Review of the Safari Carnegie Wild Safari Tapejara Model
With the dominance of Pteranodon models and replicas in the marketplace it is always a pleasure to hear about a manufacturer pushing the boundaries a little and introducing a museum quality replica of a less well known but equally interesting Pterosaur. This is exactly what the American company Safari have done with their new model of the flying reptile Tapejara.
This particular Pterosaur (the name literally means flying lizard), is known from excellent fossil material from the Santana Formation of Brazil. The name Tapejara is pronounced Tap-eh-jar-rah and means "the old being" in the native Indian language of Tupi. It is one of the earliest toothless forms of Pterosaur known, with fossils dated to the Aptian/Albian faunal stage boundary, approximately 112 million years ago. At least three species of Tapejara are now ascribed to this genus, although determining a species from the many well preserved fossil remains that have been found in this part of Brazil is far from easy. As well has having to contend with the fragmentary remains; it seems that there was a high degree of sexual dimorphism with the distinguishing head crests. Indeed, some scientists have commented that already described species of Tapejara may actually be juveniles or sexually immature individuals of larger species. Determining how best to depict the distinctive head crest in this new model, must have been one of the many "head aches" that the model sculptors encountered, pardon the pun. The Taperjara genera all have over-large and bizarrely shaped head crests. These crests seem to have been most obvious in mature males and probably had a courtship or social behaviour role. In Tapejara, the head crest was so prominent and large that when flying in cross winds this Pterosaur would have been very vulnerable. Perhaps having such an ostentatious form of head gear was the male's method of demonstrating to any females nearby how virile and strong he was. After all, if you could sport such a destabilising head crest then you might be the strongest of the males and therefore the one to be chosen for mating.
The Safari team have gone to great lengths to try to produce a replica that reflects the current fossil evidence. The head crest in the model is large and therefore it can be assumed that the sculptors have tried to depict a sexually mature male Pterosaur. The crest is also brightly coloured (a bright scarlet) and this also builds on the current scientific thinking about flying reptiles having good, colour vision. A large, brightly coloured crest could be used in extravagant courtship displays, the males intent on attracting a female. The rest of the model is painted in various shades of brown to contrast the bright red head crest. The only exception to this is the broad beak and eyes, which have been painted in a vivid, almost metallic blue. These features contrast well with the red crest and with all the new Safari models care has been taken over the painting and much fine detail has been revealed as a result. The model is depicted in a typical flying position with the wings fully outstretched and slightly swept back. The scaling of this model is not certain but it does not look out of place against other manufacturer's models of the larger Pterosaurs such as Pteranodon longiceps. Indeed based on the scale and the size of the crest I would suggest that Safari have produced a model of the largest species of Tapejara known, the splendidly titled Tapejara imperator. This particular Pterosaur species is estimated to have had a wingspan in excess of 5 metres.
Taking Advantage of an Emerging Ocean
During this time in the Cretaceous period, the great, southern, super-continent of Gondwanaland was beginning to break up. Over millions of years, the Atlantic Ocean began to form, splitting Africa away from the continent of South America. Indeed, this process continues today, the Atlantic is still widening. Pterosaurs such as Tapejara lived on the coast of this newly formed ocean and scientists believe that these animals hunted fish swooping low over the water to snatch up their prey in their large, down-turned beaks. The model does not show the down-turned mouth very clearly, but as we have not had the chance to inspect fossil jaw material personally, we can only assume that the earlier descriptions of this flying reptile have been updated and the mouth made less pronounced.
Fine Detail Depicted on the Model
The body of the Tapejara model shows plenty of fine detail. Safari have taken care to give the impression that the body and arms of this Pterosaur were covered in fine, downy hair. Scientists have found fossils of other (albeit smaller Pterosaurs); that seem to indicate that these flying animals were covered in hair or down. If this is the case then these animals were probably warm-blooded and the hair acted as insulation to help these animals regulate their body temperatures and keep warm. If they were active fliers and not just passive gliders then these sort of prehistoric animals were most probably endothermic (warm-blooded). It is pleasing to note that Safari have tried to incorporate this theory into their new Pterosaur model.
It would have been nice if this model had been supplied with an eyelet mounted unobtrusively on the back. This would have permitted collectors to suspend this replica using fishing line and depict this animal in a relatively realistic pose, perhaps flying over other models in their dinosaur collection. However, this is a minor quibble, the new Tapejara model is well painted and shows plenty of detail. It is a very worthy addition to the model collectors flying reptile section of their prehistoric animal model sets.
