Woolly Mammoth Papercraft

Woolly mammoths are thought to have become extinct around 10,000 years ago, however from time to time, frozen remains of the creatures are discovered in Siberia. This easy-to-build mammoth paper model is offered by the Mochizuki Printing Co as a free download. The printable template has a total of twelve parts.

Pterosaur Skeleton Papercraft

Pterosaurs are the earliest known vertebrates to have the ability of powered flight. The word "pterosaur" literally means "winged lizard". This papercraft version of a pterosaur skeleton was created by Italian papercrafter Emiliano Capuzzo. The template for this papercraft was based on a 3D plywood puzzle. A PDF file of the template may be downloaded here by clicking on the word "Pterosauro" just above the first photo on the page.

Tyrannosaurus Skeleton Papercraft

The tyrannosaurus rex is in the top ten of most everyone's list of favorite dinosaurs, so it is no surprise that natural history museums like to have fossilized t-rex skeletons as a draw. Now thanks to the Paper Museum website operated by the Sanwa Paper Company you can have your own miniature tyrannosaurus skeleton at home. Look for the download at the bottom of the page here.

Loch Ness Monster Papercraft

When I first came across this papercraft I thought it might be a dinosaur, but after I translated the Japanese I found instead it was a papercraft of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. Now we just need some paper models of Bigfoot and a chupacabra to make the set complete. ^^ The template for Nessie is offered by the Mochizuki Printing Company here.

Amazing Origami Trilobite

A couple of weeks ago I did a post on a papercraft trilobite. However, I am much more impressed with this origami trilobite designed and folded by Sipho Mabona in 2008. The trilobite was wet folded from a single 24.4" (62 cm) square of paper. The level of detail of the legs on the underside is truly amazing. I don't think I have the time or the patience to attempt one of these myself, but if you would like to try, Mabona has provided a folding template here. Mabona also has done some other incredible origami animals as well which can be seen in his flickr gallery here.

Prehistoric Trilobite Papercraft

While it may look like some kind of science fiction cockroach, this papercraft is of an actual animal that lived on Earth millions of years ago. Trilobites were a group of marine animals that according to scientists became extinct around 250 million years ago. This paper model trilobite was originally created by the Australian Geological Survey Organisation to teach children about fossils. The one page, hand drawn template for the trilobite may be downloaded from the Houston Gem & Mineral Society website here.