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Wild Roar Review
Gryposuchus Wild Roar
Mattel’s giant gharial is back. The Primal Ambush Gryposuchus is built on the same body as the Epic Evolution Wild Roar figure from 2024, but it is far from a lazy repaint. A new row of spiky back ridges, a cool blue and tan colour scheme, a translucent belly that glows and a reworked pull-tab action feature all set it apart. A few odd paint choices aside, it is a welcome second chance at one of the most unusual animals in the whole line.
🐊 Returning species💡 Lights & sounds🦴 New back ridges📏 ~37 cm / 14.5 inWild Roar · Wave 1DNA scan code included
🦴 How Does It Compare to the Epic Evolution Gryposuchus?
This is the second Mattel Gryposuchus. The first was the Epic Evolution Wild Roar figure from 2024, and the new one shares its body, head and limbs. What changes is everything layered on top of that sculpt.
The 2024 figure has the bolder colours, and its orange belly made it pop on a shelf. The new release wins on features: the back ridges give it a tougher silhouette, and the light-up belly adds a play feature the original never had. If you missed the first one, this is the easy way to get a Gryposuchus into your collection now.
What Is a Wild Roar?
Wild Roar is the electronic assortment of Primal Ambush: larger figures with a physical action feature, sounds and, in this line, translucent parts that light up. The Gryposuchus arrives in the first wave alongside the Cristatusaurus, Sinraptor, Tsintaosaurus and Zhejiangopterus.
The box uses the slightly different Wild Roar shape, and the back shows the figure along with a checklist of the rest of the wave.
Paint & Colour Scheme
From above, the new colours look great. The base is a soft blue grey that runs over the top of the head, down the tail and onto the rear legs, and a darker blue splatter spreads across the back and down the flanks, fading out just past the hips. The new back ridges pick up that same dark blue. Underneath, the lower jaw and the whole belly are moulded in a translucent tan that carries on to the base of the tail. It is there so the lights can shine through, and in good light you can even make out some of the mechanism inside.
The head is where Mattel made a couple of curious choices. The teeth are black, the first time we can remember Mattel doing that, and it gives the long snout a slightly goofy look. On the plus side they are made of the newer, softer plastic, so they stay sharp and realistic in shape. The eye is yellow with an orange pupil, which stands out against the blue but would have looked more natural with a simple black pupil. Open the jaws, though, and the inside of the mouth is a real highlight: a dark plum red with a deep gloss coat on both the upper and lower surfaces.
The front legs are a pale tan, close to off-white, and the claws there get a gloss coat but no paint. The rear legs are light blue, with neither gloss nor paint on the claws. Our sample also had a few small white marks on the underside straight out of the box, possibly packaging residue or light scuffs, so check yours if you buy in store.
Sculpt & Detail
Same body, new back
Apart from the back, this is the Epic Evolution sculpt, and that is no bad thing. The head, limbs and the existing spikes along the tail are unchanged. The big addition is a row of large ridges running along the top of the body. They are new to this figure, carry some nice fine detail and give the Gryposuchus a chunkier, more armoured silhouette when seen from the side.
A snout made for fishing
The long, narrow jaws are the star of any Gryposuchus figure, and they still look the part. The teeth line both jaws and, being soft, have a genuinely sharp edge without being a hazard. The roof of the mouth is fairly plain in terms of sculpted detail, but the gloss coat does a lot to make it look wet and lifelike. Detail across the head is the same as on the 2024 release, which was already a good sculpt.
Why it is worth it
Articulation & Action Feature
✓ Upper and lower jaw, linked✓ Head turn via the action feature✓ Front legs, forward and back✓ Tail swivel★ Lights and sounds✗ Stiff rear leg joints
The upper and lower jaws move together, the neck turns as part of the action feature, all four legs swing forward and back and the tail swivels. The front legs move easily, while the rear leg joints are very tight on our sample.
The action feature is new. Instead of the wheel on the old figure, you pull out a pair of tabs on the back. The head swings to the side and the jaws open, and at the same time the figure plays a sound and lights up from the inside. In a dark room the glow shows through the translucent belly and lower jaw, much like the light-up Survival figures, and it looks rather good. The sounds are the weak point: they come across more like a long-necked dinosaur than a crocodile, which is a strange fit for a gharial.
