Mathison Museum of Natural History

Species: Heterixalus rutenbergi (Boettger, 1881) (Rutenberg's reed frog)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Colorata
Series: Tropical Rain Forest Frogs
Year of Release: 2019 (2005)
Size/Scale: Base 9.0 cm long. Body length 3.3 cm for a scale of 1.3:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: My figure is from the 2019 release of the collection; the original figure is from 2005. The frog is not removable from its leaf base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central and eastern Madagascar
Habitat: Tropical grassland, freshwater marshes, agricultural land
Diet: Insects and other arthropods
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Although classified as 'Least Concern' by the IUCN, H. rutenbergi is threatened by habitat loss. It is an adaptable species, however, and can colonize well-irrigated agricultural lands, including arable land.

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Beautiful frog and photo!

rogerpgvg wrote:

Beautiful frog and photo!

Species: Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus (Bleeker, 1853) (banded pipefish; ringed pipefish)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Cadbury
Series: Yowies Series 3
Year of Release: 1999
Size/Scale: Body length 11.0 cm for a scale of 1:1.7
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Yowies figures from Australia, some assembly is required.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indo-Pacific
Habitat: Coral reefs, tide pools, and lagoons at depths of 5-56 meters
Diet: Marine invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Data Deficient
Miscellaneous Notes: Like with other seahorses, it is the male of D. dactyliophorus that is equipped with a brood pouch and cares for the developing eggs.

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I am not too much into fishes but Syngnathiformes are surely my favorite.
It is not a surprise once the sea horse is one of the symbols of my homeland and it was a common sight for me.
Pipefish are really rare in toy shape, Yowies, as one of the kings of diversity fortunately provided this interesting species that you presented perfectly as usual.

Nice Doryrhamphus, one of the most colorful species of Gasterosteiformes. I'm surprised that the figure is more realistic than most Australian Yowies.

A interesting fish but Yowies are very toyish. But this figure looks more realsitic, or isnt it?

Species: Beckius beccarii (Gestro, 1876)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: DeAgostini
Series: World Insect Data Book
Year of Release: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding horns) 5.0 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: 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. The only other figure of B. beccarii I am familiar with is by Sega.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: New Guinea
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Presumably, larvae feed in decaying wood or similar substrate; adults attracted to sap flows and overripe fruit
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had a very hard time researching anything on the biology of this genus or species; the comments above are based on other members of the tribe Dynastini.

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I was always uncomfortable with that childrens' magazine series which had real specimens in resin, ('You like insects? Here, we killed thousands for you!' ) but giving cast models of each species instead is such an improvement. Lifelike and accurate and educational, without the huge waste of life involved in production [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Species: Parnassius eversmanni Ménétries, 1849 (Eversmann's parnassian)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Natural Monuments of Japan
Year of Release: 2002
Size/Scale: Wingspan 6.0 cm, slightly over 1:1 scale for a large specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The figure is removable from its habitat-style base, to which it attached with a clear acrylic rod.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Russia, Mongolia, Japan, Alaska, and Canada (Yukon)
Habitat: Alpine shrubland and woodlands, alpine meadows, tundra, riparian areas; often at high elevations
Diet: Larvae feed on plants in the genus Corydalis; adults take nectar from flowers
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern (globally); in North America, has a NatureServe status of Secure.
Miscellaneous Notes: Parnassius eversmanni is extremely variable throughout its range, resulting in the description of several subspecies and making field identification difficult. Since this figure was part of a set focusing on the fauna of Japan, it probably represents the subspecies P. e. daisetsuzanus.

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Beautiful model and display!

Nice again

Species: Melophagus ovinus (Linnaeus, 1758) (sheep ked)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: unknown
Series: unknown
Year of Release: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length 7.5 cm for a scale of 18.75:1-10.7:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: I know nothing about this figure; I bought it in a dollar store in the early 2000s. It is of vintage style and I wouldn't be surprised if the sculpt is from the 1970s or earlier. Nowadays they show up primarily in cheap dollar store sets. I stopped collecting cheap 'chinabugs' but as a professional parasitologist, I could never pass on an ectoparasite, even if it's not a human parasite. I have seen one other figure of this species, much smaller and also vintage, and probably based on the Creepy Crawly Thingmaker toy set.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Native to Europe, North Africa, Central Asia; introduced to much of the rest of the world wherever sheep are raised
Habitat: Obligate ectoparasite on sheep (Ovis aries), but also wild ungulates, rabbits, and wild and domestic canids
Diet: Larvae feed on secretions provided by the female parent; adults feed on the blood of its host.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: A female M. ovinus produces one larva at a time and may produce upwards of 20 larvae in her lifetime. The larva remains within the mother until it is ready to pupate, feeding on secretions produced in the uterus. The mature larva forms a puparium which is deposited by the mother on the wool of the sheep, attaching it with a glue-like substance. The pupa hatches after 2-3 weeks, slightly longer in the winter. The sheep ked spends its entire life on the host and is transmitted from host to host via physical contact between the hosts.

