Mathison Museum of Natural History

Species: Photinus pyralis (Linnaeus, 1767) (common eastern firefly)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Wicked Cool Toys
Series: Wild Krattz Creature Power Pack - Flyers Set
Year of Release: 2014
Size/Scale: Body length 4.8 cm for a scale of 3.2:1 - 5.3:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The figure is marketed simply as a firefly; the species designation of P. pyralis is mine, based on the morphology of the figure in combination of this being the most common and familiar firefly in eastern North America (the TV show Wild Kraatz is produced in the US and Canada). The only other figure of this species I am aware of is by Wing Mau, which is specifically labeled as such.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eastern North America
Habitat: Forest edges, meadows, fields, gardens, disturbed areas
Diet: Larvae are predaceous on insects, slugs, snails; adults do not feed.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Adult females are flightless; males fly to females and the two sexes communicate with each other using bioluminescent flash patterns. The light is produced by the enzyme luciferase catalyzed by oxygen, luciferin, and ATP. Fireflies can regulate their flash patterns, which are often unique per species. Some female fireflies mimic the flash patterns of other species, to lure males...for food!

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cool if these rerplica could be luminescent in the night!.. :)

Caracal wrote:

cool if these rerplica could be luminescent in the night!.. :)

I did a blog review of one that does ;-) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Wonderful once again! So many unusual species covered!

Thank you for the link Blaine! :)

Maybe IUCN should review the status. I can't think when I last saw fireflies. Last summer my (20 year old) daughter traveled up to north Georgia. She sent me a video of fireflies with an excited call about them- she thought fireflis weren't real, but mythological insects us old people told stories about like Santa Claus.

But thank you, Blaine, for these informative posts! I've very much enjoyed this thread.

pipsxlch wrote:

Maybe IUCN should review the status. I can't think when I last saw fireflies. Last summer my (20 year old) daughter traveled up to north Georgia. She sent me a video of fireflies with an excited call about them- she thought fireflis weren't real, but mythological insects us old people told stories about like Santa Claus.

But thank you, Blaine, for these informative posts! I've very much enjoyed this thread.

Thanks Kelly.

Growing up in Arizona, most of the fireflies seen in cities, parks, and gardens are not bioluminescent (mostly members of the genera Pyropyga and Ellychnia) There are luminescent species in Arizona, but you have to go up into the canyons and mountains to find them. When I moved to Atlanta, this species was very common. I was very excited to see fireflies that actually produce light haha.

Species: Metacarcinus magister (Dana, 1852) (Dungeness crab)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: AAA
Series: Crustaceans
Year of Release: Unknown
Size/Scale: Total figure width 30.0 cm. Carapace width 17.7 cm, within scale of 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Like many of their crustaceans and mollusks, AAA released at least two sizes of this species. This is the large one; I also have a small version that will be reviewed at a later date. AAA invertebrates are usually cast from actual specimens, as this one probably was.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: West Coast of North America, from the Aleutian Islands to Baja California Sur
Habitat: Sandy or muddy-sand bottoms in subtidal areas of bays and estuaries, often in eelgrass beds
Diet: Marine invertebrates, fish eggs
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The Dungeness crab is a major part of the seafood industry along the West Coast of North America.

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Amazing figure, and what really surprised me was that they cast from actual specimens!!
What an excellent way to make a realistic figure, but I never would have thought this possible! Must be the best sculpt on a figure ever done!

Beautiful ! Too hughe halas to find a place at home. I will console my shelf ( ) wit the Papo edible crab.

Kikimalou wrote:

Beautiful ! Too hughe halas to find a place at home. I will console my shelf ( ) wit the Papo edible crab.

Christophe, the smaller AAA model of this species is a decent size.

bmathison1972 wrote:

Kikimalou wrote:

Beautiful ! Too hughe halas to find a place at home. I will console my shelf ( ) wit the Papo edible crab.

Christophe, the smaller AAA model of this species is a decent size.

What size Blaine ? My 1/1 to 1/6 shelves are already very crowded. Especially because a collector from Salt lake city have a bad influence on me

Kikimalou wrote:

bmathison1972 wrote:

Kikimalou wrote:

Beautiful ! Too hughe halas to find a place at home. I will console my shelf ( ) wit the Papo edible crab.

Christophe, the smaller AAA model of this species is a decent size.

What size Blaine ? My 1/1 to 1/6 shelves are already very crowded. Especially because a collector from Salt lake city have a bad influence on me

haha. I'll measure it later and let you know.

Beautieful crab

Very realistic!

Species: Cybister chinensis Motschulsky, 1854 (giant Asian diving beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Chocoegg Animatales Series 3
Year of Release: 2000
Size/Scale: Body length 4.0 cm, within the range of 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This species is usually marketed as C. japonicus, which is now considered a synonym of C. chinensis. This is one of two figures of this species made by Kaiyodo. Being an early Chocoegg figure, some assembly is required.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: East Asia, Japan
Habitat: Freshwater, including lakes, ponds, ditches, canals, rice paddies
Diet: Predaceous on freshwater insects, microcrustaceans, tadpoles, small fish
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Although these beetles live in fresh water, they are capable of flight, and will often travel long distances to find new sources of water to colonize.

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wonderful picture and model

Caracal wrote:

wonderful picture and model

Thanks! This was a fun one to photograph!

Yes, it's an excellent photo!

Species: Apteryx mantelli Bartlett, 1852 (North Island brown kiwi)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Tennoji Capsule Zoo
Year of Release: 2018
Size/Scale: Base 4.5 cm long. Total figure height 4.0 cm tall. Animal 3.2 cm tall for a scale of approximately 1:12.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon to rare
Miscellaneous Notes: How rare this species is depends on the species assignment a collector gives other generic kiwi figures and which taxonomy one chooses to follow; to my knowledge, this Kaiyodo figure and the Furuta Chocoegg Funny Animals figure are the only ones specifically marketed as the North Island race/species. The kiwi appears to be permanently attached to the habitat-style base which in turn appears to be permanently attached to the lime-green base that includes the Japanese and Latin names (I dare not risk separating them for fear of breakage).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: North Island, New Zealand
Habitat: Dense subtropical and temperate native forest; also introduced pine plantations, farms, disturbed areas
Diet: Soil and leaf litter invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Vulnerable
Miscellaneous Notes: Apteryx mantelli holds the world record for laying the largest eggs relative to its body size.

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Beautiful Kaiyodo Kiwi!

It really is!

I love Kiwis, fruity and avian alike. though for very different purposes...