Mathison Museum of Natural History

[bmathison1972]

How difficult was that to stand up without the base?

You mean for this photograph? It is propped up against elements in the diorama I have the acrylic base, it's just not in this pic.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Aglais urticae (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): small tortoiseshell

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Bullyland
Series: Butterflies on Strings
Year of Production: 1998
Size/Scale: Wingspan 7.0 cm for a scale of 1.5:1-1.1:1 (slightly larger than 1:1 for a large specimen)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The 'Butterflies on Strings' collections were two sets of butterflies released by Bullyland. The figures had a loop of chord attached to the top of the thorax via a screw (hence the unsightly hole), so they can hang from things. There are eight figures in this set, with four sculpts shared among them; the sculpt didn't always match well with the actual animal (as seen here today). The set was also sold as 'swingers', figures suspended on a wire attached to a base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eurasia; rare vagrants to northeastern North America
Habitat: Fields, meadows, roadsides, parks, gardens
Diet: Larvae feed on plants in the genera Urtica (nettles) and Humulus (hops); adults feed on nectar from flowers
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Aglais urticae has one of the longest seasons of any European butterfly. Adults overwinter and become active during the first warm days of spring. After mating, eggs are laid in batches on the underside of host plants (see above). Adults emerge from mid-June to August. Populations in the northern part of its range usually only have one brood a year, but populations in the southern part of its range may have two broods a year.

[Isidro]

They are very brave for dare to market this er... uhm... thing, as Aglais urticae.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Nasalis larvatus (van Wurmb, 1787)
Common name(s): proboscis monkey; long-nosed monkey

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Mojö Fun
Series: Wildlife
Year of Production: 2013
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding tail) approximately 6.5 cm for a scale of 1:10-1:12
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: A familiar species, N. larvatus has not been very well represented over the years in toy/figure forum, and many of the options have been smaller tube-sized figures. Some STS forum members gave input into the design and pose of this figure! At the time of this writing, this Mojö Fun figure is still in production, but last year Schleich also released a decent figure of this species (which I believe is a little smaller for more scale-conscious collectors), giving our audience another readily available option.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Borneo
Habitat: Lowland forests, primarily those close to coastal wetlands, estuaries, mangrove swamps, peat swamps, and rivers
Diet: Fruits, seeds, young leaves, mangrove shoots; N. larvatus is a seasonal eater, eating mostly fruits from January to May and leaves and shoots from June to December
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Nasalis larvatus is endemic to the island of Borneo. This curious cercopithecid is best known for its enlarged nose, especially of the male, which gives the monkey its common name. The male's schnozz can upwards of 10.2 cm in length. It is believed the large nose is for sexual selection, in that the larger the nose, the louder the volume of the male's call, and females may prefer males with louder vocalizations.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Lucanus cervus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): European stag beetle

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Bullyland
Series: Large Insects and Spiders
Year of Production: 1994
Size/Scale: Body length (including mandibles) 11.0 cm for a scale of 1.2:1 for a large major male
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the fourth time we've seen L. cervus in the Museum. Early in my days of collecting insect and other arthropod figures, I found a couple of interesting sets of insects in a dollar store in Arizona. They were fairly well done and made of a hard plastic. What I hadn't realized at the time is the vast majority of them, especially the larger ones, were all blatantly copied from the designs of Bullyland's Large Insects and Spiders! This stag beetle was among them. I have long since purged them all from my collection.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Europe, Middle East, Central Asia
Habitat: Old-growth hardwood forests
Diet: Larvae feed in rotting wood of hardwood trees, particularly Quercus (oak), but also Tilia (lime), Fagus (beech), Acer (maple), Populus (poplar), and Fraxinus (ash), among several others; also rotting timber, bark chippings, compost heaps in gardens, and other detritus. Adults feed on nectar and tree sap.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: On earlier posts for this species, I had the IUCN status as Near Threatened. However, globally the species has not been evaluated. I can no longer find information for this species on the IUCN website, but other sites still have it as Near Threatened for Europe and the EU specifically. The prevalence of L. cervus varies throughout Europe and the areas where the beetle seems to be most threatened is in Central Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, and in countries bordering the North and Red Seas (it is believed to be extinct in Denmark and Latvia). The greatest threats to L. cervus is the clearing of old-growth forests that have the trees required to maintain the life cycle of the beetle.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Gavia immer (Brunnich, 1764)
Common name(s): common loon; great northern diver

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Maia & Borges
Series: Water and Lake Birds
Year of Production: 2012
Size/Scale: Scale difficult to calculate but body length approximately 10.0 cm for a scale of 1:7-1:9
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare (unique?)
Miscellaneous Notes: Several collectors have commented on interesting the pose of this figure, because outside of nesting, G. immer is rarely found on land and seen 'standing' as in this sculpt (see below).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Breeding occurs in Canada, northern United States, and Iceland, with migration across much of North America, wintering coastally in North America south to Mexico and Atlantic Europe
Habitat: Large lakes and ponds, wintering in shallow, coastal marine habitats
Diet: Fish, aquatic invertebrates, amphibians
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Gavia immer is a highly-specialized swimmer and diver. It is an expert fisher and visual predator, locating potential prey by sight and then diving deep to catch it. While they typically hunt in water 2-10 meters deep, common loons have been documented diving as deep as 70 meters. Overall, G. immer is adapted to a nearly entirely aquatic lifestyle. Their webbed feet are large, for efficient propulsion both on the surface of the water and under water. Its legs are located near the rear of the body, making them clumsy and ungainly on land. Movement on land, while uncommon, is usually achieved by sliding on its belly and pushing itself forward with its legs.

[stargatedalek]

K&M/Wild Republic did a common loon as well, I believe in a Canadian themed set?

[bmathison1972]

K&M/Wild Republic did a common loon as well, I believe in a Canadian themed set?

Yes, TAI has it has a yellow-billed loon, a different species. Not sure if that was an ID by K&M or community-derived, but the figure does have a yellow bill

https://toyanimal.info/wiki/K%26M_Loon

[bmathison1972]

Species: Coenobita sp.
Common name(s): terrestrial hermit crab

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Club Earth
Series: Pocket Pals
Year of Production: 1998
Size/Scale: Figures 5.7 and 7.0 across their greatest widths; scale species-dependent, but may fall within 1:1 for some species
Frequency of genus in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: Pocket Pals come with a plastic apparatus so they can be worn over the pockets of shirts, aprons, lab coats, etc. Luckily, the apparatus snaps off, revealing only the animal. If I remember correctly when I bought these on eBay, there were three sculpts of hermit crabs and more than one color per sculpt. I only bought one of each sculpt for proof-of-concept (and gave one of those three to another collector, hence only two shown here today). The figures are too generic to identify at the species level, but figures of C. cavipes have been produced by Epoch and C. purpureus by Kaiyodo and Kitan Club. I have tentatively identified the Safari Ltd. Incredible Creatures hermit crab, which was seen in the Museum back in June 12, 2022, as C. clypeatus. Eikoh produced a Coenobita figure for the 15th installment of the Miniatureplanet line, but it is also fairly generic and unlikely to be confidently identified at the species level.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indo-Pacific, West Africa, East Pacific (Central and South America), West Atlantic (North, Central, and South America, West Indies)
Habitat: Coastal forests, mangrove swamps, salt marshes, sand hills, intertidal zones
Diet: Vegetation, fruit, carrion, dung
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [species-dependent]
Miscellaneous Notes: There are roughly 16 species of Coenobita: C. brevimanus (Indo-Pacific, from Zanzibar to Tahiti, southern Japan); C. carnescens (Eastern Polynesia, Marshall Islands); C. cavipes (broadly distributed in the Indo-Pacific from East Africa to Japan, Polynesia, Micronesia); C. compressus (Pacific Coast of America, from Baja California to Chile); C. clypeatus (Atlantic Coast of America, from Florida to Venezuela, West Indies, Bermuda); C. lila (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia); C. longitarsus (East Indies), C. perlatus (Indo-West Pacific, Australia, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands); C. pseudorugosus (Indo-West Pacific, from Japan to Indonesia); C. purpureus (Japan, Singapore, Taiwan); C rubescens (West Africa); C. rugosus (widespread in the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to Tahiti and Tuamotu Islands); C. scaevola (Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, coasts of Somalia and Pakistan); C. spinosus (Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, northern Australia); C. variablis (northern Australia); C. violescens (Into-Pacific, from Tanzania and Zanzibar to Bangladesh, Japan, Philippines).

