Mathison Museum of Natural History

This bandicoot was sculpted by Jason, the founder and sculptor of Southern Replicas

Species: Brachypelma smithi (Pickard-Cambridge, 1897)
Common name(s): Mexican red-kneed tarantula

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Authentics Insects
Year of Production: 1995
Size/Scale: Legspan approx. 8.0 cm. Body length (excluding appendages) approx. 3.0 cm for a scale of 1:1.7-1:2 for a female specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the fifth time we've seen B. smithi in the Museum. There is confusion to the identity of spiders referred to as Mexican red-knees, since the description of a cryptic sibling species, B. hamorii. In the absence of a figure being specifically ascribed to a given species, I am referring to all figures as the classic B. smithi. Both species are very common in the pet trade (and don't be surprised if the pet store doesn't know which species they are selling).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Mexico; endemic to the southside of the Balsas River Basin in Guerrero
Habitat: Tropical deciduous forests, thornscrub, semi-deserts
Diet: Primarily insects and other arthropods, occasionally small reptiles, amphibians, birds, rodents.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Near Threatened
Miscellaneous Notes: Brachypelma smithi belongs to a complex known as the 'red leg' species of Brachypelma, all of which occur along western Mexico. The other species and their distributions are: B. emilia (Pacific Coast side of Sierra Madre Occidental in Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit, and Jalisco), B. klaasi (Pacific Coast of Jalisco and small areas of Colima and Nayarit), B. hamorii (western slopes of Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Sur in Colima, Jalisco, and Michoacán), B. baumgarterni (Sierra Madre del Sur region of Michoacán), B. auratum (neotransvolcanic belt of Estado de Mexico, Guerrero, Michoacán, and Jalisco), B. albiceps (Central Mexico in Morelos and parts of Puebla and Estado de Mexico to Guerro), and B. boehemi (Sierra de Cumbres of Guerrero).

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Species: Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758
Common name(s): Exotic Shorthair

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: CollectA
Series: Farm Time
Year of Production: 2021
Size/Scale: Height at shoulders approximately 3.3 cm for a scale of 1:7.7-1:9.2
Frequency of breed in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The only other figure of this species I am aware of is by Play Visions in the late 1990s. Other figures exist by specialized artists and Japanese manufacturers, but they are often made of other materials (resin) or may be anthropomorphized.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Breed originated in the United States and today is also bred in Europe and Asia
Habitat: Human habitations
Diet: Small mammals, reptiles, birds, insects; also specialized diets provided by human hosts
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Domesticated
Miscellaneous Notes: The Exotic Shorthair was created somewhat by accident in the 1950s by mixing Persians with American Shorthairs, and occasionally Burmese and Russian Blues. The goal was to create a breed that had the features of a Persian but with a shorter coat. In 1966, the Exotic Shorthair was formally recognized by the Cat Fancier's Association, but in 1987 the CFA closed the Exotic Shorthair to shorthair outcrosses, leaving the Persian as the only acceptable outcross breed. In 1986, the Fédération Internationale Féline recognized the breed.

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Species: Latrodectus mactans (Fabricius, 1775)
Common name(s): southern black widow

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Habitat Earth - Tarantulas and Spiders
Year of Production: 1995
Size/Scale: Legspan approximately 6.0 cm. Body length 2.6 cm for a scale of 3.3:1-2:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the fifth time we've seen L. mactans in the Museum. It's a well-made figure for its size and the era in which it was produced; similarly-sized figures from the same era include those by K&M International (1997) and Club Earth (year unknown). All three are unique sculpts.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eastern and southeastern USA and the West Indies; naturalized in Hawaii.
Habitat: Forests, fields, rodent burrows, disturbed areas, houses, gardens, garages, sheds.
Diet: Small insects and other arthropods
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Latrodectus mactans exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism. Females are large (avg. body length 0.8-1.3 cm), matte black, and have large, globose abdomens. Males are smaller (avg. body length 0.3-0.6 cm), more slender, more colorful, and have enlarged pedipalps.

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Species: Pandinus imperator (Koch, 1842)
Common name(s): emperor scorpion

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Epoch
Series: The Poison
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 7.0 cm for an average scale of 1:2.9
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the third time we've seen P. imperator in the Museum. Some assembly is required (and frankly, the final product doesn't hold together very well) and the scorpion sits loosely on its base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: West Africa
Habitat: Rainforest, tropical savanna
Diet: Insects and other arthropods; occasionally small vertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Pandinus imperator has a relatively mild sting. Several channel toxins have been isolated from the vemon of P. imperator, including Pi1, Pi2, Pi3, Pi4, and Pi7. It has been suggested there is an inverse relationship between the size of a scorpion's claws and the potency of its venom. Generally speaking, scorpions with large claws for subduing prey, such as P. imperator, do not need as strong of a venom, whereas scorpions with small and slender claws need a more potent venom for immobilizing prey. This isn't always the case, but is a general rule-of-thumb.

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Species: Echidna nebulosa (Ahl, 1789)
Common name(s): snowflake moray; clouded moray; starry moray

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Toys Spirits
Series: Moray Eel Mascot
Year of Production: 2024
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 10.0 cm for a scale of 1:5-1:10
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure is very soft and squishy and can hence be easily manipulated to be placed in the sunken pot as shown here. The same sculpt was used for four other moray eel species in the set. Toys Spirits previously released another set of moray eels in 2020 that also appear use the same sculpt.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indo-Pacific (Red Sea and East Africa to Japan, Micronesia, Hawaii) and East Pacific (Baja California to Colombia)
Habitat: Coral reefs, seagrass beds, intertidal reef flats, tide pools; at depths of 1-48 meters
Diet: Crustaceans
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Unlike many moray eels that have sharp teeth, Echidna nebulosa has blunt teeth, an adaptation for breaking the hard exoskeletons of their crustacean prey.

