Mathison Museum of Natural History

Beautiful model and display!

Beautiful model and display!

Caracal wrote:

Beautiful model and display!

Absolutly

Marvellous photo , my friend

Thank you!

Next up:

Species: Scolopendra sp. (giant centipedes)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: CollectA
Series: Little Wonders
Year of Production: 2020
Size/Scale: Body length (minus appendages) 16.5 cm, within scale 1:1 for some species.
Frequency of genus in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: CollectA did not market this figure at the species level, and the genus designation is my own; however, there are too many species of Scolopendra to confidently assign a species name. The smaller figure in the image is the miniature counterpart of the larger figure; it was also released in 2020 as part of the Mini Insects and Spiders collection. It has a body length of 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:2-1:5, depending on the species. All of the figures in the mini collection are simply smaller versions of the standard-sized CollectA figures.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions
Habitat: Highly varied, including rainforests, subtropical forests, thornscrub, savanna, deserts
Diet: Insects and other invertebrates; occasionally small reptiles, amphibians, and mammals
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [species dependent, but most if not all probably Not Evaluated]
Miscellaneous Notes: Like other centipedes, members of the genus Scolopendra are venomous. The venom contains serotonin, hemolytic phospholipase, cardiotoxic proteins, and cytolysin. While human deaths from centipede bites are rare, they have occured with S. subspinipes and S. gigantea.

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Impressive species and model!

Species: Pristis pristis (Linnaeus, 1758) (largetooth sawfish; common sawfish)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: CollectA
Series: Sealife
Year of Production: 2014
Size/Scale: Body length 21.0 cm for a scale of 1:9.5-1:35
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon to rare (depending on species assigned to 'sawfish' figures)
Miscellaneous Notes: Sawfish are not common as toys, but other standard-sized figures have been made by Safari Ltd., Papo, and Schleich. I do not know enough about the intricacies of each species to know of the figures all represent P. pristis or other species.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Coastally worldwide in tropical and subtropical oceans
Habitat: Estuaries and bays, often migrating into brackish and freshwater rivers and lakes; at depths to 25 meters (usually less than 10 meters)
Diet: Fish, mollusks, crustaceans
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Critically Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: All extant species of Pristis are classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN. The main threat to P. pristis is overhunting, followed by habitat destruction. Their fins are used in 'shark fin soup' in Asia and thier saws are highly sought as novelty items but are also used culturally in rituals and ceremonies, such as masquerades in Nigeria.

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Beautiful model and display!

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

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: The Study Room
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Base 4.5 cm in diameter. Armspan 8.5 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 third time we've seen C. jambar in the Museum. Kaiyodo has produced this species three times; all three figures are very similar in size but none appear to be exact copies of any of the others. The beetle is removable from its base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan (Yanbaru Forest, Okinawa)
Habitat: Subtropical broadleaf forest
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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Surprising species!

Species: Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens (Strand, 1907) (greenbottle blue tarantula)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: AAA
Series: World of Insects
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Legspan 34.0 cm. Body length 13.0 cm for a scale of 2:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is our second look at Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens in the Museum. Today's figure has spurs on the first pair of legs, indicating it's a male. It took me a long time to figure out the origins of this figure, as it's not marked, but I have recently come across pics of it in an old AAA catalogue. I always speculated it was either produced by AAA or Toy Major. I purchased mine at a toy store in Tucson, Arizona in 1999 or so.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Venezuela (Paraguaná Peninsula)
Habitat: Xeric scrub; burrows usually constructed under shrubs and tree roots
Diet: Invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like other New World theraphosids, C. cyaneopubescens does not have a very potent venom (at least to a human), but has another effective form of defense, the use of urticating hairs to irritate and discourage would-be predators.

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Very beautiful species and model!