[bmathison1972]

Species: Melanoplus sp.
Common name(s): spur-throated grasshopper

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: CollectA
Series: Little Wonders
Year of Production: 2009
Size/Scale: Body length 6.5 cm for a scale of roughly 4:1-1.3:1 depending on the species.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: CollectA only marketed this figure as a grasshopper, and the genus-level identification of Melanoplus is my own. Interestingly, when I bought mine online it was advertised as the differential grasshopper (M. differentialis), but I suspect this was the choice of the seller and not CollectA. There are over 300 species of Melanoplus, so assigning a species-level ID is probably not possible here. The smaller figure in the image is the miniature counterpart of the larger figure; it was released in 2020 as part of the Mini Insects and Spiders collection. All of the figures in the mini collection are simply smaller versions of the standard-sized CollectA figures. This smaller figure has a body length of 3.6 cm and is probably within a 1:1 scale range for many species. Both figures have an anatomical error; notice the hind tibia is too short, roughly 3/4 the length of the femur!

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Northern Hemisphere (most species in North America)
Habitat: Open woodlands, grasslands, meadows, roadsides, agricultural fields, parks and gardens
Diet: Plants; some species are generalists while others feed on plants in one or a few families
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [species-dependent]; one species, the Rocky Mountain locust (M. spretus) is currently classified as extinct
Miscellaneous Notes: Melanoplus is prone to frequent speciation, both through isolation and hybridization. Species are sometimes difficult to define, and individual specimens can be difficult to identify without the specimen in-hand.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Nyctereutes viverrinus (Temminck, 1838)
Common name(s): Japanese raccoon dog

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Capsule Q Museum - Tokyo
Year of Production: 2013
Size/Scale: Body length (exclusive of tail) approximately 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:10-1:13.6
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: Some assembly is required. Raccoon dogs are not commonly made; this is one of at least six by Kaiyodo, with other Japanese figures by Eikoh and Ikimon. Play Visions also included one in their Wild Dogs collection in 1996. With the recognition of two species (see below), one could argue the Play Visions figure could represent true N. procyonoides.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan
Habitat: Forests, forest edges, marshes, suburban areas; prefers habitats with dense vegetation and often bordering water
Diet: Small mammals, amphibians, fish, rodents, birds, eggs, invertebrates, plant material, carrion, human refuse
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated (IUCN does not distinguish N. viverrinus from N. procyonoides, the latter of which is currently classified as Least Concern).
Miscellaneous Notes: Nyctereutes viverrinus used to be considered a subspecies of the common raccoon dog, N. procyonoides, which is native to mainland East Asia and has been naturalized in Europe. Evidence for the recognition of two species is based on morphologic, behavioral, distributional, and genetic data. One of the most convincing arguments for the recognition of two species is that the karyotype (form and number of chromosomes) is different between the two populations and there is no evidence (from what I can tell) that the two populations can mate and produce viable offspring.

