Mathison Museum of Natural History

So interesting- there really are some excellent models of lesser- known species out there!

Oh, i think i will search for that figure now :)

wonderful picture and model!

I love the Kaiyodo Black-banded sea krait, it has a very nice pose. I like very much your pic too;

Species: Morpho peleides Kollar, 1850 (common morpho)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Bullyland
Series: Butterflies on Strings
Year of Release: 1998
Size/Scale: Wingspan 7.0 cm, for a scale of approximately 1:2-1:3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: The 'Butterflies on Strings' collections were two sets of butterflies released by Bullyland. The figures had a loop of chord attached to the top of the thorax via a screw (hence the unsightly hole), so they can hang from things. The set was also sold as 'swingers', figures suspended on a wire attached to a base. This sculpt, while not accurate for M. peleides, was used for four of the eight figures in the set.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Mexico to northern South America
Habitat: Rainforests, usually along trails, paths, forest edges, and other open areas
Diet: Larvae feed on plants in the families Fabaceae (legumes) and Bignoniaceae (bignonias); adults drink juices from overripe fruit and tree sap.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The taxonomy of the genus Morpho can be challenging, and M. peleides is sometimes considered a subspecies of M. helenor. This species is a popular attraction in butterfly houses in US zoos and botanical gardens.

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Bullyland have a butterfly? Never seen before

beautiful species and display!

Species: Erimacrus isenbeckii (Brandt, 1848) (horsehair crab)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kitan Club
Series: Nature Techni Colour - Nature of Japan Vol. 3
Year of Release: 2015
Size/Scale: Maximum figure width 6.5 cm. Carapace length 2.4 cm for a scale of 1:4-1:5.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is one of two figures of this species I am aware of (and the best of the two). The other is by Kaiyodo from a set featuring commercial 'food' animals (see below).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Northern Pacific Ocean, from Korea, Japan, and the Kamchatka peninsula in Asia to the Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska in America
Habitat: Benthic, usually depths of 30-300 meters on sandy and silty bottoms
Diet: Scavenger and predator on other invertebrates; cannibalism common in the spring.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Erimacrus isenbeckii is one of the most economically important crab species in Japanese cuisine.

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Very nice crab.

A Kitan masterpiece!

miam! beautiful model and display!

Species: Euhadra peliomphala (Pfeiffer, 1850)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kitan Club
Series: Nature Techni Colour - Nature of Japan Vol. 3
Year of Release: 2015
Size/Scale: Figure length 5.0 cm. Shell diameter 3.0 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: No assembly required. The shell is hard, but the body is a softer rubber (soft, but firm). When first released, this figure was unique. However, in 2016, Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. released a set of terrestrial mollusks that includes five figures of E. peliomphala in slightly different colors and sizes.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan
Habitat: Arboreal
Diet: Soft vegetation for nutrition; soft stone (such as limestone) for shell development
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like most, of not all, land snails, E. peliomphala must ingest calcium for shell construction. In nature, this is usually done by eating soft stone, such as limestone. In disturbed areas, such as around homes and in gardens, land snails may consume manmade concrete blocks to acquire calcium.

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And another amazing Kitan model!

wonderful picture and model

Nice again

Wonderful model and picture!

Species: †Pteranodon longiceps Marsh, 1876

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Prehistoric World
Year of Release: 2019
Size/Scale: Total figure length 11.5 cm. Scale difficult to calculate based on wingspan. The head crest measured from the back of the orbital socket is 5.0 cm, for a scale of 1:15 based on the Yale Peabody Museum specimens YPM 2493 and YPM 2494. Depending on the specimen referenced, this figure could probably scale anywhere from 1:15-1:20.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: I much prefer pterosaurs in their resting pose, such as this. I haven't bought the Safari Ltd. Quetzalcoatlus yet, as I am hoping the re-do it in a non-flying pose. As good as today's Pteranodon figure is, it looks like the 2021 offering by CollectA might be also be very good!

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Cretaceous (Coniacian-Campanian) of present-day North America
Habitat: Coastal areas along the Western Interior Seaway; pelagic
Diet: Fish
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: The purpose of the head crest on pterosaurs is still not completely known, but given that they are more pronounced in mature specimens and are different among the species, they were probably used for species recognition and sexual display. They may also have been used as a rudder (for navigation) or to counterbalance the large beak.

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beautiful model and display! .. a long way since Starlux batslike resting representations!

Species: Melithaea japonica (Verrill, 1865) (red fan coral)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Ikimon
Series: Nature Techni Colour - Seaside Creatures 1
Year of Release: 2018
Size/Scale: Figure 8.0 cm between its longest points. Scale difficult to calculate, as fan corals are measured by individual structures rather than colony size, but from what I can tell this figure is within the scale of 1:1 for many specimens.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was marketed as M. flabellifera, which was synonymized with M. japonica in 2015. The sculpt is unique, but the figure was re-released in the second version of Seaside Creatures in 2019 (albeit orange rather than red in color). The figure was also sold as a key chain, and the hole to support the chain is visible on the upper left side.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan
Habitat: Shallow, rocky reefs
Diet: Predaceous on zooplankton that drift within reach
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Unlike many other corals, Melithaea species do not have symbiotic zooxanthellae dinoflagellates in their tissues; they derive their nutrition by predation of planktonic organisms.

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Wonderful!!

Species: Cheirotonus peracanus Kriesche, 1919

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: 4D Master
Series: Bug & Creature World
Year of Release: unknown
Size/Scale: Total figure length (including appendages) 11.0 cm. Body length 5.5 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Being a 4D Master puzzle, substantial assemble is required. This particular model comes in 19 pieces, but the final product fits together snuggly.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Peninsular Malaysia, especially in the Cameron Highlands and surrounding mountains
Habitat: Broadleaf forests
Diet: Larvae feed on rotting wood in treeholes; adults feed on sap flows. The host tree for C. peracanus is apparently unknown.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Cheirotonus species exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism, with males possessing exaggerated front legs (as shown in today's figure). The purpose of the elongated legs is probably analogous to the horns on dynastine scarabs or enlarged mandibles on lucanid scarabs, to fight rival males and secure breeding sites.

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A true gem!

Species: Zerene eurydice (Boisduval, 1855) (California dogface)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Toy Major
Series: Butterflies
Year of Release: 1996
Size/Scale: Wingspan 6.7 cm, slightly larger than 1:1 (average wingspan 5.1-6.3 cm)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The Toy Major butterflies are somewhat of an enigma. There are 12 sculpts, labeled A-L on the underside as well as the copyright year of 1996. Each sculpt has been painted multiple times, resulting in anywhere from 24-36 figures (maybe more?). Also, the different repaints may have been released over multiple years while retaining the 1996 mark. They were sold in sets of various numbers. They are not marketed at the species level, but most are painted to look like recognizable species. Several species produced by Toy Major have been produced by other companies of the same era (Club Earth, early Safari Ltd., etc.), and as these companies tend to copy one another, it is sometimes difficult to determine what came first.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: California and northern Mexico
Habitat: California chaparral and woodlands
Diet: Larvae feed on Amorpha californica (California false indigo); adults take nectar from flowers, especially Cirsium (thistle).
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated (NatureServe status: Apparently Secure)
Miscellaneous Notes: Zerene eurydice is endemic to the chaparral and woodlands in central and southern California and Baja California, Mexico, especially in riparian areas. The common name 'dogface' comes from the pattern of the forewings in the males (Z. eurydice is sexually dimorphic), which is said to look like the face of a dog. The related southern dogface (Z. cesonia) lacks purple on the forewings.

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very nice species and display!