Review and photographs by Loon; edited by bmathison1972
Dromaius novaehollandiae, more commonly known as the emu, is the second-largest bird on earth, with the tallest being over 6½ feet or 2 meters tall. Being such an important part of Australian culture, it made sense that Southlands Replicas, a company that mostly specializes in replicas of Australian fauna, would release their emu in 2018.
I have a keen love of crocodilians. They are fascinating, from their looks to their anatomy, and look very prehistoric. While many seem fairly similar, their are some interesting variants with this, such as this one: the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), a fish eating crocodilian from India and China.
Despite the progress we have made as a species, there is one fact we cannot change: extinction is forever. As a result of our hubris, many spectacular species have been wiped from the face of the earth. Takara have created quite an exquisite set, showing a selection of the species that have been lost of the centuries, each with a stand stating scientific names and year of extinction.
Although there are roughly 440 species of shark it’s the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) that has most captured the human imagination and it makes sense, it’s one of a very small handful of sharks that preys upon large mammalian prey, our own species included, albeit rarely.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Who hasn’t heard of the legendary giant squid (Architeuthis dux)? From Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to Peter Benchley’s Beast (fun read, that one!) and to countless artistic depictions of epic underwater clashes with sperm whales, it certainly has quite the reputation as a genuine sea monster.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo), or simply eagle owl, is one of the two biggest owl species (the other being Blakiston’s fish owl, B. blakistoni). A female, which like all owls, grows larger than the male, can achieve a wingspan of more than six feet and weigh 4.6 kg(10 lbs), close to the size of a golden eagle.
Another Incredible Creatures walk-around! This time it’s the huge IC American bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766). One of the more rigid IC figures. Its total length is about 21.0 cm, making the scale approx. 1:4 – 1:5. I was very happy to get this one as part of the prize for a photo contest by Safari Ltd.
This is a modified version of the walk-around I did for the Animal Toy Forum.
Walk-around of what is probably my favorite figure, the Japanese firefly (also known as genji-botaru), Luciola cruciata Motschulsky, 1854 by Kaiyodo, No. 45 in the Natural Monuments of Japan line. The species has been made a couple times, including previously by Kaiyodo for their Choco Q Animatales line.
Review and images by Lanthanothus; edited by bmathison1972
Through their long history, the group we accept as amphibians was, and still is, very diverse. Among the many fossils a great number of species grew to sizes that are hardly imaginable for us today. The extinct Prionosuchus grew up to 9 metres, longer than any know specimens of the recent crocodiles.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
In the lush coastal rainforests of British Columbia, Canada, lives the extremely rare Kermode, spirit, or ghost bear (Ursus americanus kermodei). It is a subspecies of the American black bear in which some individuals are born with creamy white fur due to a recessive gene.
So, today is my birthday. I was thinking of doing something special for my B-day, but I could not could not come up with anything creative. I started looking at the numerical date (4-2-1972) and applying it to my collection database (for example, the fourth tab, second clade, line 1972), but I could not find a logistical way to do it.
