Mathison Museum of Natural History

[sbell]

It's a great figure, I just wonder why this is the only species that gets made? When my parcel from Japan arrives, I'll have 3 potamotrygonids from Japan, all this same species. They're so variable, it's surprising that none of the others get made.

[bmathison1972]

It's a great figure, I just wonder why this is the only species that gets made? When my parcel from Japan arrives, I'll have 3 potamotrygonids from Japan, all this same species. They're so variable, it's surprising that none of the others get made.

Probably what happens is that one gets made, and then other companies follow suit, instead of thinking 'what's similar but different'?

[sbell]

It's a great figure, I just wonder why this is the only species that gets made? When my parcel from Japan arrives, I'll have 3 potamotrygonids from Japan, all this same species. They're so variable, it's surprising that none of the others get made.

Probably what happens is that one gets made, and then other companies follow suit, instead of thinking 'what's similar but different'?

Well, my Hikari figure is from around 20 years ago. Took Kaiyodo long enough to get inspired!

[bmathison1972]

Species: Pristimantis mutabilis Guayasamin et al., 2015
Common name(s): mutable rainfrog; 'punk rock' rainfrog

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yowie Group
Series: Animals With Super Powers
Year of Production: 2021
Size/Scale: Leaf base 5.4 cm long. Snout-to-vent length approximately 3.0 cm for a scale of 1.8:1 for a male or 1.4:1-1.3:1 for a female
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: The sex of the frog cannot be determined and since the only real marker for sexual dimorphism is size, calculations for both are included above.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Ecuador (Ecuadorian Andes)
Habitat: Cloud forests; arboreal
Diet: Small insects and spiders
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Pristimantis mutabilis has the ability to change its skin texture, from smooth to tuberculate and back again. It is believed it changes texture based on the substrate it is sitting on for the purpose of camouflage. For example, when tuberculate, its texture and color help it blend in with mosses and lichens.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Caedicia simplex Walker, 1869
Common name(s): common green katydid; Australian common garden katydid

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Cadbury
Series: Yowies Series 3
Year of Production: 1999
Size/Scale: Body length (including wings but excluding legs and antennae) approximately 4.3 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Australian Yowies, some assembly is required.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eastern Australia and New Zealand
Habitat: Forests, parks, gardens; usually on shrubby vegetation
Diet: Vegetation; including leaves, pollen, and flowers from a wide range of native and introduced plants
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like many other katydids, C. simplex is a master of disguise and is morphologically adapted to look like a leaf, providing camouflage against would-be predators.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Aptenodytes patagonicus Miller, 1778
Common name(s): king penguin

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Colorata
Series: Penguins of the World
Year of Production: 2017 (2003)
Size/Scale: Height approximately 7.5 cm for a scale of 1:11.3-1:13.3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: My figure is the 2017 version of a model that was originally produced in 2003. From what I can tell, among modern, major Western companies, this species has only been produced by Schleich.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Sub-Antarctic islands, especially Crozet, Falkland, Heard, Kerguelen, Macquarie, Prince Edward, South Georgia and South Sandwich, with some non-breeding residence in southern Chile and Argentina; occasional vagrant to South Africa, Brazil, New Zealand, and mainland Antarctica
Habitat: Sparsely-vegetated islands, away from pack ice
Diet: Fish, marine invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Even though A. patagonicus is a large bird that breeds on remote sub-Antarctic islands, it is not entirely safe from predation by other animals! On land, eggs and chicks are at risk for predation by giant petrels and skuas, and in the ocean adults and fledglings are hunted by leopard seals, fur seals, and killer whales!

[bmathison1972]

Species: Protaetia cuprea (Fabricius, 1775)
Common name(s): copper chafer; rose chafer

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Papo
Series: Garden Animals
Year of Production: 2023
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 3.4 cm for a scale of 2.1-1.5:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Papo marketed this figure as a 'European rose chafer' which would often imply Cetonia auratua. However, based on color (including the lack of white maculae), smooth texture of elytra and pronotum, and shape of scutellum, I felt P. cuprea was a better fit.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Eurasia
Habitat: Forest edges, fruit tree orchards, steppes, grassland, meadows, gardens
Diet: Larvae are detrivores in ant nests, woody debris, and deciduous leaf litter. Adults feed on pollen and nectar in the spring and early summer then switch to ripe fruit in the later summer and fall; they are also readily attracted to sap flows
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The life cycle of Protaetia cuprea varies based on climate, region, and food availability. Larvae overwinter and most of the time, the beetle has a one-year life cycle. Rarely, the life cycle may be completed within a year when adults emerge the same year the eggs were laid by the parental generation. Larvae are detrivores and are commonly found in both active and abandoned ant nests, but may also be found in deciduous leaf litter (especially of Quercus – oaks) and compost heaps. Adults emerge in the spring and primarily feed on pollen and nectar of woody and herbaceous plants but they readily feed on sap flows. Later in the summer and into the fall, the adults switch their diet to fruit. Because pollen is more rich in proteins and lipids than carbohydrates, and fruit is more rich in carbohydrates, the beetles are able to fly farther when on a fruit-based diet. This is due to their increased aerobic performance when fueled by carbohydrate rich content.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Pygoscelis antarcticus (Forster, 1781)
Common name(s): chinstrap penguin

