So this time there's no particular theme. I've just written about the dinosaur-related events that have happened around me from this summer to autumn.

Discovery of Japan's Oldest Ichthyosaur!

This is still riding on the ichthyosaur special from last time, but of course, it's not a scientific discovery like "ichthyosaur fossils older than Utatsusaurus have been found!" Instead, it's about a book that describes Meiji-era paleontological finds, which I've been interested in for a while.

Until now, the oldest description of ancient organisms was from the Meiji 11 (1878) publication, "Tokumei Zenken Taishi Beiō Kairan Jikki Dai-ni Hen" (Hakubunsha), which documented the Iwakura Mission's visit to see "prehistoric beasts" at Crystal Palace Park in Meiji 5 (see New Treasury Vol.23). And the book with illustrations and explanations of ancient organisms was "Seishu Genshiron" (translated by T.H. Huxley and Shuji Izawa) from Meiji 12 (1879) (see New Treasury Vol.6).

This time, I discovered a book going back even further by three years, "Gu-shi Hakubutsugaku, Vol. 1" published by the Ministry of Education in Meiji 8. It's a translation of an American author named Goodrich's book, and it seems to be an elementary school textbook (Meiji 9 edition).

Written in kanji and katakana with poor printing, it's very difficult to read, but I can just barely make out phrases like "Ichthyosaurus: Name of an ancient animal, meaning lizard similar to a fish" and "Plesiosaurus: Meaning similar to a lizard."

Meiji 8 was a time when samurai still carried swords (the Haitōrei edict was in Meiji 9). Saigo Takamori's Seinan War didn't happen until Meiji 10, so it was still a turbulent period. Yet, elementary school students were learning about ancient creatures and the universe. It's quite moving, isn't it?

There must be other books from this period that discussed ancient creatures. I hope I can come across them.

(Image 1) Cover and illustration from "Gu-shi Hakubutsugaku." The handwritten characters on the cover can be read as "Tome, No. 23," but their meaning is unclear. Perhaps it's like a spine label for books in today's libraries.

The True Identity of Saint-Saëns' "Fossils"

About 10 years later, in 1886 (Meiji 19), the French composer Saint-Saëns composed "The Carnival of the Animals." This is a popular classical piece still frequently performed today, and I'm sure everyone has heard the melody of "The Swan" at least once. This suite consists of 14 pieces, with themes from living animals like elephants, turtles, kangaroos, donkeys, and pianists. However, there's one piece titled "Fossils." The intent of this piece seems to be a dark humor, ridiculing the outdated music of composers he disliked, with old melodies scattered throughout the piece. But more than that, I'm curious about the true identity of the fossils.

In the commentary of a Doremi Publishing score, pianist Norihiko Wada wrote, "In a museum deep in the dead of night, the fossils begin a jig, jig, jig skeleton dance." This creates a humorous image of dancing human fossil skeletons, and sometimes illustrations are drawn that way, but this is a clear mistake. There is irrefutable evidence that they are dinosaur fossils. The composer himself even left a sketch in his autograph score. Although the drawing is crude and lacks forelimbs, it clearly looks like a theropod. A dinosaur like a Tyrannosaurus... up to this point, this information is available online. As a dinosaur enthusiast, I must go further. I must identify the species.

It's not that difficult, actually. Saint-Saëns likely drew this picture relying on a memory of seeing a real specimen or an illustration somewhere. However, at the time this piece was composed in 1886, neither Tyrannosaurus nor Allosaurus had been discovered, and very few carnivorous dinosaurs were known. The most generally famous at the time, whose name even appears in Dickens' novel "Bleak House," was Megalosaurus (New Treasury Vol.19), but it was still thought to be quadrupedal and there were no complete skeletal diagrams, so it's ruled out (bipedal skeletal diagrams were not published until 1897). In 1869, Edward Cope drew Laelaps (later Dryptosaurus, considered a tyrannosauroid) standing on two legs, and it's not entirely dissimilar, but there were no skeletal diagrams for this either, so it would have been impossible for a mere composer to imagine the skeleton from this drawing. What remains is this: the skeletal diagram of Compsognathus drawn in 1861. Could this be it? It's remarkably similar, including the downward-pointing tail (perhaps a design choice, unlike actual fossils?). The difficulty lies in the skull, which is tilted backward, but this could be reasonably explained by reference to or confusion with Thomas Huxley's living reconstruction of Compsognathus published in 1868. The teeth also look similar.

I want to loudly announce, "Saint-Saëns' dinosaur was a Compy! This is a groundbreaking discovery that will shake music history!" but no one would take me seriously, would they? (Image 2)

By the way, Huxley is the author of "Seishu Genshiron," published in Meiji 12, as mentioned earlier.

The reason I researched this is because I recently livestreamed a solo piano concert from a live house in Yokohama, and I included a dinosaur corner. The idea was to explain dinosaurs and then play songs related to them. Besides "Fossils," I performed "Pithencanthropus Erectus," a famous jazz piece, and "World of a Million Years Ago," which I once featured the audio in New Treasury Vol.3.

