Mathison Museum of Natural History

Species: Dynastes hercules (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hercules beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Sega
Series: Mushi King, large series, DX
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (including horns) 13.0 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very common
Miscellaneous Notes: Wow, two large figures of the same species back-to-back? That's the thing about randomness; it can happen! This figure was sold as the subspecies D. h. lichyi (Andean Hercules beetle) but I don't designate subspecies for my D. hercules figures as the features distinguishing them are often too subtle to be reliably captured in a figure. The large 'DX' figures are larger figures of a better quality (paint, sculpt) than Sega's large 'standard' figures. There were 13 species in the series, with approximately 20 figures including variants and repaints with different colored eyes. Minimal assembly required and the head is articulated.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Bolivia
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae feed on rotting wood; adults are attracted to fresh and overripe fruit
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The subspecies D. h. lichyi lives along the Andes in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

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As beautiful as the previous one!

Caracal wrote:

As beautiful as the previous one!

I prefer the overall look of the Takara figure, but the elytra of the Sega figure are painted better.

Species: Canthigaster valentini (Bleeker, 1853) (Valentin's sharpnose puffer; saddled puffer)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Shinagawa Aquarium
Year of Production: 2012
Size/Scale: Bottlecap base 3.5 cm in diameter. Body length 5.0 cm for a scale of approximately 1:2
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The figure is removable from its base, to which it attached with a small acrylic rod.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indo-Pacific
Habitat: Coral reefs, at depths of 1-55 meters
Diet: Filamentous green and red algae, marine invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Like other pufferfish, C. valentini is extremely toxic if eaten, whether by humans or other predatory fish. The toxin is a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin and it naturally occurs in the skin and soft tissues of the fish. The non-toxic blacksaddle filefish (Paraluteres prionurus) mimics C. valentini; this is considered an example of Batesian mimicry and the two species will often school together.

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A beautieful fish

unbelievable patterns!

Species: Ripiphoridae, gen. sp. (wedge-shaped beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Imperial Toys
Series: Bugs n' Jugs
Year of Production: 1990
Size/Scale: Body length 4.5 cm. Scale species dependent, but roughly 11:1-3.75:1 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: For the most part, I no longer collect generic insects that are not identifiable to at least the genus level. I make some exceptions for rare and unusual taxa, such as today's ripiphorid (which is probably the only figure of a ripiphorid ever made, not taking into account variations and knock-offs of this one). I am not familiar with the family on a world basis, but based solely on North American taxa, today's figure would probably have been modeled after a member of the genus Macrosiagon. The scale above is based on that genus.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Worldwide, every continent except Antarctica
Habitat: Highly variable, based on the host
Diet: Larvae are parasitoids of other insects; adult diet unknown but based on mouthpart morphology is presumed to be nectar or pollen.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [taxa specific, but most if not all probably Not Evaluated]
Miscellaneous Notes: Ripiphorids are known for their hypermetamorphic parasitic life histories. I'll focus on Macrosiagon due to the figure's similarity to that genus. Members of the genus Macrosiagon are parasites of aculeate Hymenoptera (bees, wasps). Adult females lay eggs on vegetation (leaves, flowers) and on soil. First instar larvae (triungulin), which are active, motile organisms, seek out a host wasp or bee and hitch a ride back to the nest. Once in the nest, the triungulin larvae parasitizes the larva of the host hymenopteran and undergoes multiple sessile instars. By the time the beetle pupates, it has consumed most of its host. Adult ripiphorids are very short-lived, and leave the host's nest to mate in the environment.

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I was working on puffers and here is one missing on TAW. That's a beautiful piece and your pictures are incredibly good and it is actually enthertaining to see the different settings you give to each figure.

not a beekeeper friend I suppose!

Roger wrote:

I was working on puffers and here is one missing on TAW. That's a beautiful piece and your pictures are incredibly good and it is actually enthertaining to see the different settings you give to each figure.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - please feel free to add it to TAI if you want!

Caracal wrote:

not a beekeeper friend I suppose!

I am not sure which, if any, species are parasites of the common honey bee. Even if some are, the prevalence is probably low enough that I doubt it would be detrimental to a hive.

Species: Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758) (monarch)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Papo
Series: Wild Animals
Year of Production: 2020
Size/Scale: Wingspan 7.5 cm for a scale of 1:1.2-1:1.4 (slightly under 1:1 for a small specimen)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the fifth time we have seen D. plexippus in the Museum. Not surprising, considering it is probably the most commonly-made butterfly at the species level. Like many figures of nymphalid butterflies, today's monarch has two many legs (6; should only be 4). While this is a very common mistake, it is somewhat of a surprise from a major company in 2020!

