Native to the rainforests of equatorial West Africa, the emperor scorpion, Pandinus imperator, is one of the most familiar and popular scorpion species. Its large size, fearsome appearance, docile nature, and mild venom make it very popular in the pet trade. It should be no surprise than that it is the most commonly-made scorpion in the toy market.
Author: bmathison1972
I am Blaine, known by bmathison1972 on the forums and blogs. I am a professional parasitologist specializing in agents of human disease, including medically-important arthropods. I am also an amateur entomologist and study Nearctic click beetles (family Elateridae). Historically, much of my collection was devoted to insects and other arthropods, but in late 2018 I started building a Synoptic Collection of other species, to have one good exemplar of any animal species (my personal ‘Natural History Museum’). Other hobbies include hiking, bird-watching, running, and lifting weights, but my other ‘big’ hobby is visiting sports arenas, especially baseball stadiums. Whenever I travel for work (which I do with some frequency), I always check to see if there is a local college, independent, minor, or major league team to see.All reviews by this author
Dung-rolling Scarab (Dung Beetle with Sound While Rolling the Ball by Kitan Club)
5 (1 votes)
Yes, that is the name of the collection…
The Great Pyramids of Egypt. What was their grand purpose and influence? Merely grandeur tombs for Egyptian royalty? Conduits for alien visitors? A regeneration site for En Sabah Nur? Or maybe they are just giant piles of cow sh*t! Yes, really! Ever notice how a pyramid is shaped like a cascading pile of cow dung?
Barnacles (Nature Techni Colour by Kitan Club)
5 (3 votes)
Today we will be looking at the complete Barnacles collection that was released by Kitan Club in 2012 as part of the Nature Techni Colour line. The set features 18 figures representing nine species of barnacles. The figures are either magnets, ‘strap’ figures, or are pins designed to be work on clothing or backpacks.
Green Christmas Beetle (Yowies Series 1, UK and Australian releases by Cadbury)
4 (1 votes)
This week Christmas is celebrated throughout much of the world. In trying to keep with holiday themes, I have decided to review a pair of green Christmas beetles (Anoplognathus punctulatus) by Cadbury that were released in both the Australian and UK Yowies collections in 1997. Members the genus Anoplognathus are commonly called ‘Christmas beetles’ as they tend to be abundant during Christmas time in Australia.
Figure Pictorial Book of Gakken Insect (Bandai)
5 (1 votes)
Today we will be looking at a rather fun set called Figure Pictorial Book of Gakken Insect (well, at least that’s the translation) by Bandai. The set was produced in 2003 and contains five species of Japanese arthropods. When I initially started focusing on arthropods, this was one of my ‘Holy Grail’ collections; luckily I was able to secure it fairly early on.
Southeast Asian Dead Leaf Mantis (Diversity of Life on Earth – Japanese Giant Mantis Vol. 2 by Bandai)
5 (1 votes)
Earlier this year I reviewed a pair of Japanese giant mantids (Tenodera aridifolia) from Bandai’s Diversity of Life on Earth Line. In October of this year, the second volume in the mantid series was released. As the name of the set suggests, there were two more figures of T.
Tropical Fish (Play Visions)
2.9 (7 votes)
With recent discussions on the STS forum on the identity of Play Visions’ Tropical Fish collection from 1996, I was inspired to review the set on the Blog! These figures are all marked with very generic common names, and the species-level identifications are all community-based. If anyone can offer up better identifications, let us know, we’d love to hear from you!
Giant Clam (Shellfish with a Lid Mascot Vol. 3 by Toys Spirits)
5 (1 votes)
Right about the time I decided the review the Cadbury Yowie giant clam a couple weeks ago, Toy Spirits (a subsidiary of SO-TA, or vice versa) decided to produce one in the third volume of their Shellfish with a Lid Mascot series. The figure was not marketed at the species level, but I bought it hoping I could confidentially identify it as something different than the Cadbury figure which was specifically marketed as Tridacna maxima.
Flying Peacock Spider (Diversity of Life on Earth: Peacock Spiders by Bandai)
5 (2 votes)
The genus Maratus, commonly referred to as peacock spiders, consists of over 80 species, all endemic to Australia. One must wonder how a single genus of spiders could speciate to this magnitude on a single geographic land mass (although there are some on Tasmania). The answer lies in their courtship rituals.
Giant Clam (Yowies Series 4 by Cadbury)
5 (3 votes)
The genus Tridacna consists of large marine bivalves commonly known as giant clams. The largest, T. gigas, can be 120 cm across, weigh over 200 kg, and live for over 100 years. Today we will be looking at T. maxima, which is known as the maxima clam (although it also goes by the oxymoron ‘small giant clam’).
Rusty Patched Bumble Bee (Animals with Superpowers by Yowie Group)
3 (2 votes)
Bumble bees are not uncommon in the toy realm, usually as ‘generic bees’ in bin-style sets. Some have been made by major manufacturers, including Bullyland, CollectA, and Safari Ltd., but none of those are identified at the species level. To my knowledge, there are only two figures of bumble bees attributable to the species level, the golden northern bumble bee (Bombus fervidus) by Play Visions in 1996 and the rusty patched bumble bee (B.
Black Widow (Fun World by Easter Unlimited, Inc.)
1 (1 votes)
For my final Halloween post, I am reviewing a figure that was specifically sold as a Halloween novelty toy! I am referring to the black widow (Latrodectus mactans) by Fun World, which is a Division of Easter Unlimited, Inc., a novelty shop that sells seasonal and holiday-themed toys, décor, and costumes.
Castor Bean Tick (3B Scientific)
5 (2 votes)
For my next instalment of creepy critters for October, I decided to review the castor bean tick (also known in Europe as the sheep tick, Ixodes ricinus) by Germany-based 3B Scientific. I also chose this figure because it’s my forum avatar, and I have never presented it here.
Killer Bee (Insect Predators by Trendmasters)
3 (1 votes)
Today is my second contribution to the ongoing October theme of presenting ‘creepy and scary’ critters on the Blog. Today I will be reviewing the ‘killer bee’ (Apis mellifera) by Trendmasters. It was released in 1993 as part of their Insect Predators collection. The collection also included a scorpion (unidentified, but presumably the emperor scorpion, Pandinus imperator), the giant stag beetle (Lucanus elaphas), a wasp (Bembix americana), a mosquito (Aedes taeniorhynchus), and the Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina).
Brain-eating Ameba (Giant Microbes)
4.3 (3 votes)
Halloween often conjures up images of brain-eating zombies. Well, I am covering the closest thing in nature to that concept, the brain-eating ameba (Naegleria fowleri) by Giant Microbes! I should start off by saying these toys belong to a friend of mine at work (who is also our medical director for parasitology), as I don’t collect plush toys myself.