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Colorata
Series: Penguins of the World
Year of Production: 2017 (2003)
Size/Scale: Height approximately 5.8 cm for a scale of 1:12.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon to rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure has a very interesting pedigree. It was first, to the best of my knowledge, produced by Colorata in 2003. In 2006, it was used by Safari Ltd. for their Wild Safari Sealife line. There must have been a formal sharing agreement with the company that designed or produced the original sculpt, as it's unlike Safari to 'bootleg' another company's work. My figure is from a 2017 reissue of the Colorata set.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Circumpolar in the Antarctic, breeding on coastal Antarctica, Bouvet Island (Chile), French Southern Territories, South Georgia, South Shetland Islands, South Orkney Islands, and South Sandwich Islands, wintering as far north as Argentina; occasional vagrant to South Africa and New Zealand
Habitat: Icebergs and ice sheets; breeding on rocky coasts, rocky slopes, cliff edges
Diet: Small fish, crustaceans, cephalopods
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: During the breeding season, Pygoscelis antarcticus builds round nests of stones that are on average 40 cm in diameter and 15 cm tall. A female usually lays two eggs which are incubated by both parents, usually in shifts of 5-10 days. Eggs hatch after 33-35 days and chicks will stay in the nest for 20-30 days before joining crèches (groups of young penguins huddling together for warmth and protection). After molting, at roughly 50-60 days old, the chicks are able to go to the sea.

[Isidro]

I know often western brands sell the patent of a sculpt from one to another, even several times, but I didn't imagined this would happen with a western and a Japanese brand. Are you sure this is the same sculpt?

[bmathison1972]

I know often western brands sell the patent of a sculpt from one to another, even several times, but I didn't imagined this would happen with a western and a Japanese brand. Are you sure this is the same sculpt?

Absolutely, and this is not a first. Wing Mau sculpts used in the 1990s for Play Visions and Club Earth in the US were used in the early 2000s for Yujin in Japan.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Scytodes thoracica (Latreille, 1802)
Common name(s): spitting spider

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Club Earth
Series: Spiders to Go
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (exclusive of appendages) approximately 2.5 cm for a scale of 7:1-4.5:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: Figures in the Spiders to Go collection are marked with their common English name on the underside and appear to be influenced by illustrations in the Golden Guide, Spiders and Their Kin by Levi and Levi (I have the 1990 edition). In addition to this figure, there is a set by an unknown manufacturer that was clearly influenced by the Club Earth set (although the sculpts are not direct copies) that includes this species.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Cosmopolitan; it is unknown which populations are native and which are introduced throughout its range, although it has been proposed that it originated in the Mediterranean
Habitat: Temperate forests, yards, gardens, human habitations; in urban and suburban areas, often found inside houses and other buildings, especially in dark corners, cellars, cupboards, and closets
Diet: Insects and other arachnids
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Scytodes thoracica is a nocturnal wanderer, and does not build webs. As its common name suggests, it uses silk from glands in its cephalothorax to immobilize prey. When a spider encounters potential prey, it orients itself towards the prey and slowly taps its front legs until the prey is centered between them. It then spits a string of a gluey, venomous substance at the prey, covering it in several parallel, overlapping bands. The material can travel at a rate of up to 28 m/s and the pattern of the bands is produced as the spider lifts its chelicerae and oscillates its fangs during expulsion. The spider then quickly approaches its prey and uses its front two pairs of legs to further entangle the prey in the drying glue, silk, and venom. The venomous glue paralyzes the prey. Once dry, the spider bites its prey, injecting a venom that liquifies its tissues. It then grooms its first two sets of legs, cleaning any remaining glue, before consuming the prey.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Tliltocatl vagans (Ausserer, 1875)
Common name(s): Mexican red rump tarantula

