Tropical Fish (Play Visions)

With recent discussions on the STS forum on the identity of Play Visions’ Tropical Fish collection from 1996, I was inspired to review the set on the Blog! These figures are all marked with very generic common names, and the species-level identifications are all community-based. If anyone can offer up better identifications, let us know, we’d love to hear from you!

I am just presenting a general overview of the set; if anyone wants to review individual figures in more detail, go for it. I will be presenting them here based on the community-based species designations, with discussion on how that relates to the name stamped on the figure. I will also mention briefly their size and scale, geographic distribution, and habitat. For consistency, scales will be based on maximum-sized specimens using measurements provided by FishBase, unless otherwise indicated. Some of these represent juveniles, and calculating scales for these presents more of a challenge.

Mandarinfish, Synchiropus splendidus
This figure is stamped ‘mandarinfish’ and there is little doubt to that identification, as it is a very distinctive species of fish. The mandarinfish is endemic to the West Pacific, from the Ryukyu Islands south to Australia. It is associated with reefs, usually at dephths of 1-18 meters. The figure is 5.8 cm for a scale of 1:1.2 (just a little shy of 1:1).

blue triggerfish, Pseudobalistes fuscus
This figure is stamped ‘triggerfish’, and P. fuscus seems like the best option based on fin shape and color. The blue triggerfish occurs in much of the Indo-Pacific among coral reefs at depths of 30-50 meters. The figure measures 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:9.

lantern toby, Canthigaster epilampra
This figure is marked ‘pufferfish’ and the identification is my own. Of all the figures in the set, this was the most challenging for me to identify. I finally decided on C. epilampra based on the green base with a yellow tail. The lantern toby occurs among reefs in the Indo-Pacific, usually at depths of 6-60 meters. The figure measures 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:2.

semicircled angelfish, Pomacanthus semicirculatus
This figure is marked ‘angelfish’ and appears to be painted after the juvenile of P. semicirculatus. The species is broadly distributed in the Indo-Pacific among reefs at depths of 1-40 meters. The figure is 5.7 cm for a scale of 1:4 based on an 8-centimeter individual (the maximum size for an individual with juvenile coloration). Pomacanthus semicirculatus adopts its adult coloration when it reaches a length of 8-16 cm.

yellowstriped fairy basslet, Pseudanthias tuka
This figure presented a bit of a challenge to identify initially. The figure is stamped ‘wrasse’ and while P. tuka is not a true wrasse, one of the common names for the species is queen purple wrasse, which may have been the source of Play Visions’ original designation. Another species occurring widely among reefs in the Indo-Pacific, at depths of 2-40 meters. The figure is 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:2.

clown coris, Coris aygula
This figure is stamped ‘clown fish’ and is another representing a juvenile individual. Another reef associate of the Indo-Pacific, at depths of 2-30 meters. The figure is 5.9 cm. Adult C. aygula can reach a length of 120 cm, but from what I can tell, they keep the juvenile color as shown in this figure until about 30 cm or so. That would put the scale at about 1:5. Suggestions and corrections, welcome!

filament-finned parrotfish, Scarus altipinnis
This figure is stamped ‘parrotfish’ and the identification is my own. This was another challenging one to identify, and one could argue it represents any one of several Scarus species. Scarus altipinnis occurs in the West Pacific among reefs at depths of 1-50 meters. The figure is 6.5 cm for a scale of 1:9.2.

bluespot butterflyfish, Chaetodon plebeius
This figure is stamped ‘butterflyfish’ but Chaetodon plebeius seems like a solid identification, although the extra blue spot behind the pectoral fins seems unnatural. It occurs in the West Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean, among reefs at 1-14 meters. The figure measures 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:3.

So there we have a complete overview of the Tropical Fish collection by Play Visions. Like many PV figures, they can be a challenge to find, but I bought this complete set on eBay earlier this year, so hope it not lost if you wish to acquire them. If one accepts the identifications here, most of these are unique in toy form, so it’s another good opportunity to get new taxa.