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).
Classification: Fish
Leopard Moray (Shinagawa Aquarium by Kaiyodo)
5 (2 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
With it’s bright colors of an orange head, mouth lined with narrow teeth used for grasping slippery prey, a brownish body decorated with spots, an ornate pattern, and, to top it all off, a pair of distinctive horn like nostril tubes that gave the fish its name and makes it stand out from the rest of its relatives, the leopard or dragon moray (Enchelycore pardalis) is certainly one of the most distinctive fish on the reef.
Blue Damselfish (Colors of the Animal Kingdom by Yowie Group)
4.5 (4 votes)
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. Yowie Group is a company that produces chocolate candy, molded around plastic eggs that contain toy animals.
Zebra Shark, juvenile (Wild Water Series by Yowie Group)
5 (3 votes)
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.
Great White Shark (Monterey Bay Aquarium Collection by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (5 votes)
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.
Devil Fish/Skate (AAA)
3.8 (5 votes)
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.
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.