Mathison Museum of Natural History

A nice figure

Species: Dynastes neptunus (Quensel, 1817) (Neptune beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.
Series: B.I.G. Beetles
Year of Release: 2017
Size/Scale: Body length 13.0 cm, within scale 1:1 for a large specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: Takara has used this sculpt multiple times, often with slight variations in color or texture. It has also been marketed by Subarudo. Assembly is required and the points of attachment are loose, allowing for some articulation.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae feed in rotting wood within treeholes of living trees, including Alchornea, Ocotea, and Urera; adults attracted to overripe fruit and sap flows.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Larvae typically develop in tree hollows that run anywhere from near the soil to up near the canopy. Adults fly at night, often before dawn.

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A great figure, bugs from Japanese brands are surely among some of the best!

Species: Pleuractis granulosa (Klunzinger, 1879) (mushroom coral)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yujin
Series: Corals in Color
Year of Release: 2005
Size/Scale: Diameter of animal 2.5 cm, for a scale of 1:5.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was marketed as Fungia granulosa. The Yujin corals are small and made out of a limestone-calcium carbonate sandstone, rather than the usual PVC. They make great accessories for other marine wildlife.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indian and South Pacific Oceans and associated inlets
Habitat: Tropical and subtropical reefs
Diet: Small marine animals that drift within reach
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Pleuractis granulosa is not attached to a substrate and is capable of benthic locomotion.

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Species: †Asaphus kowalewskii Lawrow, 1856

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Paleocasts
Series: Trilobite Cast Collection
Year of Release: 2017
Size/Scale: Body length 7.0 cm, within the scale of 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Paleocasts is a line of prehistoric animals, mainly invertebrates, produced by artist Patrick May and sold on Etsy in the U.S. The figures can usually be purchased finished (as shown here) or unfinished.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Middle Ordovician of present day Russia, especially in the Wolchow River region near Saint Petersburg
Habitat: Benthic
Diet: Presumably scavenger or predator on other invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: This species is known for its distinctive eye stalks, which are less pronounced in this figure than they are some actual specimens.

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What is the material

Very nice trilobite and very nice photo.

widukind wrote:

What is the material

It's plastic; I think it may be 3D printed, can't remember. But it is a plastic. Not resin.

bmathison1972 wrote:

widukind wrote:

What is the material

It's plastic; I think it may be 3D printed, can't remember. But it is a plastic. Not resin.

Thank you, very interesting

Species: Prosopocoilus dissimilis elegans (Inahara, 1958)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Capsule Q Museum - Japanese Stag Beetles
Year of Release: 2013
Size/Scale: Body + mandible length 6.0 cm, within the scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: Some assembly required and the mandibles are articulated. There were two figures of this sculpt in this collection, representing two different color forms (a common practice with Kaiyodo's beetles, as seen in the first post in this thread which also represents two figures from the same collection as today's!). There are several subspecies of P. dissimilis; this one was also made by Kaiyodo for their Choco Q Animatales series. This species is not as common in toy/figure form as its congeners P. inclinatus and P. giraffa.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Tokara, Japan
Habitat: Forests
Diet: Larvae feed in rotting logs; adults are attracted to sap flows
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: This subspecies is endemic to Tokara Islands of Japan. Like other large, showy Japanese lucanids, it is popular with collectors and breeders.

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Two more wonderfully realistic models!
I think these stage beetles are fighting over who is the better representation of their species

Bonnie wrote:

Two more wonderfully realistic models!
I think these stage beetles are fighting over who is the better representation of their species

Ha!

very beautiful display!

Thanks eveyone. Today's offering:

Species: Allomyrina dichotoma (Linnaeus, 1771) (Japanese rhinoceros beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kabaya
Series: Insect Directory
Year of Release: 2001
Size/Scale: Body length (including horn) 4.0 cm, for a scale of 1:2-1:1. Base 5.5 cm long.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is one of the two the most represented species in my collection, with 41 specimens to-date, so it was bound come up sooner or later using a random method of selection. This figure has a habitat-style base (as do all the figures in the Insect Directory collection) from which it can be removed. The cards that come with the figures have different years, which makes me wonder if figures in this set were released (or re-released) over time.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia, including China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan
Habitat: Tropical and subtropical hardwood forests
Diet: Larvae feed on organic detritus in soil; adults are attracted to sap flows
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Allomyrina dichotoma is very popular in Japanese culture, and appears in cartoons, commercials, card games, and is bred in terraria. This accounts for it being one of the most commonly-made animal species by Japanese companies.

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This rhino is as realistic as the Kaiyodo Prosopocoilus d. just upper!

Caracal wrote:

This rhino is as realistic as the Kaiyodo Prosopocoilus d. just upper!

It's nice, but I will have even more realistic versions of the rhino beetle in the future

Species: Latrodectus mactans (Fabricius, 1775) (southern black widow)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.
Series: Venomous Spiders
Year of Release: 2010
Size/Scale: Display 4.0 cm long. Diameter of abdomen 1.2 cm for a scale of 1:1 for a gravid female
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: The figure is removable from its leaf base. It also comes with a flat black circular base (not shown here) that has the Latin name, Japanese name, and degree of toxicity.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eastern and southeastern USA and the West Indies; introduced to Hawaii.
Habitat: Forests, fields, rodent burrows, disturbed areas, houses, gardens, garages, sheds.
Diet: Small insects and other arthropods
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Females of Latrodectus mactans are very venomous, and their bite is neurotoxic. However, the dose of toxin delivered in a bite is usually too small to cause severe illness or death in humans.

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Two more wonderful figures!

Nice spider

always very interesting!

Species: Telmessus cheiragonus (Tilesius, 1815) (helmet crab)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Habitat Earth: Crabs
Year of Release: 1996
Size/Scale: Legspan 6.5 cm. Carapace width 2.0 cm for a scale of 1:5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: One of the many interesting and unique species made by Play Visions in the mid-late 1990s. As with other such figures, it can be difficult to find these days. I do not believe the PEC crab collection, which consists mainly of Play Visions knockoffs, contains this species (others can correct me if I am wrong).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: North Pacific coasts, including Siberia, Russia, and Korea in Asia, and from the Bering Sea to Monterey Bay, California in America
Habitat: Intertidal and subtidal zones, often in eelgrass and kelp forests
Diet: Eelgrass, algae, worms, mollusks
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The helmet crab's camouflaging colors make it difficult to detect among eelgrass and kelp and in sediment.

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wonderful display!