The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a baleen whale that’s the sole extant member of its genus and the family Eschrichtiidae. Two populations currently live in the north Pacific, one small Asian population and a much larger population along the western coast of North America. Gray whales are near shore species and are frequently sighted along California and the Baja Peninsula.
Australia’s Deadliest Nature Tube (Wild Republic by K&M International)
4 (3 votes)
Review of the Australia’s Deadliest Nature Tube, by K&M International for the Wild Republic line. The set was released in 2018. To be honest, I bought this set specifically for the three arthropods, since I am a completist when it comes to arthropods identifiable to the species level. However, now that I am building a Synoptic Collection, I thought I could use the octopus too.
Orange-striped Shrimp Goby (Another Aquarium by For Corporation)
3.7 (3 votes)
I had not planned on another post so soon, but since the blog has been kinda quiet, I thought I would transfer over one of my walkarounds. This time, the orange-striped shrimp goby, Stogonobiops yasha Yoshino et Shimada, 2010 that was released as part of the line called Another Aquarium by the company For Corporation (yes, that is the name of the company).
Pacific Oyster (Nature Techni Colour: Nature of Japan Vol. 1 by Kitan Club)
5 (3 votes)
Shortly before the Nature Techni Colour line was taken over by Ikimon, Kitan Club released three sets (volumes) under the title Nature of Japan. Each set features 10 figures representing animals, and in rare cases plants or geological structures, of Japan. Here we visit one of the figures of the first set, the Pacific oyster (Magallana gigas).
Manta Ray (Sealife by CollectA)
3.8 (5 votes)
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Biggest of all rays, the magnificent manta ray is an imposing but gentle giant that feeds only on zooplankton. What you may not be aware of is that there are currently two recognized species: the giant oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris) and the smaller reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi).
Vaquita Porpoise (Wild Safari Sea Life by Safari Ltd)
5 (5 votes)
The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) has the distinction of being the smallest and most endangered cetacean in the world. In the last 22 years the population of vaquita has dropped from 567 to roughly 10 individuals. The vaquita, like so many marine species, is not targeted specifically but ends up as bycatch in gill nets set for other species, in this case the similarly sized totoaba fish (Totoaba macdonaldi) which is itself also critically endangered.
Great White Shark, 2015 (Sealife by CollectA)
3.9 (8 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The most famous, most popular, and most feared shark of them all is unquestionably the great white (Carcharodon carcharias). It has appeared in more films, documentaries, books, comics, cartoons, games, and toy lines than any other shark, and probably any other sea creature for that matter.
Shark Ray (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
5 (6 votes)
It’s a shark! No, wait, it’s a ray! It’s a shark-ray! Although all ray in the front and all shark in the back the shark ray (Rhina ancylostoma) really is a species of ray, but in appearance it looks like some kind of transitional form, making it easy to see the close relationship between sharks and rays.
Endangered Animals–Marine TOOB (Safari Ltd)
4.3 (6 votes)
So for my next foray into Animal Toy Blog I am going to discuss a full set of ten figures from a relatively new set from Safari Ltd, released in 2017 (but I only just discovered it…go figure). I’m going to come out and say, there will be brief parts (in point format) and longer parts (paragraphs) as I will discuss the toob figures individually (save two).
Slender Oarfish (Deep Sea Fishes version 2 by Colorata)
4.3 (6 votes)
After all of these years, I’m finally doing a blog post for the Toy Forums! It is of course a fish, and since it’s hard to decide I went with one that arrived only a couple of days ago–the updated Slender Oarfish Regalecus russelii (Cuvier, 1816) made for the revised Colorata Deep Sea Fishes box.