Mathison Museum of Natural History

Another sea cucumber :)

Beautiful display!

Species: Iguana iguana (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): green iguana; common green iguana

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: CollectA
Series: Wildlife
Year of Production: 2022
Size/Scale: Figure approximately 13.5 cm across its widest dimensions. Snout-to-vent length 9.5 cm for a scale of 1:3.2-1:5.3 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: It's probably safe to say that at the time of this writing, this is the green iguana figure to get, as long as it's not too big for one's tastes. It's a similar scale to the Wild Safari figure from 2004 but larger than those by Schleich (2000; 2022). Based on the ratios, today's figure by CollectA is not sculpted with a tail with a length expected in an adult that didn't loose part of it at some point in its life (e.g., autotomy) and the scale above is calculated using snout-to-vent ratio rather than a total body length of about 2 meters. I had trouble finding more than one reference that agreed on the SVL for I. iguana, and most sites devoted to keeping iguanas as pets tend to exaggerate sizes (either that or captive iguanas grow larger than their wild counterparts). The above scale is based on an average SVL range of 30-50 centimeters, which encompasses several references.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central and South America, several Caribbean islands. Naturalized in southern USA (Texas, Florida), Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Hawaii, and several other Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Habitat: Rainforest, subtropical woodlands, swamps; arboreal and usually near water
Diet: Leaves, fruit; occasionally invertebrates, carrion, bird eggs
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Iguana iguana is an adaptable species and can easily become established in areas that do not seasonally freeze, such as the case for Florida, where the subtropical climate, abundant rainfall, expansive areas modified by humans, and numerous international ports of entry have allowed I. iguana to become an invasive species. The first documented I. iguana in Florida was in the 1960s, when an exotic pet dealer reportedly intentionally released more than 300 into the Miami area. Many people who buy baby iguanas as pets are not prepared to deal with them as they get larger and will release them into the wild; others escape on their own (as people who own adult iguanas often let them have the 'run of the house'). The negative risk of I. iguana in Florida has not been fully established. One potential risk is the lizards using burrows of native burrowing owls and gopher tortoises and potentially displacing those animals from their burrows. Another is that green iguanas like to feed on gray nickerbean (Guilandina bonduc), which is one of the two primary host plants for the Miami blue butterfly (Cycloargus thomasi), a federally protected species. The green iguana is also considered a general nuisance pest in Florida, eating flowers and fruit from gardens and ornamental plants and depositing guano on docks, moored boats, seawalls, porches, decks, and inside swimming pools.

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Wonderful model and instructive comments!

Beautiful model and great picture. The iguana looks real!

Beautiful iguana , very nice photo.

I am delighted to know that you too have encountered difficulties in finding the plausible scale of this animal. What a mess ! Mine joined my 1/5 shelves.

Species: Protogoniomorpha temora (Felder & Felder, 1867)
Common name(s): blue mother-of-pearl; eastern blue butterfly

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Blip Toys
Series: Nature's Wonders HD
Year of Production: 2008
Size/Scale: Wingspan 9.0 cm for a scale of approximately 1.5:1-1.2:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The wings on this figure are painted the same ventrally as they dorsally, which is not correct. The underside of the wings of P. temora resemble dead leaves, so the butterfly is camouflaged when resting on or near the forest floor with its wings closed. It also has six functional legs, which is also not correct for a member of the family Nymphalidae (a very common mistake among toy butterflies).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Equatorial Africa
Habitat: Rainforest, riparian thickets, disturbed forest, agricultural land
Diet: Larvae feed on several plants in the family Acanthaceae, including Asystasia, Eremomastax, Justicia (water-willows), Mellera, and Mimulopsis; adults take nectar from flowers and nutrients from mud puddles
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Protogoniomorpha has historically been considered a synonym of Salamis but was given genus-level status in 2005. There are two subspecies of P. temora, the nominate P. t. temora, which occurs throughout much of Equatorial Africa, and P. t. virescens, which is endemic to the Nguru and Uluguru Mountains of Tanzania.

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Kikimalou wrote:

I am delighted to know that you too have encountered difficulties in finding the plausible scale of this animal. What a mess ! Mine joined my 1/5 shelves.

yeah, the hard part was finding reliable source(s) with snout-to-vent ratio! And those that agreed on a range!

bmathison1972 wrote:

Kikimalou wrote:

I am delighted to know that you too have encountered difficulties in finding the plausible scale of this animal. What a mess ! Mine joined my 1/5 shelves.

yeah, the hard part was finding reliable source(s) with snout-to-vent ratio! And those that agreed on a range!

Indeed I had the same problem You can read every kind of silly measurement on the web

Species: Tachybaptus ruficollis (Pallas, 1764)
Common name(s): little grebe; dabchick

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Capsule Q Museum - Biwako
Year of Production: 2014
Size/Scale: Total figure height 4.0 cm. Scale difficult to calculate but total body length approximately 6.5 cm for a scale of 1:3.5-1:4.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Assembly is required and the bird is removable from its base. Kaiyodo also made this species for their Birdtales line.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Old World, including most of Europe, much of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar, Central Asia, Indian subcontinent, East Asia south to the Philippines and New Guinea, and Japan
Habitat: Heavily vegetated freshwater lakes and ponds, usually among reeds and other vegetation; more common in open and coastal water in the winter
Diet: Fish, freshwater invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Tachybaptus ruficollis is highly adapted for swimming and diving; with its legs set far back on its body, it does not walk well on land. Tachybaptus ruficollis uses aquatic vegetation, such as reeds, as a hiding place and dives quickly to catch potential prey. Because T. ruficollis isn't well-adapted to spend prolonged time on land, nests are usually made near the water's edge.

