Mathison Museum of Natural History

Species: Lucanus cervus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): European stag beetle

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Paleo-Creatures
Series: Little Treasures of Europe
Year of Production: 2015
Size/Scale: Body length (including mandibles) approximately 6.3 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the fifth time we've seen L. cervus in the Museum. It was sculpted by forum member Jetoar. If I remember correctly, the legs were separate pieces and it had to be assembled. I have since secured them with a super glue.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Europe, Middle East, Central Asia
Habitat: Old-growth hardwood forests
Diet: Larvae feed in rotting wood of hardwood trees, particularly Quercus (oak), but also Tilia (lime), Fagus (beech), Acer (maple), Populus (poplar), and Fraxinus (ash), among several others; also rotting timber, bark chippings, compost heaps in gardens, and other detritus. Adults feed on nectar and tree sap.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated (globally); listed as Near Threatened for Europe and Least Concern for the Mediterranean specifically
Miscellaneous Notes: Lucanus cervus has a colorful history in European folklore. In some parts of Europe, L cervus was considered responsible for attracting lightning; in other parts it protected from lightning. In German folklore, Lucanus cervus was believed to be responsible for domestic fires, by carrying burning coals from the hearth up to the attic in their powerful mandibles!

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Species: Goliathus goliatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): Goliath beetle

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Bandai
Series: Diversity of Life on Earth - Beetles Vol. 4
Year of Production: 2023
Size/Scale: Body length (including cephalic horns) approximately 9.0 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon to rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen G. goliatus in the Museum. Today's model is large, requires assembly, and the final product is articulated. It was painted to represent the form 'quadrimaculatus' (see below) which is sometimes given subspecies rank.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Equatorial Africa
Habitat: Tropical forest, savanna
Diet: Larvae feed in the trunks of trees, especially those in the families Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Combretaceae; adults feed on sap, fruit, and bark of Monosis conferta
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The form G. goliatus var. quadrimaculatus is so named because the dark portion of the elytra is reduced to four maculae, two humeral and two apical on the lateral margins. This variation is endemic to humid evergreen forests of southwest Cameroon, where it is considered locally very rare. It was described by German entomologist Ernst Gustav Kraatz in 1889; Kraatz was notorious for describing many variants of G. goliatus as distinct taxa.

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Species: Chiromantes haematocheir (De Haan, 1833)
Common name(s): red-clawed crab

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yujin
Series: Primary Colour Crustaceans Book
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Total width 5.5 cm. Carapace width approximately 1.2 cm for a scale of 1:1.8-1:3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the third time we've seen C. haematocheir in the Museum. Some assembly is required. This species was not included in the Primary Colour Crustaceans Book collection when it was taken over and later re-released by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: East Asia, including China, Formosa, Taiwan, Korea, Japan
Habitat: Supralittoral, often some distance from the sea, including swamps, mud flats, freshwater creeks, mountain streams
Diet: Omnivore; scavenger primarily on plant matter, but also occasionally animal matter
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: While primarily a terrestrial crab, C. haematocheir does return to the water for spawning and ecdysis (molting).

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Wow that Goliath beetle is beautiful!

Species: †Homo habilis Leakey et al., 1964
Common name(s): handy man

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Bullyland
Series: Evolution of Men
Year of Production: 1999
Size/Scale: Height approximately 8.8 cm for a scale of 1:14.8 (see below)
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 by Safari Ltd. for their similar Evolution of Man collection. The scale above is calculated based on a presumed average height of 130 cm for an adult male.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Early Pleistocene of East and Southern Africa
Habitat: Grassland, savanna
Diet: General omnivore, including fruits, leaves, woody plants, and animal meat; meat was believed to have been acquired primarily by scavenging rather than hunting
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Homo habilis is credited with the Oldowan stone tool industry, and may have used stones to butcher and skin animals and crush bones. Homo habilis was not clothed and did not use fire. It has been suggested H. habilis was one of the first hominids to have lived in a monogamous society.

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Fine rare model!

