Back with another less familiar sharks for Animal Toy Blog Shark Week 2022! Well, a few days ago I introduced an odd little figure that went to the dog(shark)s so today lets balance it it out with a cat(shark). This one is a less familiar figure from a less familiar Japanese company…of a less familiar shark!
Sahara Desert TOOB (Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (10 votes)
The Sahara Desert covers about 25% of the African continent and is the largest hot desert in the world, with an area of 3,600,000 square miles (9,200,000 km). This immense ecosystem is made up of sand dunes, some of which are 500’ tall, stone plateaus, sand seas, gravel plains, dry valleys, and sand flats.
Indian Peacock (Wildlife Asia & Australia by Schleich)
3.7 (3 votes)
Review and images by Sam; edited by bmathison1972
Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) are beautiful birds that hail from India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. On January 31, 1963, it was declared the national bird of India because of its rich religious and legendary involvement in Indian traditions. The males are known as “peacocks” and the females are known as “peahens.” The peacocks are famous for their eyespot plumage, which they fan out to attract mates.
Jewel Beetle (Puripura by Model Innovative Creation)
3.7 (3 votes)
Chrysochroa fulgidissima is a colorful metallic wood-boring beetle (family Buprestidae) from Japan. It goes by Yamato tamamushi in Japanese which roughly translates to ‘jewel beetle’. Historically, it was believed to be more widespread in Southeast Asia, but populations from Korea, China, and Vietnam have been described as new species.
Tadjik Markhor (Wildlife by CollectA)
4.8 (9 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The markhor (Capra falconeri) is a wild goat that can be found scattered across the mountains of Central Asia, the Himalayas, and the Kakakoram. Several subspecies of markhor are known to exist, including the rare Tadjik or Bukharan markhor (C.
European Stag Beetle (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (2 votes)
The European stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, is an iconic insect of the European hardwood forests. Unfortunately, its numbers dropped in the 20th Century due to modern forestry, which removed dead oak and beech trees required for larval development. The beetle gets its Latin epithet, cervus, and its common name ‘stag beetle’ after Cervus elaphus (red deer), as the mandibles of a major male are reminiscent of the antlers of a red deer stag.
Bactrian Camel (Wildlife by CollectA)
4.8 (8 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) of Central Asia is the largest living member of the camelid family (although the dromedary is taller). An adult male averages around 600 kg (1323 lbs) in weight, but can achieve up to 1000 kg (2204 lbs).
Bullock’s Nudibranch (Incredible Creatures by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (10 votes)
Bullock’s nudibranch (Hypselodoris bullockii) is a colorful and familiar sea slug from the Indo-Pacific region. They are benthic in nature and are often associated with coral reefs. It turns out, many historical records of H. bullockii are incorrect, due to morphologic confusion with other species in the bullockii-complex.
Ant (Wild Animals by Papo)
4.3 (4 votes)
One bright day in late autumn a family of ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.
“What!” cried the ants in surprise, “haven’t you stored anything away for the winter?
Clouded Yellow (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (1 votes)
I started collecting insects when I was in Junior High School, so roughly 1984 or so. Like most beginners, I collected conspicuous and familiar species in my neighborhood, including of course butterflies and moths. Among the Lepidoptera my favorites were members of the family Pieridae, commonly referred to as whites, yellows, sulfurs, and orange-tips due to their delicate off-whites and pastel oranges and yellows.
Red Deer Stag (Wild Animals by Papo)
4.2 (5 votes)
With today being St. Patrick’s Day, I thought it would be fun to look at an animal that hails from the Emerald Isle. I decided to go with the red deer (Cervus elaphus), Ireland’s only native deer and its largest native land mammal. The red deer ranges across much of Europe, into western Asia, and Northern Africa where it has the distinction of being Africa’s only deer species.
Old World Swallowtail, adult and caterpillar (Wild Animals by Papo)
5 (3 votes)
While commonly referred to as the ‘Old World swallowtail’, Papilio machaon has a very wide distribution, widest of any of the Papilionidae, covering most of the Palearctic and into western North America. Part of the species’ success is its tolerance for a variety of habitats and host plants. The butterfly can be found in forests, grasslands, hilltops, Alpine meadows, tundra, wetlands, disturbed areas, parks, and gardens.