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Furuta
Series: Chocoegg Funny Animals Series 1
Year of Production: 2002
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding appendages) approximately 2.5 cm for a scale of 1:2-1:3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Chocoegg figures, some assembly is required. This figure was marketed as Brachypelma vagans, before the description of Tliltocatl in 2020 (see below).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central America (Yucatán Peninsula of southeastern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala); naturalized in Florida
Habitat: Tropical dry forest, dry scrubland, suburban areas; fossorial
Diet: Insects, arachnids, small reptiles
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: In 2020, Tliltocatl was described to accommodate Brachypelma albopilosum, B. epicureanum, B. kahlenbergi, B. sabulosum, B. schroederi, B. vagans, and B. verdezi based on both molecular analysis of CO1 gene and morphologic features, most notably color patters of the legs and cephalothorax and the structure of the genitalia in both sexes.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Heterodontus japonicus Miklouho-Maclay & Macleay, 1884
Common name(s): Japanese bullhead shark

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Epoch
Series: Earth Life Journey - Shark and Stingray Figure Collection
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 5.5 cm for a scale of 1:21.8 for a maximum-sized specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The shark is removable from its base. Heterodontus japonicus has been made a handful of times, almost all by Japanese manufacturers. Others I am familiar with include those by Eikoh (2020), Colorata (2004), and For Corporation (2021).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Northwest Pacific (Japan, Taiwan, China, Korean Peninsula)
Habitat: Demersal, usually over rocky bottoms and kelp beds; at depths of 6-100 meters (usual range 6-37 meters)
Diet: Small fish, benthic marine invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Heterodontus japonicus is a slow-moving predator that hunts for prey by 'walking' on the sea floor with alternating motions of its pectoral and pelvic fins.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Bradypus variegatus Schinz, 1825
Common name(s): brown-throated sloth; brown-throated three-toed sloth

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Papo
Series: Wild Animals
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Scale difficult to calculate because of its pose, but the body length comes to approximately 7.2 cm for a scale of 1:5.8-1:11.1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: No sloth species are commonly made, but this is the most commonly made of those that are, at least among extant taxa. This figure represents a female with young (see inset); in 2020 CollectA produced a nice male, although it scales a bit larger than this female.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central America and South America, from Honduras to southern Brazil and eastern Peru, absent north and east of the Amazon and Rio Negro rivers
Habitat: Tropical rainforest, tropical dry forest, subtropical lowlands, swamps; arboreal, usually in the canopy
Diet: Leaves, flowers, fruits of a variety of plants, especially Cecropia
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Bradypus variegatus has a unique relationship with the moth, Cryptoses choloepi. Adult moths live among the fur of the sloths. When the sloths descend to the forest floor once a week to defecate, the moths leave the sloths and lay their eggs in the sloths' dung. The relationship is considered phoretic, as the moths are using the sloths for transportation, although it has been suggested that the moths help promote the growth of algae on the sloth's fur, hence enhancing its camouflage.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Pelodiscus sinensis (Wiegmann, 1835)
Common name(s): Chinese softshell turtle

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Takara Tomy A.R.T.S.
Series: Primary Turtles in Colour
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Carapace length approximately 3.5 cm for a scale of 1:5.1-1:9.4 depending on the sex
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This sculpt was first produced by Yujin in 2002, before Takara acquired the various 'Pictorial Book' and 'Primary Colour' series.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: East Asia; introduced to other localities in Asia, Brazil, Hawaii, and Europe (see below)
Habitat: Freshwater ponds, lakes, swamps, and slow-moving rivers, canals, and creeks
Diet: Fish, aquatic invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Vulnerable
Miscellaneous Notes: Determining the original native range of P. sinensis is challenging, as it has been moved around and introduced throughout East and Southeast Asia for its use as food and in traditional medicine. It is believed to be native to several regions of China and Taiwan. Populations in Asia that are believed to be from introductions include those in Japan, Korean Peninsula, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and East Timor. Other introductions around the world include Iran, Brazil, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii, and several countries in Europe, including Spain, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, and Switzerland (although it is uncertain how many of these introductions in Europe are established).

[bmathison1972]

Species: Lycosa tarantula (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name(s): European wolf spider; tarantula

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Club Earth
Series: Spiders to Go
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding appendages) approximately 2.7 cm, within scale 1:1 for a female specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen L. tarantula in the Museum. Figures in the Spiders to Go collection are marked with their common name on the underside. This figure is marked 'tarantula' which one might assume represents a member of the family Theraphosidae. However, in Europe 'tarantula' is a vernacular name for their common wolf spider, which is in the family Lycosidae. The arrangement of the eyes on this figure, while simplified, appears to have been based on a member of the family Lycosidae (eye arrangement usually defines spiders at the family level).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Mediterranean Europe, North Africa, Middle East
Habitat: Scrubland, deserts, fields, suburban areas; usually in rocky places with sparse vegetation cover
Diet: Insects and other arthropods
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Lycosa tarantula exhibits some parental care. Females carry their egg sacs around attached to their spinnerets. After hatching, the spiderlings ride around on the abdomen of their mother until they are mature enough to survive on their own.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Equus ferus przewalskii (Polyakov, 1881)
Common name(s): Przewalski's horse; takhi; Dzungarian horse

