There are some dinosaurs that appear to be destined to remain in the shadow of their relatives. This is the case of Baryonyx, which achieved great popularity from its description to the end of the ’90s, due to its appearance, different from that of any theropod known so far, but which has been replaced in the popular mind by Spinosaurus after the appearance of the latter in Jurassic Park 3: able to rival in length – if not in size – Tyrannosaurus and with the longest neural spines of any known dinosaur, Spinosaurus captured the imagination in the public. Finally, in 2018, Baryonyx appeared in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom too… More or less. Some swear there was a Baryonyx, I only saw a clone of Dinocroc. Although the reconstruction was very bad, however, the appearance helped to rekindle the interest in this animal, which within a couple of years was restored by Schleich, twice by Collecta (in the regular series and in the Deluxe one) and finally by Safari LTD. Almost all newer Safari LTD dinosaurs are sculpted by Doug Watson, an artist who pays a lot of attention to the scientific side of his work. It is not surprising, therefore, that in this regard there is very little to criticize in his Baryonyx.
A complete skull of Baryonyx – or of any Spinosauridae, anyway – was never found: to restore it, therefore, paleontologists used phylogenetic inference (a principle according to which the missing parts must be based on the closest species, and then gradually on the more distant ones), obtaining a result that – if not certain – is at least plausible, until the discovery of new fossils. It is certainly appreciable the vitality that the sculptor managed to give to Baryonyx: while other companies offer grinning monstrosities, the Safari Baryonyx – beginning with the eye, similar to that of a bird, and ending with the integument of mouth corners – resembles a real animal. Spinosauridae are famous for the “crocodile” snout (a misnomer, because elongation of the anterior portion of the skull is common to many predators of aquatic animals) they present, with a rostrum consisting of solid bone to better resist tension and retracted nostrils. It is surprising, therefore, that Doug Watson sculpted the nostrils so close to the tip of the snout: as the sculptor explained, however, it was based on Witmer (2001), which used modern species to showcase how the nostril almost invariably occupies the frontmost portion of the nasal opening. The rostrum of the Safari Baryonyx has a rosette of teeth immediately in front of an empty space (called subnarial gap and common, to varying degrees, to all theropods); eight teeth follow on the maxilla. Although Baryonyx fossil preserves alveoli for a limited number of teeth, it’s not complete and it’s unlikely that they were so few (its relative Suchomimus has a more complete rostrum and 22 maxillary teeth), so it can be considered an artistic license due to the limited size of the model, although in the past the Safari has proven to be able to sculpt better teeth on models of similar size.
Before the orbit, we reach the corner of the mouth: although we are used to seeing dinosaurs opening their jaws up to the joint, it’s actually more likely that, as in current archosaurs, the tissue covered and partially limited movement: similar “cheeks” are observed, for example, in modern birds whose beak does not reach the corners of the mouth, such as some New World vultures. The presence of lips in theropods is a debated issue, and in Spinosauridae even more, so the absence of this type of integument in the Safari model is not a problem, beyond personal preferences. Many reconstructions, but not the Safari, feature a throat sac like that of a pelican: the cranial kinesis of the Spinosauridae, however, was clearly less expanded than that of modern birds, so it is more conservative to imagine the animal without it. The eye is marked by a darker spot and right in front of it rises the nasal crest, a characteristic – among others – of the Spinosauridae that is often forgotten (to say, neither the Jurassic Park 3 Spinosaurus nor the Fallen Kingdom Baryonyx present it). An analysis of the neurocranium of the Spinosauridae Irritator shows, on the basis of the semicircular canals of the ear, that the skull was not kept horizontal, but inclined by more or less20°: a trait reproduced in this model. this feature was confirmed by two more recently described Spinosauridae, Ceratosuchops and Riparovenator (Barker et al. 2021). These two new animals also show rather prominent and wrinkled bone bosses around the orbital area, indicating a probable keratin cover, but the Safari Baryonyx was obviously made before their description and therefore cannot be criticized for the absence of this trait. The auditory openings are located in the right position.
