Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) is perhaps the most familiar of all the eared seals due to its popularity in zoos and aquariums as well as its range across most of the western coastline of North America. Intelligent and adaptable, it is just as comfortable resting on a man-made structure, such as the famous Pier 39 in San Francisco, as it is on a remote sandy beach.
Today I am in a city being hit by the first winter storm of the year…in September. Again. Which immediately put me in the mood to discuss an animal that might be far more comfortable with this miserable weather–the Canada Lynx Lynx canadensis Kerr 1792 made by Safari Ltd released as part of their North American Wildlife (NAW) line of animals in 2016.
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
In 1926, in northeast Queensland, Australia, a group of boys happened upon a large, flightless bird and decided it would be fun to chase it. During the pursuit, one of the boys, a 16-year old by the name of Phillip McClean, tripped and fell to the ground.
For my next review I thought I would do an overview of the Cave Dwellers TOOB released by Safari Ltd. in 2014. When this set was first released, I was excited because five of the eight figures are arthropods. Unfortunately I have misplaced four of those five, so I recently bought the entire set, which is good because now that I am building a synoptic collection I really wanted the three non-arthropods.
Continuing onwards with our look at creepy creatures all through October, I present to you… a snake. Snakes as a group are among the most feared and misunderstood creatures on the planet, two adjectives that often go hand-in-hand. As such, snakes are synonymous with Halloween and an obvious choice for review during spooky season.
This toy (#295929) was released in 2010, the same year Safari Ltd retired an earlier and very similar sculpt of a chimpanzee with baby (#272229, released 1998). So, in effect, this model was a direct replacement, and a notable upgrade.
The young chimp is piggybacking on the adult and convincingly looks like it’s clinging on tightly.
Walk-around of the Safari Ltd. Wild Safari Wildlife (male) Common Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes (Blumenbach, 1776); item No. 224729, produced in 2016. Snout-vent length is approx. 72 mm, so the scale is somewhere between 1:9 and 1:13. The human figure (South American Father by Miniland “Los Amigos del Mundo”) is approx.
The coelacanth, Latimeria, is an iconic species of ‘living fossil’ and a text-book example of evolutionary stasis – an organism that has changed very little over millions of years. This is presumably why Safari Ltd picked this distinctive prehistoric-looking fish for their Wild Safari Prehistorics line, which is normally dedicated to prehistoric critters.
Although they look very much like pigs, and are sometimes called New World pigs, peccaries aka javelinas belong to their own distinct family, Tayassuidae. Pigs belong to the family Suidae and about 30 million years of evolution separates the two families that together make up the Suina clade. While all true pig species hail from the Old World, all extant peccary species come from the Americas, although the family originally evolved in Europe.
To the layman, minnow is a catchall term for any small fish, including the baby fish of larger species. But scientifically, a minnow is a specific kind of fish belonging to the families Cyprinidae and Leucisidae (which until recently was lumped together with the Cyprinidae family) and the size of the fish is not at all a factor.
It’s Halloween and what better way to end our spooky season than by looking at one of its most symbolic animals, the common raven (Corvus corax). The common raven ranges around the northern hemisphere and lives in all the varied habitats therein. As a result, it also features in the varied mythologies, folklore, and religions from wherever it lives.
Review and photos by Suspsy, edited by Animaltoyforum
If you’ve ever been to an aquarium in your life, especially one with touch tanks, chances are you’re familiar with cownose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus). I’ve quite lost track of how many times over the years I’ve purchased those little cardboard containers of just three pieces of herring or squid or shrimp to feed to these endearing creatures (probably spent enough to buy at least a couple of PNSO’s big dinosaur figures).
It was an early spring evening in 1999, in central New York. I was doing what I did most evenings back then, sitting quietly on the bank of an active beaver pond with a VHS camcorder in hand, waiting for whatever wildlife might stroll by. Off in the distance I could hear a pack of coyotes (Canis latrans), a chorus of high-pitched barks and yips.
The Safari crested gecko (Correlophus ciliatus) is new for 2022 and part of their Incredible Creatures line. It’s a fitting addition too. The crested gecko is only found on the island country of New Caledonia. Specifically, on the southern portion of the island of Grand Terre and on Isle of Pines.
Walk-around of the retired Safari Ltd. Wild Safari Sealife crocodile shark, Pseudocarcharias kamoharai (Matsubara, 1936), originally released in 1997. Total length is 169 mm, scale approx. 1:5 – 1:6. The eyes are very large (and have that white spot, too) – which is accurate, though, it’s not only the smallest lamniform shark but also apparently stays at depths below 200 m during the day and comes nearer to the surface only at night.
