Before I start this Blogpost, I must again thank @Kenc and the folks at Toymany for donating this review sample. It is very much appreciated. As with other Toymany set reviews, this is a general overview to introduce the animal toy community to the set and does not prevent others from doing more in-depth reviews of individual figures.
Classification: Turtles & Tortoises
Rio Grande Cooter, juvenile (Diversity of Life on Earth – Advanced Turtles Vol. 2 by Bandai)
5 (3 votes)
The Rio Grande cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi) is an enigmatic emydid turtle endemic to the Rio Grange drainage of northern Mexico and adjacent Texas and New Mexico. The species was only described in 1984 as a subspecies of the river cooter (P. concinna). The turtle lives in slow-moving and still bodies of water, including the slow-moving portions of rivers, oxbows, lakes, and ponds, usually in well-vegetated areas with a soft bottom.
Madagascar Animal Figurine Playset (Toymany)
4.5 (11 votes)
Before I start my review I must again thank @Kenc and the folks at Toymany for sending me these review samples for the Blog. This may have been the most anticipated set by Toymany for 2025 and having had the figures in hand, it doesn’t disappoint.
When Gondwana broke up, Madagascar split from what is now Africa during the Early Jurassic, about 180 million years ago.
Red-eared Slider (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (13 votes)
In 1992 the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were at the height of their popularity and like many young boys of my generation, I was obsessed! To the point where my vast toy collection wasn’t enough. I wanted a real turtle, and shockingly enough my mother obliged me. He was a red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), a sub-species of the pond slider native to the mid-western United States, around the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
Pinta Island Tortoise (Lonesome George, Grab-N-Go by REBOR)
5 (10 votes)
My gratitude goes to Happy Hen Toys for providing this review sample, as well as for their patience in my completing this review. Be sure to check out their website after reading to fetch some prize models of your own.
On June 24th, 2012, a treasured celebrity left the world – not an actor or artist, and not exactly a political figure, but an icon of conservation and national wildlife awareness.
Everglades TOOB (Safari Ltd.)
4.9 (7 votes)
The Everglades is a subtropical and tropical wetland spanning 7,800 square miles (20,000 km2) in central and south Florida in the United States. Water from the Kissimmee River south of Orlando feeds into Lake Okeechobee and then continues south into Florida Bay. Although mostly marsh and flooded grassland the Everglades also run through cypress swamps, hardwood hammocks, pinelands, coastal prairies, and mangrove forests.
Laugh and Grow Fat Sea Animals Series 1 (Animal Heavenly Body)
4.1 (10 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Happy Shark Week! For a change, instead of reviewing a shark for this year, I will be reviewing a selected group of sea animals with a shark included, of course.
An introduction to Animal Heavenly Body. They are a Chinese company, akin to a mix of PNSO and Haolonggood with a hint of Popmart, which focuses on modern animals with some stylized features with them.
Alligator Snapping Turtle (Wild Republic – Living Stream by K&M International)
4.1 (12 votes)
Review and images by Fembrogon; edited by bmathison1972
Turtles and tortoises don’t seem to get the same bad rap their reptilian relatives have historically suffered; perhaps their slower nature, omnivorous diets, and long lifespans have endeared themselves to human sensibilities better. Not all testudines are harmless, however, and as a kid who liked his predators, I was always most enamored with the big-beaked, carnivorous snapping turtles.
Leatherback Sea Turtle (Marine Life by Papo)
4 (7 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is a species of sea turtle and the sole member of Dermochelyidae family. It is the largest and heaviest reptile alive today that isn’t a crocodilian (disclaimer: while many snakes like reticulated pythons and anacondas are twice the length of these turtles, they are way lighter).
Galapagos Tortoise (Wild Animals by Papo)
4.3 (4 votes)
The Galápagos Islands are an incredible biome, full of an array of different species, perfectly adapted for their environment. This resulted in Charles Darwin developing his theories of evolution. It also resulted in a lot of damaged to this ecosystem, as the animals were decimated by the introduction of European animals and hunters.
Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Marine Life by Papo)
5 (4 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Sea turtles are majestic animals. They have been on this planet since the Jurassic period and are still swimming our seas today. When other marine reptiles like the ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs went extinct by the KT mass extinction, the oceans were left with just snakes, turtles, the marine iguana, and saltwater crocodiles.
Green Sea Turtle, 1996 (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
1.5 (4 votes)
With the loss of the great Mesozoic marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, and plesiosaurs, turtles remain the most popular reptilian taxa that are recognized for roaming the Earth’s oceans. Seven species currently exist, and among the most popular and longest-studied is the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas).