Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The frilled lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii), also known as the frill-necked lizard or frilled dragon, is one of Australia’s most famous animals, right up there with the saltwater crocodile, dingo, wombat, koala, and kangaroo. Active in the daytime, it spends most of its time in the trees foraging for insects and other small animals.
The common wall lizard, Podarcis muralis, is familiar lacertid that occurs in Central and Southern Europe, from northwestern Spain to the Black Sea of Turkey. They can be found in a wide variety of habitats, from coastal plains to high-altitude mountains, with a preference for rocky microhabitats. Because of this, they have become well adapted to urban and suburban settings, where they live among rocky structures, rubble, and debris.
Every now and then an interesting figure comes along of seemingly unknown origin. This is often the case with figures from China and Japan, the former of which are often referred to as ‘Chinamals’. Such appeared to be the case recently when forum member Kikimalou posted an interesting figure of a pygmy spiny-tailed skink on the STS forum.
Using actual specimens to mold their toys, the company AAA has made some of the most realistic animal toys ever produced in plastic. Some of them are so convincing in their appearance that they can easily be mistaken for real animals, or taxidermy of them at least. The irony in taking this approach is that the company then often gave their toys inaccurate paintjobs and included incredibly vague names to identify them.
In addition to being a country, Australia is also a continent, but the continent of Australia is not just composed of Australia itself. The Australian continent includes mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, the Aru Islands, the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, and most of the Coral Sea Islands as well as a smattering of other islands.
Review and images by Fembrogon; edited by bmathison1972
There’s a Gashapon for just about everyone, I’d wager. Bandai’s trademarked capsule toy brand (an onomatopoeia name for the “gacha-pon” sound of the machine crank and tumbling capsule) has been running strong for over forty years, covering just about anything that can feasibly be made into a miniature – from company mascots and popular anime characters, to erasers and food items, to even highly realistic insects and lizards.
The leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) is easily among the most popular pet reptiles in the world, and perhaps the most popular pet lizard. Entire industries exist that are dedicated to producing leopard geckos in the hundreds of different selectively bred color morphs they’re now available in and it’s unlikely that you’ll ever walk into a pet shop that doesn’t have them.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The common or green iguana (Iguana iguana) is a reptile of many titles. It’s the largest member of the iguana family, measuring up to 1.7 metres from head to tail, with most of that length being tail. It has probably the widest distribution of any lizard, ranging throughout most of South America and all the way up into southern Mexico, plus it’s been introduced to places like Florida, Hawaii, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Chameleons are a wondrous family of lizards famous for their colour-changing abilities, independently moving eyes, and lightning fast tongues. They are found throughout all of Africa and Madagascar, and range all the way into the Middle East, southern India, and parts of southern Europe.
Review and images by Febrogon; edited by bmathison1972
Dogs, cats, and teddy bears tend to be the general preference for people wanting a stuffed animal; but I’m the sort of person who would rather cuddle a giant squid or lizard if given the chance. Naturally, good plush toys of creatures like reptiles are relatively less common, so I couldn’t help my attention being grabbed by a very nice-looking collared lizard on the shelf of the gift shop while visiting the Zion National Park last year.
Aside from large crocodilians and tortoises, one of the most iconic reptiles of the Americas would be the green iguana (Iguana iguana). Green iguanas are native to South and Central America with invasive populations in parts of North America and the Caribbean. Taxonomy within this species has been controversial, with the current convention being the recognition of tentative subspecies.
The Sahara Desert covers about 25% of the African continent and is the largest hot desert in the world, with an area of 3,600,000 square miles (9,200,000 km). This immense ecosystem is made up of sand dunes, some of which are 500’ tall, stone plateaus, sand seas, gravel plains, dry valleys, and sand flats.
The Safari crested gecko (Correlophus ciliatus) is new for 2022 and part of their Incredible Creatures line. It’s a fitting addition too. The crested gecko is only found on the island country of New Caledonia. Specifically, on the southern portion of the island of Grand Terre and on Isle of Pines.
In the rainforests in the highlands of Cameroon lives the enigmatic Cameroon sailfin chameleon (Trioceros montium). It is kin to the more familiar Jackson’s chameleon. It occurs primarily in rainforests around Mount Cameroon between 700 and 1900 meters above sea level, although it has been known to make its way into farms and gardens.
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
Colorata is a Japanese company that has been around for several decades. The internet and global market made their models available to the world outside Asia and the quality of their products made them desirable collector items. A lot of Colorata’s figures have been released as parts of a box, set, of which there are quite a lot to choose from, “fossil fish”, birds of prey, sharks, dinosaurs, cats and a lot more.
