Tuataras - the other lepidosaurs.

[stemturtle]

Tuataras


Tuatara (Colorata)


Tuatara (New Zealand Wildlife Collection)


Tuatara (K)

Lizards and snakes belong to order Squamata.  Order Rhynchocephalia (which includes Sphenodontia) has tuataras, treasures from the Triassic. Only two species survive: the northern tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus, and the smaller Brothers Island tuatara, S. guntheri.  Both live on islands off of New Zealand.  You are invited to post a photo of the Kaiyodo secret figure Tuatara, which I do not own.  Photos of other tuataras are welcome too.

[brontodocus]

These are very nice, stemturtle! I have the Colorata and the Science & Nature New Zealand Wildlife figures, too. Both are good but I was a little disappointed by the paint job of the latter. Oh, and I haven't seen that "K" figure before...

Here's the Dinotales Series 2 secret Tuatara:

It's about the same size as the Colorata figure, 83 mm total length which puts the scale to approx. 1:5 - 1:9.

Edit 2015-03-30: Fixed broken image links.

[sbell]

The 'K' one comes with the Innovative Kids 'Raging Reptiles' book & toy set (there's a neat little Draco in there too).

And there is at least one more--the UK Yowies one!



Are there any others? I already have the 5 listed. Or, are any of these figures better candidates as Sphenodon guntheri?

[Varanus]

Wow, I didn't know there were so many (or so few, depending on your point of view) tuatara figures.  Are any of these still available regularly?

[sbell]

Wow, I didn't know there were so many (or so few, depending on your point of view) tuatara figures.  Are any of these still available regularly?

Raging Reptiles is still available from Innovative Kids, so I'm guessing it shows up at Amazon, etc, still (just looked--yes!).

The Animals of Australia figure is widely available (TGF Toys is the best bet).

The Colorata website no longer lists the Endangered Reptiles box (!) but it still shows up, whole or in individual units, on Ebay. My guess is that a new reptile box will be out eventually anyway (they tend to re-release improved versions of their older sets).

The Dinotales one also shows up on Ebay, but usually for far more than it should. I can't recall seeing the UK Yowie, but it probably does on Ebay UK if anywhere.

[sauroid]

beautiful tuatara figures

[Jetoar]

I hope that brands as Papo and Schleich will doa a Tuatara figure coming soon. He is one of my reptiles  .

[stemturtle]

Thanks to brontodocus, sbell, Varanus,sauroid, and Jetor for commenting on this thread.  Lovely photos of the figures by Kaiyodo and Yowie.  Here is an enlargement of the label from the New Zealand Wildlife Collection.  Do you think that might be a separate line from the Science & Nature Animals of Australia?



SBell I have a suggestion for you.  How about a thread that differentiates between the manufacturer, the distributor, and the brand, such as Kaiyodo and Dinotales.  Such a list would be of great value.  You certainly have the knowledge.

BTW, best wishes for your job search.  I hope you will tell us when you are successful.

[sbell]

The model for the NZW collection looks the same, but the paint job appears better. I am guessing that there is some variation, or that this particular run was specifically painted differently.

[tyrantqueen]

I like the Dinotales Tuatara. It's a shame that AAA or some other company didn't do a cast of this animal :/

[brontodocus]

The Dinotales one also shows up on Ebay, but usually for far more than it should.

Urgh... that's unfortunately so true... it's where I got mine. And yes, for more than it should... I paid $20.

I hope that brands as Papo and Schleich will doa a Tuatara figure coming soon. He is one of my reptiles  .

*dreams of an Incredible Creatures Tuatara, preferably life-sized (but 1:2 would be nice, too)* 

I like the Dinotales Tuatara. It's a shame that AAA or some other company didn't do a cast of this animal :/

It would probably be difficult for a toy company to get their hands on a deceased specimen, there are very few kept outside New Zealand and it's a CITES Appendix I species. I don't know how many specimens are in museums but it wouldn't be easy to borrow one to make a cast from it. Some have been cast by museum staff and who knows if there are companies similar to Morgan Reptile Replicas or SOMSO cooperating with a museum and able to offer casts (oh, to get one of those! ) ?

[Ana]

Very interesting topic and very nice figures everyone   I don't have any tuataras figures in my collection yet   

[sbell]

The Dinotales one also shows up on Ebay, but usually for far more than it should.

Urgh... that's unfortunately so true... it's where I got mine. And yes, for more than it should... I paid $20.

I got mine as a gift from a friend who accidentally got two! Otherwise, I probably still wouldn't have one (I have several tuatara after all). But I'm glad to have it!

[OkapiBoy]

cool thread, I did not know that there were that many figures, all I know (and own) is the Kaiyodo one.

[stemturtle]

Tuatara (Yowie), Sphenodon punctatus

The previous figure, Reply # 2, was a UK Yowie.  Here is a sixth figure.  Cadbury Yowie, Series 1, # 12.  About 3 inches, 7.5 cm. The head and tail are poseable.

[sbell]

Just saw another one--this time a part of a bin series in a dollar store. Didn't bother with it, although I might go back and get it, pretend it's a prehistoric one or something. I did, however, get some other neater figures from that set (they didn't have a complete set anymore).

[sbell]

Okay, making a liar out of myself...as mentioned  in recent acquisitions, I did end up getting the bin-figure tuatara. The odd colour lends it to be used as one fo the mesozoic species or something. Unless the other species is coloured this way.

Here's a closer picture:



EDIT--okay, the right picture is here now...

[stemturtle]

Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, that's seven tuataras we know.  Thanks sbell.