Mathison Museum of Natural History

[bmathison1972]

Species: Bufotes viridis (Laurenti, 1768)
Common name(s): European green toad

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Blip Toys
Series/Collection: Nature's Wonders HD
Year of Production: 2008
Size/Scale: Snout-to-vent length approx. 6.5 cm, with scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Presumably unique
Miscellaneous Notes: I am not aware of any other figures of this species, but given its familiarity I figure there is probably something else out there.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southern and Central Europe to Central Asia (Kazakhstan)
Habitat: Open woodlands, steppes, semi-deserts, deserts, marshland; highly adaptable to anthropogenic landscapes, including fields, gardens, vineyard, parks
Diet: Tadpoles eat algae, detritus; occasionally protozoans, rotifers, microcrustaceans. Adults eat terrestrial invertebrates.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Bufotes viridis has adapted well to the effects of human activity provided there is a reliable water source for breeding. They are not uncommon in urban and suburban areas. In addition to being found in areas such as parks, gardens, vineyards, and agricultural fields, they can even occur in areas polluted with industrial waste, such as around factories and scrap heaps. They also prefer open habitats, and have thrived in areas of deforestation.



Clue for tomorrow's species:
This diminutive Cambrian crusader has been considered an anostracan crustacean, trilobitoid arthropod, onychophoran, cycloneuralian worm, and a stem-group arthropod since its discovery in 1911.

[JimoAi]

Opabinia. Take it or leave it

[bmathison1972]

I'll take it, @JimoAi 

Species: †Opabinia regalis Walcott, 1912

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Favorite Co. Ltd.
Series/Collection: Cambrian Creatures Mini Model - Burgess Shale Series
Year of Production: 2016
Size/Scale: Figure length 9.7 cm. Body length (excl. proboscis) approx. 6.5 cm for a scale of 1.6:1-1.1:1.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen O. regalis in the Museum. This is Favorite's second rendition of this species, following a larger version in their Soft Model series the year before. The animal is removable from its base. Like most figures of Opabinia, this model was produced before the current theory that the terminal claw on the proboscis was bilateral rather than being held vertical.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Middle Cambrian (Wuliuan) of present-day Canada (British Columbia)
Habitat: Marine, benthic
Diet: Presumably soft-bodied marine invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: The distinctive proboscis of O. regalis was believed to have been flexible, much like a vacuum cleaner hose. It's believed the animal would swim above the sea floor, moving its proboscis in a sweeping motion to scour sediment for benthic invertebrates and other potential food particles.



Clue for tomorrow's species:
This bird sequesters batrachotoxins in its body from its diet, much like poison dart frogs.

[sbell]

Kaiyodo pitohui? Only one I know...

[NSD Bashe]

I think there's also a Yowie

[bmathison1972]

A pitohui yes! I did not Kaiyodo made one; I only know of the one shown here and the two I mention in the comments below!

Species: Pitohui dichrous (Bonaparte, 1850)
Common name(s): hooded pitohui

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yowie Group
Series/Collection: Animals with Super Powers
Year of Production: 2021
Size/Scale: Body length approx. 5.5 cm for a scale of 1:4-1:4.2
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare.
Miscellaneous Notes: Other figures of this species I am immediately aware of are by Toys Spirits and Medicom. The bird is not removable from its base.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: New Guinea
Habitat: Rainforests, forest margins, secondary growth forests, mangroves
Diet: Primarily fruit; occasionally grass seeds, insects (see below)
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Pitohui dichrous is toxic. It harbors homobatrachotoxin in its skin and feathers, especially around the breast and belly. Toxins can also be found in much smaller quantities in the bird's heart, liver, and skeletal muscle. It is believed the hooded pitohui gets the toxin from insects it eats, possibly a melyrid beetle in the genus Choresine. The function of the toxin is not fully understood, but given the bird's apparent aposematic coloration, it might be used to deter would-be predators. Another theory is that the toxins are a kind of pest repellent, to prevent infestations with ticks and lice.



Clue for tomorrow's species:
Albino versions of thisssss sssspeciesss are revered as messengers of deities and deity-guardians of mountains and rivers in their native land.

[sbell]

I thought Kaiyodo did but I might have been mistaken. Don't have a lot of birds myself

[bmathison1972]

Species: Elaphe climacophora (Boie, 1826)
Common name(s): Japanese rat snake

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Qualia
Series/Collection: Japanese Snakes Mascot Ball and Chain
Year of Production: 2021
Size/Scale: Figure approx. 4.5 cm across its widest points. Using head as a metric (n=1.5 cm), scale comes to 1:1.6 (see below).
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Because of the stylized nature of the figure (disproportionally large head) and coiled posture, calculating a scale is challenging. The scale above was calculated using head length. Since part of the animal is coiled and not visible from above, it's probably the best metric for the overall presentation of the figure. An albino version of the species was also included in the set. Better proportioned representatives of this species have been produced by Kaiyodo and Yujin, and probably others. Although stylized, I like the charm figures like this have! As the name suggests, they were sold as keychains, but luckily the chain easily unscrews leaving a tiny, non-obtrusive hole.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan and Russia (Kunashir Island)
Habitat: Forests, grasslands, agricultural land, urban and suburban areas; semi-arboreal
Diet: Small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Elaphe climacophora is highly variable in pattern, and a naturally-occurring albino variant is especially common around Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Referred to as 'Iwakuni white snakes', they are revered as messengers of deities and deity-guardians of mountains and rivers. The albino population has been protected since 1924 as a 'national monument' (hence its inclusion in Kaiyodo's Natural Monuments of Japan collection).