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Winner's Circle Horses
Year of Production: 2018
Size/Scale: Height at shoulders (withers) approximately 7.0 cm for a scale of 1:18.6-1:21.4
Frequency of subspecies in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is one of three go-to figures of Przewalski's horse, the others being by Schleich (2007) and CollectA (2013). They each have their own qualities that make them nice and their own quirks which might turn people off from them. For example, some consider today's Safari model too stiff and geometric in the face. Me personally, I don't like the pose of CollectA's and Schleich's seems too stocky. But really you can't go wrong with any of the three.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central Asia; today limited to reintroduction areas in China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan
Habitat: Steppes, dry grasslands, deserts
Diet: Grasses; also leaves and fruit of shrubby trees
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: There have been multiple molecular studies over the years trying to elucidate the origins of Przewalski's horse. Some of the earliest studies suggested that neither Przewalski's horse nor the modern domestic horse are ancestors to one another, and the split between the two occurred about 45,000 years ago, roughly 40,000 years before the domestication of horses by the Botai culture in Central Asia. A 2009 molecular study placed Przewalski's horse within the domesticated horses while a 2011 study suggested the two diverged about 160,000 years ago and a 2013 study suggested they diverged 38,000-72,000 years ago. A 2018 study suggested the Botai and Przewalski's horses are part of the same lineage and that Przewalski's horses are feral descendants of domesticated Botai horses. One of the latest studies, in 2021, supported the original theory that Przewalski's horses are descended from a population that was never domesticated and that the horses associated with the Botai culture were never fully domesticated either. Either way, if the Botai did domesticate horses, it was a separate event from the domestication of the modern E. ferus caballus.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Oophaga histrionica (Berthold, 1845)
Common name(s): harlequin poison frog

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Wing Mau/Club Earth
Series: Poison Frogs Alive!
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Snout-to-vent length approximately 4.0 cm for a scale of 1.3:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Wing Mau also used this sculpt for Club Earth's Frogs to Go collection and their own independent release. Oophaga histrionica is highly variable in its color and other morphotypes have been produced by Kitan Club/Ikimon and Bullyland.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: South America (Ecuador, Colombia)
Habitat: Tropical rainforest; usually on the ground among leaf litter and dead branches
Diet: Small invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Critically Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Oophaga histrionica produces histrionicotoxins, a kind of cardiotoxin, which moderate to highly toxic compounds act as potent noncompetitive antagonists of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, binding to a regulatory site on the delta subunit of the ion channel complex.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Trapania naeva Gosliner & Fahey, 2008
Common name(s): black-and-white sea slug

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kitan Club
Series: Nature Techni Colour - Sea Slugs
Year of Production: 2011
Size/Scale: Body length approximately 3.5 cm for a scale of 7:1-5:1 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Figures in this set were sold as both straps and magnets. Yujin produced this species before its formal description in 2008, only marketing the figure as Trapania. The scale above is calculated based on the formal description of the species by Gosliner and Fahey, who indicate living animals range from 5-7 mm long. Websites devoted to sea slugs however say thay can be up to 3.5 cm in length, which if true would put this figure in scale 1:1 for a large specimen.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indo-Pacific
Habitat: Coral reefs; at depths of 12-18 meters
Diet: Entoproctans growing on sponges and other living substrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Not much has been documented on the biology of this species. Despite only being formally described in 2008, the dorid has a very wide geographic distribution, being found from East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania), Rodrigues Island, and the Maldives to Japan, Indonesia, Fiji, and Northwest Australia.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Andrias japonicus (Temminck, 1836)
Common name(s): Japanese giant salamander; ōsanshōuo

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kitan Club
Series: Nature Techni Colour - Newts and Giant Salamander
Year of Production: 2015
Size/Scale: Snout-to-vent length approximately 6.2 cm for a scale of 1:3.2-1:14.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was sold as both a magnet and a strap figure. While generally uncommonly made, there are several options of this species available by Japanese manufacturers, including two additional models by Kitan Club as well as some by Kaiyodo (at least 5 different sculpts), Epoch, Re-Ment, Bandai, and Eikoh, among others.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southwestern Japan (western Honshu, Shikoku, northeastern Kyushu)
Habitat: Freshwater rivers, streams, creeks; usually in cool, clear, swift waters in granite and schist regions
Diet: Fish, amphibians, freshwater invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Vulnerable
Miscellaneous Notes: Andrias japonicus is entirely aquatic and lacks gills as an adult. As such, it requires oxygen-rich waters in which to live. It has the ability to absorb oxygen directly through its skin, but it will also periodically take gulps of air but without fully venturing onto land.