Mathison Museum of Natural History

NIce bat

is it realy so orange?!.. but its scientific subsp. name is rufo (red) niger (black).. very beutiful picture!

Species: Polistes dorsalis (Fabricius, 1775)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Bees, Wasps, and Hornets
Year of Release: 1996
Size/Scale: Figure length (excluding appendages) 4.5 cm. Forewing length 3.0 cm, for a scale of 3:1-2.3:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: One of five species in the genus Polistes in my collection; to my knowledge, all five are unique as toys/figures.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eastern United States, south and west to California and Mexico
Habitat: Forests, fields, disturbed areas, houses and buildings; usually nests in shrubbery, rock piles, and hollow logs, but also under the eaves of buildings
Diet: Developing larvae are fed caterpillars by adults; feeding is done multiple times during larval development. Adults eat nectar and juices from overripe fruit.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Data Deficient
Miscellaneous Notes: Like many other vespid wasps, P. dorsalis is eusocial. Mated females (foundresses) start a new colony and tend to the first generation larvae. Eventually the largest will assume the role of queen. When the first generation emerges as adults (all sterile or partially-sterile females), they assume the role of subordinates (workers) and the queen drives off remaining foundresses. In the event the queen goes missing or dies, a worker will step up to assume the role. A mature colony has upwards of about 30 adults. The colony will start to decline as workers die of old age or when brood care ceases. Often, a young queen is the sole survivor of the colony, and she leaves to start a new colony.

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A rare figure

What a beautiful and rare figure!

The Play Visions wasps are very rare indeed; I still need two of them!!!

beautiful species!

beautiful and so rare figurine

Species: Zerene cesonia (Stoll, 1790) (southern dogface)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: K&M International
Series: Wild Republic Butterflies Nature Tube
Year of Release: 2004
Size/Scale: Wingspan 6.0 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The K&M Butterflies Nature Tube figures were not marketed at the species level, however most of them appear to be painted after actual species. All of the identifications are mine or by other members of the ATF and STS forums. Several of the sculpts (and in some cases paint style) were also used in some of the earlier Safari Ltd. sets and by Insect Lore.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southern and western South America, north to extreme southern United States; strays reaching most of the eastern and southern two-thirds of the US.
Habitat: Meadows, fields, forest edges, roadsides, disturbed areas
Diet: Larvae feed on several plants in the family Fabaceae (legumes), including Medicago (alfalfa), Amorpha (false indigo), Dalea (prairie clovers), Glycine (soybean), and Trifolium (clover). Adults take nectar from various flowers.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated (NatureServe status: Secure)
Miscellaneous Notes: Zerene cesonia gets its common name 'dogface' by the pattern on the forewings, which is said to resemble the face of a dog.

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A wonderful butterfly!

indeed!

oh K&M, interesting

I've seen butterflies that resemble that, though maybe they were something else.

That PV wasp is stunning, beautiful photo!

pipsxlch wrote:

I've seen butterflies that resemble that, though maybe they were something else.

That PV wasp is stunning, beautiful photo!

Dogfaces do breed in Florida!

Species: †Hallucigenia sparsa (Walcott, 1911)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Trilobiti
Series: Scientific Models
Year of Release: 2018
Size/Scale: Body length 10.0 cm for a scale of 10:1-5:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is not a toy or typical PVC figure, but rather a resin model. It is for serious collectors and not to be 'played with'. It can be delicate (a few parts broke in transit to me, but I was able to easily fix them). The base does not come standard with the figure; it was made for me by Trilobiti as a courtesy due to production delays at the time I ordered it. If you want a PVC model that depicts the current concept of the species, the only option is the Cambrian Creatures Mini Model figure by Favorite. Figures by Kaiyodo and COG Ltd. depict an older concept of the animal that was backwards.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Middle Cambrian of present-day Canada
Habitat: Benthic
Diet: Presumed filter feeder of detritus
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: We have learned a lot about H. sparsa in the 40+ years since it was described. Early depictions of the animal displayed upside down and backwards! The phylogenetic relationships of H. sparsa are still not completely understood, but it appears to be a panarthropod related to the onychophorans (velvet worms).

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very interesting and beautifuly displayed!

What an interesting model- wow!

Very nice Hallucigenia!
01.26.2021

What a weird animal. Great model though!

Thanks everyone!

Species: †Apatosaurus louisae Holland, 1916

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Prehistoric Life
Year of Release: 2010
Size/Scale: Figure length 32.5 cm. Measured along spine, total body length 48.5 cm for a scale of about 1:45 for a maximum-sized specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Varies based on figure inspiration and designation (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: As far as I know, this figure is the only one specifically marketed at the species level as A. louisae (Doug Watson, the sculptor of this figure, specifically indicated as such). The frequency of Apatosaurus figures depends on how many were actually modeled after Apatosaurus versus those that were modeled after Brontosaurus, which was placed in synonymy with Apatosaurus from about 1903 until about 2015.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of present-day western North America (Utah)
Habitat: Semi-arid habitats with alternating wet and dry seasons, riparian areas, and swampy lowlands
Diet: Presumed grazer on low-growing vegetation
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Apatosaurus louisae was named after Louise Carnegie, the wife of Andrew Carnegie who founded, among many other notable institutions, the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburg, which includes the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH). Andrew Carnegie funded much of the excavations where A. louisae was discovered and the type specimen resides at the CMNH.

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A beauty!

Very interesting and beautifuly displayed!

Amazing Apatosaurus!
01.27.2021