Vol. 83 Essential Dinosaur Encyclopedia
The drama "Onoue-sensei," which aired on TBS until March, ended with high ratings. Of course, from a dinosaur perspective, the main attractions were the Stegosaurus figure, a memento from her older brother, which appeared suggestively from the very first episode, and three dinosaur encyclopedias. The meaning of the Stegosaurus was speculated in various ways, for example, symbolizing modern Japanese society's鈍感 (insensitivity), but if it was meant to carry meaning, I wish it had been something more impressive. It clearly looks like a toy and I can't even identify the manufacturer. Well, maybe it was chosen because it wouldn't break no matter how many times it was dropped in the show.
The encyclopedias were "Gakken's Illustrated Encyclopedia, New Wide Edition - Revised and Enlarged (published July 2006)" whose cover is visible, "Shogakukan's Illustrated Encyclopedia NEO (published July 2002)" whose back cover is visible, and in between them, though the image cannot be confirmed, could it be a Kodansha publication?
However, a major problem arises here.
In the story's setting, the older brother passed away 22 years ago, and at that time (around 2002-2003?), only the Shogakukan one would have barely been published. The historical accuracy is off.
And in a flashback scene in episode 6, the older brother, holding the Stegosaurus, spouts the classic trivia, "It takes 10 minutes for a dinosaur to feel it after its tail is stepped on because its brain is small." This is not something a bright older brother would say in the 21st century. Then Onoue-sensei murmurs, "The theory has changed, it seems they could move much faster, Big Brother." This might be a consideration for angry dinosaur fans, but the "theory" changed before they were even born.
In the end, the older brother's dinosaur obsession ended ambiguously. In the very last scene, the older brother's spirit looks out the window with a refreshed expression, but I wish he had been holding the Stegosaurus...
Well, I pride myself on this kind of nitpicking, which is unique to the Secret Museum.
That's enough of an introduction, let's get to the main topic.
Last time, when I was researching Triassic dinosaurs, the word "basal" often came up. That stuck with me, so I did a little research.
Only basal theropods and basal sauropodomorphs appeared in the Triassic (what were previously called Triassic ornithischians have all become dinosauromorphs), and basal ornithischians currently appear in the early Jurassic. Roughly speaking, they branched into Jurassic thyreophorans and Cretaceous cerapods (a new term for me), and then each branched repeatedly, leading to the familiar Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Triceratops, and Edmontosaurus. My interpretation is that species that branched at each stage are called "derived," and those before branching are called "basal"... Is that correct?
I thought the phrase "basal 〇〇 group" was used only in academic papers and among researchers, but it seems that's not the case these days. For example, in the children's learning encyclopedia "Gakken's Illustrated Encyclopedia LIVE: Dinosaurs (New Edition)" published in 2022, "basal 〇〇 group" appears frequently, and the glossary at the end explains, "Things close to the origin of a biological group are said to be basal," also touching on the nuance difference from the term "primitive" traditionally used in general books. The main text even explains, "There are cases where organisms are categorized into basal groups because their classification is unclear."
On the other hand, "Kadokawa's Collecting Encyclopedia GET! Dinosaurs," published the previous year in 2021, features a comprehensive collection of numerous dinosaurs arranged by period and region, but it uses "primitive 〇〇 group" instead of "basal."
*In "GET," Asilisaurus and Marasuchus appear as "Dinosauromorpha" on the first page of the Triassic section. In "LIVE," Asilisaurus is featured in the "Organisms other than dinosaurs" section at the end and is classified as Silesauridae, with the explanation that it is not a dinosaur because of differences in hip joint structure, but the term Dinosauromorpha is not used.
And so, I got hooked on searching for basal dinosaurs, and in the end, I attempted to create a pseudo-cladogram by gathering the figures and replicas of "basal dinosaurs" that I have at home.
I selected basal ones based on multiple cladograms published online and the aforementioned "Gakken's Illustrated Encyclopedia LIVE," but there are various theories about where to position them, especially small ornithischians, which are full of mysteries. Moreover, only a very limited number of species have been modeled, so the cladogram is full of gaps. Therefore, please consider this feature not as an explanatory one, but simply as a showcase of my collection.
*This time, I have almost avoided using specialized terms for hierarchical classification such as family and order when referring to groups. I chose the safer term "group" (類). That's because I don't fully understand them myself.
First, following from the previous discussion, we have the ornithischians, which may begin with the intriguing Silesaurus. But before that, let me show you some Triassic paleo-creature figures that I either missed introducing last time or have recently acquired.
Some of them might be basal.
Image 1
Top: Archosauromorpha
The left is Safari Ltd., the right is Mattel's JW series. To confess, I first learned about Shringasaurus from a Safari product. I'm impressed that there are multiple figures of such a minor ancient creature. Perhaps it's because its visual appearance is interesting.
