SPIDERS!
It’s time to start a thread for this taxonomically diverse group! Spiders (order Araneae) are very common as toys, but more commonly so as generic or novelty toys (e.g., Halloween props) than they are for figures attributable to a given taxon.
I am starting this thread off with the smaller figures, namely to have multiple figures per image and promote species diversity. In a few cases, the Latin names presented are based on my hypotheses.
SIDE NOTE: Several below are marked with ‘UNK’ as the manufacturer. These are from an unknown manufacturer whose figures are based heavily on the Club Earth and Play Visions spiders. They are good models for their size, not as glossy as the CE or PV figures, but still marked with the same common names (you’ll see some comparisons below). They are marked with letters though rather than numbers. If anyone knows who made them, please chime in! They are not marked with TM, PV, K&M or any other known logo (I wonder if they were just re-releases?). A similar phenomenon has occurred with caterpillars and I assume other groups…
On to the figures:
Family Liphistiidae (segmented spiders)1.
Ryuthela nishihirai (Kaiyodo – ChocoQ Animatales, Okinawa)
Family Theraphosidae (hairy mygalomorphs, a.k.a. ‘tarantulas’)left to right, top to bottom:
1. brown tarantula,
Aphonopelma hentzi (Safari LTD – Venomous Creatures TOOB)
2. desert tarantula,
Aphonopelma chalcodes (K&M International – Spiders Bulk)
3. Costa Rican zebra tarantula,
Aphonopelma seemanni (Play Visions – Habitat Earth: Tarantulas and Spiders)
4.
A. seemanni (UNK)
left to right, top to bottom:
1. Mexican red-kneed tarantula,
Brachypelma smithi (Safari LTD - Authentics Insects)
2.
B. smithi (Kaiyodo - Toxic and Dangerous Animals)
3.
B. smithi (Play Visions - Habitat Earth: Tarantulas and Spiders)
4. red-rump tarantula,
Brachypelma vagans (Furuta – ChocoEgg Funny Animals Series 1)
left to right, top to bottom:
1. Indian ornamental tarantula,
Poecilotheria regalis (Play Visions - Habitat Earth: Tarantulas and Spiders)
2. cobalt blue tarantula,
Haplopelma lividum (Club Earth – Spiders to Go)
3. African baboon spider,
Pelinobius muticus (K&M International – Spiders Bulk)
4.
H. lividum (Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. – Venomous Spiders)
Family Ctenizidae (trapdoor spiders)left to right:
1. trapdoor spider, gen. sp. (Cadbury – Yowies, UK Series 1)
2. trapdoor spider, gen. sp. (Funrise Toys – World of Nature Insect Collection)
Family Dipluridae (funnelweb spiders)All representing the Sydney funnelweb spider,
Atrax robustus; left to right, top to bottom:
1. Science and Nature (Animals of Australia)
2. Cadbury (Yowies – Series 2)
3. Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. (Venomous Spiders)
4. Cadbury (Yowies – UK Series 1)
Family Mecicobothriidae (sheet funnel-web spiders).
One figure,
Megahexura fulva by Club Earth (Spiders to Go).
Family Atypidae (purseweb spiders)left to right:
1. purseweb spider,
Sphodros rufipes (Club Earth – Spiders to Go)
2. purseweb spider,
Sphodros rufipes (UNK)
Family Scytodidae (spitting spiders)left to right:
1. spitting spider,
Scytodes thoracica (Club Earth – Spiders to Go)
2.
S. thoracica (UNK)
Family Theraphosidae (cobweb weavers, widows)First image, all southern black widows,
Latrodectus mactans; left to right, top to bottom:
1. Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. (Venomous Spiders)
2. K&M International (Spiders Bulk)
3. Play Visions (Habitat Earth: Tarantulas and Spiders)
4. Discovery Channel (Deadly Kiss: Poisonous Animals)
5. UNK (this figure is actually marked ‘red widow’ as they probably used the sculpt of
L. bishopi, below, as the basis for this figure, although the leg positions are different in my two figures)
left to right, top to bottom:
1. redback spider,
Latrodectus hasseltii (Science and Nature – Animals of Australia)
2.
L. hasseltii (Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. – Venomous Spiders)
3. katipo,
Latrodectus katipo (Cadbury – Yowies Series 2)
4. red widow,
Latrodectus bishopi (UNK)
5. malmignatte,
Latrodectus tredecimguttatus (Funrise Toys – World of Nature Insect Collection)
Family Araneidae (orb-weavers)left to right, top to bottom:
1.garden spider, gen. sp. (Wicked Cool Toys – Wild Kratts Creature Power Pack, Crawlers)
2. leaf-rolling spider,
Phonognatha graeffei (Cadbury – Yowies Series 4)
3. black-and-yellow argiope,
Argiope aurantia (Play Visions – Habitat Earth: Tarantulas and Spiders)
4. spiny orb-weaver,
Gasteracantha cancriformis (K&M International – Spiders Bulk)
5. garden spider,
Argiope amoena (Bandai – Figure Pictorial Book of Gakken Insect)
6. St. Andrew’s cross spider,
Argiope keyserlingi (K&M International – Spiders Bulk)
Family Tetragnathidae (long-jawed orb-weavers)1. Mabel orchard spider,
Leucauge venusta (K&M International – Spiders Bulk)
Family Pisauridae (nursery web, raft spiders)1. raft spider,
Dolomedes sp. (UNK)
Family Oxyopidae (lynx spiders)left to right:
1. green lynx spider,
Peucetia viridans (Play Visions – Habitat Earth: Tarantulas and Spiders)
2.
P. viridans (UNK)
Family Lycosidae (wolf spiders)left to right, top to bottom:
1. European wolf spider,
Lycosa tarantula (Papo – Wild Animals)
2. wolf spider, gen. sp. (Funrise Toys – World of Nature Insect Collection)
3. cave spider, gen. sp. (Safari LTD – Cave Dwellers TOOB)—this is included here because there is a general thought that this probably represents the Kaua’i cave wolf spider,
Adelocosa anops4.
L. tarantula (Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. – Venomous Spiders)
5. wolf spider, gen. sp. (Club Earth – Spiders to Go)
Family Eutichuridae (sac spiders)1. sac spider,
Cheiracanthium japonicum (Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. – Venomous Spiders)
Family Sparassidae (giant crab spiders)left to right:
1.giant Sydney huntsman spider,
Holcomia immanis (Science and Nature – Animals of Australia)
2. green huntsman spider,
Micrommata virescens (Bullyland)
Family Thomisidae (crab spiders)left to right, top to bottom:
1. crab spider,
Diaea variabilis (Cadbury – Yowies Series 3)
2. crab spider,
Misumena sp. (Club Earth – Spiders to Go)
3. crab spider,
Thomisius sp. (UNK)
4. crab spider, gen. sp. (UNK)
5. crab spider, gen. sp. (UNK)
Family Salticidae (jumping spiders)left to right:
1. jumping spider, gen. sp. (Cadbury – Yowies Series 5)
2. Adanson’s house spider,
Hasarius adansoni (Kaiyodo – Sticky Tack Insect Set)
Family Eresidae (velvet spiders)1. velvet spider,
Eresus kollari (Bullyland)
adult imageFamily Dinopidae (ogre-faced spiders)1. ogre-faced spider,
Deinopus rubrufus (Cadbury – Yowies Series 4)
