Mathison Museum of Natural History

[Gwangi]

Love it! Didn't know Safari made these, more toys to track down.

It's been a long time...good luck!

I don't expect to ever find them, but I'll at least keep an eye out.

[sbell]

Love it! Didn't know Safari made these, more toys to track down.

It's been a long time...good luck!

I don't expect to ever find them, but I'll at least keep an eye out.

They'd be right up there with the Tennessee salamander set. Especially if you're including the Smoky mountain eed-cheek

[bmathison1972]

@Gwangi - I bought mine on eBay in a mixed lot within the last year or two, so there is hope!

[bmathison1972]

In doing more snooping on this set, I have learned Safari only marketed these frogs by color (tan, green, red). The ID of barking tree frog was probably an STS/TAI identification and never sat quite right with me, and so I am changing the identification to the spotted chorus frog, Pseudacris clarkii.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Formica rufa Linnaeus, 1761
Common name(s): red wood ant

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Heller
Series: Forest Monsters
Year of Production: 2000
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 11.5 cm for a scale of 25.5:1-12.8:1 for a worker
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen F. rufa in the Museum. Like other Heller products, this figure is a model kit and must be assembled and painted by the consumer. Today's ant comes in 13 pieces (top portion of body, bottom portion of body, mandibles, 2 eyes, 2 antennae, 6 legs) in a solid matte black plastic. I painted the pieces first, then assembled them while securing with super glue, and finished with a clear satin varnish.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eurasia
Habitat: Lowland coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forests and forest margins, heathland, open ridges, parks, gardens
Diet: Primarily aphid honeydew; also predaceous on other arthropods
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Near Threatened
Miscellaneous Notes: Colonies of F. rufa may have multiple nests so they may relocate in case of drastic changes in the environment, such attacks from another colony, change in availability of food resources, or weather. This splitting of nests causes the creation of multiple daughter nests. When the primary nest is under stress, the larvae, pupae, and queen are moved to one of the daughter nests.

[endogenylove]

Species: Pseudacris clarkii (Baird, 1854)
Common name(s): spotted chorus frog; Clark's tree frog

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Incredible Creatures - Tree Frogs
Year of Production: 1997
Size/Scale: Legspan 9.0 cm. Snout-to-vent length approximately 6.0 cm, for a scale of 2:1-1.5:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This was one of three tree frogs in a set. The frogs were only marketed by color (tan, green, red) and the identifications are mine or others'. The other two species in the set appear to be the American green tree frog (D. cinereus) and the clown tree frog (Dendropsophus leucophylla). The American green tree and spotted chorus frogs used the same sculpt, but from what I can tell the clown tree frog has a different sculpt (the clown tree frog is the only one of the trio I don't possess).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southcentral United States and northern Mexico (Tamaulipas)
Habitat: Prairies, prairie islands, savanna, woodland margins; often near ponds, marshes, roadside ditches, buffalo wallows, flooded fields, transient pools
Diet: Insects and spiders
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: During the breeding season, P. clarkii can be found around permanent, semi-permanent, and transient bodies of water. During the dry season, however, they are inactive, often buried under thatch and loose soil.

My friend who doesn't collect has all three of the frogs in this set and has had them since childhood. I've tried to convince him to give or even sell them to me, but they have too much sentimental value haha  And so they remain on my wishlist!

[bmathison1972]

Posting a little early today. It's 1:30 AM here in Utah as I am lecturing to students in Europe this morning...


Species: Uroplatus phantasticus (Boulenger, 1888)
Common name(s): Satanic leaf-tailed gecko; eyelash leaf-tailed gecko; phantastic leaf-tailed gecko

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Capsule Q Museum - Gecko Figure Collection I
Year of Production: 2015
Size/Scale: Snout-to-vent length approximately 4.7 cm for a scale of 1:1.2-1:1.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was in the first of three Gecko Figure Collections sets by Kaiyodo, most of which features domestic variants of leopard geckos. Unlike many Capsule Q figures, no assembly is required. The figure could probably fit in the 1:1 scale range for a smaller or young specimen. It appears to have been sculpted as a male.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Madagascar
Habitat: Tropical rainforest; arboreal
Diet: Insects and arachnids
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Uroplatus phantasticus is a master of camouflage, especially with its flattened, leaf-shaped tail. Notches in the tail are more commonly seen in male specimens. The gecko can autotomize its tail if stressed, threatened, or sick, but unlike with many other lizards, the tail will not regrow.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Prosopocoilus mirabilis Boileau, 1904