[Isidro]

Your figure is probably the best representative of Nyctereutes procyonoides and the seams are not as noticeable as I tought. Sizewise looks ideal for me. I may add it to my wishlist

[bmathison1972]

Species: Augosoma centaurus (Fabricius, 1775)
Common name(s): Centaurus beetle

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: DeAgostini
Series: World Insect Data Book
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (including horn) 7.5 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The DeAgostini insects are cast from actual specimens and are therefore all in the 1:1 range. The figures were sold as premiums with books and come in a plastic display box with their Latin and Japanese names. I am not sure what year the figures were released, and it is possible they were released over multiple years. The original set from Japan consisted of 60 species (59 male Scarabaeoidea and one dragonfly), plus four 'secret' figures representing females of select scarab males. When the set was released in Italy, three of the standard set were replaced with other species, including a leaf insect. Between the two releases and secrets, I think there are 67 figures total representing 63 species. The figures are secured to the base of the box with a small screw, but can be safely removed if one choses to display them outside of the box.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Western equatorial Africa
Habitat: Rainforest, secondary forest, banana and palm plantations, villages
Diet: Larvae feed in detritus and compost; adults feed on sap, phloem, and flower buds of trees, and is considered a pest of palm, coconut, and other ornamental and plantation trees
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Augosoma centaurus is an important food animal for rural communities in parts of tropical West Africa, especially during the dry season when wild game is less abundant.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Pongo abelii Lesson, 1827
Common name(s): Sumatran orangutan

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: CollectA
Series: Wildlife
Year of Production: 2015
Size/Scale: Maximum width across arms 12.0 cm. Height approximately 8.0 cm for a scale of 1:22
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon to rare (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: Most orangutan figures are not marketed at the species level, and the physical features separating the actual animals can be subtle at times and difficult to interpret in miniature. The frequency of this species as a toy/figure depends on what the figure is marketed as or how it interpreted as by the collector. I believe the identification of this CollectA model as P. abelii is community-based, and I agree with the determination.

EDIT: It was mentioned on the STS forum, that this figure was modeled after Satu, a Sumatran orangutan born in the San Diego zoo in 1995 and died there in late 2021 due to complications with cancer. This is not the only time CollectA modeled a figure after a specific animal, such as Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island giant tortoise.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Northern Sumatra (Indonesia)
Habitat: Lowland tropical forests, mangrove swamps, riparian forests
Diet: Primarily fruit; also young leaves, flowers, bark, invertebrates, small animals, and eggs, especially in the dry season or when fruit is otherwise not abundant
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Critically Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Pongo abelii is currently classified as Critically Endangered with a trend of 'decreasing' by the IUCN. Back in the early 2000s, it was considered one of the 25 most endangered animals on earth. Major threats include deforestation, with a loss of nearly 80% of its natural habitat in the last 20 years, hunting for meat, and poaching for the illegal pet trade. A 2016 survey estimated the wild population of P. abelii to be at slightly over 14,000 individuals. While that estimate is larger than previous surveys, deforestation remains a major threat and that study predicted a loss of nearly 4,500 animals by the year 2030.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Ramphastos toco Müller, 1776
Common name(s): toco toucan; common toucan; giant toucan

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Schleich
Series: Wild Life America
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 8.5 cm for a scale of 1:6.5-1:7.6. Using bill as a metric (n=2.2 cm), scale comes to 1:7-1:10.5; however based on these measurements, the bill is probably not sculpted as long as it should be
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: While not commonly made, several companies have produced at least one toco toucan over the years. Papo also produced a nice one in 2017, but the proportions of the bill look similar to today's Schleich model. Most figures of R. toco are also sculpted on bases, something I know not everyone likes.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: South America
Habitat: Open woodlands, savannas, cerrado, plantations, open river valleys; generally, open areas with scattered trees
Diet: Primarily fruits; also insects, small animals, bird eggs
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Ramphastos toco has one brood cycle a year. The bill does not appear to play a role in sexual selection. Mating usually occurs in the spring, but the timing differs between regions, and a clutch of 2-4 eggs are laid in a tree cavity. Both sexes take turns incubating the eggs; the incubation period lasts about 18 days. Fledging occurs after about 6-8 weeks.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Cyclommatus elaphus Gestro, 1881

