With a name like Sirenia, you would think I would have gotten to this point sooner, and before anyone else, but I got here at last, a review of a sirenian. These docile aquatic animals are related to Afrotherians, making this another group of mammals that became fully aquatic and large, alongside the whales.
Bonnethead Shark (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
5 (3 votes)
In my last review I touched on the diversity of the hammerhead family Sphyrnidae while covering a toy representative of the family’s largest member, the great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran). Today we’re covering another member of that family, but one that is quite different from the great hammerhead and from what we think of when we think of hammerheads in general.
African Lioness, with cub (Wild Animals by Papo)
4.9 (7 votes)
No other extant animal captures the essence of the wild like the lion. It is without a doubt the most famous of the big cats and often referred to as “King of the Beasts”, “Lord of the Jungle” and so on.
The lion’s great strength and the male’s impressive appearance have made them popular and a staple of pop culture and the toy figure industry.
Large Brown Cicada, ecdysis process (Bandai, Bandai Spirits, Break Co. Ltd., & Kaiyodo)
5 (3 votes)
Today we are looking at the ecdysis process of the large brown cicada (Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata), a species of cicada distributed throughout much of Southeast Asia, including China, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan. The ecdysis process is whereby a growing animal sheds its skin as it gets larger (e.g., a molting snake) or an insect advancing to the next stage of development, as we will see in this review.
Spotted Seal (Sealife by CollectA)
4.8 (6 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
A fairly typical member of the earless or “true” seal family, the spotted seal (Phoca largha) inhabits the cold waters of the northern Pacific Ocean. Its range includes the Yellow Sea off China, which may have been a factor in CollectA’s decision to make not one, but two toys of it in 2014.
Ring-tailed Lemur (AAA)
3.7 (3 votes)
Recently, I went on a visit to the Bristol Zoo with my girlfriend. Unfortunately, it was raining quite heavily, so we ducked into the more covered areas to get out of it. Whilst we were getting out of the rain, we quite enjoyed watching the ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) in the primate section.
Minke Whale (Sealife by CollectA)
5 (5 votes)
Review and images by callmejoe3; edited by bmathison1972
The common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) is the smallest species of rorqual and the second smallest baleen whale after the pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata). They range from 6.0-9.5 meters in length and weigh 4-8 tons.
Western Capercaillie (Wild Life by Schleich)
5 (3 votes)
I received today’s figure in the mail just last week, even though it came out 20 years ago! I am talking about the western capercaillie, also known as a European grouse, Tetro urogallus, which was released by Schleich in 2000. A common and familiar bird, it is surprising there were so few figures made of it, and they are all, to the best of my knowledge, retired.
Dugong (Sealife by CollectA)
3.9 (10 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The only purely herbivorous marine mammal, the dugong (Dugong dugon) forms the order Sirenia along with the three species of manatee. It is believed to have been the inspiration for the legend of mermaids, although I reckon the sailors who sighted a dugong back in those days had to have been either extremely lonely or extremely inebriated to mistake its visage for that of an alluring woman.
Superb Bird-of-paradise (Johan Scherft)
5 (2 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
The superb bird-of-paradise or greater Lophorina (Lophorina superba) of New Guinea is a somewhat inconspicuous species among the group of Paradisaeidae. Unlike a lot of other species, the males are just black with a bit iridescent blue color on the breast and top of the head, no obvious elongate feathers or other striking coloration.
Alaskan King Crab (Sealife by CollectA)
5 (5 votes)
Walkaround of the Alaskan king crab, also known as the red king crab or Kamchatka crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1815), by CollectA Sealife Collection, released in 2019. This figure is one of a couple firsts. It is the FIRST crustacean by CollectA. It is the FIRST arthropod by a Western company’s ‘Sealife’ line (not counting Incredible Creatures crustaceans by Safari LTD).
Marabou Stork (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (5 votes)
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
While a lot of people would describe a lot of animals as “ugly” or “disgusting”, those words are rarely attributed to the large group of birds. When applied, those terms most often hit the varied group of carrion-feeding birds like vultures. But also these have a somewhat majestic appearance, at least when gliding through their aerial kingdom.