Mathison Museum of Natural History

Very nice model, congrats

Species: †Cryolophosaurus ellioti Hammer & Hickerson, 1994

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Prehistoric World
Year of Production: 2022
Size/Scale: Figure length approximately 20.0 cm. Using skull as a metric (n=approx. 2.0 cm), scale comes to roughly 1:32
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: Cryolophosaurus has been getting some attention in recent years (whether for better or worse), with others by Papo (2017), Schleich (2020), and a 'mini' version by PNSO (2016). Today's by Safari is probably one of the best (but I am biased towards Safari's theropods); other good ones are the original by Safari in the Carnegie Collection (2010) and Battat (2014).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian) of present-day Antarctica
Habitat: Coniferous woodlands, river valleys and other riparian areas
Diet: Predator on smaller animals; occasionally carrion
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Cryolophosaurus ellioti is probably best known for its cranial crest, which was probably used for intraspecific communication, such as announcing sexual status or for territorial display. It's been suggested Cryolophosaurus may have been social, since display features such as this are common in gregarious animals.

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Species: Caiman crocodilus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): spectacled caiman; common caiman; brown caiman

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Wild Rush II
Year of Production: 2018
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 9.5 cm for a scale of 1:10.5-1:26.3 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Minimal assembly is required (tail needs to be attached). This figure is smaller than I would like, and I am likely to replace it if a 'standard-sized' version of this species get produced by a Western company. The high end of the scale above is calculated based on a maximum length of 2.5 meters

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central and northern South America; adventive in Florida, Cuba, Puerto Rico
Habitat: Slow-moving rivers, flooded savanna and grasslands, marshes
Diet: Mammals, fish, crustaceans, snails
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Caiman crocodilus lives in loose-knit groups, but individuals are generally solitary except during mating season. They stay in the same territory and remain immobile for most of the day. Caiman crocodilus uses nine different vocalizations and 13 visual displays to communicate with individuals of the same species.

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Small but beautiful!

I love it

rogerpgvg wrote:

Small but beautiful!

Not quite for you, but a good size for the 1:17-1:20 and 1:24 collectors

Species: Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) Kofold & Swezy, 1921
Common name(s): sea tinkle; sea sparkle

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Epoch
Series: Ecology of Plankton
Year of Production: 2004
Size/Scale: Body approximately 2.0 cm in diameter for a scale of 100:1-10:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The figures in the Ecology of Plankton collection come in little jars suspended in a goo (see inset, minus the goo), as if to simulate biological specimens in a lab. I bought my set from forum member sbell, who had already removed the goo (which I probably would have done as well). The jars measure 3.7 cm tall and are 3.0 cm in diameter.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Worldwide in tropical, subtropical, and temperate oceans
Habitat: Neritic; usually near the surface of the water along coasts and the mouths of rivers
Diet: The 'green form' is autotropic with the aid of the symbiotic eukaryote Pedinomonas noctiluca when present in its vacuole; the 'red form' is heterotrophic on other planktonic organisms, such as diatoms, copepod eggs, fish eggs, and larval crustaceans
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Noctiluca scintillans is bioluminescent; the light is produced by mechanical stimulation due to shear stress. Deformation of the cell membrane causes an action potential across the vacuole membrane caused by positively-charged calcium ions released from intracellular stores. This action potential releases an influx of protons from the vacuole to the scintilla, lowering the pH from 8 to 6. This changes the conformation of luciferase making it active. Luciferin contains a binding protein that prevents it from auto-oxidizing in an alkaline pH. It releases it by a conformational change in acidic pH, activating luciferin.

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Beautiful display!

Interesting to sell it in goo. It appears to be doing well in its new environment.

Species: Centrochelys sulcata (Miller, 1779)
Common name(s): African spurred tortoise; Sahel tortoise

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yell
Series: Channel Crocodile Gacha Gacha
Year of Production: 2022
Size/Scale: Carapace length approximately 4.0 cm for a scale of 1:21.5 for a male or 1:14.5 for a female (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare (unique? see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: Hard to say for sure, but it looks like this figure may have been sculpted and painted as a juvenile, although the scales above are calculated based on adults. Based on the shape of the plastron, it's hard to tell if the figure represents a male or female (the inner margins of the scutes are straight like a male, but narrowly separated like a female). The only other figure of this species I am aware of is by Wing Mau, but I am not sure if that is what it was marketed as or if it's a community-based ID.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Northern Africa; along the southern edge of the Sahara Desert and the Sahel
Habitat: Semiarid grassland, savanna, thorn scrub
Diet: Succulent plants, grasses
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Like other turtles and tortoises, C. sulcata has a long lifespan. In captivity, they have been documented to live up to 54 years old. Their lifespan in the wild is unknown, but speculated to exceed 75 years.