Size & Specs
Because the body is the same as the 2024 figure, so is the size: about 14.5 inches (37 cm) from snout to tail, which makes it one of the longest figures in the wave.
The biggest species, Gryposuchus croizati, is estimated at around 10 metres long, so the figure works out at roughly 1:27. That sits close to the usual mainline scale, and next to the other Wild Roars it reads as a genuinely huge river predator.
Our Verdict
We really like this Gryposuchus. It would have been easy for Mattel to drop the old figure into a new box, but the added back ridges, the blue and tan scheme and the glowing belly make it feel like its own release. The long jaws, glossy mouth and soft, sharp teeth still make it one of the most striking animals in the line.
It does have its quirks. The black teeth and orange pupil are odd choices, the claws are bare, the rear leg joints are stiff and the sounds suit a sauropod better than a crocodile. And under the new details, the sculpt is largely the one we already know.
If you missed the Epic Evolution figure, this is an easy recommendation. If you already have it, the light-up feature and the new look are good reasons to give the giant gharial a second spot on the shelf.
✦ What Works
- A rare giant crocodilian back on the shelves
- New spiky back ridges with fine detail
- Translucent belly and jaw that light up
- Glossy mouth and soft, sharp teeth
- New pull-tab action feature
- Second chance if you missed the 2024 figure
✦ What Doesn't
- Black teeth look odd
- Orange pupil instead of black
- Unpainted claws, no gloss on the rear ones
- Stiff rear leg joints
- Sounds do not suit a crocodile
- Mostly the same sculpt as before
About the Gryposuchus
Not a dinosaur at all, but one of the largest crocodilians that ever lived, a giant gharial that hunted the rivers and wetlands of South America long after the dinosaurs had gone.Why this species is worth knowing
Where and when. Gryposuchus lived during the Miocene in South America, with fossils from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the Peruvian Amazon. It was one of the few members of its group adapted to fresh water and spread from the north of the continent all the way to Argentina.
The name. The genus was named in 1912 by Georg Gürich from a snout found along the Pauini River in Brazil, a specimen that was probably destroyed in the Second World War. Gryposuchus means “hooked crocodile”.
A gharial relative. It belongs to the Gavialidae, the family of the living gharial of India, and gives its name to the subfamily Gryposuchinae. Like the gharial, it had a long, slender snout lined with teeth, ideal for snapping sideways through water. One Peruvian species, G. pachakamue, had 22 teeth in each jaw.
How big? The largest species, G. croizati from the Urumaco Formation of Venezuela, is estimated at about 10 metres long and roughly 1.7 tonnes, about twice the length of the biggest gharials today.
Giant neighbours. It shared the vast Miocene wetlands with other huge crocodilians, including the caiman Purussaurus. Gryposuchus disappeared around the end of the Miocene, as the Amazon basin took shape and those wetlands dried out.
Unlock the Gryposuchus
How to Unlock the Primal Ambush Gryposuchus?
The DNA scan code is printed on the Gryposuchus figure. Scan it with the Jurassic World Play App to add the Primal Ambush Gryposuchus to your digital collection.
If the code on your figure has worn away with play, been scratched or hidden by a sticker, scan the copy here straight from your screen.
Gryposuchus Gallery
Gryposuchus FAQ
Mostly no. It uses the same body, head and limbs as the Epic Evolution Wild Roar Gryposuchus from 2024, but adds a new row of spiky ridges along the back, new colours and a new light-up action feature.
The 2024 figure is dark blue with a neon orange jaw and belly, white teeth and a wheel on the back that works the head and jaws. The Primal Ambush version is blue grey with a translucent tan jaw and belly, black teeth, new back ridges, pull-out tabs instead of the wheel, and lights as well as sounds.
Yes. Pulling out the tabs on its back turns the head, opens the jaws, plays a sound and lights up the inside of the figure, which glows through the translucent belly and lower jaw.
It is about 14.5 inches (37 cm) long, the same as the 2024 release, since the body is shared.
No. Gryposuchus was a crocodilian related to the living gharial. It lived in South America during the Miocene, tens of millions of years after the non-bird dinosaurs died out.
The largest species, Gryposuchus croizati from Venezuela, is estimated at about 10 metres long and roughly 1.7 tonnes, making it one of the biggest crocodilians known.