Species identification topic

What is this bird? (from Petitcolin, old vintage french brand)

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

It looks like a peahen

Advicot wrote:

It looks like a peahen

Ok thank you Adam, that's I thought! :)

Very rare, thanks for sharing.

What a interesting figure

Thank you Fernando and Andreas, this brand made figurines of celluloïd composition until they were forbiden because of some accidents for they burned very well!..

Very very nice bird model. Like it ! :)

Thank you Kosta! :)

After a long time I've studied the new Giant Tortoise from Schleich could be an Aldabra Giant Tortoise, this time for real. The overall shape looks a like. The head is a bit huge, but that's typical for Schleich. The shell is greyish, which is a common colour of their shells. Moreover, the nose holes are vertical.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

If you look on Schleich's website it mentions this tortoise lives in the Pacific ocean, making it a Galapagos, if it was an Aldabra it would say the Indian Ocean.

I prayed heavily that it would be an Aldabra to help complete my family of them, but Schleich markets it as a Galapagos instead

By the way the first photo of the Aldabra does look like the Schleich figure due to its pose

Thank you, Adam. But often, Schleich has some problems to create models on Species level. Several times in the past, they created some models of a certain species. But then, they did a mistake on species level. Or they've done some grammatical mistakes. For example, they created a model from a so called Sumpfkrokodil. But they called it Stumpfkrokodil. But this species is very small, you know it as Dwarf Crocodile. But the model was a Mugger Crocodile.

This is indeed very interesting, and you have given a valid explanation to a time they wrongly named a species of crocodile towards another much smaller species.

EDIT: After going back onto Schleich's website I found this info:

Giant tortoise
The giant tortoise from Schleich Wild Life has a large, dome-shaped shell. In nature it can grow 100 to 120 cm long.

Giant tortoises are large and can weigh over 400 kg. Like the giant tortoise from Schleich Wild Life, they have short but powerful legs that they use to move around in the search for fresh grass and herbs. The reptiles can reach an impressive age and often live more than 100 years in the wild.

Fun fact
When they are in danger the giant tortoises pull their head and legs back into their shell.

Scientific facts
Scientific name: Chelonoidis nigra
Global home: Pacific Ocean
Conservation status: Critically Endangered
Primary habitat: Forest, Grassland, Savanna, Shrubland

It mentions the scientific name, showing it to be a Galapagos and furthermore it's saying that the real life counterparts can weigh over 400 kg whereas the Aldabra weighs roughly 300 kg. The best bet is to ask Schleich personally if they meant to design an Aldabra and wrongly marketed it as a Galapagos and then we'd be sure to get a definitive answer

I spent several hours to identify the new Schleich giant Tortoise and it doesn't match perfectly to any Galapagos species. It looks similar to the Santa Cruz Tortoise, but it shares more similarities with the Aldabra Giant Tortoise.
At the end of the day, we collectors can decide, which species it could be.

I guess I could put it in my collection as an Aldabra

Megaptera wrote:

I spent several hours to identify the new Schleich giant Tortoise and it doesn't match perfectly to any Galapagos species. It looks similar to the Santa Cruz Tortoise, but it shares more similarities with the Aldabra Giant Tortoise.
At the end of the day, we collectors can decide, which species it could be.

Comparing a figure of this level of quality (and that is not a compliment) to random online images is a futile effort. I cannot see Schleich being bold enough to make an Aldabra tortoise, and if they did, one would think they would market it as such.

I tried to use an encyclopedia of Galapagos species for this. But it's still very difficult. One Tortoise is not equal to another.

I was still searching for a real Aldabra Giant Tortoise for my collection.
Now, I found it and I was a bit shocked. The main difference between Galapagos and Aldabra Tortoises is a plate on the carapace. Only Aldabra Giant Tortoise have this so called Nuchal plate. And I found it! But not on a Schleich or Safari Tortoise. It's the one from Papo!!!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Yayyy! We have another Aldabra! Well found Megaptera, and it will now be joining my collection

WOW !!! How great

Intesting information

Thank you, everyone

What species do we think these Hausser Elastolin monkeys are? Probably not chimps or gorillas, because Hausser made these too and named them as such. They don't have tails, so I am thinking they might be Barbary macaques. But I have to say that the primate that looks most similar is homo sapiens
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Any thoughts on the species in the Schleich tortoise home set [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I wonder if these are better desert tortoises (at least the adult), than the Safari 'desert tortoise'

It certainly fits with a desert tortoise in my personal opinion