Congratulations, never seen before

Species: Chrysochus auratus (Fabricius, 1775) (dogbane beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Wing Mau
Series: Insects
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length 3.9 cm for a scale of 4.8:1-3.5:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous The Wing Mau Insects collection consists of 24 figures representing 23 species of beetles (there are two color variants of Adalia bipunctata). The figures have the Latin name printed on the underside. The figures seem to have been influenced by an Italian poster, Beetles, from 1992, as all the species are represented in that poster (including both variants of Adalia bipunctata) and have the same Latin names assigned to them (this poster hangs in my home office; I've had it since 1995). Figures in this set were also produced for Play Visions for their Habitat Earth line. Most of the species in this Wing Mau collection are unique, at least as sculpts.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: North America east of the Rocky Mountains
Habitat: Forests, fields, lakeshores, parks, gardens, disturbed areas
Diet: Larvae feed on the roots of plants in the genus Apocynum (dogbane, Indian hemp); adults feed on the leaves of host plants.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: When feeding on dogbane, C. auratus acquires toxic cardenolides. A single amino acid substitution in their Na+/K+-ATPase allows them to tolerate the toxins themselves. When threatened by a would-be predator, C. auratus beetles can secrete the cardenolides as a defense mechanism.

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Beautiful model and display!

Species: Talpa europaea Linnaeus, 1758 (European mole; common mole; northern mole)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Papo
Series: Wild Animals
Year of Production: 2020
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding tail) 4.5 cm for a scale of 1:2.4-1:3.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This appears to be the only representative of T. europaea still readily available in toy form. It is roughly the same size as Asian mole species produced by Kaiyodo (although they may scale differently).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Europe, western Siberia
Habitat: Deciduous woodland, arable fields, permanent pasture; habitats with suitable soil for burrowing
Diet: Invertebrates, particularly earthworms
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Talpa europaea spends most of its life in underground burrow systems. These burrows are used for feeding, food storage, mating, and sleeping. The European mole is usually a solitary animal except during the breeding season, but are generally aware of their neighbors. Permanent tunnel systems may contain multiple generations of moles, and they may build structured mounds (fortresses) that contain multiple nest chambers and tunnel systems.

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Nice mole

Nice photo-there is also the ELC version and I have a made in China model as well.

Species: Dipodomys ingens (Merriam, 1904) (giant kangaroo rat)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Red Data Animals
Year of Production: 2004
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding tail) 4.5 cm; body length (including tail) 12.3 cm for a scale of 1:2.5-1:2.8
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Minimal assembly (hind legs, tail) required and the animal sits loosely on its base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Endemic to California, USA (San Joaquin Valley, Carrizo Plain, Cuyama Valley)
Habitat: Desert scrub, arid grassland
Diet: Seeds, desert vegetation
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Because D. ingens lives in arid environments, it gets its water from food sources such as seeds and other vegetation; water is stored in the kidneys and urinary bladder. The giant kangaroo rat has extremely efficient kidneys and can concentrate urine to the highest degree known among North American mammals.

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Species: †Opabinia regalis Walcott, 1912

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Royal Ontario Museum
Series: Animals of the Burgess Shale
Year of Production: 2000
Size/Scale: Figure length 9.7 cm. Body length (excluding proboscis) 7.5 cm for a scale of 1.8:1-1:1.1 (slightly over 1:1 for a large specimen)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This may have been the first figure of this species, preceding the Kaiyodo Dinotales figure by about a year. This is not a bad interpretation given it is 22 years old at the time of this writing. The claws at the end of the proboscis are oriented at a different angle than current concepts, but the number of lateral lobes, tail fan blades, and eyes are all correct. The body appears to be based on a 1975 construction by H. B. Whittington, but with the proper number and arrangement of eyes.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Middle Cambrian of present-day Canada (British Columbia)
Habitat: Marine, benthic
Diet: Presumably soft-bodied marine invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: The phylogenetic position of O. regalis is far from resolved. Today it is generally believed to be a stem-arthropod, within Panarthropoda but outside of Euarthropoda, and a sister group to Radiodonta (Anomalocaris and kin).

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