Mathison Museum of Natural History

I prefer the UK release!

Caracal wrote:

I prefer the UK release!

Me too; most of the time, the UK releases are more realistic than their Australian counterparts.

bmathison1972 wrote:

Caracal wrote:

I prefer the UK release!

Me too; most of the time, the UK releases are more realistic than their Australian counterparts.

And no puzzles

Species: Cheirotonus jambar Kurosawa, 1984 (Yanbaru long-armed scarab)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Natural Monuments of Japan
Year of Production: 2002
Size/Scale: Armspan 6.7 cm. Body length (excluding appendages) 4.0 cm for a scale of 1:1.2-1:1.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen C. jambar in the Museum, and I believe this Kaiyodo figure is the first representative of this species in toy form (at the time of this writing, I am not sure when the Study Room figure by Kaiyodo was produced). Kaiyodo has produced this species three times; all three figures are very similar but none appear to be exact copies of any of the others. The beetle is removable from its habitat-style base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan (Yanbaru Forest, Okinawa)
Habitat: Subtropical rainforest
Diet: Larvae breed in branches of living Quercus (oak) and Castanopsis (Itajii chinkapin); adults feed on sap flows
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Cheirotonus jambar exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism and only males have such exaggerated front tibiae. The role of the long legs is not completely understood, but they may be analogous to long horns in dynastine scarabs or long mandibles in lucanids and are used for fighting rival males and securing feeding and breeding sites. They may also be used for securing the female during mating.

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Very beautiful model. Are these the beetles that are called Samurai beetles in Japanese? It really looks as if it is wearing a Samurai helmet.

Very beautiful and realistic model! 

rogerpgvg wrote:

Very beautiful model. Are these the beetles that are called Samurai beetles in Japanese? It really looks as if it is wearing a Samurai helmet.

No, from what I can tell 'Samurai beetle' is a common name for the Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Allomyrina dichotoma.

bmathison1972 wrote:

rogerpgvg wrote:

Very beautiful model. Are these the beetles that are called Samurai beetles in Japanese? It really looks as if it is wearing a Samurai helmet.

No, from what I can tell 'Samurai beetle' is a common name for the Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Allomyrina dichotoma.

Japanese use the word kabuto (Japanese helmet) for a few animals.
I figured it out while trying to find the exact species listed on The Access Jellyfish set.
kabutokurage: kabuto, helmet; kurage, jellyfish. It was probably Bolinopsis mikado or a generic term for this particular group of ctenophores.
kabutomushi is the Japanese rhinoceros beetle as you pointed.. Mushi is bug or insect.
kabutogani is horseshoe crab, gani means crab.

Thanks! Even though it doesn't have samurai in its name, it looks like one when seen from behind.

Amazing model. I like all the arthropods models made by japanese companies.

Species: Maccullochella macquariensis (Cuvier, 1829) (trout cod)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yowie Group
Series: Wild Water Series
Year of Production: 2019
Size/Scale: Figure length 5.0 cm. Body length 6.5 cm for a scale of 1:7.7-1:13
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 the original Australian Yowie by Cadbury, which requires assembly and is articulated.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Australia (Murray-Darling Basin)
Habitat: Upland rivers and creeks
Diet: Other fish, freshwater invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Vulnerable
Miscellaneous Notes: Once widespread throughout the Murray-Darling River Basin in Australia, M. macquariensis has suffered a decline over the last 50-60 years due to habitat destruction, overfishing, and competition with introduced game fish, such as brown trout (Salmo trutta), redfin perch (Perca fluviatilis), and common carp (Cyprinus carpio).

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Beautiful model and display of a species I didn't know!

Nice fish figure

Species: Bombyx mori (Linnaeus, 1758) (domestic silkworm moth)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Insect Lore
Series: Life Cycle Figurines
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Leaf with hatchlings 6.5 cm long. Larva 8.0 cm long, for a scale of 2:1. Pupa 4.0 cm long. Adult wingspan 6.5 cm for a scale of 2:1-1.3:1.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: I believe these figures are the first of their species in toy form. Kaiyodo would later make and adult and a larva and Shine-G made a larva and pupa (sans cocoon).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Species originated in Southeast Asia; now bred throughout the world, especially Europe, Asia, and Australia
Habitat: Broadleaf forests
Diet: Larvae feed primarily on Morus alba (white mulberry); adults do not feed
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Domesticated
Miscellaneous Notes: The origin of B. mori is unknown, but is believed to be descended from an extinct moth that shares a common ancestor with the wild silk moth, B. mandarina. Domestication is thought to have originated in China over 5,000 years ago. Bombyx mori is a pure product of domestication and cannot survive without human assistance. Adults have lost the ability to fly. They have also lost color pigments. Silk is harvested from the cocoon of the moth. Approximately 32 million kilograms of silk are produced annually, requiring nearly 10 billion cocoons.