It will be streamed until the end of this month, and while I feel bad that it's a paid stream, if you're interested, please check it out.

(Image 3) Since Compsognathus made an appearance, let's take this opportunity to arrange some Compy figures. Despite their significant roles in Jurassic Park series in large groups, they are surprisingly few. While their somewhat unimpressive appearance puts them far behind raptors in the small carnivorous dinosaur world, they were actually important dinosaurs whose relation to birds has been discussed since their discovery, and the feathered dinosaur #1 Sinosauropteryx is also part of their lineage.

The one in the center is an out-of-print 1/1 series from Favorite. It's truly elegant. It's a real shame this is out of print... This series also had Archaeopteryx and Scipionyx. The bottom left is a relatively recent product from PAPO. The top right, from the left, is from the Aurora Jungle Swamp that I made in the previous New Treasury Vol.59, and two differently colored ones that came in a Schleich playset. Then there are three from JP2 and a Lawson limited edition candy toy (produced by Kaiyodo) from JP3. There seem to be several other JP series related items, but I don't have them in my house... probably.

*Speaking of the JP series, figures are being released non-stop ahead of next year's JW3 release. I can only give up at this point. Among the recently released Mattel items, the only one I bought was a Masiakasaurus, and I'm barely resisting the rest. However, I did end up buying the entire new Ania series for under 1,000 yen each.

The Mystery of the Two "Mysterious Dinosaur Kingdoms"

Two new translations of Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" have been found.

*For this section, please also refer to New Treasury Vol.30 and Vol.56 from exactly one year ago.

Both were published in Shogakukan's grade-level learning magazines: "Shogaku Gonensei (Fifth Grade) December 1962 issue" and "Shogaku Yonensei (Fourth Grade) December 1967 issue." The fifth-grade version is an illustrated story, with illustrations by the master Shigeru Komatsuzaki. The fourth-grade version is a manga drawn by Osamu Kishimoto.

For some reason, both titles were unified as "Nazo no Kyōryū Ōkoku" (Mysterious Dinosaur Kingdom), and they were significantly adapted, perhaps to make them more relatable for children. Now, let's examine them in detail.

Fifth Grade Edition

On the inside cover, there's a fold-out, 60s-esque, broadly colored combat scene of a theropod versus a sauropod (don't bother counting the number of fingers), along with character introductions. Surprisingly, the main characters are a Japanese parent and child, and only Roxton from the original members appears. The story abruptly begins in the Amazon, but then proceeds relatively faithfully to the original. In the scene where the party first encounters dinosaurs, it's described as in the original: "An animal 6 or 7 meters tall stood on its hind legs. It embraced a large tree with its forelimbs, tearing it down and beginning to eat the leaves." And the dialogue is also "An ancient animal, an Iguanodon." However, sadly, the artist Komatsuzaki seems to have been unfamiliar with the ornithopod Iguanodon, and instead depicted a sauropod standing on its hind legs. But if you think about this illustration carefully, it's a pose that gained immense popularity during the Renaissance, adopted by the Barosaurus at the American Museum of Natural History and the Brachiosaurus in Jurassic Park. The artist, inadvertently, was about 45 years ahead of his time, which is truly impressive. Although, this theory is now largely rejected.

After that, famous scenes such as the pterodactyl swamp, the night attack of the Allosaurus, and the defeat of the ape-men are depicted. Although there are no scenes in London, the development is convincing. (Image 4: Fifth Grade, December 1962, pp. 20-43)

Fourth Grade Edition

The inner cover is in color and features an Iguanodon that does not appear in the main story. This version has a startling setup where, in addition to the four original members, Challenger's son Jim and Summerlee's daughter Elizabeth join them. Despite minor issues like the Trachodon replacing the Iguanodon and the Tyrannosaurus replacing the Allosaurus, which are direct copies of Burian's illustrations, the story progresses smoothly up to the pterosaurs. However, after that, dinosaurs abruptly disappear, and the story concludes rather unsatisfactorily with the defeat of ape-men with the help of natives. The specially appearing boy and girl also don't play much of a role. (Image 5: Fourth Grade, December 1967, pp. 209-237)

*This manga is included in Osamu Kishimoto Anthology 21 "Taro's Adventures" (2006 Apple BOX Create).

Why two "Lost World" stories titled "Nazo no Kyōryū Ōkoku" were published in grade-level magazines, or if there are others, is currently unknown. With revisions and new editions included, the number of identified translations and adaptations of "The Lost World" has now reached 62. There seem to be many more.

Following the two dinosaur exhibitions reported last time, I also visited the "Mineral Fair" in Shinjuku, and after a long time, the "Hakubutsu Festival" and "Jimbocho Wunderkammer," and the "Koburina Dinosaur Exhibition" at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse in September. Although I didn't find many goods, here's a report (Image 6).