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Another new moray eel specie. Great

Species: Gigantura chuni Brauer, 1901
Common name(s): Chun's telescopefish; gigantura

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Deep Sea Animals MIU Series 2
Year of Production: 2001
Size/Scale: Bottlecap base 3.2 cm. Total figure length 5.7 cm. Standard body length (excluding caudal fin) approximately 3.8 cm for a scale of 1:4.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The fish is removable from its base. Since only the genus is listed on the base, I am not sure if Kaiyodo intended this species or if it is just what is circulating online from posts of personal collections. There is a second species in the genus, G. indica.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Circumtropical
Habitat: Mesopelagic to bathypelagic; at depths of 500-3,000 meters
Diet: Other fish
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Members of the genus Gigantura are known for their tubular, large-lensed, telescoping eyes. They eyes allow for optimal binocular light collection, allowing them to see even the weakest bioluminescence of their prey. However, as a consequence, they lose lateral vision.

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Species: Attacus atlas (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common names(s): Atlas moth

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Ikimon
Series: Science Techni Colour - Private Specimen of a Lepidopterist Acrylic Mascot 2
Year of Production: 2019
Size/Scale: Wingspan approximately 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:4 for a female specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the third time we've seen A. atlas 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 Organism:
Geographic distribution: Central and East Asia, from India to Philippines, Indonesia, Japan
Habitat: Tropical and subtropical primary rainforest, secondary forests, shrubland
Diet: Larvae feed on a variety of plants, including Ailanthus (ailanthus), Cinnamomum (cinnamon), Citrus (citrus), Elettaria (cardamom), Litchi (lichi), and Magnifera (mango); adults do not feed.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Cocoons of A. atlas have been used for silk production, although not as widely or commonly as those of the domestic silkworm (Bombyx mori). The silk of A. atlas is brown and in parts of Southeast Asia has been used to weave fagra silk.

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Species: Bos grunniens Linnaeus, 1766
Common name(s): domestic yak; yak

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Schleich
Series: Wild Life Asia and Australia
Year of Production: 2010
Size/Scale: Height at withers (shoulders) approximately 8.0 cm for a scale of 1:13.9-1:17.3 for a male or 1:13.1-1:14.6 for a female (see below).
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: While this figure was sold in Schleich's Wild Life line, the color better supports a domestic yak over a wild yak (B. mutus; see below). The scale above includes both male and female data as the figure is not sexed and both male and female yaks can have horns of this length.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Himalayan Plateau; exported to other regions including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and parts of Europe
Habitat: Alpine meadow, Alpine steppe, desert steppe
Diet: Grazer on low-growing grasses, shrubs, forbs, cushion plants, lichens, mosses
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Domesticated
Miscellaneous Notes: The origins of yak are not well understood. It is believed B. mutus diverged from wild cattle (B. primigenius) between one and five million years ago. The oldest evidence of domestication is from about 2,500 years ago. Differences in native terminology for yak in Tibetic- and Gyalrongic-speaking peoples suggest the yak may have been domesticated more than once. Some authorities consider the wild yak as a subspecies of the domestic yak, but in most cases the two are recognized as separate species. Yaks are extremely important for the peoples of the Tibetan Plateau, and are bred for meat, milk, blood, wool (for clothing and other textiles), dung (for fuel), and to work as beasts of burden.

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Nice looking Yak!

Shanti wrote:

Nice looking Yak!

yes, it's an impressive model, and I think it looks better in-hand! I lucked out with a good paint job.

Always a happy day finding a rare piece in good condition!

I love the Schleich yak. I also like that it is grey in contrast with Papo's brown one

Joliezac wrote:

I love the Schleich yak. I also like that it is grey in contrast with Papo's brown one

I kinda want a brown one to represent the wild type, but I am very happy with this one! Papo and the old Lineol and Elastolin look like wild type (?)

Species: Dryocampa rubicunda (Fabricius, 1793)
Common name(s): rosy maple moth

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Paleo-Creatures
Series: Amazing Moths
Year of Production: 2015
Size/Scale: Figure width approximately 6.0 cm. If spread like a specimen, wingspan would come to approximately 7.5 cm for a scale of 2.3:1-1.7:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was made by forum member Jetoar for the short-lived Amazing Moths line.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eastern North America
Habitat: Temperate deciduous forests, suburban parks and gardens
Diet: Larvae feed on Acer (maples), Platanus (sycamore), Fagus (beech), Quercus (oak); adults do not feed.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Dryocampa rubicunda is a member of the family Saturniidae, commonly called giant silk moths due to their large size. One of the largest is the Atlas moth, seen recently in the Museum! By contrast, D. rubicunda is second smallest member of the family Saturniidae; the only species that is smaller is the honey locust moth, Sphingicampa bicolor, which occurs in the Upper Midwestern United States.

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Species: Marpissa pulla (Karsch, 1879)
Common name(s): four-layered jumping spider

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Capsule Q Museum - Kumocolle! Japanese Spider Collection
Year of Production: 2020
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding appendages) approximately 2.7 cm for a scale of 5.4:1-4.5:1 for a male specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The figure was sold as a 'strap figure' but the cord was easily removable, leaving a tiny non-obtrusive hole.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: East Asia (Far East Russia, China, Taiwan, Korean Peninsula, Japan)
Habitat: Montane riparian areas, meadows, wetlands, marshland; often among grasses, fallen leaves, or rocky fields near streams
Diet: Small insects and spiders
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had difficulty researching information on the biology of this species. Several members of the genus Marpissa have flattened abdomens as a morphologic adaptation for dwelling under bark and rocks or in crevices.

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