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Species: †Funisia dorothea Droser & Gehling, 2008

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Paleozoo
Series: Ediacaran Biota
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Individual animals on average 5.5-6.5 cm tall, for a scale of approximately 1:5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Paleozoo models are 3D-printed. They can be fragile and I've had breakage of more than one of their models in the past during shipping (including todays; but it was easily rectified with glue).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Ediacaran of present-day Australia
Habitat: Marine; benthic in sandy areas
Diet: Unknown; possibly filter-feeding of drifting plankton or nutrients derived from symbiotic microorganisms
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Funisia dorothea is believed to be one of the oldest known animals that engaged in sexual reproduction.

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What a fantastically weird creature. :)

Species: Aratinga solstitialis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): sun parakeet; sun conure

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Parrots & Cockatoos
Year of Production: 1996
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was somewhat challenging to photograph because of its posture, and that PV parrots don't stand up well on their own over time! Additional figures of this species were made by Nayab and Shine-G.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Guiana Shield of northeastern South America, mostly north of the Amazon River in northern Brazil, southern Guyana, southern Suriname, and southern French Guiana.
Habitat: Dry savanna woodlands, open savanna, coastal woodlands, scrubland, forested valleys
Diet: Fruits, seeds, nuts, flowers and flower buds, and occasionally insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Aratinga solstitialis is very social and can live in groups upwards of 15-30 individuals (although smaller groups of 3-5 are not uncommon). Pairs are monogamous and after breeding, pairs become increasingly affectionate to one another, but more aggressive to other birds (and people who keep these birds as pets).

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A specie not known by Major brands but a few different figures exist.

Species: Physignathus cocincinus Cuvier, 1829
Common name(s): Chinese water dragon; green water dragon

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yujin
Series: Primary Colour Lizards Book
Year of Production: 2002
Size/Scale: Snout-to-vent length approximately 5.5 cm for a scale of 1:4.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure has an interesting pedigree. Many of the figures in Yujin's 2002 lizard collection are reuses of figures produced by Wing Mau for Club Earth and Play Visions, sometimes using the sculpt for a different species than the original. Such was the case for today's Chinese water dragon. Wing Mau originally produced this sculpt for Club Earth as a green iguana (presumably a juvenile specimen). Figures produced by both Wing Mau and Yujin have the animal's common English name printed on the underside, so there is no doubt to the species' intended identity. Interestingly, this is not the only iguana-water dragon switcheroo. AAA produced two Chinese water dragons that were cast from actual specimens, and yet interestingly were sold mislabeled as iguanas!

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia (southern China, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar); introduced to Taiwan
Habitat: Lowland rainforest, usually along rocky streams and lakes; occasionally around vegetated streams near villages and agricultural fields
Diet: Primarily insects; occasionally mollusks, crustaceans, small vertebrates (fish, reptiles, birds, mammals), eggs, and vegetation
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Vulnerable
Miscellaneous Notes: Physignathus cocincinus is diurnal, and spends much of its time on the branches of trees or on other plants overhanging water. When a would-be predator or other threat approaches, the lizard dives into the water where it can either safely swim away or stay submerged for upwards of 90 minutes.

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A wonderful lizard serie

Beautiful model and wonderful picture!

Species: †Gastornis gigantea (Cope, 1876)
Common name(s): terror bird

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Prehistoric World
Year of Production: 2013
Size/Scale: Figure height approximately 7.0 cm. Scale difficult to calculate based on posture, but using skull as a metric (n=3.0 cm), scale comes to approximately 1:17
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: Earlier figures of this genus are usually sold under the name Diatryma, which is now considered a synonym of Gastornis. The 1998 model by Bullyland was sold as a 'Predatory Ratite' even though we now know these birds were not closely related to modern ratites. Decent smaller versions of this genus were made by Kaiyodo (2001) and Colorata (2019).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Lower to Middle Eocene of present day western North America
Habitat: Riparian woodlands, coastal marshes, forested lake margins, savanna
Diet: Plant material
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Gastornis gigantea has historically been depicted as a predator, usually hunting small horses. Recent studies suggest it was an obligate herbivore. The bird lacked a prominently hooked beak and hooked talons on the hing legs, which are common features of extant predatory birds. The large beak of Gastornis may have been used for cracking nuts and seeds or shearing grasses. Studies of calcium isotopes in bones of Gastornis showed no evidence of meat in its diet.

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Impressive model!

That is very interesting to know. Not such a terrible bird then.