Review and images by callmejoe3; edited by bmathison1972
Today will be the blog’s first time covering the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), a charismatic arctic denizen. The beluga whale is the sole member of its genus, with the narwhal (Monodon monoceros) serving as its only extant relative within the family ‘’Monodontidae’’.
Sharks are, generally speaking, the living embodiment of efficiency and elegance. Most of this is owed to the sleek, aerodynamic body plan possessed by the majority of shark species, but one shark takes these classic shark attributes to the next level. The blue shark (Prionace glauca) has refined the efficiency and elegance of sharks like no other, with its long, trim, lithe body.
I must have been about 7-9 years old when I was first introduced to the giant squid (Architeuthis dux) via an episode of Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World, which aired on the Discovery Channel during the 80’s and 90’s. The show was about unexplained phenomena and the episode in question was titled “Monsters of the Deep”.
The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a baleen whale that’s the sole extant member of its genus and the family Eschrichtiidae. Two populations currently live in the north Pacific, one small Asian population and a much larger population along the western coast of North America. Gray whales are near shore species and are frequently sighted along California and the Baja Peninsula.
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Every year, there will be a week dedicated to sharks known as Shark Week, where many content creators dedicate to posting shark-related content for that period of time. Most famously, the infamous Discovery Channel airs the sub-par shark specials annually for that period, which unfortunately focuses more on sensationalization rather than actual science, which misinforms the general public about sharks, causing a deeper divide between fiction and reality.
For the author’s overview of this species, please see this review
Despite many killer whale figures having been produced, it has been about 2 years since I’ve last covered this species. Most of them tend to fall short of my standards, but maybe things will be different for the Monterey Bay Aquarium series that rarely leaves me disappointed.
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Make no surprise there have already been multiple manta ray figures reviewed on this blog, with 3 from the big 4 already being tackled: CollectA, Papo, and Schleich. It is not surprising, as there is no shortage of manta ray figures, with a number of good and incredible figures in many different sizes: from tube-sized to standard-sized figures, across both the reef and oceanic mantas.
While the more popular cetacean species exist in most parts of the world, there exist many that are confined to their own little corner of the ocean, such as the North Pacific white-sided dolphin (Sagmatias obliquidens). These dolphins exist across the entire span of the North Pacific.
Not to be conflated with sawsharks, sawfish are a family of rays belonging to the Pristidae family. This family is distinguished by an elongated rostrum. This “saw” is equipped with specialized external “teeth” and sensory structures to aid in electroreception and prey capture. Sawfish share ancestral affinities with the guitarfish. Currently, five species across two genera are recognized.