Species: †Pravitoceras sigmoidale Yabe, 1902

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: CollectA
Series: Prehistoric World
Year of Production: 2021
Size/Scale: Vertical length of shell approximately 8.0 cm for a scale of 1:2.8
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Since 2020, CollectA has exploded with a collection of interesting prehistoric invertebrates (including a couple species that are extant but have familiar prehistoric affinities). Today's is among several that are unique to the toy and figure market.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of present-day Japan; probably widely distributed in seas and oceans at the time
Habitat: Marine; pelagic to benthopelagic
Diet: Presumably predaceous on smaller animals
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: It has been suggested that the S-shaped shell of Pravitoceras allowed it to swim with less drag than ammonites with more irregularly-coiled shells (e.g., Nipponites).

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Fine unique model and picture!

Species: Chelus fimbriata (Schneider, 1783)
Common name(s): mata mata

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yujin
Series: Primary Turtles in Colour
Year of Production: 2002
Size/Scale: Carapace length approximately 3.5 cm for a scale of 1:8.9-1:12.9
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon to rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second of two releases of this species by Yujin, the first being a reuse of Play Visions' figure. Other small figures of this species have been produced by Kabaya, Kaiyodo, and PEC (also a rehash of the Play Visions figure).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Northern South America (northern and eastern Amazon and Orinoco Basins); naturalized in USA (Florida)
Habitat: Slow-moving rivers, backwater streams, swamps, marshes, stagnant pools
Diet: Freshwater invertebrates, small fish; on rare occasions small mammals, birds, and amphibians
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Chelus fimbriata is morphologically adapted to looking like dead leaves at the bottom of a body of water. It is an ambush predator of small fish and freshwater invertebrates, sitting motionless until potential prey passes by. The mata mata ingests its prey via suction feeding, and then swallows it whole while slowly expelling excess water.

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Species: Mesene phareus (Cramer, 1777)
Common name(s): Cramer's mesene; cell-barred metalmark

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Club Earth
Series: Butterflies to Go
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Wingspan 7.0 cm for a scale of 3.5:1 for a male specimen (see below).
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen M. phareus in the Museum. Mesene phareus is sexually dimorphic and these figures were painted after male specimens. As such, the scale above is calculated based on the male, which is slightly smaller than the female.

The Club Earth butterflies are marked with the common name on the underside of the wings. The figure on the left is by Club Earth; the one of the right is from a set by an unknown manufacturer. This set of 'unknown' butterflies consists of 12 species that are nearly identical to those produced by Club Earth. The only real difference is that they lack the common names printed on the underside of the figures. Otherwise, the quality of plastic and paint applications are nearly just as good as the CE figures. It is possible Club Earth (or Wing Mau, who produced many Club Earth figures) was commissioned to make these for another distributor, or Club Earth and another company bought the rights to the same sculpts, or these figures are just blatant knockoffs of the CE figures, who knows?

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central and South America, from Mexico to Brazil and Peru
Habitat: Rainforest, often in clearings and open areas
Diet: Larvae feed on Paullinia pinnata; adult diet unknown but could nutrients derived from carrion or puddles
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had difficulty researching information on this species, particularly feeding habits of adults, and the species name may not be valid.

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Species: Hemigalus derbyanus (Gray, 1837)
Common name(s): banded palm civet

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Rainforest Wildlife
Year of Production: 1998
Size/Scale: Total figure length approximately 7.3 cm. Body length (exclusive of tail) approximately 4.3 cm for a scale of 1:10.7-1:12.3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique (as a sculpt, see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: Play Visions released this sculpt twice, once for the Genets, Civets, and Mongoose collection in 1998 and once for the Rainforest Wildlife collection, also in 1998. There is a slight difference in color pattern between the figures in the two sets.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia (peninsular Myanmar, peninsular Malaysia, Thailand, Sipura, Sumatra, Borneo)
Habitat: Rainforest, often in riparian areas
Diet: Terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates, amphibians
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Near Threatened
Miscellaneous Notes: Hemigalus derbyanus is an enigmatic animal, and there is still much we don't know about its biology. Despite being commonly called a 'palm civet', it spends most of its time on the ground, occasionally climbing trees in pursuit of prey.

