Mathison Museum of Natural History

Wow that mantis! Stunning figure, and lovely photo!

This bird is awesome and my stupidity too, I missed this set when it was cheap

Your picture with red flowers is really beautiful.

Species: Cricetus cricetus (Linnaeus, 1758) (European hamster; black-bellied hamster)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Hamster's Lunch
Year of Production: 2002
Size/Scale: Bottlecap base 3.5 cm. Height (on base) 5.5 cm. Body length approximately 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:4-1:5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique to rare
Miscellaneous Notes: I am not sure how frequently this species has been made, taking into account generic hamster figures. No assembly is required and the animal is removable from its base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central Europe east to northern China and southern Russia
Habitat: Steppes, grasslands, agricultural fields, parks, gardens, cemeteries
Diet: Grasses, seeds, grains, fruits, legumes; opportunistically insects and other invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Critically Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Generally a solitary animal, C. cricetus lives in a complex burrow system. Burrows can be up to 30-60 cm deep in the summer, but during the winter diapause they are usually only about 2 meters underground. The burrows have a diameter of about 8-9 cm and consist of a complex system that includes dwelling, food storage, and latrine chambers. The burrows offer protection from predators, which include birds of prey, owls, foxes, stoats, badgers, and in urban areas, cats and dogs.

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Beautiful model and display!

Oh, I love the photo of the giant Devil's flower mantis .
Great job on this one, it is beautiful.

Species: Blepharopsis mendica (Fabricius, 1772) (Devil's flower mantis; thistle mantis)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Exotic Insects
Year of Production: 1998
Size/Scale: Total figure length 6.5 cm. Scale difficult to calculate as it appears to represent an L6 nymph (or close). Body length 6.0 which would be close to 1:1 for an adult. This figure can probably fit into the 1:1 scale, even for a nymph.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The legs are somewhat soft compared to the body and it might not stand well over time on its own.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: North Africa, Middle East, Canary Islands
Habitat: Dry forests, semi-deserts, deserts; usually among shrubby and thorny bushes
Diet: Flying insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Much like the Idolomantis diabolica seen just a few days ago, B. mendica is primarily an ambush predator of flying insects. All stages (especially the nymphs, as seen today) are well camouflaged among flowers and foliage.

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Two really cool mantis in just a few days, what are the odds? It does manage to be rather crtic in your wonderful display.

I really need some mantises... manti? Whatever, a whole FLOCK of them will do! Excellent model again.

pipsxlch wrote:

Two really cool mantis in just a few days, what are the odds? It does manage to be rather crtic in your wonderful display.

the beauty of randomness!

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

I really need some mantises... manti? Whatever, a whole FLOCK of them will do! Excellent model again.

LOL



Next up:

Species: Papilio zelicaon Lucas, 1852 (anise swallowtail)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Beam
Series: Imomushi
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length 7.0 cm for a scale of 1.4:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the fifth species of Papilio featured in the Museum; the first genus to reach this milestone. The Imomushi collection by Beam features most of the species produced by Club Earth for their Caterpillars to Go collection. Interestingly, however, they are not direct copies, as the caterpillars shared between the two collections are sculpted in different positions. There is little doubt that Club Earth served as the inspiration for this set, and in general the CE caterpillars have been copied several other times. One difference between the Beam and CE collections is that the CE figures are marked with the common English names on the underside, whereas the Imomushi figures are not. Identification of the latter was only reliably possible by comparing shapes and colors of the sculpts.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Western North America
Habitat: Open hills and mountains, fields, gardens, disturbed areas, roadsides
Diet: Larvae feed on several plants in the families Apiaceae (carrot family) and Rutaceae (rues, citrus); adults take nectar from flowers
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern [NatureServe status Secure]
Miscellaneous Notes: Female P. zelicaon lay eggs singly on the host plants. Young caterpillars feed on leaves while older instars tend to feed on flowers and young seeds. There can be upwards of four broods a year and the butterfly can overwinter as a pupa.

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Beautiful caterpillar and mantis!

Species: Mesocricetus auratus (Waterhouse, 1839) (golden hamster; Syrian hamster)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Hamster's Lunch
Year of Production: 2002
Size/Scale: Bottlecap base 3.5 cm. Body length about 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon [see below]
Miscellaneous Notes: I don't know the frequency of how common this species has been made, taking into account generic hamster figures. I would guess most generic hamsters, especially those released with a pet or domestic theme, probably represent M. auratus since it's one of the species most commonly kept as a pet (even today's figure appears to represent a domestic morphotype). I decided to be a little more creative today, and have the figure off its base for the main image and show the figure with base as an inset.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Aleppian Plateau in Syria, southern Turkey
Habitat: Open steppes, agricultural fields
Diet: Seeds, nuts, insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Vulnerable
Miscellaneous Notes: Although M. auratus is a popular pet, its domestication in the 1930s was originally for the purpose of animal testing by medical researchers.

