During my teenage years I found myself living on a 50-acre farm complete with a creek running through it, fallow fields, and woodlands abutted against vast National Forest land that made the wilderness seem endless. It was the perfect playground for a young lad obsessed with animals and nature. My favorite place to visit amidst all that was the local beaver pond, and I spent many evenings just quietly sitting along the bank of the pond, VHS camcorder in hand, observing wildlife.
Armadillo, 2024 (Wild Life America by Schleich)
4.9 (10 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Armadillos, which are part of the superorder Xenarthra along with anteaters and sloths, are immediately recognizable by their tough armoured hides, which makes them almost seem more reptilian than mammalian. There are currently 21 recognized species, all native to the Americas, with the smallest and the largest being the pink fairy armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus) and the giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus) respectively.
Electric Eel (Dangerous Creatures by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.)
3.6 (5 votes)
Back again with another fish from Takara, from yet another series. This one is the electric eel Electrophorus electricus (probably…a few species were separated from E. electricus in 2019, but this is the most likely species for the figure based on appearance and general familiarity). As the set name implies, it featured animals that shared the characteristic of being dangerous (to people).
Mini Crustaceans (Diversity of Life on Earth by Bandai)
5 (3 votes)
In early 2024, Bandai announced a set of seven miniature crustaceans in their ever-growing Diversity of Life on Earth line. I was must admit, I had mixed emotions for this set. Two of the figures I really wanted! For one of them, I go either way. And for the remaining four, I didn’t need or really want any of them.
Chinese Sturgeon (Mini Ancient Fish Series 2 by Bandai)
4.8 (4 votes)
This figure represents the fifth and final model in the Mini Ancient Fish series 2 from Bandai. In this case, it a fish well-known as ‘ancient’, a Chinese sturgeon Acipenser sinensis. Sturgeons are well known as primitive fish, with the order Acipenseriformes represented in the Jurassic, and the earliest member of the sturgeon family Acipenseridae being known from the late Cretaceous, included in the same genus Acipenser (although it is believed that this genus is paraphyletic–so the taxonomy could change).
Weedy Seadragon (Incredible Creatures by Safari Ltd.)
4.3 (6 votes)
The fishes of the order Syngnathiformes (pipefishes, seahorses, and trumpetfishes) are some of the most visually bizarre and strangely adapted fishes on our planet and yet most of them look downright conventional when compared to those members of the family that look more like plants than fish. In what is certainly a textbook case of mimicry, the weedy and leafy seadragons have evolved to look like the kelp and seaweed fronds they live amongst.
Giant Anteater (Wildlife by Mojö Fun)
4.5 (11 votes)
Review and images by Sam; edited by bmathison1972
An animal of absurd proportions, the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is the largest of the anteater species as well as the largest living member of Xenarthra, a group of placental mammals characterized by fused pelvic bones, spine reinforcing bones, and a peculiar blood vessel structure that allows energy sparing by an extremely low metabolic rate.
Xingu River Ray (Mini Ancient Fish Series 2 by Bandai)
5 (5 votes)
I’m back with a fourth figure in the Mini Ancient Fish series 2 from Bandai. It seems to be, like the first series, the obligatory chondrichthyan in the set of fish representing notable species that have a presumably ‘ancient’ heritage from an evolutionary point of view. Does the figure today represent that?
Fire Salamander (Wild Life Europe by Schleich)
4.8 (9 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) is one of Europe’s largest salamanders, reaching a length of 15-25 cm long. It usually resides in the deciduous forests of southern and central Europe, where it prefers to spend most of its time concealed under fallen leaf litter and logs.
Alligator Gar (World Fishing Monster Fish by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.)
4.8 (5 votes)
This will be a discussion of the fourth and last figure from this Takara Tomy set featuring some unique fish species that are visually or culturally striking. Based on my best attempt to translate the papers it appears to be called World Fishing Monster Fish, but take that with a grain of salt.
Jersey Cow (Farm World by Schleich)
4.2 (6 votes)
If you’ve ever seen a cow that you initially mistook for a deer it was probably a Jersey cow. With their large doe-like black eyes, small size and delicate build, and light brown coloration, Jersey cattle are one of the loveliest breeds of cattle around. The breed comes from the island of Jersey, one of the British Channel Islands and is an ancient breed, having been on the island for 1,000 years and a pure breed since 1763.
Arapaima (Mini Ancient Fish Series 2 by Bandai)
5 (5 votes)
This figure is a another in the Mini Ancient Fish series 2 from Bandai, the arapaima or pirarucu Arapaima gigas. This fish is famous as one of the largest strictly-freshwater fish in the world, naturally located in much of the Amazon river basin. Or at least the genus is…recent studies indicate that many discrete populations are actually unique species; this figure is listed as A.