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Nice figures, especially the beautiful mata mata.

Jill wrote:

Nice figures, especially the beautiful mata mata.

thanks; that's probably the best mata mata available.

Species: Gonepteryx aspasia Ménétriès, 1859
Common name(s): lesser brimstone

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Ikimon
Series: Science Techni Colour - Private Specimen of a Lepidopterist Acrylic Mascot 3
Year of Production: 2022
Size/Scale: Wingspan approximately 4.6 cm for a scale of 1:1.3-1:1.5 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The figures in this series are essentially photographs of butterflies and moths embedded in acrylic. Flip the figure over and the underside reveals an image of the ventral side of the animal, too. They are also sold as keychains (hence the hole in the acrylic above the head). I had difficulty finding data on the wingspan of this species to calculate the scale. The scale above is based on the morphologically similar G. mahaguru (see below).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: East Asia, including East China, Mongolia, Russia (Amur Oblast and Ussuri River Valley), Korean Peninsula, and Japan
Habitat: Lowland deciduous forests
Diet: Larvae feed on Rhamnus davurica (Dahurian buckthorn); adults take nectar from flowers and nutrients from puddles.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: There has been a lot of historical confusion over the nomenclature of this species. It has been considered a synonym or subspecies of G. mahaguru, or vice versa. In 1964 and 1965, additional subspecies of G. mahaguru were described by Dr. Murayama: G. m. iwateana (northern Japan), G. m. coreensis (Korean Peninsula), and G. m. kansuensis (Kunlun Mountains). Using ultraviolet light to study the color patterns of the butterflies, based on how it is believed they would appear to other members of their own species, the relationships between these populations became better understood. Gonepteryx aspasia and G. mahaguru are distinct species, and Murayama's subspecies, which are valid subspecies, are now considered subspecies of G. aspasia.

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Species: Brachypelma boehmei Schmidt & Klaas, 1993
Common name(s): Mexican fireleg tarantula; Mexican rustleg tarantula

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.
Series: Insect Wars
Year of Production: 2022
Size/Scale: Legspan approximately 12.5 cm. Carapace length approximately 2.3 cm for a scale of 1:1.1 for a female specimen (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was not marketed at the species level and the identification is my own based on color. Some assembly is required. This sculpt was previously used by Takara in 2020 to represent Brachypelma smithi for their B.I.G. Insects series. The scale above is based on specimen CNAN-Ar007905 (Colección Nacional de Arácnidos, Mexico DF) which was used for a redescription of the female of the species in a 2020 revision.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Mexico; endemic to the Sierra de Cumbres region of Guerrero
Habitat: Dry tropical deciduous forest, dry tropical scrubland; usually in burrows under rocks and logs
Diet: Insects and other arachnids, small vertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Like many other tarantulas, B. boehmei is very long-lived. In captivity, adult females have been known to live for over 25 years!

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Species: †Wiwaxia corrugata Walcott, 1911

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Favorite Co. Ltd.
Series: Cambrian Creatures Mini Model - Burgess Shale Series
Year of Production: 2016
Size/Scale: Body length 4.8 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Other figures of this species were produced by the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and Cadbury (Yowies Lost Kingdoms), the latter of which has quite a festive color scheme.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Early to Middle Cambrian (Stage 3 to Wuliuan); probably in most seas and oceans at the time
Habitat: Marine, benthic
Diet: Unknown; presumably bacteria and other microorganisms in the microbial mat on the sea floor
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: The phylogenetic relationship of Wiwaxia to other animals, particularly extant clades, is unknown. It was initially described as a polychaete annelid worm. Other proposals have included a crown-group polychaete, stem-group annelid, or a primitive mollusk. The most recent theories favor Wiwaxia being a mollusk based on the structure of its mouthparts.

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Nice