Mathison Museum of Natural History

Beautiful model when I saw it it looked so realistic that I guessed it would be by a Japanese brand- and of course it was!

Species: Latrodectus tredecimguttatus (Rossi, 1790) (malmignatte; European black widow)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Funrise Toys
Series: World of Nature Insect Collection
Year of Release: 1989
Size/Scale: Legspan 6.5 cm. Body length 2.3 cm for a scale of 3.3:1-1.5:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Funrise Toys only marketed this figure as a 'black widow'; the species identification is mine, based on the red spots on the dorsal side of the abdomen (although to be accurate there should be 13 red maculae).

About the Animal
Geographic distribution: Mediterranean Europe, North Africa, Western and Central Asia
Habitat: Low vegetation in steppes, grasslands, dunes, shingle beaches
Diet: Insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like other members of the genus Latrodectus, females of L. tredecimguttatus are venomous to humans. Common symptoms of a bite include severe and long-lasting pain, sleep deprivation, sweating, nausea, and vomiting; in severe cases neuromuscular effects. Death is rare but can occur.

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We have this charming Mis Black widow here!

Walking back to your postosuchus, I am not exactly a collector of prehistoric figures and I have it in my collection and I love it.
Funrise insects are completely misrepresented on TAW. It was good to make something on it.

Species: Dyscophus guineti (Grandidier, 1875) (false tomato frog)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Colorata
Series: Tropical Rain Forest Frogs
Year of Release: 2019 (2005)
Size/Scale: Body length 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:1.5 for a female (which, based on color this figure appears to be; the figure would be 1:1 scale for a male, but they are yellow rather than red in color dorsally)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: My figure is the 2019 re-release of a figure originally produced in 2005.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Madagascar
Habitat: Tropical and subtropical lowland forests, swamps, freshwater marshes
Diet: Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: When a potential predator attempts to eat D. guineti, the frog secretes a thick, gummy substance that numbs the would-be predator's mouth and eyes. People handling tomato frogs are also exposed to this secretion; it is not deadly for a human, but can cause an allergic reaction.

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When frog's colours are not "cryptic" they often mean "toxic"!

Caracal wrote:

When frog's colours are not "cryptic" they often mean "toxic"!

Generally red animals are saying 'don't eat me' LOL

Such a wonderful model of another fascinating species!

One of the best frog figures

Species: Hexarthrius rhinoceros (Olivier, 1789)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: DeAgostini
Series: World Insect Data Book
Year of Release: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (including mandibles) 9.0 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
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.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indonesia
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae presumably feed in rotting hardwoods; adults are attracted to tree sap
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had a hard time researching information on this species; the biological notes above are based on other members of the genus Hexarthrius. There are three subspecies of H. rhinoceros: H. r. rhinoceros occurs on Java while H. r. chaudoiri and H. r. hansi occur on Sumatra.

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I have also one figure, a scorpion

Such a beautiful model- definitely one that I would call 'museum quality' !

widukind wrote:

I have also one figure, a scorpion

There are no scorpions in this series; yours is probably from one of their magazine series.

bmathison1972 wrote:

widukind wrote:

I have also one figure, a scorpion

There are no scorpions in this series; yours is probably from one of their magazine series.

Ah okay, yes from a magazin

Species: Dynastes grantii Horn, 1870 (western Hercules beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Sega
Series: 'Beetles on Wood'
Year of Release: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (including horns) 2.6 cm for a scale of 1:2-1:3.3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the third time we have seen this species in the Museum. 'Beetles on Wood' is my designation for a set of very small Sega figures that depict the usual scarabaeoid beetles on logs. I don't know much about this set, including the official name of the set, when they came out, or how many figures are in it (I have 15 out of 16 known figures; the one I didn't retain is an anime version of Allomyrina dichotoma, which I believe serves as Sega's mascot).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southwestern United States, northern Mexico
Habitat: Subtropical woodlands, particularly in the pine-oak transition zones, and often in riparian areas.
Diet: Larvae feed in rotting wood of several trees; adults feed on tree sap, primarily of Fraxinus velutina (Arizona ash).
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The life cycle of D. grantii lasts about two years, from oviposition to pupal eclosion. Adults emerge in the late summer and are active for about 2-4 months.

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Species: Ophisternon candidum (Mees, 1962) (blind cave eel)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Cave Dwellers TOOB
Year of Release: 2014
Size/Scale: Figure length 8.5 cm. Measured along midline, body length 11.0 cm for a scale of 1:3-1:3.6
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was marketed simply as an eel; the species designation is my own, with assistance from forum members brontodocus and sbell. The length-to-width ratio is not quite right for O. candidum, as it should be more elongate and slender, but that could just be to counter the fragility of a long, thin toy. This set was re-released (date unknown) with different paint jobs; in the second release the eel appears to be pale brown or possibly translucent brown.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Cape Range Peninsula and Barrow Island, Western Australia
Habitat: Subterranean aquifers at depths of 0-3 meters
Diet: Freshwater crustaceans and insects, scavenger
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Like many other animals restricted to subterranean caves and waters, O. candidum has lost its eyes and pigment. With maximum specimens reaching a length of 40 cm, O. candidum is the largest troglomorphic fish.

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A lovely figure, and interesting to read how you came to the decision on species!

Strange figure

.. I didn't know!

Interesting species and figure!

Species: †Meganeura monyi (Brongniart, 1884)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Dinotales Series 4
Year of Release: 2003
Size/Scale: Wingspan 8.5 cm for a scale of 1:7.6-1:8.2
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Dinotales figures, assembly is required. As you can tell from a couple missing appendages on mine, this figure is rather fragile.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Carboniferous (Kasimovian-Gzhelian) of present-day Western Europe
Habitat: Riparian
Diet: Flying insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: It is often believed that M. monyi was able to reach such a large size due to increased oxygen in the environment during the late Carboniferous (up to 35% as compared to roughly 21% today). Insects have a respiratory system whereby oxygen is taken directly from the environment to the internal tissues and organs. Increased oxygen in the environment could have supplied a passive boost with minimal effort on behalf of the animal, allowing for larger growth. This theory is still frequently debated, however.

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Wonderful model and picture!

.. and interesting theory.. :)