Mathison Museum of Natural History

Species: Psephotellus chrysopterygius Gould, 1858
Common name(s): golden-shouldered parrot; alwal

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Cadbury
Series: Yowies Series 2
Year of Production: 1998
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 7.0 cm for a scale of 1:3.3-1:4
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Australian Yowies, assembly is required. Cadbury also made a solid-piece version of this species for the UK Yowies line.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Australia (Cape York Peninsula)
Habitat: Tropical savanna
Diet: Grass seeds, especially those of cockatoo grass (Alloteropsis), fire grass (Schizachyrium), and glimmer grass (Planichloa)
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Psephotellus chrysopterygius breeds in nests dug into termite mounds. A clutch size is between 3-6 eggs and they are incubated for about 20 days. Because termites use a natural form of 'air conditioning' to regulate the temperature in the mound, the birds can leave their eggs at times.

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Species: Rhacophorus reinwardtii (Schlegel, 1840)
Common name(s): green flying frog; Reinwardt's flying frog; black-webbed tree frog

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Colorata
Series: Tropical Rain Forest Frogs
Year of Production: 2019 (2005)
Size/Scale: Legspan nearly 12.0 cm. Snout-to-vent length 4.7 cm for a scale of 1:1.2-1:1.7 for a female (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: My figure is the 2019 release of a model that originally came out in 2005. The frog is removable from its base. I calculated the scale based on a female because of the color; males tend to be more colorful, especially along the lateral margins. This figure would scale 1:1 for a male, however.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia, including Indonesia (Java, Sumatra), Borneo (Sabah, Sarawak), Peninsular Malaysia, southern Thailand
Habitat: Primary tropical and subtropical lowland rainforest; canopy-dwelling, descending to the forest floor only to breed in semi-permanent pools
Diet: Insects and arachnids
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Rhacophorus reinwardtii and related species are known for their ability to 'fly' (glide, actually) from tree to tree with the use of extensive webbing between their toes.

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Lovely frog

Neat model!

I chose the same, a female on my 1/1.5 shelf

Species: Lepocinclis acus (Müller) Marin & Melkonian 2003

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Epoch
Series: Ecology of Plankton
Year of Production: 2004
Size/Scale: Length (excluding flagellum) 2.7 cm for a scale of 415:1-90:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was marketed as Euglena acus; however since the nomenclatural change was only about a year before production, the manufacturers were probably unaware of the change. Morphologically, the figure does look more like a true Euglena, however. 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: Cosmopolitan
Habitat: Fresh and brackish water, including rivers, lakes, ditches, ponds, swamps, sinkholes, wetlands, fishponds
Diet: Sugars and other nutrients derived from both photosynthesis and via osmotrophy
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: In the absence of light, L. acus feeds as a heterotroph, taking up proteins, peptone, acetate, ethanol, and carbohydrates via osmotrophy, a process whereby dissolved nutrients are obtained via osmosis. When there is sufficient light to feed by photosynthesis, L. acus uses chloroplasts containing the pigments chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b to produce sugars.

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Species: Streptopelia orientalis (Latham, 1790)
Common name(s): Oriental turtle dove; rufous turtle dove

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Choco Q Animatales Series 9
Year of Production: 2004
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:5-1:6
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Choco Q Animatales figures, some assembly is required.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central and East Asia, Japan
Habitat: Open woodlands, copses, taiga; often in areas with dense undergrowth
Diet: Grains, seeds; occasionally terrestrial invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: There two main migratory populations of S. orientalis, the western Oriental turtle dove (S. o. meena), which occurs from East Asia to Central Asia south to the Himalayas and winters in India and Sri Lanka, and the eastern Oriental turtle dove, S. o. orientalis), which occurs from Central Siberia to Japan, wintering in Southeast Asia south to Vietnam. Other more restricted subspecies include S. o. stimpsoni (Ryukyu Islands), S. o. orii (Taiwai), S. o. erythrocephala (southern peninsular India), and S. o. agricola (northeastern India to Myanmar and Hainan, China).

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Oh yes, this dove i have too. But a figure that i had "forgotten"

Species: Parabuthus transvaalicus Purcell, 1899
Common name(s): South African fat-tailed scorpion; giant deathstalker

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.
Series: Scorpions
Year of Production: 2012
Size/Scale: Scale difficult to calculate, but measured along midline body length approximately 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:1.5-1:2.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Figures in this set come with a flat, round, amber-colored base (see inset) with the Latin name, Japanese name, and degree of toxicity on a 1-5 scale using skulls-and-crossbones.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southern Africa (Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe)
Habitat: Deserts, scrub-land, and semi-arid regions, usually in burrows or under objects on the ground (logs, rocks); occasionally wanders into houses and other human habitations
Diet: Insects and other terrestrial arthropods
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Parabuthus transvaalicus is a medically important scorpion and should be considered a dangerous species with potential life-threatening venom (kurtoxin). The LD50 value for P. transvaalicus is reported as 4.25 mg/kg and due to its size, it can inject very large amounts of venom. The scorpion can also squirt its venom up to about one meter away, and if sprayed in the eyes of a person or other animal can be extremely dangerous. Symptoms of envenomation include intense pain, hypersalivation, sweating, and subjective neurological complaints. Severe symptoms include neuromuscular involvement with significant parasympatric nervous system and cardiac involvement. The fatality rate is 0.3% in young children and adults above 50. There is a species-specific antivenom which can improve patient outcome.

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I want the Kaiyodo Dove, it is very beautiful .

Species: Hymenopus coronatus (Olivier, 1792)
Common name(s): orchid mantis

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.
Series: Primary Colour Picture Book Mimetic Insects
Year of Production: 2021
Size/Scale: Scale difficult to calculate but body length approximately 6.0 cm, within scale 1:1 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon to rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen H. coronatus in the Museum. Like most figures made of this species, this one represents a subadult female. Some assembly is required. I think all figures in this set were marketed as 1:1, but I can't remember. I also think the set was re-released in 2022.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia, from western India to Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Flying insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Nymphs of H. coronatus mimic flowers to ambush their flying insect prey.

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I really would like to get one of these stunning mantis models sometime. Simply gorgeous!

It's indeed a stunning model!

Species: Ardeadoris cruenta (Rudman, 1986)
Common name(s): red spot nudibranch; bloody glossodoris

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kitan Club
Series: Nature Techni Colour - Sea Slugs
Year of Production: 2011
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 3.7 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique (as a sculpt)
Miscellaneous Notes: Figures in this set were sold as both magnets and 'strap' figures.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: West Pacific
Habitat: Coral reefs
Diet: Sponges
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Ardeadoris cruenta is sometimes placed in the genus Glossodoris but was transfered to Ardeadoris in 2012 based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis.

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Another beautiful and interesting model.

ooooh you have done a dangerous thing... opened up a world of Japanese nudibranchs to me and now my wallet is sweating bullets! 

Simply gorgeous figure!

Very colorful

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

ooooh you have done a dangerous thing... opened up a world of Japanese nudibranchs to me and now my wallet is sweating bullets! 

Simply gorgeous figure!

Ha ha, there may be 20-30 species available, so start soon! LOL

A marvelous series

bmathison1972 wrote:

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

ooooh you have done a dangerous thing... opened up a world of Japanese nudibranchs to me and now my wallet is sweating bullets! 

Simply gorgeous figure!

Ha ha, there may be 20-30 species available, so start soon! LOL

RIP Paige's bank account.   But at least I will someday be surrounded by marine invertebrates of every color and shape.