Mathison Museum of Natural History

Species: Kallima inachus (Doyère, 1840)
Common name(s): orange oakleaf; Indian oakleaf

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kabaya
Series: Insect Directory
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Base 5.5 cm long. If spread like a specimen, wingspan comes to approximately 5.4 cm for a scale of 1:1.6-1:2
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The butterflies are removable from the base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central to Southeast and East Asia, from India and Pakistan to Laos, Vietnam, Japan
Habitat: Dense rainforest, often in riparian areas
Diet: Larvae feed on the plants from several families, including Urticaceae (nettles), Polygonaceae (knotweeds), Rosaceae (roses, peaches, plums, and kin), and Acanthaceae; adults feed on tree sap, overripe and rotting fruit, and obtain nutrients from mud puddles.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The wings of Kallima inachus are shaped like leaves and, when closed, are colored to look like dead leaves, allowing it to camouflage itself on vegetation or in forest litter. When the wings open, however, the dorsal surface have boldly contrasting black, yellow, and blue!

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Species: Dolichovespula arenaria (Fabricius, 1775)
Common name(s): common aerial yellowjacket; sandhills hornet; common yellow hornet

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Bees, Wasps, and Hornets
Year of Production: 1996
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 4.8 cm. Using forewing length as a metric (n=3.2 cm) scale comes to 3.6:1-2.7:1 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The scale above was calculated based on a worker, but works similarly for a male. It could scale up to 2.4:1 for a queen.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: North America
Habitat: Forests, parks, gardens, urban and suburban areas. In natural habitats, nests are usually constructed in trees and shrubs, occasionally underground or under rocks; in urban and suburban areas, nests may be constructed on buildings.
Diet: Other arthropods; occasionally carrion
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Unlike many related wasps, D. arenaria has the ability to spray venom from its stingers my contracting the venom reservoir muscles. The spraying allows for a greater release of alarm pheromone which is key to eliciting the attack behavior of the wasps.

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Species: Kheper lamarcki (Macleay, 1821)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: SO-TA
Series: 1/1 Dung Beetles
Year of Production: 2022
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 3.8 cm, within scale 1:1 for a large specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was only marketed as Kheper and the species identification is my own. The same sculpt was also used for K. festivus paganus (as specifically indicated by SO-TA) in the same set. A special boxed edition included a metallic brown version also only marked as Kheper (possibly representing K. nigroaeneus), instead of today's black version. The beetle is removable from its dung ball.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southern Africa (South Africa, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Habitat: Savanna, savanna woodlands
Diet: Larvae feed on animal dung provided by the parents; adults also feed on dung
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Kheper lamarcki uses the sun for directional clues when rolling it dung ball. Experimental studies show that altering the beetle's ability to use the sun affects the direction it moves. For example, using a mirror to create an additional light source, the beetle may change it's direction 180°. If the sun is blocked (for example, by using a shading board), and the e-vector direction of the celestial polarized light is turned by 90° with a polarizer, this beetle turns 90° in accordance with the positional change of the e-vector.

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tha wasps

Species: Gonodonta nitidimacula Guenée, 1852
Common name(s): fruit-piercing moth

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Toys Spirits
Series: Caterpillar Mascot Vol. 2
Year of Production: 2020
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 4.7 cm for a scale of roughly 1.9:1-1.6:1 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: While stylized, SO-TA marketed this figure at the species level. When I first got it, I had misidentified it as Eudocima phalonia based on promotional pics showing a photograph of an actual larva, but when I applied Google's translation software I was able to get the correct identification. I had difficulty researching information on this species and the scale above is calculated based on a length of 2.5-3.0 cm, which seems to be about average for the larvae of other species in Gonodonta.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southern USA (extreme southern Texas) to South America and the Caribbean
Habitat: Tropical and subtropical forest, fruit groves, plantations
Diet: Larvae feed on plants in the family Piperaceae and possibly Annonaceae; adults feed on fruit juices
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Fruit-piercing moths get their common name for the unusual feeding habits of the adults. The end of their proboscis is sclerotized with barbs and hooks. This allows the moth to pierce the intact skin of fruits, including that of cashew, mango, and citrus, to access the sweet juices inside the fruit. Related moths in the genus Calyptra are known as vampire moths, as they use their modified mouthparts for piercing the skin of, and sucking the blood of, mammals!

