Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is perhaps the most typical of the seven species of sea turtle. Its seemingly incongruous name derives from the colour of the fat beneath its shell.
The 2017 Safari Ltd green sea turtle is sculpted with its head turned to the left, its powerful front flippers spread wide apart, and its hind flippers swept back, which makes it 10.5 cm wide by 10.5 cm long.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The appropriately named whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is the biggest shark and the biggest fish alive today. The largest recorded specimen was a female with a length of 18.8 metres (62 feet), which is greater than that of many actual whales.
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
After the cassowary, I again want to introduce you to another bird figure, representing a most impressive animal, but nevertheless being mostly ignored by major toy brands. Toy Animal Wiki lists six different figures, five of them are made by Japanese brands and are probably produced from some brittle plastic and not designed to withstand a time as a toy.
Images by postsaurischian; additional text by bmathison1972
The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is a small bird endemic to much of the Palearctic, from Europe to North Africa, east to Japan, and south to the Malaysian Archipelago. Today we are looking at the 2019 rendition by Papo.
The figure measures 4.3 cm tall, including the stump base.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
In 1977, the Japanese fishing trawler Zuiyō Maru hauled in a large, reeking, and badly decomposed carcass of what appeared to a plesiosaur, complete with flippers and a long neck. Concerned about spoiling their stock of fish, the crew dumped the remains back into the water after taking photographs and collecting tissue samples.
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
Only few species of the once varied and numerous group of ratites remain in our modern world. Amonge these, the cassowaries are a very impressive occurrence, they are the most colorful and the second heaviest. Three species are known, but the one shown here is basically the only known to people other than the most dedicated ornithologists, the southern cassowary, Casuarius casuarius.
Review and images by stargatedalek; edited by bmathison1972
Some time ago, I purchased this rather strange fish marketed as replica food. There was a risk the material would not lend itself well to the alternative role as a figurine, but pompano depictions are hard to come by so I decided to give it a shot.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
As its name suggests, the mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) inhabits chilly mountain forests in a tiny section of Central Africa, at elevations ranging from 2200 to 4300 metres. Much of what we know of this wonderful ape comes from the meticulous research of mammalogist George Schaller and the late primatologist Dian Fossey, who gave her life in the service of protecting her beloved gorillas.
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
Despite its long and interesting history, the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) keeps a surprisingly low profile among modern fauna. That may be because of its unexciting lifestyle, which renders the reptile a less sought-after star for modern media. Right in line with that is its rarity in the toy or model world.
Images by postsaurischian; edited by bmathison1972
The figure presented today was produced by For Corporation for their Another Aquarium line in 2018. This figure was originally sculpted for the Season 2 line by Aquameridian and intended to be released in 2013. When sales for the first series were not as good as expected, Aquameridian canceled Season 2.
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
A few weeks ago, forum member Sirenia introduced Papo’s gharial to this blog, a magnificent model of an unusual and fairly unpopular crocodile. The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) enjoys a much greater popularity, though if the species really “enjoys” its popularity may be a point to discuss, as with other crocodilians it suffers from hunting and habitat loss.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Way back in the early 1980s, when I was just a wee little boy, my father very kindly recorded a National Geographic TV special on our Betamax VCR for me. It was titled “Reptiles and Amphibians” (original air date: 1968) and contained just about everything that I loved: stop-motion dinosaurs, crocodiles catching fish, a rattlesnake killing and swallowing a gopher, chameleons and frogs catching insects with their tongues, giant tortoises battling for dominance, marine iguanas grazing on seaweed, sea snakes menacing divers, and newts engaged in a mating dance to the tune of ballroom music.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) is the most common of the three species of three-toed sloth inhabiting Central and South America, and also the most famous of all sloths due to its decidedly adorable appearance. Any sloth toys, sloth storybooks, sloth-themed clothing, or other sloth-themed products you’ve come across in stores are likely to be based on this species.
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Perhaps the most bizarre of all living whales is the narwhal (Monodon monoceros), AKA the unicorn of the sea. This review will examining the one from Folkmanis, a company renowned for their top quality animal hand puppets. Unlike the previous plush toys I’ve reviewed here, this one didn’t come from an aquarium or zoo gift shop.
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
“Ugly” and of a “singularly stupid appearance“ were two of the things Charles Darwin had to say about the Galapagos Land Iguana, Conolophus subcristatus. His judgement about their more popular aquatic relatives, the Marine Iguana, Amblyrhynchus cristatus was not much better, those he describes as the “most disgusting”.