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didactic and good display!

Species: Blapton ramentaceus (Germar, 1837)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Exotic Insects
Year of Production: 1998
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding appendages) 4.5 cm. I cannot find published measurements for this species but looking at photographs online, I estimate the figure is 5:1-4:1 in scale.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure is only stamped as an 'assassin bug' and the identification is my own. For years on the forums, I had this identified as Sphagiastes ramentaceus, which I have recently come to learn is an outdated name, as Sphagiastes is now considered a synonym of Blapton.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southern Africa
Habitat: Savanna
Diet: Other insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had difficulty researching information on this species. Like some other reduviids, B. ramentaceus mimics dead leaves or flowers allowing it to ambush potential prey.

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Don't you have dead leaves background? We could have played at "Where is Charly?"..  

Species: Morpho rhetenor augustinae Le Cerf, 1925

About the Figure:
Manufacturers: K&M International; Insect Lore
Series: Butterflies Mini Polybag (K&M); Big Bunch-O Butterflies (IL)
Years of Production: unknown (K&M); 2013 (IL)
Size/Scale: Wingspan 4.0 cm for a scale of 1:3.3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Neither figure is identified at the species level. My initial identification was Morpho diana (see below) and is based on the Toy Major figure which shares a similar color pattern (although the Toy Major figure, which I have yet to acquire, is more accurate for the species). As discussed on the forum before, companies that make sets of butterflies are notorious for copying one another. From what I can tell, the TM figure started the trend with this particular color pattern. To complicate things, one could even argue that the TM figure is based on the Club Earth Morpho, which I have identified as M. cypris. Researching the pedigrees of toy butterflies can sometimes seem like an exercise in futility...
The figure on the upper left is by K&M International; the one on the lower right is by Insect Lore. The two figures are identical and without unique markings. I only know which is which because I can compare the nuances of the paint application with images in earlier posts on the forum! Whether Insect Lore copied K&M (I do know the K&M model came first) or they both outsourced the same manufacturer, I do not know. Insect Lore also made a larger version of this species in the Big Bunch-O Butterflies collection.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Venezuela (Orinoco Delta)
Habitat: Swamps, mangrove forests
Diet: Larval host plants unknown (other members of the rhetenor-complex feed on plants in the families Fabaceae (legumes) and Arecaceae (palms)); adults feed on decaying fruit and tree sap
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: This subspecies has a confusing and controversial taxonomic history. Historically it was known as Morpho diana, but that name is now considered synonymous with M. augustinae, which has been relegated to a subspecies of M. rhetenor. The systematics of members of the rhetenor-complex is challenging, made more so by the morphological diversity of the group. Contrary to rumors in online chat rooms and forums, M. r. augustinae is not extinct.

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Beautiful species and display!

Species: Rosalia batesi Harold, 1877

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Chocoegg Animatales Series 5
Year of Production: 2001
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding appendages) 4.0 cm for a scale of 2:1-1.5:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Chocoegg Animatales figures, some assembly is required. Yujin also made this species, in the 1:1 scale.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan
Habitat: Montane and subalpine forests
Diet: Larvae bore in dead wood of several hardwood trees, including Salix (willow), Juglans (walnut), Pterocarya (wingnuts), Betula (birch), Carpinus (hornbeans), Fagus (beech), Ulmus (elm), Magnolia (magnolia), Cercidiphyllum (katsura), Acer (maple), Hovenia (raisin tree), and Styrax (storax); also lumber and firewood. Adults feed on flowers.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The length of time for larval development of R. batesi is unknown, but it is believed larvae are capable of hibernating in their host substrate, thus taking multiple years for adults to emerge in some cases. Adults have emerged indoors from wood that has not been outside in over five years, suggesting that larvae may be capable of slowing and prolonging larval development in dry wood.

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