Anurans - Frogs and Toads

[Jetoar]

Lovely figure friend  , what is the year of productiona and size of this figure  ?.

[sbell]

Lovely figure friend  , what is the year of productiona and size of this figure  ?.

Don't know the year, but I have a photo that will tell size:



The photo was taken in 2008, but I may have had it much longer.

[Jetoar]

Cool it is very big  . Thanks for your information  .

[stemturtle]

Surinam toad, Pipa pipa, (Agatsuma Entertainment, Amazing Creatures)
length 2 3/16 inches or 5.5 cm; base 3 1/8 inches or 8.0 cm.

This fascinating creature may shock us, like the chestburster scene in the movie "Alien."
During mating, eggs stick to the female's back, and are embedded in the skin, forming honeycomb pockets.
Baby toads emerge when fully developed. Although "Surinam" is still used, the official spelling is Suriname.


The Surinam toad belongs to the primitive family Pipidae, like the smoother African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.
Both are fully aquatic. The synonym, star-fingered toad, refers to the tactile organs on Pipa's fingertips for
locating prey in murky waters. This figure has a tiny fish in its mouth.









Although this is a nice figure, the frog collection by Yujin has superior detail. Yujin allegedly made a Surinam toad. 
My guess is that Yujin may have used the mold from Play Visions. If you have a photo, please post it.

I bought this replica on eBay, but even on sale, the price was exorbitant. It will make a romantic anniversary surprise for my wife. 
The gift for year 44 is an anuran, isn't it?

[Jetoar]

Nice replica, even with its eggs sacks in its back  .

[widukind]

Congratulations 

[postsaurischian]

  Nice figure & beautiful photos.
I was lucky to get the complete set in its original box for $20 a while ago (thanks to brontodocus' hint).

I've never seen a Yujin version of this species, not sure if one exists .

[sbell]

I also feel pretty fortunate that I snagged the whole set when I saw it--not huge on the frogs, but this one is good.

Better than the PV version:

[AnimalToyForum]

My nightmare from the Heebie jeebies thread! http://animaltoyforum.com/index.php?topic=44.0

Still, a nice figure, even if the animal itself isn't my favourite!

[stemturtle]

Thanks for your replies, guys.

Sbell, great photo of the PV Surinam toad. Thanks for posting it.

Brontodocus, when you said that the Surinam toad was deleted from the unique species thread – Anura,
did you intend to say Play Visions rathen than Yujin?
http://animaltoyforum.com/index.php?topic=34.msg190#msg190

[brontodocus]

Wonderful, the Surinam Toad is one of my favourite amphibian figures and the entire Agatsuma Entertainment set is worth getting (well, you might pass on yet another Tsuchinoko, though). Brilliant photos, too, stemturtle

I was lucky to get the complete set in its original box for $20 a while ago (thanks to brontodocus' hint).

Hehe, yes, I remember that time. There was a seller on Jauce who offered two sets at the same time so we bought them both together!

I've never seen a Yujin version of this species, not sure if one exists .

It's part of that Yujin frogs set that has basically the same sculpts as the PV set, here's a link, the Surinam Toad is the second from the left in the first row. On the other hand, it may be the first time that I see a photo of its PV counterpart!

[stemturtle]

...
It's part of that Yujin frogs set that has basically the same sculpts as the PV set, here's a link, the Surinam Toad is the second from the left in the first row. On the other hand, it may be the first time that I see a photo of its PV counterpart!

Thanks for the link to the pictures of the Yujin frogs, brontodocus.  That is the first time I have seen the Yujin Surinam toad. So we do have 3 replicas.

[brontodocus]

Walk-around of the Kaiyodo Aquatales Polyresin Aquatic animal figure collection Series 2 No. 004 Forest Green Tree Frog, Rhacophorus arboreus (Okada & Kawano, 1924). Snout-vent length of the figure is 54 mm which makes it around life size, the scale is between approx. 1:0.8 and 1:0.5 for an adult measuring between 42 and 82 mm SVL. A close relative of the famous Flying Frogs like e.g. Rhacophorus nigropalmatus or R. reinwardtii, the Forest Green Tree Frog is an arboreal frog that lays its eggs in foam nests on branches hanging over water. The species is endemic to Japan but its range covers almost the entire main island, Honshū, and the species is quite abundant so IUCN classifies it as "Least Concern".













Several other figures representing this species exist and I included a comparison shot with the ones I have. From left to right: Yujin / The Frogs in Colour; Kitan Club / Nature Techni Colour Frogs of Japan; Furuta Choco Egg Wild Animals Series 4; Kaiyodo Aquatales Polyresin.


