Marx Original and Revised Brontosaurus

As promised, should I come up with any new info on the Marx dinosaur series, I would post that here. Back on December 8th of last year when I posted notes about the revised vs. original Brontosaurus, I only had the original to go by...

...or so I thought. After digging out the Dinosaur playset, there was a nice revised Brontosaurus in the box! Enjoy! Opa Fritz

(L)  Revised Bronto with small holes under feeet (R) Original Bronto with large holes under the feet

Vintage Dino Profiles: Marx Mold Group PL-749 and Brontosaurus

 Marx Mold Group PL-749 - also called the Large Mold Group - from 1957 has only three figures:

-Brontosaurus

-Pot Bellied Tyranosaurus Rex

-Kronosaurus

IMO, two of the three figures in the group represent the most popular dino figures of all time: the Brontosaurus and Tyranosaurus Rex. Marx's first T-Rex - with its big belly - looks like he just finished eating a big Bronto Burger and that would be corrected when Marx put out their revised mold group. 

But for now let's first look at the Brontosaurus (meaning: thunder lizard), classified as a quadruped sauropod. This poor guy has seen its ups-&-downs. First he was called Brontosaurus, then the pundits said, "no that was a wrong classification" and changed his designation to Apatosaurus, but then in 2015 a new group of scientists said those earlier 'experts' were wrong and changed the fella back to Brontosaurus! When I was growing up he was BRONTOSAURUS and Fred Flintstone ate 'Bronto burgers' not 'Apato burgers' phhhhht - take that 'experts'! hahahahahaha Of course, that's a vast oversimplification of the whole process, but that's it in a nutshell.

This is the only instance I'm aware of that the dino figures in one mold set were all from the same era, in this case the Mesozoic. The herbivorous Bronto's ranged during the Late Jurassic epoch in what is now Colorado, and by its end were extinct.  Marx's Brontosaurus is shown walking with its tail dragging the ground and neck held high - a common pose for this dino during the early period of dino toys - but later studies have shown that it more than likely walked with both its neck and tail extended, each serving as a counterbalnce for its massive frame. Marx's Bronto measure's 7.5" (19.05cm) L x 3" (7,62cm) H. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

Mold Group PL-749

Here we see Marx's Bronto and MPC's smaller Bronto

A Marx Bronto and Toy Street repop of Marx's Trachodon

The Bronto's from this mold group have these large circles under their feet. The revised figures had little tiny circles

1990 Brontosaurus Post Cereal Premium

Apatosaurus vs. Brontosaurus, which is correct? Apatosaurus ajax was the name given to a new species of dinosaur by Othniel Charles Marsh way back in 1877. Two years later, basing his work on a more complete skeleton and thinking he had found a new species of dinosaur, gave the name of Brontosaurus excelsus to his find. After a re-examination of the fossils in 1903 by Elmer Riggs, it was determined that both creatures belonged to the same genus and Brontosaurus excelsus was re-named to Apatosaurus excelsus. By that time the damage was done. The name Brontosaurus stuck with the public and in popular culture this big 'ol dino remains Brontosaurus. It is for this reason that Fred Flintstone dined on Bronto Burgers from Bronto King and Post Cereal offered Brontosaurus premium's in their cereal. I know, when I see these things on the big screen, the word Brontosaurus comes to mind - not Apatosaurus. HOWEVER, I do know what the correct name is and I s'pose that's what counts.

I wuz thinkin' (always a dangerous thing for me) when reading about how one paleontologist caught the error of another and just re-named the species. Okay, I don't know what the naming conventions or rules were back in 1903 but it got me wondering what would happen today if, for example, famed paleontologist Jack Horner (to use the only name I know - thanx Discovery Channel and History Channel) discovered a colleague's error in a similar manner to the Othniel Marsh/Elmer Riggs incident. Would Dr. Horner simply do a one-on-one collaboration with his colleague to correct the error? Would he have to publish a paper with his findings and conclusions? Does it go before committee? Oh well, as I doubt there are any scientist's reading this blog that's a question which may go unanswered.

Our Brontosaurus from 1990, like most of the Post Cereal Flintstones dino's has a distinctly friendly appearance and comes in a variety of bright, playful colors. You'll notice also he has a very narrow profile. Toy figures like this are called 'flats' and were quite popular amongst the toy soldier market. Now, our little guy is a tad fuller than a proper flat but he is definitely not fully fleshed-out figure. Only one side of these figures have any decoration, although the reverse side does have some molded-in detail. He is also not a character figure, probably saving Post a ton of $$ in royalty fees, although he fits in well the kid-friendly world of The Flintstones. Enjoy!