Review and images by Animal Lover; edited by bmathison1972
On the farm, spring is one of the busiest, most hopeful, and alive times of the year. Longer days, warmer weather and the promise of a productive year are ahead. It is a season of hard labor and great reward for farmers.
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.
Today, July 10th, is a very special day. It’s Moo Deng’s first birthday! Moo Deng is a pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) that was born at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Si Racha, Chonburi, Thailand and became a viral sensation in the summer of 2024. So popular was Moo Deng that she was featured in an SNL skit and in Google’s “year in review” Google Doodle video.
Here we are, the penultimate post for the Replica Toy Fish figures (unless I can get my hands on a few other prototypes that I know are out there). Like the previous prototype brook trout this model represents a very unique species, using an existing sculpt. As it is, I also received one paint prototype of a related species, also using that same sculpt.
Spiny lobsters (family Palinuridae) are not ‘true lobsters’ (family Nephropidae), but along with the true lobsters and the Polychelida form what appears to be a monophyletic clade. The extinct Eryon is also in this clade. In my last blog review I showcased a pair of AAA Maine lobsters and briefly discussed AAA’s casting of actual specimens to produce some of their figures.
Pufferfishes are a family of fishes scientifically known as Tetraodontidae and although they can also inflate their bodies the porcupinefishes of the Diodontidae family are not generally regarded as pufferfishes. The two families are closely related of course, both belonging to the Tetraodontiformes order. And although any fish in the order that puffs up can colloquially be called a pufferfish it’s important to mention the distinction when reviewing today’s subject, a porcupinefish that Safari marketed as a pufferfish.
It’s Canada Day! And it just so happens that we’ll be seeing two variations of a figure that stretch from one coast to another!
Now we’re into the weeds of Replica Toy Fish figures–last time I looked at the last figure from the October 2015 trout and salmon figures, the coho salmon.
Review and images by Animal Lover; edited by bmathison1972
The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) is an elegant, graceful bird. It is a long-distance migratory bird, migrating from as far as southern Africa, where it spends the winter. In the past, due to habitat change, far fewer storks bred in Northern Europe.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The omnivorous bearded dragons of Australia derive their popular name from their spiny throats, which they can turn black and inflate when threatened or when attracting mates. They inhabit a variety of habitats from woodlands to deserts and will bask on fences and rooftops as readily as rocks and trees.
In my last review we looked at the 2017 Safari Ltd. Incredible Creatures clown anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) and perhaps not surprisingly, I gave it a good review. Today we’re looking at another clown anemonefish, also by Safari Ltd. and also part of their Incredible Creatures line. I think you’ll find my thoughts on this one to be a bit less positive.
The clown anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) is probably the world’s most recognizable marine fish and is also known as the ocellaris clownfish, false percula clownfish, and common clownfish. The false percula name comes from the fact that it closely resembles the percula or orange clownfish (Amphiprion percula).
Review and images by Animal Lover; edited by bmathison1972
Among the most dangerous and feared animals are Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus). They have always instilled fear. And this fear is justified. A first fact about Nile crocodiles is that they can measure up to a maximum of 6 m (20 ft) which makes it the second largest extant reptile in the world.
