Thanks once again to Yowie Group and their penchant for producing some truly obscure animal toys I am now able to double the number of reviews for echinoderms on the Animal Toy Blog. Yes, as of this writing there is only one other review for a group that contains over 7,000 species.
Blue Damselfish (Colors of the Animal Kingdom by Yowie Group)
4.5 (4 votes)
The blue damselfish (Chrysiptera cyanea) is a member of the Pomacentridae family (damselfishes and clownfishes) that inhabits reefs and lagoons within the Indian and western Pacific oceans. It is also included in Yowie Group’s Colors of the Animal Kingdom series. Yowie Group is a company that produces chocolate candy, molded around plastic eggs that contain toy animals.
Zebra Shark, juvenile (Wild Water Series by Yowie Group)
5 (3 votes)
Since joining the Animal Toy Forum, the Yowie Group company has quickly caught my attention. The chocolate wrapped eggs they produce offer a wide range of toy animals inside them, many species not readily produced by other companies. For whatever reason I didn’t think I could get these Yowie eggs myself, I thought they were unique to other countries overseas.
Great White Shark (Monterey Bay Aquarium Collection by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (5 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Every year, there will be a week dedicated to sharks known as Shark Week, where many content creators dedicate to posting shark-related content for that period of time. Most famously, the infamous Discovery Channel airs the sub-par shark specials annually for that period, which unfortunately focuses more on sensationalization rather than actual science, which misinforms the general public about sharks, causing a deeper divide between fiction and reality.
Sharks (Play Visions)
5 (2 votes)
In honor of Shark Week, I have decided to post a brief review of the Sharks collection by Play Visions, originally released in 1996. I collect sharks because they are animals, but I must admit it is a group, at least among common and familiar animals, that I have little experience and knowledge with.
Bluntnose Sixgill Shark (NHK Deep Sea Sharks by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S)
5 (3 votes)
I’m actually back! It has been quite a while since I added to the blog here (amongst everything else, I’ve been busy with my own thing!) But a call went out that Shark Week was coming up, so we needed more sharks! I knew I needed in, but wanted to look at a figure, and species, that would be less familiar.
Great White Shark, 2004 (Sea Life by Schleich)
3.8 (4 votes)
Review and images by Cachalot; edited by bmathison1972
Jeff had not eaten for three weeks as he lurked just under the waters off Dana Point California. The great white, Carcharodon carcharias, wandered here looking for food. He had not had a respectable meal in three months.
Nurse Shark (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
4.2 (5 votes)
Well, this upcoming week is Shark Week (and Shark Fest was last week, apparently) so here’s our mandatory shark review to celebrate the event. Not that we need an excuse to review sharks, we appreciate sharks all year long around here. Counting this review, I’ve now covered a baker’s dozen cartilaginous fishes.
Sperm Whale, 2019 (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
4.7 (6 votes)
Review and images by Cachalot; edited by bmathison1972
Recently I have gotten interested in sea animals, whales in particular. The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is my favorite; it is an animal of extremes. It has the largest brain on earth, 17 to 20 pounds. There are music ditties about this creature being brainy.
Lemon Shark (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
4 (5 votes)
Lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) are a tough, adaptable, nearshore species, found along the eastern coast of the United States, south to southern Brazil as well as the western shore of the Americas from Baja to Ecuador, in addition to the western coast of Africa. Because of their hardiness and accessibility, they’ve been heavily studied by many prominent shark scientists.
Shortfin Mako Shark (Sealife by CollectA)
4.2 (9 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
In the world of lamniforms, the megalodon (Otodus megalodon) and the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) are the ones people are the most familiar with, due to their large size and the public’s view on sharks as being ferocious predators.
Whale Shark (Monterey Bay Aquarium Collection by Safari Ltd.)
3.7 (3 votes)
Typically, the most famous sharks are the sensationalized ”man-eaters” like the great white (Carcharodon carcharias) or tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier). Instead, our focus will shift to a slow-moving filter-feeder, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). The whale shark belongs to the order of Orectolobiformes, also known as ”carpet sharks”, and is the sole extant member of its family and genus.
Saltwater Fish in Colour Part 1, Part 2 (Yujin)
4 (3 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Continuing on the review of Yujin’s Saltwater Fish Part 1, here’s a look at the second half of the set.
Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish (Forcipiger flavissimus)
Size of figure: 4.8 cm
Size: 22 cm
Scale: 1:4
Color: yellow body with half black on top and white on the lower half of the head, transparent pectoral and caudal fin, pale blue on the end of dorsal and anal fin, and black eye spot on the either side of the anal fin
Diet: hard and soft coral polyps and small crustaceans
Species frequency in being made into toy form: rare
Base: sand with rock
Notes: a butterflyfish with a typical butterflyfish shape; not the most exciting butterflyfish for Yujin to go with but the reason why they went with this species might be because of the butterfly fish character in Finding Nemo is a yellow longnose butterflyfish.
Saltwater Fish in Colour Part 1, Part 1 (Yujin)
4.3 (3 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
There are roughly 34,000 species of fish inhabiting the World’s oceans, seas, ponds, rivers, and lakes in the present, but many more species have already gone extinct or have yet to be discovered. In recent years, many figure companies have had their fair share of fish figures, although are usually outclassed by the more popular mammals.
Spotted Eagle Ray (Sealife by Mojö Fun)
4.3 (3 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Eagle rays are fascinating creatures. These fish move through the water column by flapping their pectoral fins like wings, similar to the land animal that they are named after. They come in many fascinating forms: from the rounded snouts of cownose (Rhinoptera) and bat rays (Myliobatis) to the plankton-eating manta rays (Mobulidae).