I thought I was done with reviews for spooky season this year but with only a few days left until Halloween I was determined to make sure this cutie was featured on the blog before season’s end. This is the death’s-head hawkmoth (genus Acherontia) by Squishable. Death’s-head hawkmoths seem to be all the rage this year.
Bats (Play Visions)
5 (3 votes)
There are two mammals, or perhaps broadly groups of mammals, that exemplify Halloween. One is the black cat. The other is the bat. Bats have a long history in human folklore, tradition, and fictional literature and cinema. In North America, the Creek, Cherokee, and Apache viewed the bat as a trickster god.
Green-and-black Poison Dart Frog (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (3 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
While toads have long been associated with witchcraft and the occult due to their unpleasing appearances (to some) and the toxins they excrete from their backs, they have nothing on the poison dart frogs of Central and South America in terms of lethality.
Tarantula Wolf Spider (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (6 votes)
No spooky season would be complete without a member of Araneae, the spiders, quite possibly the animal most symbolic of Halloween. What haunted attraction isn’t covered in fake spider webbing? And what child doesn’t bring home at least one plastic spider ring after a night of trick or treating? Today we’re looking at the 2016 Papo “tarantula”, a figure that our own Blaine Mathison stated, “might be the best spider figure ever produced”.
Tobacco Hornworm (Accoutrements)
4 (3 votes)
Mosura ya MosuraMosura ya MosuraMosura ya Mosura
Hard to believe my first two Halloween-inspired posts this year would be sphingid moths, not a group of animals typically associated with being scary, spooky, or dangerous. But after having very recently acquired this big bad beast, I had to channel my inner Shobijin and summon it for the Blog!
Brazilian Three-banded Armadillo (ANIA Animal Adventure by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.)
5 (3 votes)
Review and images by Sam; edited by bmathison1972
The Brazilian three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus) is a species of armadillo endemic to eastern Brazil, where it can be found in the caatinga and cerrado biomes. Contrary to popular belief, it is one of only two species of armadillo that can roll up into a ball for defense, along with the La Plata three-banded armadillo.
Sea Lamprey (Great Lakes Fishery Commission by Safari Ltd)
5 (7 votes)
Back in time for Halloween with our scary animals! Some are traditionally ‘Halloween’ animals, but this one is more in the spirit…one that rightly feels disturbing and causes nightmares in some places for real. I am speaking of the sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus, one of those animals that just seems appropriately creepy for the season.
Death’s-head Hawkmoth (Garden Animals by Papo)
5 (5 votes)
The genus Acherontia, whose members are commonly referred to as death’s-head hawkmoths, contains three species broadly distributed in Eurasia and Africa. The greater death’s-head hawkmoth (A. lachesis), which is the largest of the three, occurs in Central and East Asia to Japan and the Philippines; it has also recently become established in Hawaii.
Yellow Tube Sponge (Unknown)
3.1 (7 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
“Are you ready kids?”“I can’t hear you!”“Ooooooooooooo““Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?”
Not the Yellow tube sponge (Aplysina fistularis)! Sponges, despite resembling plants, are among the simplest animals, going all the way back to the Ediacaran 650 million years ago.
Long-eared Owl (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
4.6 (8 votes)
It’s October again, and that means for the entire month we’ll be featuring spooky creatures and creepy crawlers here on the blog. Halloween is big in my household. Decorations go up in September, apple cider is well stocked in the fridge, pumpkin scented candles burn, and horror movies play every night.
Gorilla, infant (Baby Wildlife by Toymany)
4.8 (4 votes)
Author’s note: Normally in October I follow the ‘spooky’ critters theme. However, I wanted to get this sixth and final Toymany baby African animal up on the blog, which like others I have reviewed recently, was courtesy of @Kenc and our friends at Toymany. My other posts this month will stick to the traditional theme :-).
Frilled Lizard (Little Wonders by CollectA)
4.6 (9 votes)
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.