“Life will find a way.” These words, spoken in the Jurassic Park franchise, are so poetic and beautiful in their simplicity. They are also very true, as, no matter where you are in the world, there is liable to be life, even in the most inhospitable locations. Thermal vents in the pelagic zone seems a bad spot to live in, yet life has found a way to live in this harsh environment and reap the benefits, such as this review’s subject, the Giant Tube worm (Riftia pachyptila), an annelid that lives by these vents, harvesting the minerals they spew out. There is only one example of this intriguing animal, and it was done by Kaiyodo. Let’s take a closer look!
As with many of these Kaiyodo models, this is a bottle cap model, meaning it comes with a base to attach to. It can’t say it will fit to any bottle I know, but I do like it. It features facts about the animal, such as name, depth they occur (2600m in this case) and the size of the animal (300cm). Fortunately, since the pose is depicted attached to a rock, it has a flat underside, so if you want to remove the bottlecap and display the figure on it’s own, you can.
But the eagle eyed among you may have noticed that the Tube worm is not alone here! A series of white crabs adorn the rock the Tube worm is attached too. By doing some investigation, I would say, given the white nature and depth of the host animal, that these are a very basic representation of a Yeti crab (Kiwa hirsuta), a deep sea crustacean that feed on bacteria near thermal vents. While basic in nature, not quite getting the arm length or the “hairs” on it’s body, I appreciate the inclusion, helping to breath further life into the model.
Now back to the star of the review! This model shows a group of adults, reaching out in their sessile nature for the nutrients they need, attached to the rock festooned with yeti crabs. The colouration is spot on too, down to the spots on the body. It measures 2.1″ high and 0.7″ at it’s widest, a small figure certainly, but works well here. The rock is a translucent blue, and the red branchial plume is too, making it gorgeous when lit.
Kaiyodo is always great for producing models of unique species and doing an exceptional job of it, and this is no exception to that rule. It may be the only tube worm on the market, but it would make a fine addition to any collection (I can imagine making a great display of several around a thermal vent). It is discontinued, so sites like eBay or Buyee (a middle man site for getting items like this out of Japan) are your best bet. It may be odd, but I can honestly say it is a must have for those who like unique models and creatures of the deep sea.
Very interesting review; I have this figure and like it very much!
I must however totally disagree with your identification of the crabs. The Yeti crab is in the Anomura and allied with the squat lobsters. They have a very different morphology, characterized by a body that is longer than wide and very long claw arms.
The crabs on the base have the morphology of a true crab in the clade Brachyura. More-likely, these crabs represent Gandolfus or related crabs in the family Bythograeidae.