Mathison Museum of Natural History

I was just comparing my model of this species (the safari toob) with my new non identified bullyland. Great model!

Species: Lynx canadensis Kerr, 1792 (Canada lynx)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari North American Wildlife
Year of Release: 2016
Size/Scale: Figure length (including tail) 8.0 cm. Height at shoulder 4.7 cm for a scale of 1:10-1:12
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the one species from Safari's 2020 Great Lakes TOOB set I did not retain, as I prefer this standard-sized figure.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Alaska and Canada, with scattered localities in northern continental United States
Habitat: Mature forests, open forests, tundra
Diet: Primarily snowshoe hares, but also rodents, birds, fish, and (in the winter) deer
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Lynx canadensis relies heavily on snowshoe hares for a food source. Consequently, L. canadensis has developed a cyclic predator-prey relationship with the hares. As the populations of hares goes up, so do populations of the lynx; when hare populations drop drastically (usually every 8-11 years), the lynx move to areas with more hares and produce fewer offspring, also dropping their populations. These cycles are considered an examples of Lotka–Volterra equations.

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I love this model in spite of its a little shematic painting and your display is perfect!

Nice

Species: †Tyrannosaurus rex Osborn, 1905

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Prehistoric World
Year of Release: 2017
Size/Scale: Body length 34.0 cm for a scale of 1:37
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very common
Miscellaneous Notes: Tyrannosaurus rex is the most commonly-made, and most scrutinized, species of dinosaur in the toy/figure world, quite possibly the most commonly made and debated animal in our hobby! Don't like tripod stances? Like feathers? Don't like feathers? Want lips? Don't care about lips? No matter what your take on T. rex is, there is something for everyone. I picked this figure for two reasons. One, I think it is a good compromise regarding the theory of a feathered T. rex while not being too gaudy. Secondly, when it comes to most of my dinosaurs, I am a Safari Ltd. loyalist, especially those sculpted by Doug Watson; his style is my favorite.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of present-day western North America
Habitat: Subtropical plains, coastal plains, semi-arid plains, bayou-like habitats
Diet: Primarily a predator on other dinosaurs, including hadrosaurs, ceratopsians, ankylosaurs, and sauropods; also an opportunistic scavenger
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Much of what we now know about T. rex anatomy comes from the famous skeleton designated 'Sue'. Sue is one of the most complete and best-preserved specimens of T. rex, with over 73% of the skeleton recovered (90% by bulk). Despite a long, nasty history of fighting over the legal ownership of Sue, she now resides at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, IL to be appreciated by all.

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Wonderful model in right background!

Nice detail of the scars in the muzzle, provocked maybe by a fight with another tyrannosaur for resources (food, territory, sexual partners) or instead, by a prey that defended itself with fierce.

Two wonderful models from Safari

Species: Nardoa rosea Clark, 1921 (rose sea star)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: unknown
Series: unknown
Year of Release: unknown
Size/Scale: Armspan 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:4
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare (unique as a sculpt, see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure comes from a set by an unknown company; the set uses the same sculpts from Play Visions' 1996 Starfish collection. Some of the figures are marked with an 'S.H.' which has led some collectors to speculate these figures were produced by Hong Kong-based Shing Hing. Another possibility is that they were produced by Wing Mau, who continues to release PV figures, or another unknown company collaborated with Wing Mau. Regardless, the quality of these unknown figures are just as good, in terms of plastic and paint application, as Play Visions figures. They do lack the common name present on the underside PV figures, however. If I ever have the opportunity to get the original PV figure, I might replace it, but for now this figure (and others like it) serve my needs just fine.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indo-Pacific
Habitat: Coral reefs
Diet: Predator on marine invertebrates, algae
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had a challenge researching information on this species. Most of the information above is based on other members of the genus Nardoa or the family Ophidiasteridae.

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Very beautiful model (even from obcure origin) and picture!

Nice star

Species: Tamias striatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (eastern chipmunk)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Schleich
Series: Wild Life America
Year of Release: 2014
Size/Scale: Figure 5.0 cm wide. Body length (including tail) 7.5 cm for a scale of 1:4
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon to rare
Miscellaneous Notes: I like that Schleich makes their models depicting small animals actually small. The right side of the figure (not shown in this image) comes permanently affixed to a couple small leaves and acorns, for which those who do not like their figures on 'bases' might not appreciate.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eastern North America
Habitat: Woodlands, parks, gardens; usually where stumps, logs, and rocky outcrops are available as cover
Diet: Fruits, seeds, nuts; occasionally invertebrates, bird eggs, mushrooms
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Tamias striatus does not have adequate fat stores to hibernate, but instead enters periods of torpor (decreased physiological activity). As such, they hoard food for the winter that they will eat during breaks in their inactivity. They are scatter-hoarders, meaning they will have caches in several areas throughout their home territory, in addition to rooms within their burrows. The chipmunks find their caches using olfactory cues.

