It must be Shark Week, one of those times that is able to get my to write again! And as seems to be my way, I’ll be looking at a more obscure figure of a more obscure shark species from a more obscure series, the Swellshark made by K&M International for their bulk Shark set.
K&M International is currently better known as Wild Republic. Back in the day when this model was released, the name ‘Wild Republic’ specifically referred to their line of plush animals (in particular snakes, animals with long arms for hugging, and birds that sang). When K&M was making their bulk sets and original tube sets, they were notable for probably being among the most innovative and detailed models, rivalling the concurrent Play Visions in quality (often better paint). I remember going to stores to check out the catalogues for what was coming up–that would be late 90s–and begging the store owners to bring in sets that appealed to me.
This swellshark (and the whole set) was actually not brought in for me though; I just lucked into it (and the Exotic Reptiles) at a pet store that had all kinds of great figures, that would have been about 1998. Many of them have since found new homes (mostly in Europe, go figure) but one that I could not and would not let go of was the swellshark model. As longer-time collectors are likely aware, the current offerings from Wild Republic are rarely to the standard of their K&M forebears, which also makes them among the most sought after collectables from the era (yes, the swellshark frequently shows up on wants lists).
The swellshark Cephaloscyllium ventriosum (Garman, 1880) is just one species from the largest family of sharks Scyliorhinidae, the catsharks (oddly, my last Shark week animal was a different scyliorhinid, the cloudy cat shark but that’s just a coincidence). Swellsharks are a small species at maximum 110cm long (usually smaller) and are found in the eastern Pacific Ocean in tropical and subtropical zones; one population is found from California south to Mexico, while another is found along the coast of Chile. The swellshark is usually found in shallow water 5-35m deep but can occur deeper, anduu prefers rocky substrates. Swellsharks are benthic feeders, hunting fish and invertebrates, primarily at night. Swellsharks may actively hunt, or will lie in wait to ambush passing prey. They can also be sociable, piling upon or near other sharks while hiding/resting in rocks and reef crevasses during the day, where their mottled appearance helps to camouflage them.
Swellsharks are noted for their defense process–when threatened, they grasp their tail in their mouths while also filling their stomach with water (or air if above the surface). The folded body and swollen body doubles the swellshark in diameter, making it much harder for a predator to ingest or to dislodge from rocky hiding places. Another interesting feature of the swellshark, and its congener chain catshark S. retifer is that they have biofluorescence, believed to be species specific patterns allowing intraspecific communication and aiding in camouflage.
The K&M swellshark figure is a small figure, about 5.8cm long which for a max-length animal would be about 1:19 scale (for the more common 90cm, it would be 1:15). For colouration the body is overall a chocolate brown with a few thin yellow bands, and the fins (including the are from anterior to the anal fin to the lower lobe of the tail) painted stark white. The body also has scattered black and white spots clustered loosely along the entire body. This is not especially accurate to the true swellshark coloration, which sees the body banded in regular bands of dark brown and very light brown of equal-ish width, although the black and white spots are present. Not sure where the white finnage comes from (and there shouldn’t be spots). The ventrum is pale yellow and while it should be spotted, it is otherwise unpainted–probably because the whole belly is taken up with production markings.
At least in terms of sculpt, the figure is closer to the mark. It is depicted in a slight s-curve as if creeping along the sea bottom. The ovoid, long eye is clearly sculpted, painted black although it should be gold (but with on point gold eyebrows…) The head is appropriately broad with a big mouth and deeply sculpted nostrils. The body is long, with a long, heterocercal tail with minimal lower lobe, befitting an ambulatory swimmer. The dorsal fins are set properly back, with the second smaller (maybe not smaller enough); the rest of the fins appear properly shaped and sized at least. Like most catsharks, the body is generally anguilliform but the front half of the body is noticeably broader than the posterior half; I would take this to indicate a fish that may have swelled itself up, at least in part. Based on ventral finnage the animal is female. Gills and spiracles are not visible at all which isn’t surprising given the small size of the model, and the age of sculpting.
Overall, this is a fantastic if flawed small shark model. Catsharks in general are not very common as figures despite the large number of species (I think there are four species represented and I actually have them all!), to say nothing of this kind of shark morphotype (bottom dwelling, sinuous, long-bodied hunters). There are potential quibbles with its details; a skilled painter could easily fix the coloration, and even a little modding could put the touches on the gills. That said…don’t do that. It’s not only highly sought after, but a wonderful little curio of its time. The majority of the set of six was far more typical species (great white, whale shark, hammerhead) although the lemon shark was interesting, and the Caribbean reef shark is unique to the set as well (I only still have the latter as well as the swellshark, although it isn’t a great representation. I think the lemon was a tough one to let go of). If you get the chance, get the swellshark. It would be an excellent addition to a marine life collection!
