The order sirenia has long been fascinating to me, the main herbivorous marine mammals that have survived throughout the Cenozoic. The one that interests me the most (even inspiring my ATB name Sirenia) is, unfortunately, no longer living, the Steller’s Sea Cow. These giant sirenians lived around Commander Island in the Bering sea, being hunted by locals.
Author: Guest Reviews
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All reviews by this author
Sloane’s Viperfish (MIU Deep Sea Odyssey 2 by Kaiyodo)
5 (3 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
The deep ocean is one of the most inhospitable habitats on this planet, and animals have to find extreme ways to adapt or die out. For one, sunlight only goes as low as 1000 m, although any significant light rarely goes to 200 m, which means that there are no plants to photosynthesize and in turn, no plants for herbivores to graze on.
Gray Wolf, mother and pups (Boxed Sets of Wild Life by Schleich)
3.7 (3 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Wolves (Canis lupus) are burdened with an unjustly sinister reputation for a variety of reasons and one is the centuries-old myth of werewolves. One most frightful tale is that of Peter Stubbe, ‘the Werewolf of Bedburg.’ In 1589, he confessed under torture to having received a wolfskin belt from the Devil that allowed him to transform into “the likeness of a greedy, devouring wolf, strong and mighty, with eyes great and large, which in the night sparkled like fire, a mouth great and wide, with most sharp and cruel teeth, a huge body, and mighty paws.” I will not go on to describe the many horrific crimes Stubbe committed, or the equally horrific punishment that was meted out to him on October 31, but suffice it to say, you shouldn’t read the entire story if you’re squeamish.
European Robin (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (5 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
Probably even the most urban European citizen can instantly recognize the European robin (Erithacus rubecula) by its striking red breast. So it a small wonder it took the toy companies so long to produce a figure of this small bird.
Scorpion (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (5 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
Today I want to introduce you to a creepy crawly that is probably even more abhorred or feared than its close relatives, the spiders. Where I live this is mainly an abstract fear, as there are no scorpions here as of yet (let’s see what climate change brings us within the next 20 years).
Platypus (Wild Life Asia and Australia by Schleich)
5 (4 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
When I began amassing an animal figure collection for my boys to play with and learn from, my goal was for a wide diversity of genera from across the globe. Popular beasts like the lion, the tiger, the elephant, the giraffe, the hippo, the crocodile, the kangaroo, and the wolf, of course, but I also wished to include odder ones like the Komodo dragon, the sloth, the cassowary, and the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus).
Red Kangaroo, male 2021 (Wildlife by CollectA)
5 (4 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
For a male red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus), the journey from adorable joey to towering boomer centres mainly around one thing: the ritualized fighting known as boxing. Only the victors win the privilege of mating rights, and as such, battles between boomers can be extremely violent and ugly.
Common Otter (Wildlife by CollectA)
4 (9 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Otters belong to the mustelid family, which also includes weasels and their kin, badgers, skunks, and wolverines. There are currently 13 extant species of otter that all range from semiaquatic to marine in their lifestyles. The Eurasian or common otter (Lutra lutra) is probably the most familiar member of the lot, with a range throughout Europe, much of Asia, and parts of Africa and the Middle East.
Falcated Duck (Water and Lake Birds by Maia & Borges)
4.5 (2 votes)
Review and images by Birdsage; edited by bmathison1972
The Falcated Duck (Mareca falcata or Anas falcata) is a species of dabbling duck found in the wetlands in East Asia. It eats primarily water plants and aquatic invertebrates. It breeds in Russia and Mongolia and winters in East and Southeast Asia.
Leopard Seal (Sealife by CollectA)
4.4 (13 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
We usually picture seals as these cute bumbling blobs that are clumsy and slow on land and behave like puppy dogs. Make no mistake: once they get into the water, they transform into fast moving predators preying on fish and invertebrates like cephalopods and crustaceans.
Bornean Ground-Cuckoo (Wildlife Conservation Society Series by Yowie Group)
4.8 (5 votes)
Review and images by Birdsage; edited by bmathison1972
The Sumatran ground-cuckoo (Carpococcyx viridis) and the Bornean Ground-Cuckoo (C. radiceus) are two closely-related species of terrestrial cuckoos that are endemic to Sumatra and Borneo, respectively. Both species are poorly known and rarely seen.
Leopard Moray (Shinagawa Aquarium by Kaiyodo)
5 (2 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
With it’s bright colors of an orange head, mouth lined with narrow teeth used for grasping slippery prey, a brownish body decorated with spots, an ornate pattern, and, to top it all off, a pair of distinctive horn like nostril tubes that gave the fish its name and makes it stand out from the rest of its relatives, the leopard or dragon moray (Enchelycore pardalis) is certainly one of the most distinctive fish on the reef.