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean, the Azores, Canary Islands, North Africa, Australia, the Philippines, and South Pacific islands; rare stray to the United Kingdom
Habitat: Fields, forests, gardens, disturbed areas
Diet: Larvae feed on milkweeds in the family Apocynaceae, most commonly members of the genus Asclepias; adults take nectar from a variety of flowers
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated (NatureServe status is Apparently Secure)
Miscellaneous Notes: Danaus plexippus takes nectar from a wide variety of flowers. Some of the more popular flowers for this species, and those that could be planted if one wanted to attract monarchs to their garden, include Gaillardia (Indian blanket), Erysimum (Siberian wallflower), Lobularia (sweet alyssum), Asclepias (milkweeds, butterfly weed), Echinacea (purple coneflower), Tithonia (Mexican sunflower), Cosmos (sulfur cosmos), Agastache (lavender hyssop), Heliopsis (false sunflower), Aster (asters), Lantana (lantana), Zinnia (zinnia), Syringa (lilac), and Verbana (verbenas), among several others. Certain flowers are more appropriate than others in different climates and habitats.

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bmathison1972 wrote:

Roger wrote:

I was working on puffers and here is one missing on TAW. That's a beautiful piece and your pictures are incredibly good and it is actually enthertaining to see the different settings you give to each figure.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - please feel free to add it to TAI if you want!

I'd love to but I never know where to put it.
Is it from the Japan Aquarium vol 5 you can see in this page. or is it a different series since you provide the name of the Aquarium?

Roger wrote:

bmathison1972 wrote:

Roger wrote:

I was working on puffers and here is one missing on TAW. That's a beautiful piece and your pictures are incredibly good and it is actually enthertaining to see the different settings you give to each figure.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - please feel free to add it to TAI if you want!

I'd love to but I never know where to put it.
Is it from the Japan Aquarium vol 5 you can see in this page. or is it a different series since you provide the name of the Aquarium?

yes [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] it is that collection. Each of those collections were released alongside different aquariums. I use Aquarium designations rather than numbers since there is more confusion using numbers (Aquarium vs. Aquatales, etc.)

One side of the bottlecap has the Aquarium name and Japanese name of the animal, the other side says 'Capsule Aquarium' and the Latin name of the animal.

bmathison1972 wrote:

Roger wrote:

bmathison1972 wrote:

Roger wrote:

I was working on puffers and here is one missing on TAW. That's a beautiful piece and your pictures are incredibly good and it is actually enthertaining to see the different settings you give to each figure.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - please feel free to add it to TAI if you want!

I'd love to but I never know where to put it.
Is it from the Japan Aquarium vol 5 you can see in this page. or is it a different series since you provide the name of the Aquarium?

yes [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] it is that collection. Each of those collections were released alongside different aquariums. I use Aquarium designations rather than numbers since there is more confusion using numbers (Aquarium vs. Aquatales, etc.)

One side of the bottlecap has the Aquarium name and Japanese name of the animal, the other side says 'Capsule Aquarium' and the Latin name of the animal.

Thanks, I think it is nice to know to which aquaria those figures were made. I think the Kaiyodo section has a lot to be improved but I lack the knowledge. There is a 2007 set from the same Aquarium but placed in a completely different place. Meanwhile I added the puffer conveniently credited but the name of this page is also quite weird.

beautiful species!

Species: Allotopus rosenbergi (Snellen van Vollenvoven in Parry, 1872)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Sega
Series: Mushi King - Beetle Magnet
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (including mandibles) 3.5 cm for a scale of 1:2
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the third time we've seen A. rosenbergi in the Museum; the species has become somewhat of a 'standard' among the Japanese companies. As the name suggests, figures in the Beetle Magnet collection have a small magnet on the ventral side.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indonesia (Java)
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae breed in decaying wood; adults presumably feed on tree sap
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had trouble researching information on this species. Allotopus rosenbergi is popular with collectors (and Japanese toy insect manufacturers) but not as common in terraria as larvae require wood infected with particular fungi.

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oh a golden one!

Species: Pediculus humanus Linnaeus, 1758 (human head-and-body louse)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Fleas, Lice, and Ticks
Year of Production: 1996
Size/Scale: Body length 4.7 cm for a scale of 18.5:1-15.5:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Play Visions specifically marketed this figure as the head louse, P. h. capitis.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Cosmopolitan
Habitat: Head lice (P. h. capitis) spend their entire lives living among human hair, especially on the scalp; body lice (P. h. humanus) primarily live off of the host on fomites (bedding, clothing, etc.) and only migrate to the human body to feed.
Diet: Nymphs and adults feed on human blood
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Head lice do not transmit disease-causing agents; however, body lice do, including Rickettsia prowazekii (epidemic typhus), Bartonella quintana (trench fever), and Borrelia recurrentis (louse-borne relapsing fever).

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A rarety

Species: Sceloporus cyanogenys Cope, 1885 (blue spiny lizard)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Wing Mau
Series: Lizards
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Figure length 12.0 cm. Snout-to-vent length 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:2.4
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique [as a sculpt]
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was also used by Club Earth for their Lizards to Go collection. There is an alternate paint job for this figure, where the midbody is more blue with white maculae and the tail has fewer bands. Both paint options appear viable for S. cyanogenys, as currently delineated (see below).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southern USA (so. Texas) and northeastern Mexico
Habitat: Rocky outcroppings, boulders, cliffs, dry creek beds, bridges and abandoned buildings
Diet: Insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: This species was historically considered a subspecies of S. serrifer, the latter of which, as currently delineated, is restricted to southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize

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