Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Of the 350 or so extant species of shark, none are more distinctive and immediately recognizable than a hammerhead. But there are in fact nine recognized species of hammerhead, ranging from the adorable little bonnethead (Sphyrna tiburo) to the massive great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran).
Today we are going back in time with a figure, to one that may predate many of us here on the blog! I am speaking about a Striped Hyena Hyaena hyaena (Linnaeus, 1758) by vintage company Starlux. So I can bring out another species of hyena, and bring up a classic series of figures as well.
The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) has the distinction of being the smallest and most endangered cetacean in the world. In the last 22 years the population of vaquita has dropped from 567 to roughly 10 individuals. The vaquita, like so many marine species, is not targeted specifically but ends up as bycatch in gill nets set for other species, in this case the similarly sized totoaba fish (Totoaba macdonaldi) which is itself also critically endangered.
So just going over my shelves, wondering what I could review, and my eyes fell on what might be the original Colorata set (or one of them)–their River Life set! What sets this one apart is the diversity–3 frogs, several fish, and one exclusive never-again-released salamander, a Japanese Clawed Salamander Onychodactylus japonicus (Houttuyn, 1882).
Time for the next walkaround by brontodocus, this time the 2014 octopus by Papo. I picked this figure for two reasons. First, to have our first mollusk on the Animal Toy Blog. And second, because there is an obvious anatomical error with it (you will see below, brontodocus explains it well).
I am using today’s review to introduce an unusual set of animals from a series called ‘Naturally Adorkable’, which was released in conjunction with a Chinese natural history magazine called, well, Natural History. I am not sure of the release date, but I believe 2018 based on when the figures started showing up on the forums and eBay.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The most famous, most popular, and most feared shark of them all is unquestionably the great white (Carcharodon carcharias). It has appeared in more films, documentaries, books, comics, cartoons, games, and toy lines than any other shark, and probably any other sea creature for that matter.
Little is
known about the biology of this subfamily in the Scarabaeoidea beetle group Ceratocanthinae
(Coleoptera: Hybosoridae). A fast part of the known species are pantropical but
a few species are known from the temperate forest regions of North America,
South Africa and the south-eastern Palaearctic zone. Some of the species are
flightless.
This time around I’m going to introduce what I think is the first primate to the blog…and what could be more appropriate than one of the more primitive modern primates, a strepsirrhine, a lemur to be exact? Specifically, the aye-aye Daubentonia madagascariensis Gmelin 1788. So, also one of the weirdest primates as well, and an endangered on as well (on an island of full weird and endangered organisms).
The only Jewel beetle, made by Yujin. For the ones new to animal figurine collecting; Yujin is an Japanese company that makes next to other types of toys outstanding animal figurines full of detail and always very realistic. They have produced a vast range of insects, fish and frogs, which I personally regard as one of the best fgurines around.
Review and images by pipsxlch; edited by bmathison1972
Editor’s note: this is our FIRST review submitted by an STS member! Much thanks and congratulations to pipsxlch!
Today I’m reviewing my model of a domestic goldfish, Carassius auratus, of the breed known commonly in the US as a black Moor; it is technically a black telescopic goldfish.
Review and Photos by OkapiBoy
Choosing a figure for my very first review for the blog proved to be difficult. For my first review, I wanted a figure that was both unique, obscure, and reflect my interest. After much deliberation, I decided on this figure, CollectA’s chiru or more commonly knows as the Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni).
