Bamboo sharks, also less glamorously known as longtail carpet sharks, belong to the family Hemiscylliidae within the order Orectolobiformes (carpet sharks). This makes them close kin to such familiar sharks as the whale, nurse, and zebra sharks. All of them are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific and the largest members of the family only reach about 4’ (1.2 meters).
Author: Gwangi
My name is Arthur but I go by Gwangi on the blogs and forums, as homage to the old dinosaur and monster movies I love so much. In addition to writing about and collecting toy animals (extinct and extant) I also share my home with a variety of living animals, mostly reptiles but a little bit of everything. I have a lifelong interest in all things pertaining to nature and natural history and most of my hobbies can be linked to those things in some way. I currently live in Maryland with my wife and daughter. In addition to writing on here I also write magazine articles, typically about local wildlife and aquarium fishes.All reviews by this author
American White Pelican (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
4.2 (5 votes)
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The American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) is one of the largest birds in North America. Measuring 4-6’ (1.2-1.8 meters) in length, only the trumpeter swan matches it in length. With a wingspan of 8-10’ (2.4- 3 meters), only the California condor has a wider spread.
Anhinga (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
5 (4 votes)
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This past week I took a trip to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware, a vast tidal salt marsh that for this summer has provided a home to four wayward roseate spoonbills. Seeing these birds got me wanting to review a spoonbill, but alas, I don’t have one.
Sunflower Sea Star (Animals with Superpowers by Yowie Group)
4.7 (3 votes)
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Thanks once again to Yowie Group and their penchant for producing some truly obscure animal toys I am now able to double the number of reviews for echinoderms on the Animal Toy Blog. Yes, as of this writing there is only one other review for a group that contains over 7,000 species.
Chinhai Spiny Newt (Animals with Superpowers by Yowie Group)
3.3 (3 votes)
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As of this writing, amphibians are the most neglected vertebrate group on the ATB, with roughly a dozen reviews representing them. There’s little that can be done about this however, as aside from a few popular species the group as a whole is rarely reproduced in plastic.
American Alligator (Wild Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)
4.6 (9 votes)
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The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is not only a symbol of the American southeast, but also of American conservation. Due to overhunting and habitat loss during the 1800’s through the mid 1900’s the species was listed as endangered in 1967.
Blue Damselfish (Colors of the Animal Kingdom by Yowie Group)
4.5 (4 votes)
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The blue damselfish (Chrysiptera cyanea) is a member of the Pomacentridae family (damselfishes and clownfishes) that inhabits reefs and lagoons within the Indian and western Pacific oceans. It is also included in Yowie Group’s Colors of the Animal Kingdom series.
Zebra Shark, juvenile (Wild Water Series by Yowie Group)
5 (2 votes)
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Since joining the Animal Toy Forum, the Yowie Group company has quickly caught my attention. The chocolate wrapped eggs they produce offer a wide range of toy animals inside them, many species not readily produced by other companies. For whatever reason I didn’t think I could get these Yowie eggs myself, I thought they were unique to other countries overseas.
Nurse Shark (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
4.2 (5 votes)
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Well, this upcoming week is Shark Week (and Shark Fest was last week, apparently) so here’s our mandatory shark review to celebrate the event. Not that we need an excuse to review sharks, we appreciate sharks all year long around here.
Leopard Seal (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (6 votes)
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The leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) is the antithesis of what we think of when we think of most pinnipeds: seals, sealions, and walruses. The only member of its genus, the leopard seal is about as far from a chubby harbor seal, or playful California sea lion, as you can get.
Atlantic Goliath Grouper (Incredible Creatures by Safari Ltd.)
5 (5 votes)
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The Atlantic goliath grouper (Epinephelus itajara) is appropriately named, this fish is an absolute brute, a monster, a behemoth. It’s the kind of fish that looks bigger than it rightfully should be. We expect large sizes from sharks, tuna, and billfishes but this fish has a very conventional “fishy” body plan, like you would see in smaller perches, cichlids, or basses, only it is blown up to absurd proportions.
Lemon Shark (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
3.8 (4 votes)
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Lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) are a tough, adaptable, nearshore species, found along the eastern coast of the United States, south to southern Brazil as well as the western shore of the Americas from Baja to Ecuador, in addition to the western coast of Africa.
Snub-Nosed Monkey (Wild Safari Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)
4.7 (6 votes)
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Snub-nosed monkeys are comprised of 5 species that make up the Rhinopithecus genus in the Colobinae subfamily. They live in southern China as well as parts of Myanmar and Vietnam. Snub-nosed monkeys get their name from their flattened noses which are thought to be an adaptation to their cold, high elevation environment.
King Vulture (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
5 (4 votes)
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Although they share the vulture moniker the Old World vultures of the Accipitridae family and the New World vultures of the Cathartidae family are not closely related. Their similar appearance and feeding habits are the result of convergent evolution. They are however more closely related than was once assumed.
Sperm Whale, 2018 (Marine Life by Papo)
5 (2 votes)
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The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is one of my hands-down favorite animals and yes, I know I’ve said that before about other species, but there’s only three animals tattooed on my arm and one of them is the sperm whale.