Review and images by Saarlooswolfhound; edited by bmathison1972
Happy Holidays everyone! Whatever you celebrate this season, I do hope that it is holly and jolly and fun! Just like this special edition Schleich reindeer model (Rangifer tarandus). Released late in the year of 2021 as part of a holiday special release, it is a festive reindeer model.
Review and images by EpicRaptorMan; edited by bmathison1972
Behold, the nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), the largest Asian antelope native to much of India. This antelope is a bit of an oddity once described by Elizabeth Cary Mungall in her book “Exotic Animal Field Guide” as a “[…] combination of a horse and a cow with the beard of a turkey and short devil horns.” Which is a fairly accurate description.
Today we will be looking at a rather fun set called Figure Pictorial Book of Gakken Insect (well, at least that’s the translation) by Bandai. The set was produced in 2003 and contains five species of Japanese arthropods. When I initially started focusing on arthropods, this was one of my ‘Holy Grail’ collections; luckily I was able to secure it fairly early on.
Earlier this year I reviewed a pair of Japanese giant mantids (Tenodera aridifolia) from Bandai’s Diversity of Life on Earth Line. In October of this year, the second volume in the mantid series was released. As the name of the set suggests, there were two more figures of T.
Contrary to popular belief, the white tiger is not its own unique species or sub-species of tiger. In fact, according to Luke Hunter’s Carnivores of the World, all captive white tigers are descended from one wild individual. That individual was a male cub captured in Madhya Pradesh, India, in 1951.
It’s Halloween and what better way to end our spooky season than by looking at one of its most symbolic animals, the common raven (Corvus corax). The common raven ranges around the northern hemisphere and lives in all the varied habitats therein. As a result, it also features in the varied mythologies, folklore, and religions from wherever it lives.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Wolves (Canis lupus) are burdened with an unjustly sinister reputation for a variety of reasons and one is the centuries-old myth of werewolves. One most frightful tale is that of Peter Stubbe, ‘the Werewolf of Bedburg.’ In 1589, he confessed under torture to having received a wolfskin belt from the Devil that allowed him to transform into “the likeness of a greedy, devouring wolf, strong and mighty, with eyes great and large, which in the night sparkled like fire, a mouth great and wide, with most sharp and cruel teeth, a huge body, and mighty paws.” I will not go on to describe the many horrific crimes Stubbe committed, or the equally horrific punishment that was meted out to him on October 31, but suffice it to say, you shouldn’t read the entire story if you’re squeamish.
For my next instalment of creepy critters for October, I decided to review the castor bean tick (also known in Europe as the sheep tick, Ixodes ricinus) by Germany-based 3B Scientific. I also chose this figure because it’s my forum avatar, and I have never presented it here.
Thalassophobia is defined as the fear of deep and vast bodies of water, and the unseen creatures that lurk in them. Even if you don’t suffer from this phobia, I dare any person to look out upon the surface of any large body of water and not wonder about what strange and potentially dangerous creatures lurk unseen under its surface.
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972
Today I want to introduce you to a creepy crawly that is probably even more abhorred or feared than its close relatives, the spiders. Where I live this is mainly an abstract fear, as there are no scorpions here as of yet (let’s see what climate change brings us within the next 20 years).
Since its release in 2013 I’ve been eyeballing the CollectA Przewalski’s horse (pronounced shuh-VAL-skee and also known as the takhi) for my collection, even though I didn’t really collect extant animals at the time. What I was collecting were dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, and recently extinct animals too. So why the interest in this horse?
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Otters belong to the mustelid family, which also includes weasels and their kin, badgers, skunks, and wolverines. There are currently 13 extant species of otter that all range from semiaquatic to marine in their lifestyles. The Eurasian or common otter (Lutra lutra) is probably the most familiar member of the lot, with a range throughout Europe, much of Asia, and parts of Africa and the Middle East.