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Wonderful diplay!

Species: Hippotragus equinus (Desmarest, 1804)
Common name(s): roan antelope

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Caboodle! Toys LLC
Series: Noah's Pals
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Shoulder height of male 6.7 cm for a scale of 1:22-1:24. Shoulder height of female 6.5 cm for a scale of 1:22-1:25.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique (as a pair)
Miscellaneous Notes: I am not in the habit (yet) of collecting male and female pairs for most animals (at least not ungulates), but Noah's Pals animals are sold as pairs. They are all advertised as being in the 1:24 scale range.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central Africa, from the southern end of the Sahara Desert to Botswana
Habitat: Open woodlands, shrublands, grasslands, savanna
Diet: Grasses and other foliage, generally preferring leaves over stems
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Hippotragus equinus lives in herds of up to 35 animals, although herds of 6-15 are more common. A herd consists of a single, dominant male and a group of females and their young. There is a hierarchy among the females, with one dominant female leading the others. Juvenile males are driven from the herd as they near sexual maturity and form bachelor herds. At about 5-6 years of age, these bachelor herds break up and individual males try to take over herds of females. Males will defend an area of about 300-500 meters outward from their herd; territories of different herds rarely overlap.

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Beautiful photos and amazing models!

Saien wrote:

Beautiful photos and amazing models!

Thank you

Wonderful and rare antelopes

Species: Sasakia charonda (Hewitson, 1863)
Common name(s): great purple emperor; Japanese emperor

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Ikimon
Series: Science Techni Colour - Private Specimen of a Lepidopterists Acrylic Mascot 1
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Wingspan 5.0 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the third time we've seen S. charonda in the Museum. 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).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: East Asia, Japan
Habitat: Broadleaf forests, usually in the upper canopies
Diet: Larvae feed on plants in the genus Celtis (hackberry); adults are attracted to overripe fruit and sap flows, especially of Quercus (oak)
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Sasakia charonda is the national butterfly of Japan, where it goes by the name ō-murasaki ('great purple').

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Species: †Patagotitan mayorum Carballido et al., 2017

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Prehistoric World
Year of Production: 2022
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 47.0 cm for a scale of 1:78 based on an estimated natural length of 37 meters. Using the front femur as a metric (n=3.5 cm), the scale comes to about 1:68 based on specimen MPEF-PV 3399/44.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: I don't have a lot to say about this figure, since it's currently unique for its species with nothing to compare it to and I don't have a strong base of knowledge about sauropods. Some concerns others have had include an extra claw on the hind foot and that proportionally, the head might be too big (based on other titanosaurs; as far as I know, the head of Patagotitan remains undiscovered). Some people criticized the posture, prefering titanosaurs to be more upright. I can see that argument for a neutral standing or walking posture, but this figure's posture could be realistic for a variety of scenarios, such as browsing low vegetation, tending to young, or possibly engaging a would-be predator.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Early Cretaceous (Albian) of present-day Argentina
Habitat: Open coniferous forests and adjacent floodplains
Diet: Plants, probably primarily conifers and cypress
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Plant fossils recovered around P. mayorum suggest a habitat of forest dominated by conifers and cypress, with angiosperms being rare, adjacent to floodplains. Adult P. mayorum probably had few if any natural predators, but it may have shared its habitat and range with theropods Tyrannotitan and Genyodectes which may have hunted juvenile, weak, or sick Patagotitan.

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I like this Safari prehistoric .

Species: Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773)
Common name(s): Asian lady beetle; multicolored Asian lady beetle (MALB)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Capsule Q Museum - Sticky Tack Insect Set
Year of Production: 2016
Size/Scale: Body length 2.3 cm for a scale of 4.6:1-2.9:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen H. axyridis in the Museum. Figures in the Sticky Tack Insect collection come with a unique option for display. The figures come with a plastic receptacle on the underside designed to hold accompanying 'sticky tack' so the toy can be affixed to vertical surfaces such as walls. This receptacle is removable, easily snapping in and out (for a couple of the figures in the set, the receptacle can be somewhat obtrusive).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Native to East Asia and Japan; naturalized throughout much of North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Israel, and South Africa
Habitat: Open fields, meadows, agricultural fields, greenhouses, gardens; in introduced areas it is often found in urban and suburban areas around human habitations.
Diet: Soft-bodied insects, primarily aphids and scale insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like several other lady beetles, H. axyridis likes to congregate in very large numbers during the winter months. In North America, H. axyridis is attracted to light-colored dwellings and other manmade objects. As such, these large congregations often end up inside houses, garages, and places of business (hence the theme of today's image). Aggregations in houses and buildings have been documented to contain as many as 15,000-20,000 lady beetles! In addition to these large numbers, the insect secretes a foul-smelling defensive compound when disturbed, which can soil drapes, clothing, upholstered furniture, books and papers, etc.

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