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Bandai
Series: Diversity of Life on Earth - Stag Beetles Vol. 5
Year of Production: 2023
Size/Scale: Body length (including mandibles) approximately 11.0 cm for a scale of 1.8:1-1.5:1 for a male specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the eighth species in the genus Prosopocoilus we've seen in the Museum (and there are more still to come)! Like other Diversity of Life on Earth figures, this model is large, requires assembly, and the final product has some articulations (not the legs, interestingly enough).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Tanzania
Habitat: Tropical forests
Diet: Larvae feed in rotting tree trunks; adults feed on tree sap
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had difficulty researching information on this species. It is in the subgenus Metopodontus, which is treated as a full genus by some authorities.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Equus kiang Moorcroft, 1841
Common name(s): kiang; Tibetan wild ass

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Signatustudio
Series: 1:20 Tibetan Plateau Collection
Year of Production: 2015
Size/Scale: Height at shoulders (withers) approximately 6.2 cm for a scale of 1:21.3-22.9
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Signatustudio is a line of animal replicas made by artist J. Miguel Aparicio out of Spain. Most models are in the 1:20 scale and represent the fauna of Eurasia, including the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean, Tibetan Plateau, and Euro-Siberian regions. He also has a line for the Ethiopian Highlands and several extinct animals from the Pleistocene and Miocene. When I started the non-arthropod part of my collection, I bought a few for proof-of-concept. They are very nice but may be cost prohibitive for many collectors.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Tibetan Plateau of northern Pakistan, India (Ladakh), Tajikistan, China (Tibet, Tsinghai, Szechwan), northern Nepal
Habitat: Montane grassland and shrubland, high desert and semidesert, steppes
Diet: Grasses, sedges, forbs
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Equus kiang will occasionally form herds of up to several hundred individuals. These are not permanent groupings, but rather temporary aggregations and usually consist of females, foals, and young males. These groupings are loosely led by an older female. Older males tend to be solitary.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Papilio protenor Cramer, 1775
Common name(s): spangle

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Bandai
Series: Diversity of Life on Earth - Caterpillars Vol. 1
Year of Production: 2021
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 12.5 cm for a scale of 2.8:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is one of three figures of this species I am aware of, all larvae (the other two were produced by Kaiyodo for their Capsule Q Museum line). Some assembly is required and the final product is articulated. It has the option of being displayed with the osmeterium extended (as shown here) or not. It also comes with a base derived from its gashapon capsule (not shown here). The set also included larvae of the Asian swallowtail (P. xuthus) and the great Mormon (P. memnon) that use the same sculpt and design.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Northern India and Nepal to East and Southeast Asia, Japan
Habitat: Forests and forest edges, riparian areas, citrus groves, grasslands, parks and gardens
Diet: Larvae feed primarily on Citrus and other plants in the family Rutaceae; adults take nectar from flowers
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The osmeterium is a defensive organ found in all larval stages of Papilionidae. When the larva is threatened, the osmeterium can be everted from the first thoracic segment. In addition to possibly scaring away predators by mimicking the tongue of a snake, the osmeterium also secretes volatile organic acids. Early instars of P. protenor secrete monoterpenes and sesquiterpenoids while 5th (final) instar larvae secrete aliphatic acid and their esters (iso-butyric acid, 2-methylbutyric acid, methyl iso-butyrate, methyl 2-methylbutyrate, ethyl iso-butyrate and ethyl 2-methylbutyrate).

