Mathison Museum of Natural History

Species: Prosopocoilus dissimilis elegans (Inahara, 1958)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Choco Q Animatales Series 8
Year of Release: 2004
Size/Scale: Body length (including mandibles) 5.3 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Choco Q figures, some assembly required. There were two figures of this sculpt in this collection, representing two different color forms (a common practice with Kaiyodo's beetles). There are several subspecies of P. dissimilis; this one was also made by Kaiyodo for their Capsule Q Museum line (which has already been reviewed in this Museum thread). This species is not as common in toy/figure form as its congeners P. inclinatus and P. giraffa.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Tokara, Japan
Habitat: Forests
Diet: Larvae feed in rotting logs; adults are attracted to sap flows
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: This subspecies is endemic to Tokara Islands of Japan. Like other large, showy Japanese lucanids, it is popular with collectors and breeders.

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Species: Ginglymostoma cirratum (Bonnaterre, 1788) (nurse shark)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Sealife
Year of Release: 2015
Size/Scale: Body length 14.0 cm for a scale of 1:16.4-1:30
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: That this figure was reviewed on the Animal Toy Blog three days ago, and that this is happens to be Shark Week, is a coincidence; I used the same random selection method as always for picking today's figure :). The figure appears to have only four gill slits (should be five), but as stated in the aforementioned Blog review, the fourth and fifth gill slits of G. cirratum are very close together and grossly it might appear to only have four.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Coastal Western Atlantic (northeastern United States to Brazil), and coastal Eastern Atlantic (Iberian Peninsula to Angola)
Habitat: Coastal reefs, at depths of 0-130 meters (usually 1-35 meters)
Diet: Benthic fish and invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Vulnerable
Miscellaneous Notes: In 2015, the Pacific population of G. cirratum, which occurs coastally from Baja California to Peru, was described as a new species, G. unami. As currently delineated, G. cirratum only occurs in the Atlantic Ocean.

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Wonderful model and picture!

Caracal wrote:

Wonderful model and picture!

Species: Rousettus aegyptiacus (Geoffroy, 1810) (Egyptian fruit bat)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Bats
Year of Release: 1996
Size/Scale: Wingspan 9.5 cm for a scale of 1:6.3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The Play Visions Bats collection features six species of unique or very rarely made species. In general it is uncommon to have a bat toy or figure marketed at the species level.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Egypt, sub-Saharan Africa, coastal Arabian Peninsula
Habitat: Rainforests, tropical deciduous forests, savannas, Mediterranean scrub forest
Diet: Fruit
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Rousettus aegyptiacus is valuable to a healthy ecosystem as a pollinator and seed distributor. Unfortunately, in some places it is considered a pest because it will feed on fruit intended for human consumption, and in parts of Israel was nearly eradicated.

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I feel really lucky of owning the whole set thanks to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], our dear Julie that found a good number of them in a local shop and decided to share her joy with other STS collectors. This is surely one of the nicest Play Visions sets with really great species.
Once more your presentation is really perfect.

Roger wrote:

I feel really lucky of owning the whole set thanks to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], our dear Julie that found a good number of them in a local shop and decided to share her joy with other STS collectors. This is surely one of the nicest Play Visions sets with really great species.
Once more your presentation is really perfect.

I miss her. She was my Santa Claus in the summer as she found my holy grail. :)

Species: Cyclommatus elaphus Gestro, 1881

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Sega
Series: Mushi King, DX series, small
Year of Release: 2005
Size/Scale: Body length (including mandibles) 6.5 cm for a scale of 1:1.7
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The 'small DX' figures my Sega are similar to, but sometimes slightly better than, the 'small standard' figures. I am not sure how many there are in this series, I have only a small handful.

About the Animal
Geographic distribution: Indonesia
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae feed in decaying logs with white rot; adults feed on tree sap
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Cyclommatus elaphus is the largest species in its genus; major males can reach a lengh of 10.9 (including mandibles).

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Nice

I love that bat!

Species: Arapaima gigas (Schinz, 1822) (pirarucu)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Colorata
Series: Fossil Fishes
Year of Release: 2015 (2004)
Size/Scale: Body length 11.5 cm for a scale of 1:12.5-1:39
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: My figure is the 2015 release of a figure that was originally released in 2004 and then again in 2011. The figure attaches to its habitat-style base by an acrylic rod, from which it is removable.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Amazon River Basin, South America
Habitat: Floodplain lakes, large tributaries of the Amazon River, varzea
Diet: Fish; rarely water birds
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Data Deficient
Miscellaneous Notes: Arapaima gigas is an obligate air-breather. In addition to oxygen acquired via its gills, it must come to the water surface every 5-15 minutes to 'gulp' air.

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Species: Mesotopus tarandus (Swederus, 1787)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Colorata
Series: Tropical Rain Forest Stag Beetles
Year of Release: 2005
Size/Scale: Base 5.5 cm long. Body length (including mandibles) 7.0 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: The Colorata beetles attach to a log base by means of a small acrylic rod. They are removable from the base and interchangable amongst each other. Minimal assembly is required (the legs need to be attached).

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: Commonly called the 'African Demon', M. tarandus is one of the largest stag beetles in Africa. That is probably why it is the only African species routinely made by Japanese companies. It is also cultivated in terraria, but can be difficult to rear because it requires a substrate supplemented with specific fungi.

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Species: Coreoperca kawamebari (Temminck et Schlegel, 1843) (Japanese perch; redfin perch; eye-spot perch)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Choco Q Animatales Series 6
Year of Release: 2002
Size/Scale: Body length 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:1.8
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Choco Q figures, some assembly is required. The figure is removable from its base, but it leaves a small peg on the ventral side of the body.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan, Korean Peninsula
Habitat: Freshwater rivers
Diet: Fish, aquatic invertebrates, tadpoles
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Female C. kawamebari lay their eggs on submerged plants; however, it is the male that guards the eggs and fry.

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I like this Photo. nice fish.

Interesting patterns on this fish!

Species: Leucauge argyrobapta (White, 1841) (Mabel orchard spider; orchard spider)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: K&M International
Series: Spiders Bulk
Year of Release: 1997
Size/Scale: Legspan 7.0 cm. Body length 2.0 cm for a scale of 5.7:1-5:1 for a male and 3.6:1-2.7:1 for a female (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The Spiders Bulk collection by K&M International features six figures, at least four of which (possibly five) are unique as toys, including today's. In fact, to my knowledge, this is the only figure of a spider in the family Tetragnathidae. The scale of this figure (above) is based on whether one considers the figure a male or a female. The length of the front legs is suggestive of a male, but the form of the palps is suggestive of a female. If I had to choose, I'd consider this a female specimen, as the length of the front pair of legs isn't appreciably longer than the second pair. Please note: in past postings on the ATF and STS forums, I used the incorrect Latin name (L. venusta) for this species; L. venusta is the scientific name of the common orchard spider.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeastern USA (Florida) south to Brazil
Habitat: Woodlands, forest edges, shrubby meadows, orchards, gardens
Diet: Insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Unlike many spiders, L. argyrobapta is gregarious, and will often attach their webs together when prey is plentiful.

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A rarety

bmathison1972 wrote:

In fact, to my knowledge, this is the only figure of a spider in the family Tetragnathidae.

I'm very surprised to find that there are not figures of the much better known Nephila, even if not species-assigned.

Pardofelis wrote:

bmathison1972 wrote:

In fact, to my knowledge, this is the only figure of a spider in the family Tetragnathidae.

I'm very surprised to find that there are not figures of the much better known Nephila, even if not species-assigned.

There are, but Nephilia is in the family Araneidae, not Tetragnathidae