Revised Schleich’s Pentaceratops
One of the lesser-known horned dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous of North America Pentaceratops (P. sternbergi) it was discovered by the famous 20th century fossil collector and scientist CM Sternberg. The trivial name honors Charles Mortram Sternberg, in recognition of his work on fossil vertebrates in both his native United States and Canada, specifically at the Dinosaur Provincial Park of Alberta. The honor was bestowed on him by a fellow American paleontologist, Henry Fairfield Osborn, who was given the responsibility of naming and describing this member of the Chasmosaurinae. It’s always a treat to see a new breed of horned dinosaur turned into a replica of a prehistoric animal, and the Schleich Pentaceratops is an excellent figure.
New Mexico herbivore 70 million years ago
Known from a number of skeletons, including several complete or partial skulls, Pentaceratops was a spectacular-looking dinosaur. It had two huge horns over its eyes and a small, stubby horn on its nose. Extending over the back of the neck was a tall but disproportionately narrow bony shield for the head and neck. The name means “five-horned face”, but this is misleading as Pentaceratops didn’t have five horns, it had three, in the same configuration as its more famous relative Triceratops. The name comes from the additional pair of large jugular processes that protrude over the dinosaur’s cheeks. These are not horns as such, but these bony processes would have been very prominent when the dinosaur was viewed head-on. Schleich’s model reproduces the head and neck shield very accurately. The design team of the German manufacturer has obviously been concerned with reproducing its model based on known fossil material.
Eye-catching coloration: scarlet member of the Dinosauria
The paint job on the dinosaur is excellent. Pentaceratops has been painted a mottled, almost scarlet red color with patches on the back and flanks painted a bronze hue. It is undoubtedly a vivid and eye-catching model, which will appeal to both dinosaur fans and model collectors. A scarlet horned dinosaur like this may not have been very well camouflaged, but with those meter-long frontal horns, only a brave or very hungry T-Rex would have dared to take on it.
An accurate dinosaur model
The correct number of digits can be seen on the front and hind legs, and the skin texture has been reproduced extremely well. The replica is featured with one front leg raised off the ground, an interesting pose, which sets this replica apart from most other ornithischian dinosaur models.
Six meter long giant
Reaching lengths of more than twenty feet (six meters), Pentaceratops was a large herbivore. A fully grown adult could have weighed up to three tons. With a skull measuring more than three meters, he rivaled the likes of torosaur latus and Triceratops horridus for the title of largest-headed terrestrial vertebrate. It is always a pleasure to see a new type of dinosaur reproduced as a dinosaur model, this new Schleich dinosaur replica is recommended for collectors and we are sure it will be very popular with children who like prehistoric animals.