The Scutosaurus Is an Interesting Choice

I had never even heard of the Scutosaurus before I came upon this one from Safari Ltd., a member of their "Wild Safari" Dinosaur line.

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Approximately two-hundred and fifty million years ago, in the late Permian Period, the Scutosaurus scurried about, relatively slowly, eating plants that weren't fast enough to get away. This particular Dinosaur toy has a wise look about it and I picture....
Scutrates the philosopher-reptile is expounding to a group of Moschops about their present, future and the nature of reality. They listen intently to the old fellow and after "class" Scutrates and his protege walk off to consider the ramifications of time. Will they be remembered after they are gone? Will there be anyone to remember them? Are they the apogee of life? All questions to be pondered.

Faced, however, with imminent extinction their questions are thrown into the proverbial "cocked hat" and our Scutosaurus duo are off to seek a future that includes them....

Weighing in at one and one-quarter ounce (1.25 oz) and measuring ~four inches (~4") in length this Wild Safari Scutosaurus is a far cry, about a scale 1/30 cry in fact, from the Permian period original who was six to nine feet in length and weighed about one thousand (1000) pounds. This comes in a basic, earthy brown with lots of detail and shading packed in as can be readily seen of the figure's head which is barely 5/8" long. The Scutosaurus is so named for thick growths of bone, called "scutes", that grew

under its skin, forming a sub-cutaneous armored coat which, along with it's heavily boned skeleton, served as defense against predators. It was, in fact, a slow, heavy vegetarian that had no natural defenses (apart from it's tusks and the small horn on its nose). It was like a very thick-shelled M&M.
The thick musculature of the original is apparent in this figure, as are the very expressive, peaceful, armored-bovine facial features. The "scutes" are clearly defined across the creature's back in great detail

while the belly section is clearly not as well protected. One would guess that the defensive posture was to hunker down and dare a predator to try and turn it over. This guy was quite the compact fellow. It is believed that they traveled in small groups or herd as the Permian landscape is thought to be rather bare and arid. I don't know, I wasn't there. But our not so "dynamic duo" want to leave this familiar but arid world and incidentally escape that extinction thing they ran into earlier.



The world is a big place and even the garden spot that fed them is slowly disappearing so that one last little green tomato takes on great importance for the future. And tomato-fortified the Scutosaurus head out on a march into the future...

And their trek into the 21st Century...

May have taken them to a somewhat softer life but there are still dangerous predators lurking and without a can opener food is even harder to get a bite of.

I would like to take this moment, with out time-traveling Scutosaurus pondering the hard-life of teh 21st Century, to thank Safari Ltd. (opens new window) for their generous provision of these two figures and the making of this page possible.

These were just released in 2008 and consequently are available, retail, wherever Safari Dinosaur toys are sold. They can also be found on the internet ranging from $5.99 to $8.79 with a "special" of six for $28.50 ($4.75 each) but don't forget to add in the shipping cost which always pumps up the price boys and girls. They are non-toxic, and while not meant for human consumption, they won't hurt anyone who gnaws on them. But they are really too nice to be eaten.
There is a definite dearth of Permian period Dinosaur toys and this Scutosaurus certainly fills a void. There is no telling what will be following them into the 21st Century....

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Return from the Scutosaurus to the Permian Period!