Mathison Museum of Natural History

I too have this Lemon shark. It's very well made. Thanks for All the facts of this species.

There are many phantastic shark species in the world of figures

widukind wrote:

There are many phantastic shark species in the world of figures

Yes, and Safari Ltd. is leading the way!

Species: Allomyrina dichotoma (Linnaeus, 1771) (Japanese rhinoceros beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yell
Series: Beetles on Wood
Year of Production: 2020
Size/Scale: Body length (including horn) 6.0 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is our fifth time seeing A. dichotoma in the Museum! Yell's 'Beetles on Wood' collection features many of the typical scarabaeoid species made by Japanese companies. The figures are sold in large slotted plastic balls (similar to cat toys) and come with a real piece of wood to display them with. I took it upon myself to use an adhesive to permanently affix the beetles to their piece of wood, making mini dioramas out of them. Yell released the same set of 12 beetles in 2021, albeit each with a plastic magnifying glass rather than a piece of wood; the name of that collection is 'Zoom'.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia, including China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan
Habitat: Tropical and subtropical hardwood forests
Diet: Larvae feed on organic detritus in soil; adults are attracted to sap flows
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Allomyrina dichotoma is very popular in Japanese culture, and appears in cartoons, commercials, card games, and is commonly bred in terraria. This accounts for it being one of the most commonly-made animal species by Japanese companies (all five figures seen in the Museum to date have been by different Japanese companies).

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Thanks to japanese brands and your museum, I know better now Asian species than europeans ones!

Caracal wrote:

Thanks to japanese brands and your museum, I know better now Asian species than europeans ones!

Haha, well, there will be many more to come!

Species: Rhaetulus speciosus Boileau, 1911

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Sega
Series: Mushi King, standard series, small
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (including mandibles) 5.2 cm, within scale 1:1 (1:1.3 for a large major male)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: 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: Southeast Asia, including India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
Habitat: Tropical broadleaf forests
Diet: Larvae feed in rotting wood; adults presumably feed on tree sap
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had trouble researching information on the biology and complete geographic distribution of this species. Some of the biological notes above are inferred from other members of the genus.

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Beautiful model and display!

Species: Anas castanea (Eyton, 1838) (chestnut teal)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Cadbury
Series: Yowies UK Series 1
Year of Production: 1997
Size/Scale: Figure 4.2 cm tall. Scale difficult to calculate. Stretched out, the body length would approximately 7.0 cm for a scale of 1:5-1:6.5. Using bill length as a metric (0.7 cm), the scale would calculate to 1:5.3-1:6.2.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The only other figure of this species I am aware of is its Australian Yowies counterpart, which requires assembly.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southwestern and southeastern Australia, including Tasmania; vagrants reaching New Guinea, New Zealand, and Lord Howe Island
Habitat: Coastal estuaries and wetlands, swamps, marshes
Diet: Aquatic insects, snails, crabs, small fish, aquatic vegetation
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Anas castanea forms monogamous pairs that stay together outside the breeding season. Nests usually occur in tree hollows and are lined with down; birds may also nest on the ground. Both parents incubate the eggs.

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There is an error in this common name. The Australian Anas castanea is called “chestnut teal”. “Cinnamon teal” is a different species, Spatula cyanoptera, found in the Americas.

Birdsage wrote:

There is an error in this common name. The Australian Anas castanea is called “chestnut teal”. “Cinnamon teal” is a different species, Spatula cyanoptera, found in the Americas.

Hahaha, Thank you for catching that!!! I've seen cinnamon teals birding here in Utah; must have been stuck in the back of my mind.

Beautiful model and picture!

A must have

Great last few models. :)

Species: Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, 1827 (large-billed crow; jungle crow)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Choco Q Animatales Series 10
Year of Production: 2005
Size/Scale: Figure height 4.5 cm. Body length approximately 6.5 cm for a scale of 1:7-1:9
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Choco Q figures, some assembly is required. Kaiyodo previously made this species for the Chocoegg Animatales line and Eikoh made one for the Miniatureplanet line.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: East and Southeast Asia, Japan
Habitat: Woodlands, open scrubland, agricultural fields, orchards, parks, gardens
Diet: Carrion, small living animals, human refuse; will occasionally steal food from other birds, including raptors
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Corvus macrorhynchos will sometimes form large groups and gang up on and attack other birds, especially raptors.

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I didn't know this "Corvus"!

Me neither, though it looks much like a common raven. The figure is very interesting, even if it lacks the detailed feathers sculpting that is a common thing in Japanese models I guess. What I can't understand is why they didn't make a larger bill since it's the most prominent feature of this species if I get it right from its description.
I love the depth of your photo!

What a handsome bird! It does remind me very much of a raven, I can almost hear the cronk, cronk call!

A great figure

Species: Brachypelma smithi (Cambridge, 1897) (Mexican red-kneed tarantula)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Capsule Q Museum - Toxic and Dangerous Animals
Year of Release: 2014
Size/Scale: Legspan 7.2 cm. Body length (excluding appendages) 3.7 cm for a scale of 1:1.5 (could be 1:1 for a younger or smaller specimen)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: Brachypelma smithi is probably the most common species of spider in toy form identifiable at the species level (if not tied with or second to the southern black widow, Latrodectus mactans). This is our third look at it in the Museum. Being a Capsule Q Museum figure, minimal assembly is required.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southside of the Balsas River Basin in Guerrero, Mexico
Habitat: Tropical deciduous forests, thornscrub, semi-deserts
Diet: Primarily insects and other arthropods, occasionally small reptiles, amphibians, birds, rodents.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Near Threatened
Miscellaneous Notes: There is confusion to the identity of spiders referred to as Mexican red-knees, since the description of a cryptic sibling species, B. hamorii, by Cleton and Verdez in 1997. The two species are indistinguishable morphologically and can only be separated by DNA barcoding and strict geographic distribution. In the absence of a figure being specifically ascribed to a given species, I am referring to all figures as the classic B. smithi. Both species are very common in the pet trade (and don't be surprised if the pet store doesn't know which species they are selling). In captivity, female B. smithi can live 20 to 30 years!

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wow it's a long life for a spider!.. maybe enough to create a good relation-ship! .. beautiful model