Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Pufferfish and their close cousins, the porcupinefish, have a particular defense mechanism of swallowing water and thanks to their expandable stomach, it makes them look bigger, rounder and less appetizing for potential predators (One example in popular media is Mrs Puff puffing up when Spongebob fails his driving test for the X amount of times and going ‘Oh, Spongebob.
With Christmas over but winter still here, I wanted to highlight and celebrate this season, starting several reviews on a “Winter Wonderland” series! Each are animals adapted for the ice and snow of the world’s coldest environments, captured in the snow that has recently fallen for my area. We start with some large hunters of the snow, the gray wolf (Canis lupus).
Today I am continuing the 2020 Papo arthropods with the emperor dragonfly, Anax imperator, a species distributed throughout much of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and west-central Asia. Anax imperator belongs to the family Aeshnidae, which includes the green darner (A. junius), which is common here in North America and is the more-commonly made species of the two.
Review and images by callmejoe3; edited by bmathison1972
This blog managed to cover a wide variety of cetaceans before getting to today’s species, the killer whale (Orcinus orca). The public perception of killer whales has a rather dramatic history compared to most cetaceans. While revered by Indigenous cultures in North America, Europeans viewed killer whales as a malevolent nuisance and threat.
Review and images by suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The holiday season is upon us once again after what has been a truly difficult and tragic year for everyone on planet Earth. And there are still more hardships lying ahead of us in 2021. We must all stay safe, strong, calm, well-informed, and above all, hopeful.
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Sea anemones paralyze their prey with their stinging tentacles with the aid of little harpoons. However, there are a few animals that use these stinging tentacles to their advantage, mainly to seek refuge from predators. But the most famous of these animals to take advantage of these stinging tentacles: the anemonefish.
Well, the holiday season is upon us, and Christmas is just around the corner, so I thought I’d do a review of an animal that is quintessential to the holiday. And I can think of no better than the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), famous for carrying Santa’s sleigh.
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
When it comes to dangerous sharks to humans, most people will always think about the great white, the tiger, or the bull shark. However, there is a runner up for the most dangerous shark that not many people have heard of, and it’s the oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus).
Today I will be continuing the reviews of Papo’s 2020 arthropods with the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus. This is one of 5 insects (6 arthropods total) produced by Papo in 2020. Interestingly, it is the only arthropod in their entire collection to-date that is not naturally European, given that Papo is a French company (more on that later).
Review and images by callmejoe3; edited by bmathison1972
Among the various impressive macropredators in the ocean, the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), is among the most powerful and strangest. The tiger shark belongs to the Carcharhinidae family, often referred to as the “requiem sharks”. The Galeocerdo genus was once diverse, but the tiger shark remains the only extant species within this clade.
The order Carnivora has had some interesting members over the millennia. From wolves to sabre-toothed cats, they have filled the world with variety, often being apex predators in their regions. They even lay claim to the oceans, becoming adept aquatic agents, capable of chasing and killing prey (hopefully without being caught by even more adapted predators, like sharks and whales).
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
When it comes to chondrichthyes, the sharks always come up at the top of the popularity lists. In fact, whenever a toy company makes a fish figure, it’s always almost going to be a shark, usually a great white shark. Their cousins, the rays and chimaeras, are not so lucky in terms of treatment, and the luckiest non-shark chondrichthian to receive figure treatment is the largest of the rays and largest fish that isn’t a shark alive today, the manta ray.
Originally I was going to cover another bird in my next review but then it hit me, I haven’t reviewed a mammal since April with the Safari Great Lakes Toob, and I haven’t reviewed a standalone mammal figure since November 2019! So, to remedy that fact I decided it’s mammal time and that I would have to cover at least one before moving on to my more traditional subjects.
Review by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
If there are oddballs amongst mammals (and there certainly are), the monotremes are heavy competitors for first place. The order Monotremata includes only five extant species, all of which are threatened to different degress. Most popular is the improbable platypus which was first thought to be a faux by those Europeans who only knew it from imported, stuffed specimens.
Among the modern cats, none are bigger than the tiger, and famous among these is the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris). The stripes on each being an individuals’ fingerprint, and the orange hiding it in the forests of India. But every so often, one is born heavier and larger than others, as well as lacks the vibrant orange, but instead a bright white.