Shark Week might be over but there’s one more elasmobranch I wanted to review before moving away from cartilaginous fishes, the 2019 Incredible Creatures marble ray (Taeniurops meyeni) by Safari Ltd.
The marble ray goes by many names, including blotched fantail ray, round ribbontail ray, giant reef ray, and black-spotted stingray.
Pufferfishes are a family of fishes scientifically known as Tetraodontidae and although they can also inflate their bodies the porcupinefishes of the Diodontidae family are not generally regarded as pufferfishes. The two families are closely related of course, both belonging to the Tetraodontiformes order. And although any fish in the order that puffs up can colloquially be called a pufferfish it’s important to mention the distinction when reviewing today’s subject, a porcupinefish that Safari marketed as a pufferfish.
In my last review we looked at the 2017 Safari Ltd. Incredible Creatures clown anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) and perhaps not surprisingly, I gave it a good review. Today we’re looking at another clown anemonefish, also by Safari Ltd. and also part of their Incredible Creatures line. I think you’ll find my thoughts on this one to be a bit less positive.
The clown anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) is probably the world’s most recognizable marine fish and is also known as the ocellaris clownfish, false percula clownfish, and common clownfish. The false percula name comes from the fact that it closely resembles the percula or orange clownfish (Amphiprion percula).
Thanks to the species’ inclusion in the Finding Nemo and Finding Dory films, the blue tang is one of the most recognizable species of tropical marine fishes. It also has many figures to its name including ones by Papo, Schleich, and Mojo. Today we’re looking at the 2017 Safari Ltd.
Last week we looked at the Safari Ltd. queen triggerfish, so it makes sense to look at the companies’ other triggerfish that was released alongside it, the clown triggerfish (Balistoides conspicillum). Like its companion, the clown triggerfish was produced between 2008-2016. Unlike the queen triggerfish however, this species is more popular in the toy hobby, with a TOOB figure by Safari as well as figures from Play Visions, Yujin, Colorata, and K&M.
Triggerfish are a group of ray-finned fishes belonging to the Balistidae family within the Tetraodontiformes order (along with pufferfish and ocean sunfish, among others) There are 40 described species, and they all live in tropical and subtropical waters. They get their name because the second spine on their dorsal fin acts as a trigger of sorts for the first spine.
A large lizard, with spikes along its back, that dwells in the Pacific Ocean. No, I’m not talking about Godzilla, I’m talking about the marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), the world’s only marine lizard. It’s about as close to a real Godzilla as you can get. In fact, one of its many subspecies is named A.
The mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) is a highly sought after species of sportfish belonging to the Coryphaenidae family along with one other species. They’re prized recreationally and commercially for their size, beauty, and mild sweet flavor. They’re also abundant within their range and listed as least concern by the IUCN.
Back in time for Halloween with our scary animals! Some are traditionally ‘Halloween’ animals, but this one is more in the spirit…one that rightly feels disturbing and causes nightmares in some places for real. I am speaking of the sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus, one of those animals that just seems appropriately creepy for the season.
The fishes of the order Syngnathiformes (pipefishes, seahorses, and trumpetfishes) are some of the most visually bizarre and strangely adapted fishes on our planet and yet most of them look downright conventional when compared to those members of the family that look more like plants than fish. In what is certainly a textbook case of mimicry, the weedy and leafy seadragons have evolved to look like the kelp and seaweed fronds they live amongst.
In what seems to have become an annual trend, I am reviewing a southern black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) as part of the ‘spooky’ October reviews. In 2021, I reviewed one by Eastern Unlimited that was specifically sold as Halloween decor. Last year I reviewed Safari’s 1998 figure that was released for the Smithsonian Insects line.
