This Saturday, shark week will take a slight detour into skates, covering this alleged ”Devil Fish”. Skates are the group of batoids belonging to the Rajiformes order. They appear to resemble sting rays but can be distinguished by their thicker and shorter tails that lack the venomous spines. Skates are found all across the world in both marine environments and even estuaries.
Classification: Fish
Sharks (Play Visions)
5 (2 votes)
In honor of Shark Week, I have decided to post a brief review of the Sharks collection by Play Visions, originally released in 1996. I collect sharks because they are animals, but I must admit it is a group, at least among common and familiar animals, that I have little experience and knowledge with.
Bluntnose Sixgill Shark (NHK Deep Sea Sharks by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S)
5 (3 votes)
I’m actually back! It has been quite a while since I added to the blog here (amongst everything else, I’ve been busy with my own thing!) But a call went out that Shark Week was coming up, so we needed more sharks! I knew I needed in, but wanted to look at a figure, and species, that would be less familiar.
Great White Shark, 2004 (Sea Life by Schleich)
3.8 (4 votes)
Review and images by Cachalot; edited by bmathison1972
Jeff had not eaten for three weeks as he lurked just under the waters off Dana Point California. The great white, Carcharodon carcharias, wandered here looking for food. He had not had a respectable meal in three months.
Nurse Shark (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
4.2 (5 votes)
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. Counting this review, I’ve now covered a baker’s dozen cartilaginous fishes.
Bigeye Thresher Shark (Monterey Bay Aquarium Collection by Safari Ltd.)
4.3 (4 votes)
Of the three species of thresher shark, the biggest outlier appears to be the bigeye thresher (Alopias superciliosus). The bigeye thresher and its close relatives belong to the order of mackerel sharks, Lamniformes. The bigeye thresher is found in tropical waters all across the world. This species inhabits deeper waters than its relatives, spending the day avoiding predators at depths of 300-500m and moving to the surface during the nighttime to hunt for prey.
Stingray (Animal Planet – Deep Sea Submarine Playset by Chap Mei)
4 (1 votes)
Amongst the many different species of batoids, attention will shift to the relatively obscure spotted ray (Raja montagui). The spotted ray, also known as the Homelyn ray, is a victim of a common name polyphyly as it’s actually a skate, which is a separate order from true rays.
Atlantic Goliath Grouper (Incredible Creatures by Safari Ltd.)
5 (5 votes)
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.)
4 (5 votes)
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. Because of their hardiness and accessibility, they’ve been heavily studied by many prominent shark scientists.
Shortfin Mako Shark (Sealife by CollectA)
4.2 (9 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
In the world of lamniforms, the megalodon (Otodus megalodon) and the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) are the ones people are the most familiar with, due to their large size and the public’s view on sharks as being ferocious predators.
Whale Shark (Monterey Bay Aquarium Collection by Safari Ltd.)
3.7 (3 votes)
Typically, the most famous sharks are the sensationalized ”man-eaters” like the great white (Carcharodon carcharias) or tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier). Instead, our focus will shift to a slow-moving filter-feeder, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). The whale shark belongs to the order of Orectolobiformes, also known as ”carpet sharks”, and is the sole extant member of its family and genus.
Saltwater Fish in Colour Part 1, Part 2 (Yujin)
4 (3 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Continuing on the review of Yujin’s Saltwater Fish Part 1, here’s a look at the second half of the set.
Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish (Forcipiger flavissimus)
Size of figure: 4.8 cm
Size: 22 cm
Scale: 1:4
Color: yellow body with half black on top and white on the lower half of the head, transparent pectoral and caudal fin, pale blue on the end of dorsal and anal fin, and black eye spot on the either side of the anal fin
Diet: hard and soft coral polyps and small crustaceans
Species frequency in being made into toy form: rare
Base: sand with rock
Notes: a butterflyfish with a typical butterflyfish shape; not the most exciting butterflyfish for Yujin to go with but the reason why they went with this species might be because of the butterfly fish character in Finding Nemo is a yellow longnose butterflyfish.