[bmathison1972]

Species: Neophron percnopterus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): Egyptian vulture; white scavenger vulture; pharaoh's chicken

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Epoch
Series: Birds of Prey
Year of Production: 2003
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 7.5 cm for a scale of 1:6.3-1:9.1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The bird is removable from its base, albeit leaving pegs under the feet, but the stone is not removable from its beak.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Northern Africa, Mediterranean Europe, Middle East, Western Asia to the Indian subcontinent
Habitat: Rock ledges and cliffs, open country, suburban areas
Diet: Carrion, small reptiles and mammals, bird eggs and nestlings, invertebrates, dung, human refuse
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Some populations of N. percnopterus, especially the nominate form in northern Africa, are known for tool use. Vultures will use round pebbles to crack open large eggs, such as those of bustards and ostriches.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Macrotis lagotis Reid, 1837
Common name(s): greater bilby

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Science and Nature
Series: Animals of Australia - Small Mammals
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding tail) approximately 4.0 cm. Total figure length approximately 5.5 cm. Using head length has a metric (n=2.3 cm), scale comes to 1:3.1-1:5 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Science and Nature made two sizes of the greater bilby; this is the smaller of the two. Cadbury also made one for the original Australian Yowies collections. I tried using head-and-body length to calculate scale but online resources seemed conflicted as to whether the same ranges presented by different sources included the tail or not. The data above using the head is based on morphometric analysis from a 2023 Ph.D. thesis available online. Calculating an accurate body length probably would have been challenging anyway due to the hunched posture the figure is displayed in. Macrotis lagotis exhibits some sexual dimorphism with regards to size and the data in that thesis include both male and female specimens.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Australia
Habitat: Deserts, dunes, semi-arid woodlands and shrubland, spinifex and tussock grasslands
Diet: Opportunistic omnivore, including seeds, fruit, bulbs, fungi, terrestrial invertebrates, and occasionally eggs and small vertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Vulnerable
Miscellaneous Notes: Macrotis lagotis does not drink water, but instead acquires all of the water it needs from its food.

[bmathison1972]

The Desert Bakku Background has been getting a lot of use as of late...

Species: Scarabaeus typhon (Fischer von Waldheim, 1823)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Epoch
Series: Flying Beetles
Year of Production: 2004
Size/Scale: Base 5.5 cm long. Body length of beetle approximately 3.2 cm for a scale of 1:1.6-1:1.1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen S. typhon in the Museum. This was the only figure from the Flying Beetles collection that isn't actually flying! It was the secret/chase figure in the set. The dung ball is permanently affixed to the sand base but the beetle sits loosely on the base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southern Palearctic, from Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula to East Russia and the Korean Peninsula
Habitat: Open habitats, usually in sandy areas and on dunes
Diet: Developing larvae feed on dung balls provisioned by parent beetles; adults feed on dung
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Scarabaeus typhon, like other 'dung-rollers', removes a piece of dung and rolls it to a new location away from competition. Depending on the species, this is often performed by a male-female pair. The dung ball is buried with a single egg, and the dung ball will nourish the developing larva. Ancient Egyptians likened the dung beetle pushing a ball of dung across the dunes to their sun god Ra pushing the sun across the sky.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Pusa hispida saimensis (Nordquist, 1899)
Common name(s): Saimaa ringed seal

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yowie Group
Series: Wild Water Series
Year of Production: 2019
Size/Scale: Scale difficult to calculate based on posture, but measured along midline, body length approximately 8.0 cm for a scale of 1:10.6-1:18.8
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique to very rare (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: To the best of my knowledge, this is the only figure of the Saimaa ringed seal, although Nayab produced what appears to be a ringed seal of unknown subspecies. Pusa hispida saimensis is the darkest of the five subspecies of ringed seal, and I photographed the figure in this position so one could appreciate the faint gray rings on its back.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Finland (Lake Saimaa)
Habitat: Freshwater lake
Diet: Freshwater fish
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Pusa hispida saimensis is one of the few living freshwater seals. This subspecies is endemic to Lake Saimma in Finland. It is considered a glacial relict and is descended from ring seals that were separated from marine populations when land rose during the last ice age.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Ateles paniscus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): red-faced spider monkey; Guiana spider monkey

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Wildlife
Year of Production: 2010 (1998)
Size/Scale: Head-and-body length (excluding tail) approximately 4.5 cm for a scale of 1:12.2
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: To my knowledge, this figure was never formally marketed at the species level and the identification is a community-based one most collectors appear to agree with. This figure was originally released in 1998 and had a bendable tail; mine is the 2010 reissue that has a solid, non-poseable tail. Otherwise, the sculpts are essentially the same.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Northern South America, north of the Amazon and Branco Rivers and east of the Essequibo River
Habitat: Rainforest; arboreal, usually in the middle to upper canopy
Diet: Fruit, flowers, leaves fungi, invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Vulnerable
Miscellaneous Notes: Ateles paniscus lives in what is described as a fission-fusion society, whereby the size and composition of the group changes as time passes and the animals move throughout the environment. For example, sleeping in one place during the night but traveling during the day with small groups splitting off for foraging. At night, A. paniscus sleeps in large groups called bands that contain upwards of 30 individuals.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Sciaenops ocellatus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Common name(s): red drum; redfish

