Mathison Museum of Natural History

It is a great model, still on my shelves since his birth and still unbeated for me

Beautiful pic Blaine.

I really like these two most recent models- beautiful!

Species: Taeniopoda reticulata (Fabricius, 1781) (reticulate lubber grasshopper)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Furuta
Series: Chocoegg Funny Animals Series 2 (Chocoegg Animatales Series 7)
Year of Release: 2003
Size/Scale: Body length 4.5 cm for a scale of 1:1-1:1.5 (within 1:1 for a smaller specimen)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Being part of the original Chocoegg series, some assembly is required. The two 'Funny Animals' collections were offshoots of the Chocoegg line that were not produced in conjunction with Kaiyodo.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central America, east of the Central Mountainous Axis from Costa Rica to Panama
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Vegetation, opportunistic scavenger on dead insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Taeniopoda reticulata is morphologically indistinguishable from T. varipennis, which occurs on the Pacific side of the Continental Divide (this figure could realistically represent either species).

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Very nice photo, I like his color.

Great figure!

Not typical Furuta, much better

beautiful pink lady! :)

Species: Mesotopus tarandus (Swederus, 1787)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Sega
Series: Mushi King, large series, DX
Year of Release: unknown (c. 2006)
Size/Scale: Body length 9.5 cm (including mandibles), for a scale of 1.3:1 for a large specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is our second look at this species in the Museum. The large 'DX' figures are larger figures of a better quality (paint, sculpt) than Sega's large 'standard' figures. There were 13 species in the series, with approximately 20 figures including variants and repaints with different colored eyes. Minimal assembly required.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Equatorial West Africa, including Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ghana
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae breed in rotting logs colonized by very specific fungi; adult feeding habits not well-documented but probably attracted to sap flows.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: It was a challenge researching much on the biology of this species. They are popular with beetle breeders, but can be challenging to rear unless their diet is supplemented with specific fungi.

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Such a beautiful model!

looks even more realistic than the little one and very well displayed!

Beautiful

Species: Oryx dammah (Cretzschmar, 1827) (scimitar-horned oryx)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: CollectA
Series: Wildlife
Year of Release: 2013
Size/Scale: Total figure length 12.5 cm. Height at shoulder 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:16.7-1:23.3.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is currently the only figure of this species that is of a standard size and still readily available.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: North Africa (Chad, Tunisia, Niger)
Habitat: Deserts, semi-deserts, grassy steppes
Diet: Grasses, seed pods, bulbs, tubers
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Extinct in the Wild
Miscellaneous Notes: Once widespread throughout the southern Sahara Desert in Africa, O. dammah was driven to extinction in the wild in the 1980s and 1990s due to habitat loss, overhunting, droughts, and competition with livestock. Oryx dammah has been reintroduced into the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Reserve in Chad and Dghoumes National Park in Tunisia. They have also been released in Niger. The Chad population at least appears to be thriving.

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Very beautiful model and picture!

A great antelope figure

A very beautiful model, hard to manufacture and design and perfectly portraied.
Well, the design is not so original as we know but I love it.

Great back round!

Species: Prosopocoilus zebra (Olivier, 1789)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: DeAgostini
Series: World Insect Data Book
Year of Release: unknown
Size/Scale: Figure length (including mandibles) 5.5 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Until 2020, when Bandai produced a P. zebra, this DeAgostini model was the only one I was aware of for this species. The DeAgostini figures are cast from actual specimens and are therefore all in the 1:1 range. 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 original set from Japan consisted of 60 species (59 male Scarabaeoidea and one dragonfly), plus four 'secret' figures representing females of select scarab males. When the set was released in Italy, three of the standard set were replaced with other species, including a leaf insect. Between the two releases and secrets, I think there are 67 figures total representing 63 species. 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: Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae live in rotting hardwoods; adults attracted to sap flows. Host data for P. zebra unknown
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like several other large, showy scarabaeoid beetles, I had trouble finding much information on the biology and full distribution of this species, although it appears to be widely distributed in Southeast Asia from Myanmar to Java.

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WOW!

I think I have never heard of 90% of the species in your collection. Very interesting to see them, it is a true museum.

rogerpgvg wrote:

I think I have never heard of 90% of the species in your collection. Very interesting to see them, it is a true museum.

Thank you

rogerpgvg wrote:

I think I have never heard of 90% of the species in your collection. Very interesting to see them, it is a true museum.

Very true. It's been an enjoyable ride!

Very beautiful species!!

Species: Cryptogonus orbiculus (Gyllenhal, 1808)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Sasto 3D File
Series: Ladybug Collection
Year of Release: 2020
Size/Scale: Body length 5.5 cm for a scale of 17:1-13.75:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The Sasto 3D File ladybug figures have an ingenious design for distribution that minimizes packaging. There are eight figures in the collection. Two figures come connected to form their own gashapon capsule. The two figures are separated by gently twisting them. Once apart, the bottom of the figure extends, revealing the legs and antennae. The legs and antennae are extended and placed in the desired position and then the body is closed back up, revealing the final product.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Widespread in Southeast Asia and Japan
Habitat: Varied, including forests, fields, disturbed areas, agricultural fields
Diet: Predator on sternorrhynchan hemipterans (scales, aphids, whiteflies, etc.)
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Cryptogonus orbiculus is considered a beneficial predator of agricultural pests. It was introduced to California in 1910 to combat mealybugs, but the introduction was unsuccessful as it could not adapt to the climate.

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