Torosaurus - Great to See a Model of Torosaurus When it comes to naming horned dinosaurs, most members of the public can name one - Triceratops, the dinosaur known as "three horned face".
This well-known dinosaur is represented in a number of mainstream model manufacturer's model ranges.
However, it is always a pleasure to see a model of Torosaurus (Torosaurus latus), another three-horned Late Cretaceous dinosaur added to a model range.
One of the last types of dinosaur to evolve, Torosaurus is known only from fossils of its skull and there haven't been many of these discovered.
Palaeontologists have pieced together what they think the animal looked like by comparing it to other Ceratopsians such as Triceratops, to which Torosaurus was closely related.
Indeed, some scientists have claimed in a recent scientific paper that Torosaurus and Triceratops were actually the same genus.
In a paper published last year, the hypothesis was proposed that the fossils of Torosaurus actually represented very old specimens of Triceratops and that these dinosaurs were in fact the same and the name Torosaurus was therefore invalid.
Whether Torosaurus is a valid genus in its own right or whether it is just a junior synonym of the better known Triceratops is a mute point as far as the model making company Collecta is concerned.
They have introduced a Torosaurus model.
A Description of Torosaurus (T.
latus) Torosaurus had an enormous skull most of which was made up of a huge frill that extended over the animal's back like a bony sheath.
The skull of an adult Torosaurus is estimated to have been more than 2.
3 metres long, however, since the fossil skulls excavated so far are missing their front portions, it is impossible to give an accurate assessment of their real size.
Torosaurus had a smooth edge to its frill unlike its very close relative Triceratops which had a scalloped edge.
Or as stated earlier, some scientists believe that fossils ascribed to this genus Torosaurus may be nothing more than very mature individual Triceratops.
Torosaurus did have two small holes or fenestrae within the frill, whilst Triceratops had a solid frill.
Some palaeontologists have suggested that as Triceratops got older the "windows" in the frill got bigger.
In life, these windows were probably filled with muscle and covered over with skin.
Perhaps these skin patches could be flushed with blood to produce vivid patterns used to impress a mate or for asserting dominance over other animals within the herd.
This is certainly, the way in which Collecta have interpreted the fossil evidence.
The Collecta Torosaurus Dinosaur Model Collecta's latest horned dinosaur model of Torosaurus joins Styracosaurus, Chasmosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus and the ubiquitous Triceratops in this company's model range.
Like the other horned dinosaurs in this series, it is not-to-scale.
The model measures a little over seventeen centimetres in length with a neck frill that stands nearly nine centimetres off the ground.
Depicted as a stocky, thick-set, powerful animal the model reflects the favoured, current scientific interpretation of this dinosaur's anatomy.
The paint work on this model is excellent.
The dark coloured feet give way to a light, sandy brown coloured body, although the underside is nearly white.
The head is the real star of the show, with a beautifully painted neck frill, imposing brow horns and a pair of wonderfully painted eye flashes that are in that part of the frill that had the fenestrae.
Collecta have certainly sided with those scientists who theorise that Torosaurus had skin patches in its frill that were brightly coloured and used for visual signalling amongst herd members or to deter predators.
All in all a well-designed model that reflects current thinking on the Torosaurus genus.