Mathison Museum of Natural History

Never heard of the brand

Species: Uroteuthis edulis (Hoyle, 1885) (swordtip squid)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Kurioso Komekko Series 2
Year of Release: 2003
Size/Scale: Bottlecap base 3.5 cm in diameter. Figure length 5.5 cm. Mantle length 4.3 cm for a scale of 1:3.5-1:11.6
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was originally marketed as Lodigo edulis. The figure is removable from its base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indo-Pacific
Habitat: Demersal, at depths of 30-170 meters
Diet: Juveniles feed on crustaceans; adults feed on fish
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Data Deficient
Miscellaneous Notes: Members of the genus Uroteuthis have photophores (light-producing organs) on their dorsal and ventral surfaces.

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wonderful display!

A wonderful figure

Species: Balistoides conspicillum (Bloch et Schneider, 1801) (clown triggerfish)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Colorata
Series: Coral Reef Fish
Year of Release: 2015
Size/Scale: Body length 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:10
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare to uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: The figure is removable from its base; the acrylic rod can be cut to the desired height of the collector.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indo-Pacific
Habitat: Coral reefs, at depths of 1-75 meters
Diet: Mollusks, echinoderms, crustaceans, tunicates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like other triggerfish, B. conspicillum is very territorial and can be aggressive to other fish. When kept in aquaria, they should be kept separate from small fish (which they will bully) and invertebrates (which they will eat).

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Wonderful species and display!

Coral fishes are so beautiful

Species: Mantis religiosa (Linnaeus, 1758) (praying mantis; European mantis)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: CollectA
Series: Little Wonders
Year of Release: 2009
Size/Scale: Figure length 9.5 cm. Body length (including wings) 10.0 cm for a scale of about 2:1-1.3:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: While few companies have made figures specifically marketed as M. religiosa, most 'bin sets' of insect have a mantid figure which was most certainly influenced by this species. The smaller figure in the image is the miniature counterpart of the larger figure; it was released in 2020 as part of the Mini Insects and Spiders collection. All of the figures in the mini collection are simply smaller versions of the standard-sized CollectA figures. The smaller figure has a body length of 4.8 cm making it about 1:1.5 for a large specimen (or slightly under 1:1 for a small male specimen).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southern Europe, Asia, North Africa; introduced to Australia and North America
Habitat: Forests, grasslands, agricultural fields, disturbed areas, parks, gardens; usually in areas with shrubby vegetation
Diet: Insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Mantis religiosa engages in sexual cannibalism, whereby and animal (in this case the female) eats her mate during, after, or even sometimes before copulation. A male is able to successfully mate with a female even after he has lost his head!

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very beautiful picture!

Species: Dipsosaurus catalinensis (Van Denburgh, 1922) (Catalina desert iguana)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Wing Mau
Series: Lizards
Year of Release: unknown
Size/Scale: Figure length 12.0 cm. Snout-to-vent length 5.5 cm for a scale of 1:2.4
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare (unique as a sculpt)
Miscellaneous Notes: This sculpt was used by both Wing Mau and Club Earth, and comes in two color forms. While marketed as 'desert iguana' (and probably originally intended to represent nominal D. dorsalis), this color form appears based on the Catalina Island species, D. catalinensis). This figure was probably originally produced by Club Earth before the recognition of D. catalinensis as a valid species.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Santa Catalina Island, Baja California, Mexico
Habitat: Desert, especially in rocky areas
Diet: Plants, flowers
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated [the IUCN does not recognize D. catalinensis as a distinct species and lumps it in with D. dorsalis which is classified as Least Concern.]
Miscellaneous Notes: Dipsosaurus catalinensis was elevated to full species status in 1999 based on morphologic criteria as well as its genetic isolation on Santa Catalina Island.

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A nice lizard

.. and a nice picture!

Species: †Equus quagga quagga (Boddaert, 1785) (quagga)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Mojö Fun
Series: Prehistoric & Extinct
Year of Release: 2013
Size/Scale: Height at shoulder 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:20-1:22.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This model was retired just recently in 2019, making it the last available standard-sized quagga figure.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: South Africa
Habitat: Grasslands, arid scrublands
Diet: Grasses
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Extinct
Miscellaneous Notes: During the European settlement of South Africa, E. q. quagga was extensively hunted for food and hides, although some were kept by local farmers to guard their livestock. Due to the extensive hunting and competition with domestic animals for forage, E. q. quagga eventually became extinct in the late 1800s. The last wild quagga is believed to have died in 1878 and the last captive specimen in 1883.

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Hurrah, a quagga! Nice 3D backdrop, it took me a moment to figure out how you'd made that.

I'm kicking myself I missed this release by not having got into Mojo til last year, I've looked on ebay but not seen any listed yet. I don't suppose there were as many made cos Quaggas are less popular with the target age group than a modern-subspecies recogniseable Zebra model.

very interesting model and wonderful picture!

George wrote:

Hurrah, a quagga! Nice 3D backdrop, it took me a moment to figure out how you'd made that.

I'm kicking myself I missed this release by not having got into Mojo til last year, I've looked on ebay but not seen any listed yet. I don't suppose there were as many made cos Quaggas are less popular with the target age group than a modern-subspecies recogniseable Zebra model.

Hi George, the background is a Bakku Background: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

After the Quagga project success it is interesting for my zoo

It is certainly interesting that this species died out but many of our other zebras survive today. I guess it was just where on the continent they were found as the bluebuck had a similar demise, and was also found in South Africa.

Species: Polypterus ornatipennis Boulenger, 1902 (ornate bichir)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: FaunaFigures
Series: FaunaFigures Fishes
Year of Release: 2018
Size/Scale: Figure about 9.3 cm across its widest points. Measured along midline 12.5 cm for a scale of 1:4.8
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was produced and commissioned by forum member sbell, and sculpted by Brandon DeMoss. They are no longer in production but at the time of this writing, sbell still has a few, so if you want one, contact him!

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central Africa, including Congo Basin, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Rukwa drainage
Habitat: Rivers, lakes, swamps, estuaries
Diet: Invertebrates, fish, amphibians
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Bichirs are among the most primitive of extant fish. Polypterus ornatipennis can survive in low-oxygen water and can even survive briefly out of water.

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Such a beautiful model!

Wonderful Épicure and model!

Picture of course!

A stunning fish! I wish I had the sense to get a few of these models when they were available.