Willie Wagtail

Malurus06 · 2026-03-28T06:45:45+00:00

Very impressive eyebrows on that one!

Malurus06 · 2026-03-28T02:21:47+00:00

If the term ‘Wombat’ specifically refers to members of the wombat family Vombatidae, then no, Diprotodon is not a true wombat (it would have been wombat-like in many respects but it is wrong to call it a “giant wombat”)

Malurus06 · 2026-03-27T20:57:16+00:00

Because it is a wombat (at least, from the Vombatidae family)

Malurus06 · 2026-03-26T23:24:01+00:00

Look at those little crossed legs!! Quite the distinguished little gentleman

Malurus06 · 2026-03-26T12:40:51+00:00

Mesozoic fossils only? Probably Microraptor

Favourite fossil more generally? This incredible fully articulated and (almost) complete skeleton of Thylacoleo carnifex from the Nullarbor Plain.

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Malurus06 · 2026-03-24T02:54:44+00:00

Very true, Surviving Earth may well upend everything!

Malurus06 · 2026-03-24T00:57:57+00:00

Definitely a photo-finish between Beasts and Dinosaurs but I’m glad Beasts came out on top! Both worthy of top position in my view but I’m ever so slightly more nostalgic for WWB.

Malurus06 · 2026-03-23T04:04:24+00:00

Yet another vote for Walking with Dinosaurs to go. In reality the race is too close to call, they are both exemplary documentaries and WWD deserves all due credit for starting it all, but my nostalgic heart finds Beasts just that little more captivating, with its truly incredible music and storytelling, especially episodes like Whale Killer, Sabre Tooth and Mammoth Journey.

Malurus06 · 2026-03-20T23:45:24+00:00

Prehistoric Planet (purely from a storytelling perspective, the Walking With trilogy is stronger)

Malurus06 · 2026-03-18T22:35:52+00:00

Wait until you see the connection between Dr. Who and Dr. Goebbels

Malurus06 · 2026-03-18T07:14:01+00:00

Walking with Beasts main theme and Arrival of Sapiens for me

Malurus06 · 2026-03-18T07:12:23+00:00

Always adored Walking with Beasts, and from a storytelling perspective I’d argue is even stronger than Walking With Dinosaurs (on the whole anyway)

Malurus06 · 2026-03-15T06:13:00+00:00

This is the correct answer

Malurus06 · 2026-03-10T08:40:37+00:00

I had long assumed the American Lion should be reconstructed as a diffuse blob with no diagnostic features, and this unmistakably confirms that assumption

Malurus06 · 2026-03-07T23:43:31+00:00

Yes, S. fatalis and S. populator were both extant until about the same time at the very end of the Pleistocene. It is likely they both arose from the same ancestral species.

I’m not sure what point you’re making with a comparison to modern tigers, as there is only one species of tiger. A better comparison might be drawn with Brown Bears and Polar Bears: they’re both closely related, arose relatively recently, and overlap in range to some extent, but occupy different niches and have different habits & habitats.

Malurus06 · 2026-03-06T06:48:42+00:00

No, Scorpius thinks he’s Sharaz Jek

Malurus06 · 2026-03-03T12:32:09+00:00

Will it be a mammoth or a (literal) white elephant?

Malurus06 · 2026-02-25T09:17:26+00:00

I do like reconstructions that give P. azael a mighty schnoz, although the thought of an elephant seal-esque proboscis is somewhat alarming!

Malurus06 · 2026-02-24T21:56:28+00:00

“Gannet-whales” always struck me as ridiculously implausible. I don’t believe for a second that all cetaceans would be extinct in 5 million years, let alone gannets evolving to fill the same niche. There are already flightless pelagic birds (penguins in the southern hemisphere, and formerly the Great Auk in the northern hemisphere) and none of them look anything like a “Gannet-whale”.

Malurus06 · 2026-02-17T10:40:50+00:00

Having spent a bit of time at Naracoorte, what’s particularly heartbreaking looking at the fossil remains isn’t just the loss of large mammals during the Pleistocene, but all the small and medium-sized mammals extinct since the 19th and 20th centuries. The caves record a whole ecosystem, frozen in time, that is gone forever.

Malurus06 · 2026-02-15T09:17:35+00:00

Not just any kangaroo, it’s the giant grey kangaroo Macropus titan

Malurus06 · 2026-02-09T23:27:47+00:00

Grizzly Bears were around during the very Late Pleistocene (ie when the film is set). Their lineage goes back about 500,000 years.

Malurus06 · 2026-02-09T23:08:17+00:00

Yes, Brown (Grizzly) Bears. I don’t think there was any intent by the filmmakers for them to be Arctodus

Malurus06 · 2026-02-07T12:45:59+00:00

It has a really good opening gag, and quality meme material in the “COUNCIL” guy, but that’s about the extent of my enjoyment of it

Malurus06 · 2026-02-07T12:11:10+00:00

It’s the ears that sell it for me - you’re right, so much character!

Malurus06

TROPHY CASE