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Species: Lutra lutra (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): Eurasian river otter; European otter; common otter

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Papo
Series: Wild Animals
Year of Production: 2018
Size/Scale: Total figure length approximately 7.0 cm long. Scale difficult to calculate due to the hunched body, but body length (exclusive of tail) approximately 5.5 cm long for a scale of 1:10.4-1:16.4
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen L. lutra in the Museum, although the first time was represented by the extinct Japanese subspecies (L. l. whiteleyi) which is often recognized as a separate species, L. nippon. There is no shortage of common otter figures, and even since this Papo version came out in 2018, we have seen figures produced by Mojö Fun (also 2018), CollectA (2021), and Schleich (2023).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eurasia and North Africa (Maghreb)
Habitat: Unpolluted freshwater sources, including rivers, lakes, streams, freshwater and peat swamp forests, rice fields, fjords, and water caves; occasionally ocean shores, but access to freshwater is still required for grooming
Diet: Fish, amphibians, aquatic invertebrates, small mammals, small birds and bird eggs
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Near Threatened
Miscellaneous Notes: Lutra lutra has a pair of scent glands at the base of its tail that produce a heavy, musky smell. Scent marking is used for intraspecific communication to alert other otters about territorial boundaries, identity, and the sexual state of each otter.

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Species: Gekko tawaensis Okada, 1956
Common name(s): Tawa gecko

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Capsule Q Museum - Shikoku
Year of Production: 2013
Size/Scale: Figure length 6.5 cm. Snout-to-vent length (SVL) approximately 4.5 cm for a scale of 1:1.6 for a large specimen (see below).
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Some assembly is required. The scale above was calculated based on a maximum SVL of 7.1 cm.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan (Shikoku and adjacent parts of Kyushu and Honshū)
Habitat: Forests, often in rocky areas; occasionally suburban parks and gardens
Diet: Small insects and arachnids
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Gekko tawaensis hybridizes with Schlegel's Japanese gecko (G. japonicus) in areas where the two species overlap.

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Species: Pseudonaja textilis Duméril et al., 1854
Common name(s): eastern brown snake; common brown snake

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Science and Nature
Series: Animals of Australia - Large
Year of Production: 2015
Size/Scale: Raw figure length approximately 13.0 cm. Measured along midline, body length approximately 45.0 cm for a scale of 1:3.3-1:4.5.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: K&M International produced a tube figure of this species (Wild Republic Australian Animal Down Under Nature Tube) in 2003.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eastern and central Australia and southern New Guinea
Habitat: Eucalypt forests, coastal heaths, savanna woodland, grasslands, arid scrubland, agricultural areas
Diet: Small mammals, small birds and bird eggs, other smaller snakes
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Pseudonaja textilis is considered the third-most venomous snake in the world, behind only Oxyuranus microlepidotus (inland taipan) and Aipysurus duboisii (Dubois' sea snake). It possesses an intravenous injection LD50 of 0.013 mg/kg. Clinical manifestations include nausea, vomiting, profuse sweating, abdominal pain, severe headache, and venom-induced consumption coagulopathy; a third of cases develop serious systemic envenoming including hypotension and collapse, thrombotic microangiopathy, severe hemorrhage, and cardiac arrest. Death is usually caused by cardiovascular issues such as cardiac arrest or intracranial hemorrhage.

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wow! ultra-realistic!

