Lovely Salamanders

[Beetle guy]

@Beetle guy, thanks for posting photos of the Magnet salamanders. These are sold out on Rakuten.
Magnet Inc. has a web site, but delivery is only in Japan:
http://magnet-inc.com/ja/stationery-en/repiles-mag-2/?lang=en

@stemturtle  I have send you a PM

[stemturtle]

Beetle guy wrote that Bell's and the tiger salamander are available again from Rakuten:

https://item.rakuten.co.jp/mirise/0022-6685024s2/
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/mirise/0022-6685024s3/?s-id=pc_shop_recommend&rtg=dbfb9d227b21c47770e8ad28a1bc9642

[dinocat62]

Ordered mine. Many thanks!

[stargatedalek]

Those are wonderful! That tiger salamander is tempting, as are many of the birds. How is the material, do they seem especially fragile to the touch?

[Beetle guy]

Those are wonderful! That tiger salamander is tempting, as are many of the birds. How is the material, do they seem especially fragile to the touch?

The salamanders are made of sturdy, hard resin.
I have sanded the company logo off and am sanding the feet thinner and that workds great! 
They both are really nice as they are  I must say.

[stemturtle]

Eastern newt, Notophthalmus viridescens, (Yowie USA, Series 6, marked F1), length about 2.2 in. or 5.5 cm.

It's good to get a quality example of this species.
The red-spotted newt is the subspecies N. v. viridescens. The terrestrial juvenile stage is called a red eft.

18 animals are shown for Colors of the Animal Kingdom.
The letter F is the sixth letter of the alphabet, but I do not know the meaning of the number 1 marked on the figures.

[bmathison1972]

this is one I have en route to me, and I think it's one of the better figures in the set!

[MammothProductions]

Are there small bumps all over the body, or is that just the photo quality?

[stemturtle]

Are there small bumps all over the body, or is that just the photo quality?

Yes, @MammothProductions, the skin of this figure is granular, perhaps exaggerated.
Efts have dry skin, which becomes smooth at maturity.

[MammothProductions]

Thanks @stemturtle. I've held real salamanders before, and their skin felt dry and mostly smooth. If a figure is produced with the same texture as the real animal, that would be a commendable feat for the manufacturer.

[stemturtle]

Common mudpuppy, Necturus maculosus, (Safari Ltd. Great Lakes Toob), length 3.2 in or 8.2 cm.

This is a new sculpt. The Tennessee Aquarium mudpuppy by Safari is more than 3 times longer.


Comparison of the Olm, Proteus anguinus, (Safari Cave Dwellers Toob) and the new mudpuppy.

[BramS]

Wooww, this japanese Kaiyodo brand is new to me. Look at those salamaders. Really nice !!!! 

[sbell]

I finally just got the Great Lakes toob. The sturgeon is of course the best part, but the mudpuppy is pretty great too.

[postsaurischian]

      -  AMMONITES MANUFACTURING Andrias davidianus skeleton
      -  Kitan Club / Nature Techni Colour Andrias japonicus, both in about 1:10

[stemturtle]

      -  AMMONITES MANUFACTURING Andrias davidianus skeleton
      ...

Thanks for posting about the skeleton, @postsaurischian. I believe that is the first image of a Chinese salamander figure that I have seen.

[stemturtle]

Hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis (Wild Republic, Wilderness Series 1), length along spine about 4.3 inches or 11.0 cm.

We are lucky to have an example of a hellbender as a plastic toy with the ID marked on the belly. The lasagna skin flaps along the sides aid respiration. The hind feet should each have 5 toes instead of 4. Although the color brown would have been more typical than olive, I'm happy to collect this American giant salamander. It is part of a set of 5 figures, including a bear, coyote, skunk, and deer. The date on the packaging of the polybag is 2019. Available on Amazon and eBay.

[bmathison1972]

Nice @stemturtle I saw the Polybag in Minnesota at a toy store in October of 2018. Had I started my Synoptic Collection then, I would have grabbed it up

[sbell]

I've been hoping to get that hellbender eventually. They're oddly hard to find. And I'd rather not pay the extra postage out of the US!

[bmathison1972]

I just bought the Polyvinyl bag. I'll review the whole bag on the blog once it arrives!

[stemturtle]

Chinese giant salamander, Andrias davidianus (Sbabam, KreatureX Salamanders and Newts), length 8.5 inches or 22 cm.

This squeezable toy, which glows in the dark, is soft rubber filled with beads. An image of the skeleton of this species was posted by @postsaurischian on Reply 133 . With a length up to 180 cm (5.9 feet), the Chinese giant salamander can be several inches longer than its popular Japanese brother, A. japonicus, and nearly 3 times larger than its American cousin, the hellbender.


This salamander was from a set of 12 caudata figures released in 2017 by the Italian company Sbabam. I was lucky to find it on eBay.


Comparison of 3 giant salamanders, family Cryptobranchidae: Chinese, Japanese, and Hellbender.
Andrias davidianus (Sbabam), A. japonicus (Kaiyodo, Kyoto Aquarium), Cryptobranchus alleganiensis (Wild Republic) [bottom right].