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Nice sere of hamsters

Beautiful model and display!

Species: Rhinella marina (Linnaeus, 1758) (cane toad)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Venomous Creatures TOOB
Year of Production: 2010
Size/Scale: Snout-to-vent length approximately 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:5-1:4.8
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This TOOB was recently re-released (not sure when) with different paint jobs; the newer version of this toad looks dusty gray with brown highlights. From what I can tell, this original figure might be more accurate.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central and South America, from extreme southern Texas to the Amazon Region and Peru; introduced to the Caribbean, eastern Australia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Oceania, and other parts of the USA (Hawaii, Florida)
Habitat: Tropical and semiarid forests
Diet: Invertebrates, other amphibians, small reptiles, small birds, small mammals
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: The skin of R. marina is toxic. When threatened, the large parotoid glands (and other glands across its dorsum) release a thick, milky-white bufotoxin. Symptoms of bufotoxin ingestion include shaking and convulsions, loss of coordination, excessive drooling, dyspnea, vomiting, and cardiac arrhythmia. Death has been known to occur. Rhinella marina also secretes bufotenin, a chemical used as a recreational hallucinogenic drug.

Bart: Dad, are you licking toads?
Homer: I'm not not licking toads.

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Love the hamsters, neat to see realistic models of wild ones. I also love that cane toad, and his diorama with the running water.

I love this model! Interesting that there is a grey version... Paint on TOOB figures seems to vary quite a bit, I have this older "orange-brown" variant and even mine looks different from the one you have

Mine is gray, but purchased many years ago so its not the latest version. Great animal again! And that hamster is nice too.

I 'll never eat this kind of frog!   beautiful model and diplay!

Joliezac wrote:

I love this model! Interesting that there is a grey version... Paint on TOOB figures seems to vary quite a bit, I have this older "orange-brown" variant and even mine looks different from the one you have

Mine is a little more brown than the pic indicates; I think because my kitchen (where I photographed it) has yellow lighting.

bmathison1972 wrote:

Thanks all! The mantis  is a stunning piece!

Next up:

Species: Passer montanus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Eurasian tree sparrow)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kitan Club
Series: Nature Techni Colour - Nature of Japan Vol. 3
Year of Production: 2015
Size/Scale: Body length 5.4 cm for a scale of approximately 1:2.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: I cannot remember if assembly is required (and it's hard to tell looking at it!). Kaiyodo also made this species for their Choco Q Animatales series and Eikoh made it for their Miniatureplanet series.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Native to much of Palearctic; introduced to and established in Australia, eastern USA (St. Louis area), Sardinia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Micronesia
Habitat: Wetlands, open woodlands, fields, coasts, gardens, disturbed areas
Diet: Seeds, sometimes invertebrates; young are fed invertebrates by the parents
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: In some places, especially places where it is not native, P. montanus is considered an agricultural pest, as it damages cereal crops and eats animal feed and stored grain. In other places its considered beneficial by eating and harvesting insect garden and crop pests.

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That sparrow looks wonderful. It has beautiful details and the overall shape is also realistic.

Species: Sarcophilus harrisii (Boitard, 1841) (Tasmanian devil)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Southlands Replicas
Series: Australian Animals
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Figure length 6.0 cm. Scale difficult to calculate, but body length (minus tail) approximately 4.7 cm for a scale of 1:14
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: Southlands Replicas are usually among the best representatives of their respective species. Unfortunately they are becoming harder to acquire since the line apparently folded in 2020. Other decent representatives of this species have been made by CollectA, Safari Ltd., and Science & Nature.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Tasmania
Habitat: Coastal heath, open and dry sclerophyll forests, mixed forests; dens usually located in hollow logs, caves, burrows
Diet: Carrion, living mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and vegetation; feeding habits usually based on food availability
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Sarcophilus harrisii has been suffering from a clonally transmissable cancer, known as devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), which is believed to have originated in the Schwann cells of the central nervous system. While typical Tasmanian devils have 14 chromosomes, these tumor cells have ony 13, four of which are mutated. It is believed these tumor cells are transferred between animals by biting, scavenging infected carcasses, or sharing food. Clinical signs of DFTD include ulcerated nodules; the tumors spread locally and lesions on the face will invade the jaw bone which interferes with eating resulting in starvation, or the eyes which may cause blindness. Tumors can also metastasize to lymph nodes, lungs, heart, and spleen and may result in multiorgan failure.

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One of the best figures of a tasmanian devil

Such an amazing model! I didn't know about DFTD, poor guys

Love the Syrian hamster model.