Poland 1966 "Prehistoric animals"

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Issue Date 05.03.1966
ID Michel: 1655-1663; Scott: 1395-1403 Stanley Gibbons: 1639-1647; Yvert et Tellier: 1506-1514: Category: pR
Design Andrzej Heindrich
Stamps in set 9
Value 20 gr Dinichthys
30 gr Eusthenopteron
40 gr Ichthyostega
50 gr Mastodonsaurus
60 gr Cynognathus
2.50 zl Archaeopteryx
3.40 zl Broutotherium
6.50 zl Machairodus
5.60 zl Mammuthus
Emission/Type commemorative
Places of issue Warsaw
Size (width x height) 39,5 X 51 mm / 51 x 39,5 mm
Layout Sheets of 20 stamps
Products FDC x 4
Paper chalky paper
Perforation 12.5 x 12.5
Print Technique Offset lithography
Printed by State Printing Works of Securities Warsaw (PWPW)
Quantity 20 gr - 7.930.000, 30 gr - 5.136.000, 40 gr - 5.564,00, 50 gr - 3.678.200, 60 gr - 6.006.020, zl 2.50 - 2.566.020, zl 3.40 - 2.386.100,, zl 6.50 - 1.353.420 (originally 1.454.020 issued but in December 1969, 100.600 pcs destroyed by a committee), zl 7.10 - 1.068.020 (originally 1.418.020 issued but in December 1969, 350.000 pcs destroyed by a committee).
Issuing Authority Poczta Polska
Prehistoric animals on stamps pf Poland 1966

On March 5th 1966, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication of Poland issued the set of "Prehistoric Animals".
These stamps shows major stages of vertebrate animal evolution, starting with the Devonian fish Dinichthys, through the first primitive amphibians, to the well recognized Mammoth.

This is the second Polish stamps set of prehistoric animals, the first set was issued in the previous year.

The text below is a quote from "Filatelista" magazine published in 1966, written by Dr. Andrew Sulimskiego.
In some cases translations from Polish was added, as the Polish text of the magazine has more details about some stamps.
According to the recent knowledge some statements are obsolete.

Devonian fish Dinichthys on stamp of Poland 1966
Devonian fish Dinichthys on stamp of Poland 1966 MiNr.: 1655, Scott: 1395.
Devonian fish Eusthenopteron on stamp of Poland 1966
Devonian fish Eusthenopteron on stamp of Poland 1966 MiNr.: 1656, Scott: 1396.
Dinichthys, a Devonian fish of group Arthrodira (Gnathostornata) that lived in salt seas 380 million years ago.
It was a predator and quite large: 1 meter head and trunk was about 5 meters long.
Remains of this fish are also known from and Devonian sediments of Poland.

Eusthenopteron, a representative of bony fish from the Crossopterygia group. It lived in shallow, fresh Devonian reservoirs (around 370 million years ago), and probably was the ancestor of the first primitive terrestrial amphibians.
A characteristic feature of this fish are strong, fleshy fins reinforced with bone skeleton.


Ichthyostega on stamp of Poland 1966
Ichthyostega on stamp of Poland 1966, MiNr.: 1657, Scott: 1397.
Mastodonsaurus on stamp of Poland 1966
Mastodonsaurus on stamp of Poland 1966, MiNr.: 1658, Scott: 1398.
Ichthyostega, a primitive amphibian still retaining some features of fishes.
This applies to the presence of scales on the body, fin rays on the tail and the structure of the skull.
Reptilian features are present in the structure of the pelvis and limbs.
The cradle of this amphibian was Greenland, back in the Upper Devonian (approx. 355 million years ago).

Mastodonsaurus, the biggest amphibian of the Triassic Period (about 200 million years ago), from the group of so-called shield-headed amphibians (Steoocephatia).
The skull is made up of thick bony plates forming the cranial armor.
On the parietal bone there was a so-called parietal eye.
The length of the skull is about 1 meter, and the body is about 2 meters.
It's probably the first reptile who leaved on land.
Remains of Mastodonsaurus found in Central Europe: Germany and Czechoslovakia.


Cynognathus on stamp of Poland 1966
Cynognathus on stamp of Poland 1966, MiNr.: 1659, Scott: 1399.
Archaeopteryx on stamp of Poland 1966
Archaeopteryx on stamp of Poland 1966, MiNr.: 1660, Scott: 1400.
Cynognathus, a Triassic reptile from the group of so-called mammal-shaped reptiles (Theromorpha), that lived about 220 million years ago.
The length of the body reached 2 meters. It was a predator with fur.
Its body was up to 2 meters long. Cynognathus remains are found in the Karroo formation in South Africa.

Archaeopteryx the first ancestor of birds in Upper Jurassic (about 140 million years ago).
Its remains found at lithographic limestone by Solenhofen (Bavaria - Germany).
It resembled birds in having wings and feathers, while its teeth, tail and skull showed it was still a reptile.
It was not actively flying as bird, but climbed on a tree by using a sharp claws of the forepaws (wings) and haggard figure was falling to the ground glide.
Archaeopteryx has a size more or less equal to today's pigeon and was an predator who eat some insects, worms, fruits and seeds.

Brontotherium on stamp of Poland 1966
Brontotherium on stamp of Poland 1966, MiNr.: 1661, Scott: 1401.
Machairodus, on stamp of Poland 1966
Machairodus, on stamp of Poland 1966, MiNr.: 1662, Scott: 1402.
Brontotherium - Oligocene, giant, perissodactyl from the Titanotheridae group (approx. 30 million years ago).
It combined features of an elephant (pillar-like legs) and of a rhinoceros (body structure).
The head was equipped with forked bony outgrowths (not horny!). Brontotherium inhabited the steppes of eastern North America and Asia (Mongolia). Its remains are known from Europe too.

Machairodus, one of the most predatory representatives of cats (Felidae) in the Tertiary (approx. 10 million years ago) from the group of so-called sabre-toothed tigers.
It lived in Europe, Asia and northern Africa during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs.
Its relative from this period, Smilodon, inhabited the areas of North America. Machairodus became extinct at the beginning of the Ice Age, and its remains have also been found in Poland.
Mammuthus on stamp of Poland 1966
Mammuthus on stamp of Poland 1966, MiNr.: 1663, Scott: 1403.


Mammuthus, is one of the commonest representatives of the fauna of glacial period (Pleistocene - about 100-50 thousand years ago).
Lived in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America.
His remains are numerous in Poland. His skeletons are on show in all major museums in the world. In Poland it can be seen at the Museum of the Polish Geological Institute in Warsaw. Its contemporary cave man hunted it and drew its pictures on the walls of the caves.




Products

FDC (clean and circulated) First-Day-of-Issue Postmark
Prehistoric animals on FDC of Poland 1966 Prehistoric animals on FDC of Poland 1966 Mammoth on commemorative postmark of Poland 1966
Booklet Examples of circulated covers
Prehistoric animals on stamps of Poland 1966 Stamps of Poland 1966 with Prehistoric animals on circulated covers Stamps of Poland 1966 with Prehistoric animals on circulated covers
Production Errors
Dinichthys on stamp of Poland 1966 with production error
Color shift


Filatelista magazine, Nr 5(248), 1966
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References

  • Technical details:
    • "Filatelista" Magazine Nr 5(248), 1966 - dual language magazine: Polish/English
    • colnect



Acknowledgements

  • Many thanks to Katarzyna Gonet from Poland, for her help finding information about these stamps
  • Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for reviewing the draft page and his very valuable comments.


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