Yowies are small plastic figures sold blindly in chocolate-wrapped capsules, similar to Kinder Surprise toys. They originated in Australia in 1995 as a publishing brand by Cadbury and Kidcorp. The first four series consisted of 50 figures each represening species endemic to Australia. The figures had to be assembled and were often quite stylized.
African Civet (Wildlife by CollectA)
5 (5 votes)
‘Civet’ is a term used to refer to various small-to-medium sized, generally omnivorous feliform carnivorans, most of which are members the family Viverridae. One of the larger species encompassed by this grouping is the sub-Saharan African Civettictis civetta, otherwise known as the African civet. This is perhaps the most well-known species of civet amongst the general public, as civet musk is collected for perfume from this species more often than other species.
Perentie (Southlands Replicas)
4.9 (7 votes)
Review and photos by Suspsy ; edited by bmathison1972
The perentie, Varanus giganteus, is Australia’s largest lizard and the world’s fourth largest lizard after the Komodo dragon, Asian water monitor, and crocodile monitor. Growing up to over two metres in length, they inhabit hot desert regions and feed on virtually anything they can catch and kill with their sharp teeth and claws.
Slender Oarfish (Deep Sea Fishes version 2 by Colorata)
4.2 (5 votes)
After all of these years, I’m finally doing a blog post for the Toy Forums! It is of course a fish, and since it’s hard to decide I went with one that arrived only a couple of days ago–the updated Slender Oarfish Regalecus russelii (Cuvier, 1816) made for the revised Colorata Deep Sea Fishes box.
Red River Hog (Wildlife by CollectA)
4.6 (5 votes)
I wanted to introduce the first mammal to the Animal Toy Blog, so I used a Random Number Generator in conjunction with my Excel file database and here we have the red river hog, Potamochoerus porcus (Linnaeus, 1758) by CollectA. The figure was released in 2012 as part of their Wild Life line.
Coelacanth (Wild Safari Prehistoric World, by Safari Ltd)
4.8 (5 votes)
The coelacanth, Latimeria, is an iconic species of ‘living fossil’ and a text-book example of evolutionary stasis – an organism that has changed very little over millions of years. This is presumably why Safari Ltd picked this distinctive prehistoric-looking fish for their Wild Safari Prehistorics line, which is normally dedicated to prehistoric critters.
Praying Mantis (Wild Animals by Papo)
4.7 (6 votes)
Mantids are iconic insects. Anyone who has grown up looking at or collecting insects is familiar with them. They have interesting morphologies and biologies, especially with their predaceous and often cannibalistic habits. Mantids are not uncommon in toy form; most ‘bin-style’ sets of insects have one. Many of the more-familiar major companies make them too.
Frogfish (Chocoegg Funny Animals Series 6 by Furuta)
5 (3 votes)
All manner of bizarre-looking creatures lurk down in the darkest deepest oceans, but you don’t have to descend too far to meet the unusual frogfish. The Furuta version of the frogfish under review here is absolutely one of the best toys of its kind available.
The packaging doesn’t specify the species, but the Furuta frogfish is probably Antennarius striatus, the striated frogfish or hairy frogfish (thanks go to Brontodocus for the likely ID).
Tawny Owl (Wild Life by Schleich)
4.3 (3 votes)
Welcome to the Animal Toy Blog. Since I have the honor of posting the first review, I thought I would pick a figure that just arrived in the mail today, the tawny owl, Strix aluco Linnaeus, 1758, which was released by Schleich in 1999.
For those of you that know me, you know I am a professional parasitologist and entomologist, and historically my collection has focused on arthropods.
Thylacine (Wildlife by Mojö Fun)
5 (6 votes)
Mojö is a company renowned for their abysmal dinosaur toys but fairly proficient when it comes to sculpting mammals both extinct and extant. They’re also the only company I’m aware of to tackle this important and fascinating animal although CollectA will have their version out later this year.
For those unfamiliar with Thylacinus cynocephalus, it was a large marsupial predator that died out on mainland Australia 2,000 years ago but continued to survive in Tasmania until the 1930’s.
Dodo (Wild Animals by Papo)
4.8 (4 votes)
The Dodo used to walk around,
And take the sun and air.
The sun yet warms his native ground –
The Dodo is not there!
The voice which used to squawk and squeak
Is now for ever dumb –
Yet may you see his bones and beak
All in the Mu-se-um.
Dodo (Wings of the World by by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (5 votes)
Review by Brandon. Edited by Plesiosauria.
The demise of the dodo bird is probably the most famous extinction event in recent history. This ancient Columbiform bird was a flightless species endemic to the small island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Africa near Madagascar, and occupied the island since at least the Holocene era.
The demise of the dodo bird is probably the most famous extinction event in recent history. This ancient Columbiform bird was a flightless species endemic to the small island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Africa near Madagascar, and occupied the island since at least the Holocene era.