A relatively famous early flying reptile that also appeared in Shin Hihokan Vol.57. This is from my personal collection.
Both are described as "Archosauromorpha" in their respective Wikipedia entries, and both "Archosaurs" and "Archosauromorpha" share the original term Archosauromorpha. By the way, if you search for Dinosauromorpha on Wikipedia, it states that there are Japanese translations such as 形類 (keirui), 様類 (yōrui), and 型類 (katarui), so for now I've chosen the familiar 形類 (keirui). In any case, these are groups of creatures more closely related to archosaurs than to lizards. Rhynchosaurs, Megalancosaurus, Tanystropheus, and even turtles seem to be included in Archosauromorpha.
And then there's Ingentia (Ingentia prima), recently released by CollectA. It's a basal sauropodomorph from Argentina, only described in 2018, and apparently a new species of Lessemsauridae.
Bottom: Lisowicia vs. Smok
Discovered in the same strata from the late Triassic of Poland, they are believed to have had a predator-prey relationship.
Lisowicia is a synapsid, while Smok is classified as an archosaur of unknown classification. In its descriptive paper, it was reportedly considered a basal archosaur. If that's the case, then it would be a common ancestor of both Pseudosuchia and Avemetatarsalia (Dinosauromorpha + Pterosauria), which would make the progression from Smok to Silesauridae (Dinosauromorpha) to Ornithischia quite interesting.
Both figures are by CollectA, and Smok has an exquisite sculpt that is neither clearly Pseudosuchian nor Dinosauromorph.
The T-shirt on the right depicts Marasuchus.
This is probably the only Dinosauromorpha merchandise available in Japan.
*There is a Silesaurus figure from an overseas (probably Chinese) manufacturer called Dinosauria Creatures, but I hesitated to order it because I couldn't assess its quality.
The drawback of this T-shirt is that there is no mention of Marasuchus anywhere on it, so the wearer has to insist on what it is.
*From here on, please also refer to the cladogram of ornithischians in the latter half of this Wikipedia page.
Image 2
Basal Ornithischians
I had no Pisano-related items, the top of the cladogram, so I could only introduce Heterodontosaurus.
The 1/2 skull model from ANTS, which also appeared last time, and a figure from the 70s British manufacturer INPRO. I repainted this one a long time ago.
Then, after various developments, they branched into Thyreophora and Cerapoda. Thyreophora further divides into Stegosauria and Ankylosauria, and I chose Scelidosaurus as the representative ancestor for this. It's a valuable item introduced in Shin Hihokan Vol.21. There are several Scelidosaurus figures, including those with newer restorations, but this one is still my most prized possession.
Please proceed to Image 3 for the next part.
Now for the other branch, Cerapoda. It's an unfamiliar term, but it's the academic name for the combined Ceratopsia (Marginocephalia) and Ornithopoda, and even in the original language, it's Cerapoda. I can't deny that it feels a bit too easygoing...
*In my previous understanding, Ornithischia consisted of Thyreophora, Marginocephalia, and Ornithopoda, but...
Agilisaurus, which I listed as a basal cerapod, is one of the mysterious small ornithischians, and I tentatively placed it there simply because it appears earlier in the cladogram than the basal ornithopods in the next Image 4. It's not highly credible. I did want to feature a replica I casually bought at a mineral show a few years ago.
Image 3
Basal Stegosaurs
I chose Gigantspinosaurus without hesitation, as it's endorsed by the "Illustrated Encyclopedia LIVE" as "the most basal stegosaur." Wikipedia doesn't offer much in the way of explanation.
Basal Ankylosaurians
Again, taking my cue from "LIVE," Stegouros
and Kunbarrasaurus. "LIVE" states, "It was formerly called Minmi," and the figure's name is also Minmi, but there are various theories about whether Minmi is currently a valid name.
All the figures in this section are from CollectA. CollectA is a treasure trove of basal dinosaurs.
Image 4
Basal Cerapods
Basal Ornithopods
The Jeholosaurus and Othnielosaurus listed here are also mysterious small ornithischians. "LIVE" classifies Jeholosaurus as a basal ornithopod but states that nothing further is known, and Othnielosaurus is placed among basal ornithischians due to its difficult classification. However, a 2011 cladogram classifies it as an ornithopod.
The Jeholosaurus is a real fossil I cleaned after acquiring it on Yahoo! Auctions over 20 years ago.
Othnielosaurus is a well-made replica I bought at a mineral show.
Jeholosaurus (Repetition, but)
There is no information about basal pachycephalosaurs.
It should be something like Wannanosaurus, but it doesn't seem to have been made into a figure.
I found a cutely designed T-shirt on a website called ABC Dinosaur Goods Shop, but it didn't seem to suit me at all, so I passed.
