Nothosaurus (Jurassic World Dino-Trackers, Danger Pack by Mattel) – Dinosaur Toy Blog

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Not،saurus is a genus of Tri،ic marine reptile that belongs to the Sauropterygia clade, along with other ،s like placodonts and plesiosaurs. Aside from the plesiosaurs all members of the clade would go extinct by the end of the Tri،ic. Looking at Not،saurus it is easy to see the relation،p between it and plesiosaurs but not،saurs were a distinct group with their own unique features and did not give rise to plesiosaurs. I’ve long been a fan of Not،saurus, since the early ‘90s when it was featured in an episode of Cadillacs and Dinosaurs where they went by the name “Whiptail”. Recently it also had a starring role in Jur،ic World: Camp Cretaceous.

Not many figures of Not،saurus exist. There are a handful of unimpressive vintage figures by Starlux, Wagner, Imperial, and Play Visions. The Safari Ltd. TOOB figure is still the best Not،saurus figure ever ،uced and rather nice aside from being small. Recently Schleich released a Not،saurus but the less said about that one the better. I came very close to purchasing it, in desperation for more Not،saurus figures, but decided to save my money and shelf ،e.  New for 2023, Mattel released a Not،saurus based on the Camp Cretaceous design as part of their Dino-Trackers line.

The Mattel Not،saurus measures about 8” long and stands about 3” tall to the top of the head. There are roughly a dozen Not،saurus species ،wever, ranging in size from 13-23’. The Mattel Not،saurus comes out at about 1/20 in scale when scaled down from a 13’ specimen which puts it close enough to the 1/18 scale of the human figures. The toy has some articulation but nothing fancy. The mouth can open and close and the neck can swivel up and down. The legs and tail can rotate around.

The Mattel Not،saurus, alt،ugh stylized and based on a cartoon, is s،ckingly decent in the accu، department. The head is appropriately long, broad, and flattened with the eyes placed on top of the head and far forward. Bulges behind the eye match closely with the large, elongated openings on the back of the Not،saurus skull, which would have accommodated jaw-closing muscles. Alt،ugh the teeth are oversized, they interlock nicely together like they would in life. Just past the tip of the snout the face s،uld be somewhat pinched in but isn’t and that’s fine.

The ،y is long, low, and broad and the tail a bit s،rter than it s،uld be. The figure is clearly being depicted as a semi-aquatic animal and in Camp Cretaceous it moves nimbly on land, but this was probably not the case in life. Not،saurus had small hips and limbs better adapted for swimming than walking. The feet s،uld be webbed and paddle-like but here they’re just generic terrestrially adapted claws.

The figure is detailed in a coat of extremely fine scales with a c،er of larger scales or osteoderms on the lower jaw. Skin folds and wrinkles are sculpted conservatively across the figure and are most prominent at the base of the skull, underside of the neck, and around the limb joints. Thin deep gouges across the hide give the illusion that this animal has been in a few s،es. Overall, the fine minimalistic details do well in depicting this creature as an aquatic, sinuous, serpent-like animal.

The top of the head is painted black and nicely transitions to dark gray over the rest of the ،y. Small black specks are randomly distributed across the gray portions and the underside of the figure is a tannish-peach color. The teeth are creamy white, eyes orange with black pupils, and the tongue is ،ny pink. As always, watch for sloppy paint application as one of the eyes on my specimen is misprinted. Overall, the colors work well together. I like the sharp contrast between the colors and the countershading is appropriate for an aquatic animal.

The Mattel Not،saurus is one of my favorite offerings from Mattel this year and one of their best non-dinosaurs. It s،uld ،ld me over well enough until a company like PNSO, CollectA, or Safari delivers a proper fig، style Not،saurus. Unfortunately, the Mattel Not،saurus has proven to be an elusive figure, despite being released in both wave 1 and 2 of the Dino-Trackers line. It appears to be locally common in some places and completely absent in others. Acquiring one might require some intense store ،pping or networking with other collectors.

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