Species: Sarcoptes scabiei (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): itch mite

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: GPI Anatomicals
Series: Canine Skin Parasites
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 9.5 cm for a scale of 317:1-211:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This model was designed to be a display in veterinary offices and not a toy to be played with. Because it was part of a set of canine ectoparasites, it was probably intended to represent the canine mange mite, S. scabiei var. canis.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Worldwide
Habitat: Skin (stratum corneum) of their hosts, which include a wide variety of mammals such as humans, non-human primates, domestic and wild canids and felids, bovids, wild boar, and marsupials. Different 'varieties' of the mite have different host spectra.
Diet: Epithelial cells, lymph, and blood of their hosts
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Sarcoptid mange caused by S. scabiei var. canis infects a variety of animals other than dogs, including cats, pigs, horses, sheep, and others. As mites burrow into the skin of the host, allergic reactions to the mites' feces causes severe itching. In heavy infections, crusting can become infected with secondary bacterial infections.

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The parasites on your body become larger and larger! Impressive model. Do you have other models from this anatomical series?

rogerpgvg wrote:

The parasites on your body become larger and larger! Impressive model. Do you have other models from this anatomical series?

There is also a dog flea and a tick. Unfortunately, the tick is a hybrid of different genera so I didn't retain it.

Looking forward to seeing the dog flee.

Species: Amanita muscaria (Linnaeus) de Lamarck (1783)
Common name(s): fly agaric

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Ikimon
Series: Nature Techni Colour - Soft Mushroom Mascot
Year of Production: 2023 (2010)
Size/Scale: Cap approximately 5.0 cm wide for a scale of 1:1.6-1:4 for a mature specimen, although it could probably scale 1:1 for a small or younger individual.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the first fungus we've seen in the Museum since I started adding some to my collection earlier this year (hey, they're heterotrophic eukaryotes ;-). Although technically, one could argue this is the second time we've seen A. muscaria in the Museum, as my Japanese tree frog (also from the Nature Techni Colour line) is depicted sitting atop one! Today's figure was first produced by Kitan Club in 2010, before Ikimon acquired the Nature Techni Colour line. Minimal assembly is required (the cap needs to be attached) and the figure was originally sold as a 'strap' figure (hence the loop on the top). Due to the hard nature of the plastic, the loop for the strap is not easily removed (which is fine; its presence doesn't bother me).

About the Organism:
Geographic distribution: Cosmopolitan; native to temperate and boreal Northern Hemisphere and introduced throughout much of the rest of the world with host trees
Habitat: Coniferous, deciduous, and mixed woodlands, heathland; usually on light soils around host trees
Diet: Nutrients derived from the soil and sugars from host trees (see below)
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Amanita muscaria forms a symbiotic relationship with host trees, including pine, spruce, fir, cedar, birch, and oak. The mycelium of the fungus provides nutrients derived from soil for the trees while the trees provide sugars derived from photosynthesis.

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Species: Corytophanes cristatus (Merrem, 1820)
Common name(s): smooth helmeted iguana; helmeted iguana; helmeted basilisk

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yujin
Series: Primary Colour Lizards Book
Year of Production: 2002 (1998)
Size/Scale: Snout-to-vent length approximately 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:1.8-1:2.4
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure has an interesting pedigree. It was first used by Play Visions in 1998 to represent a 'helmeted iguana', which is often presumed to be C. cristatus (which makes sense). When Yujin reissued the sculpt with a different paint job in 2002, they called it C. hernandesii (Hernandez's helmeted basilisk). The thing is, the morphology, especially the shape of the crest, doesn't support C. hernandesii at all, and it still looks like a typical C. cristatus. As such, I am retaining the name of C. cristatus even though that Latin combination was never used by either company. Oh, and if you want to have more fun with it, the figure looks even more like the insular agamid, Agama crista (family Agamidae) from Africa.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southern Mexico to northwestern Colombia
Habitat: Primary and secondary mesic rainforest
Diet: Invertebrates, other small lizards
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Corytophanes cristatus is an ambush predator. Because it remains motionless for such long periods of time, its skin can become colonized with fungi, algae, and bryophytes.

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I was thinking i have the full serie. But no, this figure i miss. Now i will search. Sometimes i think i have the figure and than i dont have. And sometimes i think i dont have and this is wrong.