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: DeAgostini
Series: World Insect Data Book
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (including mandibles) 8.0 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is our second look at C. elaphus in the Museum. The DeAgostini insects are cast from actual specimens and are therefore all in the 1:1 range. The figures were sold as premiums with books and come in a plastic display box with their Latin and Japanese names. I am not sure what year the figures were released, and it is possible they were released over multiple years. The original set from Japan consisted of 60 species (59 male Scarabaeoidea and one dragonfly), plus four 'secret' figures representing females of select scarab males. When the set was released in Italy, three of the standard set were replaced with other species, including a leaf insect. Between the two releases and secrets, I think there are 67 figures total representing 63 species. The figures are secured to the base of the box with a small screw, but can be safely removed if one choses to display them outside of the box.

About the Animal
Geographic distribution: Indonesia
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae feed in decaying logs with white rot; adults feed on tree sap
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Cyclommatus elaphus is the largest species in its genus; major males can reach a lengh of 10.9 (including mandibles).





By the way, today was the 300th insect highlighted in the Museum! Being the largest major group of animals in my collection, how did they fare? Below is a list by order-level taxon; the number in parenthesis is how many there were for each group at 200.

Coleoptera (beetles): 163 (110)
Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths): 77 (48)
Hymenoptera (bees, ants, wasps): 18 (11)
Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets): 11 (7)
Hemiptera (true bugs & kin): 10 ( 8 )
Mantodea (mantids): 6 (5)
Odonata (dragonflies, damselflies): 4 (2)
Blattodea (cockroaches, termites): 3 (3)
Diptera (flies): 2 (2)
Siphonaptera (fleas): 2 (1)
Meganisoptera (griffinflies): 1 (1)
Neuroptera (lacewings & kin): 1 (1)
Dermaptera (earwigs): 1 (0)
Psocodea (lice): 1 (1)

[bmathison1972]

Species: Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758
Common name(s): western honey bee; European honey bee

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Tedco Toys
Series: Life Cycles
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Individual life cycle elements range from 3.5-5.5 cm long. Adult worker 5.5 cm for a scale of 4.5:1-3.7:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the fourth time we've seen A. mellifera in the Museum, but is the first of four life cycles. The others are by Safari Ltd., Insect Lore, and Tarlin. The Tarlin set is probably the best, was produced fairly recently (2020), and has the smallest figures. However, being a lesser-known Japanese company (Tarlin is a subsidiary of Epoch, I believe), it might be harder to find than those by Safari or Insect Lore. I don't know much about the Tedco Toys life cycle; I bought a few on eBay several years back; don't think I have seen them before or since!

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Nearly worldwide. Believed native to Africa and/or Central Asia, with natural spread throughout Africa and Europe; introduced to the Western Hemisphere, Australia, New Zealand, and East Asia for honey production
Habitat: Highly varied; anywhere with suitable hive-building sites and flowers for food source.
Diet: Larvae are fed pollen by the adults; adults eat nectar and pollen
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Data Deficient
Miscellaneous Notes: The average developmental time for a worker honey bee is 21-22 days. Oviposition to hatching of the egg is approximately 3 days. The bee then spends about 6 days as a larva. The larva is fed 'royal jelly' for the first couple days and then a blend of honey and pollen ('bee bread') for the remainder of the larval stage (potential queens will get royal jelly throughout their development and after emergence). After the pupal cell is capped, the bee spends 10-11 days as a pupa, eventually emerging as an adult.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Latrodectus mactans (Fabricius, 1775)
Common name(s): southern black widow

