The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a baleen whale that’s the sole extant member of its genus and the family Eschrichtiidae. Two populations currently live in the north Pacific, one small Asian population and a much larger population along the western coast of North America. Gray whales are near shore species and are frequently sighted along California and the Baja Peninsula.
Black Wolf (Wild Safari North American Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)
4.2 (5 votes)
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Melanism is a condition that causes an increased presence of dark pigmentation, such as when leopards and jaguars are born black or nearly black in colour. At some undetermined point in time after humans had bred the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) into existence, some of those dogs ended up breeding with their ancestors, grey wolves (wild-type C.
Australia’s Deadliest Nature Tube (Wild Republic by K&M International)
4 (3 votes)
Review of the Australia’s Deadliest Nature Tube, by K&M International for the Wild Republic line. The set was released in 2018. To be honest, I bought this set specifically for the three arthropods, since I am a completist when it comes to arthropods identifiable to the species level. However, now that I am building a Synoptic Collection, I thought I could use the octopus too.
Babirusa: Three Little Pigs (Bestiari, CollectA, Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (6 votes)
Review and photos by OkapiBoy
For today’s review, my fifth, I wanted to do something different. When I started my original review for CollectA’s Babirusa, it was inevitable that I ended up doing some comparison between the trio of figures I currently own. The review started to look diluted with my additional lengthy comments about the other two figures.
Red-tailed Hawk (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (6 votes)
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Some years ago, back when I was living in a condominium smack dab in the middle of downtown Ottawa, Ontario, I was walking home from the gym when I decided to take a shortcut through a parking garage. Lo and behold, I came across a large red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) in the midst of devouring a common rock pigeon!
Horned Lizard (Wild Animals by Papo)
4 (2 votes)
Review of the Texas horned lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum, by Papo, new for 2019 (just got it in the mail just today!). The figure is not marketed at the species level but is a good representation of P. cornutum (more on the morphology below). I was hesitant to buy this figure, mainly because I thought it would be too big compared to other small lizards in my Synoptic Collection.
Grizzly Bears (Wild Safari North American Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)
5 (4 votes)
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
North America abounds with formidable carnivores of all shape and size, from the least weasel to the bald eagle to the American alligator and to the wolf. But no other is associated with raw strength and power as much the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos).
Orange-striped Shrimp Goby (Another Aquarium by For Corporation)
5 (2 votes)
I had not planned on another post so soon, but since the blog has been kinda quiet, I thought I would transfer over one of my walkarounds. This time, the orange-striped shrimp goby, Stogonobiops yasha Yoshino et Shimada, 2010 that was released as part of the line called Another Aquarium by the company For Corporation (yes, that is the name of the company).
Giant Deep-sea Isopod (Nature Techni Colour by Kitan Club)
4.3 (3 votes)
Review of the Kitan Club Nature Techni Colour Giant Isopod, Bathynomus giganteus, Milne-Edwards, 1879. The figure was released in late December 2014. Bathynomus giganteus is the largest known species of isopods although it has been considered that other species within the same genus may rival it in size.
Cassowary (Wild Safari Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)
4.9 (9 votes)
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
In 1926, in northeast Queensland, Australia, a group of boys happened upon a large, flightless bird and decided it would be fun to chase it. During the pursuit, one of the boys, a 16-year old by the name of Phillip McClean, tripped and fell to the ground.
North American Porcupine (Wild Safari North American Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)
4 (6 votes)
Today I am reviewing a figure that I think needs some special attention, the North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum), that was released by Safari Ltd in 2018 for their North American Wildlife line. When promo pics first came out for this figure, it got a lot of negative feedback, much of which I think is undeserving given the complex morphology of the actual animal (more on that below).
Golden-ringed Dragonfly (The Insects of Japan Vols. 1 and 3 by Yujin)
5 (2 votes)
The Golden-ringed dragonfly (in Japanese Oniyanma) Anotogaster sieboldii is the biggest dragonfly in Japan. It is also known as jumbo dragonfly or Siebold’s dragonfly. It is the largest species of dragonfly in Eastern Asia (Japan, China and the Korean Peninsula). It can reach a lenght of 100 mm. The A. sieboldii nymph lives three to five years, moulting up to ten times and growing as long as five centimeters during the process.
Female, male (flying) and nymph.
Common Cuckoo (Birdtales Series 2 by Kaiyodo)
5 (2 votes)
I’ve been intending to write a review of this figure for quite a bit now, but until now, schoolwork and other real life issues have gotten in the way of that. Anyway, let the review commence:
Brood parasitism, the act of relying on other individual animals to raise young, is easily one of the most interesting strategies that has evolved in animals, with it appearing in insects, fish and birds.
Platypus (Southlands Replicas)
5 (7 votes)
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
In 1798, a specimen of a most unusual Australian animal perplexed a great many scientific minds in Great Britain. Some even went so far as to suspect that it was a hoax. And really, who could fault them for being suspicious of a small, furry mammal with a duck-like bill, a beaver-like tail, otter-like feet, venomous spines, and the ability to lay eggs like a reptile?
Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby (Animals of Australia, Small Series by Science & Nature)
3.7 (3 votes)
Today we are visiting the yellow-footed rock-wallaby, Petrogale xanthopus, by Science & Nature. The figure was released for the ‘small series’ in their Animals of Australia line this year (2019). Science & Nature is an Australian company that focuses on the fauna of Australia, New Zealand, and surrounding areas.