Copris acephalus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), an enigmatic new species of dung beetle from the Bolivian Altiplano
keywords: Copris, Scarabaeidae, new species
Abstract. Copris acephalus Mathison, new species is described from the Bolivian Altiplano. The new species possesses a series of bizarre autapomorphies not previously seen in the genus Copris, the family Scarabaeidae, or even the order Coleoptera.
Before I begin this review, I would again like to thank our friends at Happy Hen Toys who generously donated this review sample for the Blog!
Today I will be reviewing the European rose chafer by Papo, new for this year. When promo pics of this figure were first released, it looked to me like Protaetia cuprea, commonly known as the copper chafer.
As if wasps, caterpillars, beetles, scorpions, ants, peacock spiders, mantids, and crabs weren’t enough, Bandai recently (early 2023) added a set of ladybugs (lady beetles) to add to their growing collection of arthropods in the Diversity of Life on Earth (DoLoE) line. And the set is part of their ‘Advanced’ line, which means better and more refined sculpts, better paint, and yes, of course, they are more expensive.
The citrus long-horned beetle (Anoplophora chinensis) is a cerambycid beetle native to East Asia. Larvae develop in various hardwoods, and the beetle is considered a pest of several ornamental and commercial food plants, including citrus, pecan, apple, sycamore, willow, pear, mulberry, litchi, kumquat, fig, and many others.
For today’s review we will be looking at the Goliath beetle (Goliathus goliatus) by Stasto 3D File in the 2022 collection, Ladybugs Cetoniinae. Unlike most blogposts, which focus on the animal and the figure itself, I am going to focus on how the figure is packaged and assembled (especially since I recently reviewed this species).
SO-TA, a Japanese toy company, released this set of dung beetles in July 2022. There are actually two sets. These sets were released as a gashapon set (plastic eggs in vending machines) and as a boxed set. The sets both contained the same two species but in different colour schemes. The box set has a metallic brown coloured Kepher sp.
The Goliath beetle, Goliathus goliatus, is often regarded as the largest insect, at least in terms of weight (and if not this species, then one of its congeners). Goliath beetles have been reported as weighing upwards to 100 grams. The genus is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, and G.
Chrysochroa fulgidissima is a colorful metallic wood-boring beetle (family Buprestidae) from Japan. It goes by Yamato tamamushi in Japanese which roughly translates to ‘jewel beetle’. Historically, it was believed to be more widespread in Southeast Asia, but populations from Korea, China, and Vietnam have been described as new species.
The European stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, is an iconic insect of the European hardwood forests. Unfortunately, its numbers dropped in the 20th Century due to modern forestry, which removed dead oak and beech trees required for larval development. The beetle gets its Latin epithet, cervus, and its common name ‘stag beetle’ after Cervus elaphus (red deer), as the mandibles of a major male are reminiscent of the antlers of a red deer stag.
Today I am continuing reviews of Kaiyodo’s Revogeo arthropods with the giraffe stag beetle (Prosopocoilus giraffa) which was released in late 2021. This is the fifth figure in the series following an emperor scorpion (2019), red-clawed crab (2019), Asian giant hornet (2020), and Japanese giant water bug (2021).
Yes, that is the name of the collection…
The Great Pyramids of Egypt. What was their grand purpose and influence? Merely grandeur tombs for Egyptian royalty? Conduits for alien visitors? A regeneration site for En Sabah Nur? Or maybe they are just giant piles of cow sh*t! Yes, really! Ever notice how a pyramid is shaped like a cascading pile of cow dung?
This week Christmas is celebrated throughout much of the world. In trying to keep with holiday themes, I have decided to review a pair of green Christmas beetles (Anoplognathus punctulatus) by Cadbury that were released in both the Australian and UK Yowies collections in 1997. Members the genus Anoplognathus are commonly called ‘Christmas beetles’ as they tend to be abundant during Christmas time in Australia.
Today we will be looking at a rather fun set called Figure Pictorial Book of Gakken Insect (well, at least that’s the translation) by Bandai. The set was produced in 2003 and contains five species of Japanese arthropods. When I initially started focusing on arthropods, this was one of my ‘Holy Grail’ collections; luckily I was able to secure it fairly early on.
In just under two years ago, on August 21, 2019, I posted the first review here on the Animal Toy Blog. Now, I have the pleasure of posting review #500! Wow, 500 reviews just under two years! Many thanks to all the reviewers who have made this possible!
Allomyrina dichotoma is known as the Japanese rhinoceros beetle in English and kabutomushi in Japanese.
In 2016, Papo released their first two arthropods, a European wolf spider (a.k.a., tarantula) and a fat-tailed scorpion, which probably represent the best spider and scorpion figures outside of Japan (and the wolf spider may just be the best spider figure, period!). For someone like me who, at the time, only collected arthropods, this was a welcome sign!
