Review and images by Sam; edited by bmathison1972
The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is arguably the most iconic marine mammal. Known for their playful, friendly personalities and their amazing intelligence, they have appeared in many TV shows and movies, and are a popular attraction at aquariums and marine parks, so it is no surprise that there are quite a few toys based on them, and today’s review covers just one of these toys.
Despite having the common name ‘crab’, hermit crabs are not ‘true’ crabs, meaning they are not a part of the clade Brachyura. They belong to its sister group, Anomura, which also contains porcelain crabs, squat lobsters, mole crabs, and king crabs. Broadly speaking, hermit crabs encompass the superfamily Paguroidea which includes the king crabs.
Review and images by Sam; edited by bmathison1972
Sea lions are some of the most popular sea animals on the planet. Often confused with true seals (Phocidae), they are classified as eared seals (Otariidae). These playful creatures are known for their remarkable swimming behavior and their social behavior and loud vocalizations.
We’re back with another small figure from Bandai in their mini capsule series. I failed to recognize before that all of these models are part of what is now called the “Diversity of Life on Earth” series, which covers not only these capsule animals but a number of other figure types.
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Happy Shark Week! For a change, instead of reviewing a shark for this year, I will be reviewing a selected group of sea animals with a shark included, of course.
An introduction to Animal Heavenly Body. They are a Chinese company, akin to a mix of PNSO and Haolonggood with a hint of Popmart, which focuses on modern animals with some stylized features with them.
Sawsharks, which are in the family Pristiophoridae, should not be confused with sawfish of the family Pristidae. Sawsharks, as their name implies, are ‘true’ sharks within the Selachimorpha, whereas sawfish are rays within Batoidea. Sawsharks are squalimorph sharks, and are more closely related to lantern sharks, sleeper sharks, angel sharks, and dogfish than they are to more familiar taxa such as great whites, tiger sharks, whale sharks, and hammerheads.
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.
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.
This figure is the Starry Flounder (or in Japanese, Kawagarei, among other names), Platichthys stellatus , model 31 and number 161 from the second series—and, sadly, THE LAST FIGURE IN THE SERIES! Which means that until/unless I get my hands on a representative of the ones I’m missing, or a few rare variants, this is the end of the line2 for the Yujin Freshwater Fishes Books 1 and 2.
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
The emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator) is one of the many species of marine angelfish inhabiting reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. While not the largest, they aren’t the smallest angelfish by any means, reaching up to 40 cm in the largest specimens.
This figure is the Japanese eel (nihon unagi in Japan), Anguilla japonica, model sculpt 23 and number 8 from the second series. This is the only freshwater eel found in Japan, although it is found throughout Eastern Asia as far south as Vietnam. Like many other freshwater eels, the Japanese Eel is catadromous, spawning and hatching at sea but living much of their life in freshwater habitats and brackish estuaries.
I recently discussed a pair of figures from a Takara Tomy set featuring some unique fish species that are visually or culturally striking. Species that are notable for being scary looking, notorious, and somehow engaging for fishing (I think). I tried to translate the papers and it appears to be called World Fishing Monster Fish, but I can’t be certain.