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One of the best Schleich figures in the last years

This is one of my favourite non-dog animals by Schleich, it is a wonderful chipmunk!
Thank you again for another really interesting and informative post, it's so nice to dip into these throughout the week and learn something new each time about such a variety of species!

Very beautiful figure and picture!

Species: Anoplophora chinensis (Forster, 1771) (citrus long-horned beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Hayakwa Toys
Series: Insect Collection - Special
Year of Release: 2004
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding appendages) 2.4 cm, within 1:1 scale for a smaller specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The Hawakwa Insect Collection figures are from Japan, but not of the quality we are used to seeing from companies Kaiyodo, Sega, F-toys, and others. Some of the more commonly-made species in the set come in small and large versions, the latter of which is marked with the Hawakwa name. Probably the best representation of A. chinensis in the toy market is the magnetic figure by Re-ment.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: East and Southeast Asia, Japan; introducted to Europe and North America
Habitat: Hardwood forests
Diet: Larvae bore into the wood of living hardwood trees; there is a broad host range, including many commercial and ornamental plants such as Citrus (citrus), Carya (pecan), Malus (apple), Salix (willow), Pyrus (pear), Morus (mulberry), Melia (chinaberry), Populus (poplar), quercus (oak), and Ficus (fig); adults feed on the tender bark of young trees
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Anoplophora chinensis was first reported in the United States in 1999 in Georgia, from bonsai trees imported from China. In 2001 it was reported from Washington in bonsai trees imported from Korea. It has also been reported from Wisconsin. It is currently considered eradicated from these three states. The related Asian long-horned beetle (A. glabripennis) has also been introduced to the United States, where thriving populations occur in the Northeast.

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Have all the unknown japanese brands only insects?

Beautiful display for this invader!

Species: Carabus blaptoides (Kollar, 1836)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yujin
Series: Insects of Japan Vol. 1
Years of Release: 2005 and 2006
Size/Scale: Base 6.0 cm long. Body length (excluding appendages) 3.5 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: These figures were sold under the genus Damaster, which is now considered a subgenus of Carabus. Both of these figures represent the 'secret' figure associated with Volume 1 of the Insects of Japan series; the one on the right was in the original set released in 2005 while the one on the left with the snail shell is a variant released in 2006. Some assembly is required. The figures are removable from their bases but it would leave a small peg under 1-2 of the legs. They are also quite fragile as you can see from missing appendages on one of them. The Insects of Japan figures appear to be cast from actual specimens and are therefore all in the 1:1 scale range.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan, including Russian-claimed islands north of Hokkaido
Habitat: Forests, fields
Diet: Adult and larvae are specialized predators on terrestrial mollusks
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Carabus blaptoides is a specialized predator on snails and other soft-bodied terrestrial invertebrates. Both adults and larvae have specialized mouthparts for feeding on gastropods hidden within their shells.

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Wonderful model and display!

Species: Prionailurus bengalensis euptilura (Elliot, 1871) (Tsushima leopard cat)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Colorata
Series: Japanese Animals
Year of Release: 2020
Size/Scale: Figure length 4.2 cm. Head-and-body length 3.5 cm for a scale of 1:21
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: I have two figures of this subspecies of leopard cat, this one, and one by Kaiyodo to represent the Iriomote population (which will be reviewed at a later date). Once considered separate species, the Tsushima and Iriomote leopard cats are now believed to be the same subspecies of leopard cat. In terms of toys and figures, the Tsushima population has been only three times that I am aware of, but when considered the same taxon as the Iriomote population, it becomes not quite as rare. The Japanese Animals collection by Colorata features both populations, but marketed them as different subspecies.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: East Russia, Manchuria, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan (Iriomote and Tsushima Islands)
Habitat: Forests, shrubland, grasslands, plantations, wetlands
Diet: Small animals, including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern (as a species); the Tsushima population is classified as Critically Endangered on the Japanese Red List of Endangered Species
Miscellaneous Notes: Genetic analysis shows three lineages of P. bengalensis. The Tsushima leopard cat belongs to the northern lineage and includes the Iriomote leopard cat (formerly its own subspecies, P. b. iriomotensis).

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I didn't know that Iriomote one was also an "uptilura" one, and I did not know this model!

A good figure