The Safari Baryonyx body is adequately robust and the pubic boot is hidden inside the tissues of the abdomen. The cloaca appears in the correct position, just behind the ischium. It has been established a certain tendency to reconstruct the Spinosauridae with spikes (proving their presence or absence is impossible until we’ll find Spinosauridae skin imprints) or osteoderms (of which there is no trace, and we would know their presence because they fossilize exactly like bones) to emphasize their superficial resemblance with crocodiles. The Safari Baryonyx goes against the trend and has a smooth back, adorned only with small scales that, although probably too large given the millimeter size of the known theropod integument, are nevertheless rather convincing and not annoying at all. The skin forms some folds on the neck, along the sides, and at the base of the tail, rendering quite plausibly the idea of the animal movement. When seen from above, the model is very narrow, with a surprisingly thin pelvis: most theropods are really thin when viewed from the front, so the detail is exact. The base of the tail, on the other hand, swells because of the caudofemoralis: although any paleontologist will tell you that there is never enough caudofemoralis, it’s better than not including it at all. Sooner or later we will see more theropods with almost circular tails. The curve of the tail is very naturalistic and does not present the sinuous movement of certain reconstructions, which would be difficult to obtain with the flexibility of a theropod tail. A hypertrophic dorsal vertebra, similar to those of Suchomimus, has been popularly referred to Baryonyx, and it’s the reason for reconstructions with elongated neural spines (such as the Papo or the Collecta ones); however, the recent description of two new British Spinosauridae makes it impossible to refer the neural spine to a precise species, so the Safari reconstruction with shorter neural spines is just as valid (Baryonyx spinal column is quite fragmentary).
On the forelimb, you can see the famous claw that gives the animal its name. Unlike the claws of other theropods, which are triangular in section, Baryonyx’s one is flattened laterally, in the shape of a sickle (similar in this to Megaraptor’s hand Dromaeosauridae’s foot ones). Plus, it was strongly curved: although some reconstructions, like the Papo one, show it rather straight, the term “hooked” is quite accurate – and this without taking into account the keratin, which would have lengthened the bony core. The length of the three fingers is respected in the left forelimb, with the first finger shorter, followed by the third and the second longest, while in the right one the third finger seems shorter than the second. A pity, a little more attention would have been sufficient to avoid this error. Neither on the front nor on the hind limbs there are the scutes which until recently constituted an artistic meme but of which traces have been found in the Allosauridae Concavenator.
The coloration is quite simple and at the time of publication of the model, there were some complaints about the perceived similarity with the Favorite Baryonyx, released a few years earlier. The two models do actually resemble each other, but it’s probably just a coincidence since the coloration is not particularly complex in either of them. However, we recommend a certain caution in handling it, because Safari lately uses a paint that is quite easy to chip. Even the plastic seems more rigid and fragile than previous models: it should not be a problem for a collector, but it could be a problem if the recipient of the purchase is a child.
The model is in 1:30 scale for the holotype (NHM R9951), and by a lucky coincidence appears in scale with two other dinosaurs (probably) contemporaneous, the Neovenator and Mantellisaurus made by Collecta: exposing them side by side you can recreate a nice display of the Barremian England.
In the end, even with some minimal inaccuracies, the Safari Baryonyx is one of the best representations of this peculiar theropod on the market and, for the 15 euros required by most stores, it’s a highly recommended purchase!
Bibliography:
Barker C.T.; Hone D.; Naish D.; Cau A.; Lockwood J.; Foster B.; Clarkin C.; Schneider P.; Gostling N. (2021). New spinosaurids from the Wessex Formation (Early Cretaceous, UK) and the European origins of Spinosauridae Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 19340. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-97870-8.
Charig A. J.; Milner A. C. (1997) Baryonyx walkeri, a fish-eating dinosaur from the Wealden of Surrey Bulletin of the Natural History Museum of London 53: 11–70.
Ortega F.; Escaso F.; Sanz J.L. (2010). A bizarre, humped Carcharodontosauria (Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain (PDF). Nature. 467 (7312): 203–206 doi:10.1038/nature09181.
Schade M.; Rauhut O. W. M.; Evers S. W. (2020). Neuroanatomy of the spinosaurid Irritator challengeri (Dinosauria: Theropoda) indicates potential adaptations for piscivory Scientific Reports. 10 (9259): 1613–1616.
Sereno P.C.; Beck A.L.; Dutheil D.B.; Gado B.; Larsson H.C.E.; Lyon G.H.; Marcot J.D.; Rauhut O.W.M.; Sadleir R.W.; Sidor C.A.; Varricchio D.D.; Wilson G.P; Wilson J.A. (1998). A long-snouted predatory dinosaur from Africa and the evolution of spinosaurids Science. 282 (5392): 1298–1302
Witmer L.M. (2001) Nostril position in dinosaurs and other vertebrates and its significance for nasal function. Science 293(5531):850-3. doi: 10.1126/science.1062681.
The author thanks Dan Folkes, whose osservations about Baryonyx proved really useful in writing this review.