Since I had no choice, I had Homalocephale, which also has a rather plain head, serve as a substitute. This is a 1/20 scale model from "Alcard," a garage kit manufacturer from the 90s, which appeared in Hihokan Vol.64 and Shin Hihokan Vol.54.
Basal Ceratopsians
This corner is surprisingly well-stocked.
The familiar Psittacosaurus, but Wikipedia also has the astonishing information that it was related to pachycephalosaurs, not ceratopsians.
The fossil was bought at a mineral show long ago and I cleaned it myself. About 20 years ago, Psittacosaurus fossils were quite common, and I often saw dubious Chinese-made ornamental full skeletons with strange restorations.
The figure on the left is a relatively recent product from "Beast in the Mesozoic," which sells action figures of feathered dinosaurs with articulated joints. Although only about 10cm long, it's an excellent item that can be posed in many ways. The one on the right is an Alcard garage kit, like the Homalocephale.
Basal Neoceratopsians
These are basal and small ceratopsians, mainly found in Asia, that led to the later gigantic ceratopsids.
The figure is a limited edition from the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum.
The sculptor is Araki-san, and it was produced by Favorite.
A realistic replica purchased at a mineral show.
This is also a replica I bought at a mineral show, but it was unpainted, so I colored it myself to look authentic.
It's a diorama figure from CollectA, but it's very small and the paint job is rough. However, this was the only one available. I reluctantly repainted it.
*A Korean-made skeleton kit is featured on sculptor Hirokazu Tokugawa's page "Fragki Zakkicho." I want it...
From the Chinese manufacturer BACALYSO, available on Amazon. It was unpainted, so I colored it. The sculpting is quite unique.
Now, regarding saurischians, since basal theropods and basal sauropodomorphs were already introduced last time, I've focused on coelurosaurs here. One reason is that I couldn't find basal allosaurs, megalosaurs, or ceratosaurs when I searched for them.
When it comes to basal coelurosaurs, Compsognathidae is often mentioned first, but there seem to be some issues.
On the other hand, there are various opinions about whether to consider Megaraptoridae as basal coelurosaurs.
The theory of Allosauroidea, Tyrannosauroidea, and non-tyrannosauroid Coelurosauria being proposed might be because they possess characteristics of all of them. In that case, it perfectly fits the case described in "Illustrated Encyclopedia LIVE" where "there are cases where they are categorized into basal groups because their classification is unclear." Megaraptor is a newly recognized theropod (no section in either LIVE or GET), and since it looks good, I decided to list it here as a basal coelurosaur.
*Even if they are called basal, it doesn't mean they stepped aside for later generations, as it's already well-known from the NHK dinosaur special how the Maip of South America rampaged at the end of the dinosaur age, scattering Carnotaurus.
Image 5
Basal Coelurosaurs
Megaraptorans
A limited-edition gacha from the National Museum of Nature and Science's "Zool Exhibition 2023 (colloquial name)"
A product from the new Chinese manufacturer HAOLONGGOOD. The quality is comparable to PNSO.
A CollectA product. The quality is somewhat lacking.
This is a Favorite product from an era before terms like Megaraptor existed, and in the description, it's listed as belonging to the Carcharodontosauridae. I believe it was a work by Araki-san. Incidentally, even in "LIVE," it's categorized as an allosaur relative with the proviso, "There is also a theory that it is a relative of Megaraptoridae."
Basal Tyrannosauroids
A mini model by PSNO. There are also Mattel's JW series (Shin Hihokan Vol.44, with the basal ankylosaur Minmi next to it) and CollectA's.
Basal Maniraptorans
Maniraptorans are a lineage that extends from dromaeosaurs to birds.
Therizinosaurs seem to be the most basal maniraptorans, and Fukuivenator is considered basal to them. This is an Ania product. A small figure is also available from Favorite.
Basal Ornithomimosaurs
This should be uncontroversial. It's a limited-edition figure from the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum by Favorite.
And so, the basal dinosaur cladogram is complete.
Finally, abruptly, here are some miniature racing cars with dinosaur designs.
Image 6
The cars featured in the previous dinosaur vehicle special (Shin Hihokan Vol.5) were mostly inexpensive toys, but this time they are serious miniature cars. In particular, the green Porsche is a detailed model that cost nearly 10,000 yen. Let's start with that one.
The car is a Porsche 911GT3, and the body is decorated with a Tyrannosaurus, nicknamed Rexy. The two-fingered forelimbs are on the door, the hind legs are near the rear wheels, and the tail is painted on the roof. It is a current car that is active in various endurance races, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This model is the version from the 2023 Sebring 12 Hours race. The manufacturer is Ixo, and the scale is 1/43.
The other car is a NASCAR, an American race car, a 1997 Chevrolet. A T-Rex is holding the JURASSIC PARK THE RIDE logo on the hood. I guess they're a sponsor.
Now that I've revealed my love for car racing, that's all for this time.
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