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Toy Fish Factory
Series: Gulf Coast Collection
Year of Production: 2019
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 6.5 cm for an average scale of 1:8.5-1:15.4 or a scale of 1:24 for a maximum-sized specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Generic 'drum' figures pop up in bin sets, but as far as I know, this is the only figure that specifically represents S. ocellatus.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: West Atlantic, from northern USA (Maryland) south to central Mexico; possibly established in the Mediterranean from escapees from aquaculture farms
Habitat: Coastal waters, seagrass beds, surf zones, estuaries, mouths of rivers, especially in areas with sandy bottoms, at depths of 10-40 meters
Diet: Crustaceans, mollusks, small fish
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Historically, S. ocellatus was a popular food fish, both commercially and with sport fishermen. It is no longer commercially fished in federal waters, and may be tightly regulated or banned in various state waters, it is still a popular food fish (I've had it; it's delicious). The species is raised via aquaculture for commercial consumption, however.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Brachypelma emilia (White, 1856)
Common name(s): Mexican red-legged tarantula; Mexican redleg

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Habitat Earth - Tarantulas and Spiders
Year of Production: 1995
Size/Scale: Legspan approximately 6.0 cm. Carapace length approximately 1.2 cm for a scale of 1:2 for a female specimen (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The scale above was calculated based on a redescription of the species in a 2020 revision of the genus.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Mexico (western side of Sierra Madre Occidental)
Habitat: Dry coastal thorn scrub, dry oak forest, grasslands, palm transitions, human habitations
Diet: Primarily insects and other arthropods, occasionally small reptiles, amphibians, birds, rodents
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Like other Brachypelma species, B. emilia has a rather restricted distribution, being found on the Pacific side of the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the Mexican states of southern Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit, and a small area in northwestern Jalisco near the border with Durango. It is a fossorial species, usually found in modified or self-made burrows under large rocks, under dense thorny thickets, large tree roots, or in leafy ground cover. They sometimes occur around human habitations when domiciles are constructed in or around their habitat.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Atrophaneura semperi (Felder & Felder, 1861)
Common name(s): batwing; black ballerina

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: K&M International
Series: Wild Republic - Butterflies Nature Tube
Year of Production: 2004
Size/Scale: Wingspan approximately 6.5 cm for a scale of 1:1.8-1:2.3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The K&M Butterflies Nature Tube figures were not marketed at the species level, however most of them appear to be painted after actual species. All of the identifications are mine or by other members of the ATF and STS forums. Today's identification was provided by another forum member. I am not particularly comfortable with today's identification, but it's better than anything I could come up with. If one accepts this identification, it would represent stylized rendition of a female specimen. Several of the sculpts (and in some cases paint style) in this set were also used by some of the earlier Safari Ltd. sets and Insect Lore.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines)
Habitat: Primary and secondary rainforest
Diet: Larvae feed on plants in the genus Aristolochia (pipevine); adults take nectar from flowers
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Atrophaneura semperi belongs to a complex of swallowtails from Asia, especially in the Indomalayan realm. The complex, commonly referred to as 'red-bodied swallowtails' or 'ruby swallowtails' because of their red bodies, includes members of the genera Atrophaneura, Byasa, and Losaria, and Pachliopta. They were elevated from subgenera of Papilio in 2005. Larvae of most species feed on pipevines in the genera Aristolochia or Thottea, and have aposematic coloration and serve as models for Batesian mimicry (when a harmless/nonpoisonous species resembles a poisonous, dangerous, or distasteful species).

[BlueKrono]

Where did you get your K&M? There's several I'm looking for.

[bmathison1972]

Where did you get your K&M? There's several I'm looking for.

@BlueKrono - do you mean the Butterflies TOOB or in general? The Butterflies TOOB was bought probably 2007-2008. Can't remember if online or a toystore in Atlanta where I lived at the time.
Otherwise, most of my single K&M TOOB figures were bought on eBay