a copy of the Smithsonian T-Rex skull while archaeologist Tim King took charge, and largely built the Indiana Jones display which also housed artifacts from Mesoamerica including blood letting blades. Fossils even made their way into the Jurassic Park exhibit as casts and molds of eggs used in the film Prehistoric Times No. 104 WINTER 2013

Cleve Hall from the SyFy channel in the Jurassic Jeep

be looking at more then one show! Along with this is any number of projects we are working on with Richard and Midwich, the most recent being a special done of FX wizard Ray Harryhausen. A brilliant side effect of sorts is exposing paleontology and science not just to our attendees, but celebrities as well! Morgan Fairchild really kick started it, ever since a fossil panel we did with her and Trevor at Comikaze 2011. She actually called over Lou Ferrigno to look at the Cooper Center’s Sabertoothed Cat Skull, and he's been hooked ever since! Another unsung Paleo fan is actor Ray Park whose another great guy, and now the proud owner of a Saber Tooth cast from the Tar Pits! Finally, we just acquired props and costumes from the most recent dinosaur time travel TV show, Terra Nova as produced by Steven Speilberg! With all the great partners, friends, new found contacts and of course dinosaurs, I think things are going to be big in the next show of ours to follow! As we like to tell our fans, we just hope we survive! Ha ha"

With that I look to my cup of water, waiting anxiously to see ripples from impact tremors as we await the return of Jurassic Con. Photos: Michael Pao, Cooper Center, Isaiah & Gabe Valadez

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