Mathison Museum of Natural History

Beautiful spider and a very lovely glossy bird! Your collection is huge!

A very nice spider! I've seen a lot of roughly-tarantula-ish toys over the years, so it's nice to see a much more accurate and lifelike one, especially in the detailed painting.

Species: Aeshna cyanea (Müller, 1764) (southern hawker; blue hawker)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Blip Toys
Series: Nature's Wonders HD
Year of Production: 2008
Size/Scale: Body length 8.0 cm; wingspan 12.0 cm for a scale slightly larger than 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The Nature's Wonders figures were not marketed at the species level, but most of them appear to be realistically painted after actual species. The identification here is my own, albeit tentative. I had trouble finding a species that matched with aspects of both the thorax and abdomen. For years on the forums, I had this identified as Anax junius; however, Anax species have an entirely green thorax in both sexes.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Europe west of the Ural Mountains, North Africa
Habitat: Lakes, ponds, rivers, gardens, open woodlands
Diet: Nymphs feed on aquatic invertebrates, small fish, tadpoles; adults feed on flying insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Like all odonates, A. cyanea cycles between an aquatic nymph and a terrestrial, flying adult. Eggs are laid in submerged rotting vegetation and wood in late summer or fall. The eggs hatch in the spring and the aquatic nymphs feed for 2-3 years before emerging as adults in the summer.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Beautiful model and picture!

Blip toys is a very interesting brand

Species: Cassiopea ornata Haeckel, 1880 (upside-down jellyfish)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Qualia
Series: JOIN Collection
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Display height 6.0 cm. Diameter of disc 1.8 cm for a scale of 1:5.5-1:6.7
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: There are five figures in Qualia's JOIN Collection of jellyfish; the bases of any four figures can 'join' together to form a mini circular diorama. The animal is removable from the bubble stream, and there are two points of attachment on the stream on which to place the animal, one higher up (as shown here) and one lower down. These five species were included in Kitan Club's Nature Techni Colour jellyfish collection; the NTC figures are approximately twice the size of the Qualia figures and more detailed, but I like the ability to display them on habitat-style bases.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: West Pacific
Habitat: Pelagic, usually in shallow waters at depths of 0-1.5 meters
Diet: Primarily nutrients derived from symbiotic photosynthetic dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae); also, planktonic prey captured in their tentacles
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: One of the reasons C. ornata swims upside down, giving it its common name, is to expose its symbiotic zooxanthellae to a sufficient amount of sunlight to fuel their energy source.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Very beautiful!

Indeed, very beautiful. Jellyfish aren't so common as models. Minor correction : There are four places where the figure can be attached to the bubbles. They are hard to see!

rogerpgvg wrote:

Minor correction : There are four places where the figure can be attached to the bubbles. They are hard to see!

Oh! I'll have to look at the figure closer at home, thanks! :)

Nice jellyfish

Species: Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758 (red deer)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Wildlife
Year of Production: 2016
Size/Scale: Figure height 11.0 cm. Height at shoulder 6.5 cm for a scale of 1:14.5-1:20
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: Most figures of this species are by older, vintage manufactuers. The only two readily available these days by major manufacturers are this figure, and the 2011 model by CollectA. Schleich also released a version in 2011, but it was discontinued in 2017.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Europe, Middle East, West Asia, North Africa (Atlas Mountains); introduced as game to North America, Australia, New Zealand, South America
Habitat: Open woodlands, coniferous swamps, clear-cuts, grasslands, taiga
Diet: Grasses, sedges, and forbs in the summer; woody growth in the winter
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: For decades, members of the 'red deer complex', including the red deer (C. elaphus), the elk (or wapati, C. canadensis), and the Central Asian red deer (C. hanglu) were considered one species, with C. canadensis having nomenclatural priority. Molecular studies in 2004 containing data from specimens from across the Holarctic show strong evidence for C. elaphus and C. canadensis being recognized as separate species, but the placement of some Central Asian populations were not very concordant. Recent molecular studies, however, show justification of C. hanglu as a valid species as well, especially with the transfer of two of its subspecies to C. canadensis.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

You forget the Schleich 2017 model from the forest set, which is an amazing top-quality figure.

Interesting to read about the different deer species and I didn't realise red deer are so uncommon amongst modern brands. The Safari looks all right, but a bit toyish; I think the old Britains (later version) still wins.

spacelab wrote:

You forget the Schleich 2017 model from the forest set, which is an amazing top-quality figure.

I was under the impression that was a rehash of an earlier figure, but maybe I didn't study them close enough. Oh well, none of the Schleich ones come close to Safari or CollectA

Beautiful picture! according to me, this model suffers too short legs, and unapropriate antlers. Its white muzzle is curious. I prefer thé collecta and prévois schleich

.. the collecta, previous version from schleich and some 1/32 scale from elastolin, starlux and britains.
.

Species: Cephalopholis miniata (Forsskål, 1775) (coral hind; coral grouper; coral rock cod)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yujin
Series: Saltwater Fish Pictorial Book 1
Year of Production: 2004
Size/Scale: Figure length 5.5 cm. Measured along midline, body length 7.0 cm for a scale of 1:3.7-1:7.0
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The figure attaches to its habitat-style base with a clear acrylic rod. If it looks like my figure is sitting awkwardly on its base, it is because the peg on mine broke inside and flush with the fish, so I no longer have a way of securing it to the base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indo-Pacific
Habitat: Coral reefs, usually at depths of 2-150 meters
Diet: Small fish (especially sea goldies, Pseudanthias squamipinnis), crustaceans
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Cephalopholis miniata forms harems consisting of a male and up to 12 females. Males are very territorial and harems will occupy a territory up to 475 square meters; the male's territory is further subdivided into secondary territories, each of which are defended by a single female.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Such a beautiful grouper!

spacelab wrote:

You forget the Schleich 2017 model from the forest set, which is an amazing top-quality figure.

That model is absolutely stunning, I usually side with Safari but that figure for sure is [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] for me...

Joliezac wrote:

That model is absolutely stunning, I usually side with Safari but that figure for sure is [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] for me...

Without a doubt.

This grouper is very nice figure.

very beautiful model and picture!

Species: Cyrestis thyodamas Boisduval, 1836 (common map)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Capsule Q Museum - Caterpillars Vol. 3
Year of Production: 2015
Size/Scale: Length 6.5 cm for a scale of 1.6:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: One of several unique species in the Capsule Q Museum caterpillar series, there is to date, at least to the best of my knowledge, no figures of the adult of this species.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia (Northern and Central India, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Japan)
Habitat: Forest edges, fields, meadows, muddy swamps
Diet: Larvae feed on plants in the genus Ficus (fig); adults take nectar from flowers
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The function of the cephalic and thoracic projections on the larva of C. thyodamas is unknown, but they are believed to aid in camouflage by mimicking young shoots of the host Ficus.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]