Mathison Museum of Natural History

Species: Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758) (great white shark)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Sealife
Year of Release: 2016
Size/Scale: Body length 15.0 cm, for a scale of 1:30-1:33
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very common
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure has one of the best body sculpts for the great white. However, if the blunt teeth bother you, the 2013 and 2018 offerings by Schleich are also very nice.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Coastal and subcoastal waters of North America, Mediterranean, southern South America, South Africa, Australia, East Asia, and Japan
Habitat: Epipelagic
Diet: Other animals, particularly pinnipeds, cetaceans, fish, sea turtles, and sea otters
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Vulnerable
Miscellaneous Notes: Despite their depiction in literature and film as 'man-eaters', humans are not a preferred food of the great white, and that many attacks on humans may be 'test biting' (to see if is suitable prey) or in waters where visibility is low or the shark's senses are otherwise impaired.

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I have the Schleich one but this shark is also a very very nice model! And great info too!

A nice figure of the great white shark

Species: Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1758 (European hare; brown hare)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Papo
Series: Wild Animals
Year of Release: 2016
Size/Scale: Figure 6.0 cm in height. Head + body length 8.3 cm for a scale of 1:7.2-1:9.0
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon to common
Miscellaneous Notes: For such an iconic European animal, this species has not been made commonly, or frequently, by major modern manufacturers. Still, figures of this species are usually readily available. This offering by Papo is one of the more recent, and best, available.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Native to continental Europe and parts of Central Asia; introduced to Great Britain, northeastern North America, southern South America, Australia, New Zealand, Faukland Islands.
Habitat: Fields, pastures, farms, gardens; usually areas with sparse cover
Diet: Plants, especially grasses, soy, clover, and corn poppy; in the winter twigs, bark, and buds.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Mating frenzies in the spring, and fighting between males for the rights to a female, are often referred to as 'March Madness', a term that in the U.S. applies to the spring college basketball championships! This phenomenon was also hinted at in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with Alice speculating the March Hare: '...will be much the most interesting, and perhaps as this is May it won't be raving mad – at least not so mad as it was in March'.

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Such a sweet and wonderful figure!

The great white is great but I prefer the Papo hare.. :)

I have that model too. It could be an Iberian hare in Spain. What a great presentation.

Yes an hypnotised Iberian hare

I agree, Blaine makes excellent pics and presentations

Thanks everyone!

Species: soldier termite, gen. sp.

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Wicked Cool Toys
Series: Wild Kratts Creature Power Pack - Crawlers Set
Year of Release: 2015
Size/Scale: Figure length 3.5 cm (scale species-dependent)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: For the most part, figures in the thread will represent animals identifiable at least to the genus level. I have made some exceptions for arthropods that represent groups that are very rare in toy form, such as termites. Today's figure is a bit stylized, but it is hard for an entomologist to resist a termite!

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: N/A (species dependent)
Habitat: N/A (species dependent)
Diet: Detritus
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A
Miscellaneous Notes: Phylogenetic studies have revealed that termites are highly-modified, social cockroaches. The composition of social castes can vary with the species, but generally a colony will have a queen, a king, soldiers, and workers. The figure shown today is a soldier; its sole purpose is to defend the colony.

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as usualy, beautiful presentation for this rarety!

Surprising that termites are so rare in figure form given that they are so well known.

rogerpgvg wrote:

Surprising that termites are so rare in figure form given that they are so well known.

Well known, but usually with a negative connotation...

Species: Goliathus orientalis Moser, 1909 (eastern Goliath beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: DeAgostini
Series: World Insect Data Book
Year of Release: Unknown
Size/Scale: Body length 9.0 cm, within scale 1:1 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This is an archived photo, since my DeAgostini figures are currently packed away. I was not able to measure it, but ATF forum member brontodocus has posted this figure at 9.0 cm. The DeAgostini figures are cast from actual specimens and are therefore all in the 1:1 range, regardless of their size. The figures were sold as premiums with books and come in a plastic display box with their Latin and Japanese names. I am not sure what year the figures were released, and it is possible they were released over multiple years. The figures are secured to the base of the box with a small screw, but can be safely removed if one choses to display them outside of the box.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania
Habitat: Savanna
Diet: Larvae live in soil and feed on detritus; adults are attracted to ripe fruit and sap flows on trees
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like many other scarab beetle, Goliath beetles exhibit sexual dimorphism. Males have a larger body than females, which is not the norm for other sexually-dimorphic scarabs. Also, males have two-pronged cephalic horns.

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Beautiful figure, so special!

it looks so real!!

Species: Hartigia cressonii (Kirby, 1882) (raspberry horntail)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Bees, Wasps, and Hornets
Year of Release: 1996
Size/Scale: Body length 5.5 cm for a scale of 3.0:1-4.5:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Based on the color, this figure represents a female; H cressonii exhibits sexual dimorphism and males are more jet blue-black.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Western North America
Habitat: Fields, forests, disturbed areas
Diet: Larvae bore into the stems of plants in the genera Rubus (raspberries, blackberries, and loganberries) and Rosa (rose); adults are attracted to flowers.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: This species is regarded as an economic pest in the raspberry and blackberry industries.

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A nice PV figure

wings are realy yellow?

Caracal wrote:

wings are realy yellow?

They are golden in nature, as seen in several wasps.

Ok thanks! :)

Species: Prosopocoilus giraffa (Olivier, 1789) (giraffe stag beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Sega
Series: Mushi King - Flying Beetles
Years of Release: 2005 and 2006
Size/Scale: Body + mandible length 7.2 cm for a scale of 1:1.7 for a large specimen. Wingspan 10.5 cm.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very common
Miscellaneous Notes: Sega released at least two sets of flying beetles; one in 2005 and one in 2006. The species composition is not the same in the two sets, and when species are duplicated, the sculpt is not 100% identical. There are also some differences in the paint application; in this case, the 2005 figure (on the right) has red eyes while the 2006 figure has black eyes. Some assembly is required (and personally, I feel the 2006 figures hold together better). The figures come with a clear acrylic base from which they can be easily removed.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Much of Southeast Asia, from southern India to Indonesia
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae feed on rotting hardwoods; adults are attracted to sap flows
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Prosopocoilus giraffa is the largest of the 150+ species in the genus.

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