The species has also been represented by Kaiyodo's National Monuments of Japan - No. 8. The figures look quite different from each other which is mostly due to the extent of dark spots on the back. Rhacophorus arboreus seems to be quite variable in colour and the dark spots on the back can become so dense that the animal looks more brown than green or they can be completely absent.

Edit 2017-02-04: Fixed broken image urls.

[Jetoar]

Really cute figure  of this specie of frog  .

[widukind]

Wonderful detailed frog figurine!! Congratulations 

[brontodocus]

Something a little different today, not a toy figure but a scientific model that is aimed at institutions and schools (but read below). So this time it's a walk-around of the 3B Scientific No. VN707 Common Midwife Toad, Alytes obstetricans (Laurenti, 1768). Snout-vent length (difficult to measure for the sacrum being partially concealed by the eggs) is approx. 39 mm so the scale is 1:1. This western European species is distributed from Portugal in the West to Germany in the East (and has been introduced in the UK) and is a member of the Alytidae (formerly Discoglossidae) which belong to the most primitive anuran suborder, the Archaeobatrachia. Midwife toads have a unique reproductive strategy, the eggs are not deposited in water but instead the male winds the egg strings around its hind legs and carries them until the tadpoles are ready to hatch. Midwife Toads are strictly nocturnal burrowers so people who are not concerned with amphibians usually won't know that they are around - unless they are calling (their call sounds quite unusual for an amphibian and has been described as similar to a small bell). As a teenager I've found them several times in their habitat in the "Sauerland" (a low mountain range in Northrine-Westphalia, Germany) but they are quite uncommon here. The allover population is declining but the species is still widespread in many countries throughout its range and is therefore ranked "Least Concern" by IUCN. In Germany's Red List, it is ranked "gefährdet" which is more or less equivalent to IUCN's "vulnerable".

The model is a one-piece cast made of a pinkish hard rubber. While accuracy and detail are superior to most toy figures I still have some criticism. The German brand 3B Scientific is not a toy maker but rather a company specialising in scientific teaching resources. Their products are much higher priced than toy figures and so we can be a little more nitpicking with this model. The paint job is by no means excellent - the greenish tone is a bit unusual for the more greyish or light brown colour the species really shows in life. Many specimens show several characteristic, reddish warts which has been ignored on the model. The worst is probably the eye, Alytes obstetricans is the only Central European anuran with a vertical slit pupil. Apparently 3B Scientific intended to cover this but added a horizontal black stripe to the iris so that it looks as if the pupil was meant to be cross-shaped instead. The eggs are a bit crudely sculpted and I wish they'd have a more yellowish colour. Shortly before hatching, the tadpole's eyes can be seen as a pair of black spots in the eye so this is probably meant to be a fresh egg mass. Hands and feet are not exceptionally well detailed and of course I would have preferred a model that can be detached from its base. I hope my criticism is understandable under the circumstance that the model usually retails for nearly US$100 or €70. That said, another German company specialising in scientific models, SOMSO, has a series of European amphibians and reptiles which are apparently more accurately painted but they are also even much more expensive with most models selling for several hundreds each. I was quite happy to get this model for a discount price at less than a quarter of the original retail price.















Also note the misspelling "Alytesobstericans" instead of "Alytes obstetricans" on the box - something you wouldn't expect from a company producing scientifically accurate teaching resources.

Edit 2017-02-07: Fixed broken image urls.

[Takama]

Looks like a great figure. Makes me wish they make Prehistoric Dinosaur models like this. (Ones that are sold as Scientific models and are fully painted, not just Toys)

I am tempted to buy one of these type of models. But i don't have room in my bedroom or Curio

[widukind]

A beautieful figurine!!  I have a salamander with the same kind of base but without the stickers for the brand:)

[brontodocus]

Thanks, Nathan & Andreas!

Looks like a great figure. Makes me wish they make Prehistoric Dinosaur models like this. (Ones that are sold as Scientific models and are fully painted, not just Toys)

I am tempted to buy one of these type of models. But i don't have room in my bedroom or Curio

Yes, space is always a problem... Well, there are quite some companies in the U.S. specialising on such highly accurate models - but they are usually very expensive, too.

A beautieful figurine!!  I have a salamander with the same kind of base but without the stickers for the brand:)

So that's probably 3B Scientific, too? This one, perhaps? Hehe, by the way, they are located in Dresden!

[bmathison1972]

So that's probably 3B Scientific, too? This one, perhaps? Hehe, by the way, they are located in Dresden!

thanks for the link...I just bought the Ixodes ricinus