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Oh, I thought it was a tick but as you haven't mentioned the wrong number of legs, I decided to check and it is a fly! Thus, the number of legs is obviously correct. It is quite surprising a Chinabug maker decided to release such a creature, even for a creepy crawler set it is not expectable at all. Sometimes I love my ignorance, if I was not aware of it, I'd keep convinced it was a tick with the wrong number of legs instead of learning that some flies can assume really unusual shapes.

A china figure in the kind that i like

Species: Chalcosoma chiron (Olivier, 1789) (Caucasus beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Sega
Series: Mushi King, standard series, small
Year of Release: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (including cephalic horn) 6.0 cm, for a scale of 1:1.5-1:2
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: Chalcosoma chiron is another 'standard' among the Japanese manufacturers. Most are sold under the synonym, C. caucasus. The Sega 'small standard series' were 10 sets of 10 figures each, for a total of 100 figures representing roughly 75 species of Lucanidae and dynastine Scarabaeidae. The dates of release are currently unknown to me (c. 2008). The figures were produced in conjunction with Bandai and came with Pokemon-style playing cards. At the time of this writing, I think I have all but two of the species. For a review of the sets, please see here.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae feed in decaying wood and detritus; adults feed on tree sap
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like many large scarabaeid beetles, especially those among the Dynastinae, C. chiron has marked sexual dimorphism. In addition to lacking cephalic and pronotal horns, females have a smaller body and a velvety texture to the elytra due to the presence of dense, small setae (hairs).

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Species: Lophochroa leadbeateri (Vigors, 1831) (Major Mitchell's cockatoo; Leadbeater's cockatoo; pink cockatoo)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Parrots & Cockatoos
Year of Release: 1996
Size/Scale: Body length 5.8 cm for a scale of 1:6-1:7
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Of the few figures made of this species, I don't think any are in production anymore. This figure is a holdover from my early animal-collecting days; I might replace it if it gets made again by another company, maybe in the Safari Wings of the World collection.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Australia
Habitat: Arid and semi-arid scrublands, woodlands, and savanna
Diet: Seeds, nuts, grains, fruits, tubers
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Lophochroa leadbeateri forages in open arid scrubby areas, but requires forested habitats for nesting. It is a cavity nesting species and requires tall, hollow trees to nest in, usually Eucalyptus and preferably near water. A female will lay 2-5 eggs a season, usually at an interval of one egg every 2-3 days. Incubation lasts approximately 3-4 weeks and the chicks remain in the next for 6-8 weeks before they fledge.

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A very beautiful bird, congrats. The insects are nice too, species I wasn't aware of!

Species: Macropus giganteus Shaw, 1790 (eastern grey kangaroo)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Southlands Replicas
Series: Australian Animals
Year of Release: 2017
Size/Scale: Figure length 12.0 cm. Measured along spine, body length 14.5 cm for a scale of 1:10-1:12.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This species is not nearly as common in toy/figure form as its cousin the red kangaroo (M rufus), having rarely, if ever, been tackled by any modern company outside of Japan or Australia.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eastern Australia
Habitat: Open woodlands, forested mountains, subtropical forests, grasslands, semi-arid areas, coastal areas
Diet: Grasses, forbs
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: There are two subspecies of M. giganteus: the nominate M. g. giganteus, which occurs on mainland Australia, and M. g. tasmaniensis which occurs on Tasmania. A related species, the western grey kangaroo (M. fuliginosus) occurs throughout much of southern Australia. The two species overlap in the Murray-Darling Basin area, but do not interbreed in the wild.

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A lovely realistic kangaroo from this wonderful brand!

Bonnie wrote:

A lovely realistic kangaroo from this wonderful brand!

I agree

Yes, great running pose!