From the left is a 1/13 Torosaurus purchased at the "Mineral Fair." It's from the same series as the T-rex "Tafts-Love-Rex" introduced in New Treasury Vol.58, and is said to be a skull reconstruction model named Nicole (Tate Geological Museum) made from a 3D scan. You can see photos of the actual fossil and reconstruction model here.

Speaking of which, I forgot to mention how happy I was to see a full-size replica of "Tafts-Love-Rex" at the Dinosaur Science Exhibition, as it was like meeting a sibling of our resident dinosaur.

Next to it are the spoils from "Haku-Fesu" (Hakubutsu Festival). Metal figures of the old and new Hallucigenia from "Planevia." Dunkleosteus from "Sangatsu Honpo," a familiar name from the Treasury. And, surprisingly, a Pteranodon bag designed by a fifth-grader who loves dinosaurs and their mother. I'm so happy to see another promising dinosaur enthusiast emerge. Please visit here.

Next up is "Wunderkammer." There were no new paleo-related goods, but they had a gachapon called "Museum Skeleton Specimen Gachapon," or "Bone Gacha" for short, from the brand Roadside Museum. These are 3D scans of actual skeleton specimens of extant animals housed in museums, with 18 different skull miniatures available for 500 yen each. I tried it and got a moon bear from the National Museum of Nature and Science, a tiger from Azabu University, and an Asian elephant from the National Museum of Nature and Science. If it had been ancient creatures, I would have gone all out, but since they were extant animals, I ran out of steam after three tries. However, they are quite well-made, and I now regret not doing more.

"Koburina" (Small-Scale) was true to its name, with a truly small-scale exhibition. The souvenirs, apart from artistic postcards, were common dinosaur goods, so I settled for a few postcards. However, it was a valuable experience to see familiar dinosaurs from the Kannamachi Dinosaur Center, which provided the exhibits. In particular, I was delighted to see the fighting fossil in my local area.

If my memory serves me correctly, in the late 90s, the real fighting fossil was at the Nakazato Village Dinosaur Center, now Kannamachi. Japanese staff spent about a year cleaning it to its current state. I faintly remember having the opportunity to see it before and after, and being amazed by their skill...

Afterward, the real specimen was returned to Mongolia, and the replica (which I'd like to believe is the first one) that was made then is now housed at the Dinosaur Center and currently visiting Yokohama. This is based on my not-so-reliable information, but this exhibition runs until the end of October, so if you're nearby, please go check it out. The fighting fossil alone is well worth the 1500 yen admission fee.

Around this time last year, I used my leftover summer budget to purchase an expensive pre-war translation of "The Lost World" (New Treasure House Vol.56). This year, having some extra budget again, I ended up buying a series of Chinese-made paleontological skeleton models that had caught my eye on Amazon. The quality of dinosaur models coming from China these days (presumably from young people) is truly astonishing.

(Image 7)

Left) 1/20 Deinocheirus: Is this the world's first commercially available skeleton model? It can be displayed alongside Favorite's skeleton models of T-Rex and Triceratops. At around 40,000 yen, the price is a bit high, but I think the quality justifies it. The arrangement of the spine looks more natural and cooler than the restoration at the National Museum of Nature and Science.

Right) Diplocaulus: This is the second one, after "Honehone Zaurus." Made by a manufacturer called Kikuishi (I wonder if they call ammonites that in China too?), this 40cm-long model is incredibly detailed. I even found myself praising its delicate fingertips for arriving intact. The finish is excellent, and for 20,000 yen with a diorama base featuring a real fish (a lungfish?) swimming, it's a bargain! Plus, it came in a luxurious white wooden box, making me feel like I got a great deal, and I completely fell into the Chinese trap.

Finally, exactly a year ago, I built a Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops skeleton plastic model kit that came as a supplement with Shogakukan's grade-specific magazines (New Treasure House Vol.56). So, this year, I had planned to build the 1/32 T-Rex skeleton that Bandai had just released. However, when I opened the box lid, I was disheartened by the sheer number of parts. In addition, I couldn't quite accept that jumping pose (I simply don't believe an adult T-Rex could jump). Any alternative poses I considered were all too common. So, I decided to put it off and instead painted a 1000-yen gacha Godzilla skeleton to tide me over.

Since it's a monster, it's not a big deal, but I couldn't quite tolerate the fibula being on the inside of the tibia, so I swapped the left and right parts. The small number of vertebrae is probably unavoidable... Also, I suddenly wondered about it and searched for images, and it seems that Godzilla's dorsal fins are not osteoderms but rather modified spinous processes. They grow directly from the spine. Anyway, despite all my nitpicking, as you can see in the photo, I had a good time playing with it.

The base used in the photo is from the first Godzilla model in Bandai's "The Tokusatsu Collection" plastic models from the 80s, which had been buried in a corner of my room since I made it back then. Actually, this plastic model was featured and highly praised in "Hobby Japan Vintage," which I recently skimmed through at a bookstore. That reminded me I had one at home, so I dug it out. The last photo shows the main Godzilla body, and I think it's quite impressive. Unfortunately, the Saber fighter jet it was holding in its hand flew off somewhere. (Image 8)