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Hidden Kingdom Insects
Year of Production: 2006
Size/Scale: Legspan approximately 13.0 cm. Body length 6.0 cm for a scale of 7.5:1-4.6:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the fourth time we've seen L. mactans in the Museum. This is the second version of this species produced by Safari Ltd. following the 1998 Smithsonian Insects model (the latter of which interestingly was my recent Halloween-themed post for the Animal Toy Blog). This Hidden Kingdom model is still available; however, in 2018 the remaining HK figures were merged into the Incredible Creatures line.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eastern and southeastern USA and the West Indies; naturalized in Hawaii.
Habitat: Forests, fields, rodent burrows, disturbed areas, houses, gardens, garages, sheds.
Diet: Small insects and other arthropods
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Females of L. mactans are notorious for being venomous to humans. The venom is alpha-latrotoxin; this toxin binds to receptors at the neuromuscular motor end plate of both sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves, resulting in increased synaptic concentration of catecholamines. The symptoms resulting from a black widow bite is referred to as latrodectism. Deaths are rare, except in extreme elderly, the very young, and those with underlying medical conditions.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Scleropages formosus (Müller & Schlegel, 1840)
Common name(s): Asian arowana; Asian bonytongue; dragonfish

About the Figure:
Manufacturers: Colorata; Yujin
Series: Fossil Fish; Freshwater Fish Pictorial Book 1
Years of Production: 2015 (2004); unknown
Size/Scale: Both figures approximately 7.0 cm long for a scale of 1:7-1:13
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: The figure on the right is by Colorata for their Fossil Fish collection; mine is the 2015 re-release and repaint of a figure that originally came out in 2004. The figure on the left is by Yujin for their Freshwater Fish Pictorial Book series (year of release unknown). I retained both of these because it's possible they may at some point be considered different species (see below). Both figures are removable from their bases and the Yujin model requires minimal assembly.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia
Habitat: Backwater and slow-moving rivers, forested swamps and wetlands
Diet: Juveniles eat freshwater insects and other invertebrates; adults eat other fish
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: The systematics and nomenclature of S. formosus and its variants is complicated. Broadly, there are five varieties of S. formosus, recognized as haplotypes; these haplotypes and their geographic distributions are as follows: 'green' (Kalimantan, Sumatra, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia); 'silver Asian' (Borneo); 'red-tailed golden' (northern Sumatra); 'gold crossback'/'blue Malayan'/'Bukit Merah blue' (Pahang and Bukit Merah regions of Malaysia); 'red'/'super red' (Kapuas River of Indonesian Borneo). In 2003, S. formosus was divided into four species based on morphologic features and molecular analysis of the cytochrome b gene: S. formosus (green and gold crossback, although the latter might be closer to S. aureus); S. macrocephalus (silver Asian); S. aureus (red-tailed and possibly gold crossback); S. legendrei (red/super red). The results of this 2003 study are not widely accepted among other specialists, however.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Morpho menelaus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): Menelaus blue morpho

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Smithsonian Insects
Year of Production: 1994
Size/Scale: Figure 12.0 cm tall. If spread like a specimen, the wingspan would come to approximately 18.0 cm for a scale of 1.8:1-1.5:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the fourth time we've seen M. menelaus in the Museum. Earlier images of this figure on the forums, and the image on TAI, show this butterfly with six legs, which would be inaccurate for a nymphalid. I bought mine on eBay with only four legs, which is correct. Whether Safari Ltd. re-released this figure with an accurate leg count or the seller I bought from altered the toy, I do not know (I suspect the latter). The finish is well-done, so if it was altered by its previous owner, they did a good job.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central America and northern South America
Habitat: Rainforest, tropical savanna
Diet: Larvae feed on plants in the genera Erythroxylium and Machaerium; adults take fluids from overripe fruit
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The genus Morpho is believed to have arose during the Oligocene in the Andean region of South America.



P.S. It's getting harder to photograph large tropical and subtropical insects and other arthropods outside as we get more into a Nearctic winter...lol