Clue for tomorrow's species:
This sub-Saharan stinger is a popular pet. Good thing its venom is relatively harmless!

[JimoAi]

Emperor scorpion I suppose. Perhaps the schkeich

[stargatedalek]

Would be fun twist if you were being sneaky and talking about Savannah monitors, but I think emperor scorpion is almost certainly it.

[bmathison1972]

Correct @JimoAi - not only species but company, the latter of which was a good guess since I have probably at least a dozen figures of this species and today is only the sixth!

@stargatedalek - Ooo that would be a cool hint for that species!


Species: Pandinus imperator (Koch, 1841)
Common name(s): emperor scorpion

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Schleich
Series/Collection: Wild Life Africa
Year of Production: 2021
Size/Scale: Body length approx. 8.0 cm for a scale of 1:2.5 for a large specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the sixth time we've seen P. imperator in the Museum. This was Schleich's second standard arthropod in the modern era following a Mexican red-kneed tarantula in 2019. They haven't made another since, much to my chagrin.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: West Africa
Habitat: Rainforest, tropical savanna
Diet: Insects and other arthropods; occasionally small vertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Pandinus imperator has a relatively mild sting. Several channel toxins have been isolated from the venom of P. imperator, including Pi1, Pi2, Pi3, Pi4, and Pi7. It has been suggested there is an inverse relationship between the size of a scorpion's claws and the potency of its venom. Generally speaking, scorpions with large claws for subduing prey, such as P. imperator, do not need as strong of a venom, whereas scorpions with small and slender claws need a more potent venom for immobilizing prey. This isn't always the case, but is a general rule-of-thumb.



Clue for tomorrow's species:
This Silurian cousin of today's species scoured intertidal zones for benthic invertebrate prey.

[Isidro]

I don't think that sea scorpions can be called "cousins" of scorpions, but it seems there is no other reasonable match.

[bmathison1972]

I don't think that sea scorpions can be called "cousins" of scorpions...

You're over thinking this. 'Cousin' is not a formal phylogenetic term and is used colloquially to describe various levels of relatedness. In this case, they are, for now, at least both chelicerates.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Eurypterus sp.
Common name(s): sea scorpion

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series/Collection: Dinotales Series 2
Year of Production: 2001
Size/Scale: Body length (excl. appendages) approx. 6.5 cm for a scale of 1:2-1:9.2 depending on the species
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Dinotales figures, assembly is required and the eurypterid is removable from its based. With at least 12 described species, coming up with a reliable species-level identification for this figure would be challenging. The only other figures of this species I am aware of are resin figures by Paleozoo, as well as a game piece by Life (I don't typically include game pieces when determining a figure's frequency in the toy/figure market). The Kaiyodo figure, long retired, probably remains unique among traditional commercially-available figures.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Silurian; probably in most seas and oceans at the time
Habitat: Marine; shallow coastal and intertidal zones
Diet: Presumably soft-bodied invertebrates and/or carrion
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Eurypterus species were believed to swam in a similar method to modern portunid crabs and water beetles, using a drag-based rowing type of locomotion whereby their paddle-like appendages synchronously in near-horizontal planes. Trace evidence suggests they swam in close proximity to the sea floor, looking for prey or carrion. It is believed Eurypterus did not swim to hunt, but rather to moving between feeding and possibly breeding sites.



Clue for tomorrow's species:
A pelagic killer of the Cretaceous, it preceded the more popular megalodon by over 40 million years!

[Gwangi]

PNSO Cretoxyrhina?

[JimoAi]

I second the pnso cretoxyrhina

[bmathison1972]

You got it @JimoAi and @Gwangi Safari Ltd. made one too but we are looking at PNSO's today!

Species: †Cretoxyrhina mantelli (Agassiz, 1835)
Common name(s): Ginsu shark

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: PNSO
Series/Collection: Prehistoric Animal Models
Year of Production: 2021
Size/Scale: Body length approx. 19.0 cm for a scale of 1:26-1:42 (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: With three described species, I cannot remember why I settled on this one. Probably because in the absence of evidence to the contrary, I typically go with the type species. Safari Ltd. produced this genus in 2011 as part of their Prehistoric Sharks TOOB, but unsure if it represents the same species. The scale above is calculated based on a body length of 5-8 meters

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Cretaceous (Albian-Campanian); probably in most seas and oceans at the time
Habitat: Marine, pelagic
Diet: Apex predator on other marine animals, including mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, other sharks, large bony fish, pterosaurs
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Cretoxyrhina is believed to have been one of the fastest swimming sharks, with hydrodynamic calculations suggesting cruising speeds of 12 km/h and burst speeds of 70 km/h. An apex predator, it has been speculated that Cretoxyrhina hunted by lunging at its prey at high speeds to inflict powerful blows, much like the extant great white shark.



Clue for tomorrow's species:
This snowy sister to the starling is the only endemic vertebrate on the small Indonesian island it calls home.

[stargatedalek]

Bali Myna?

[bmathison1972]

Correct, @stargatedalek !

Species: Leucopsar rothschildi Stresemann, 1912
Common name(s): Bali mynah; Rothschild's mynah; Bali starling; jalak Bali

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Arboreum Artwork
Series/Collection: 1:10 Animals
Year of Production: 2019
Size/Scale: Total figure height approx. 5.0 cm. Body length approx. 3.2 cm for a scale of 1:7.8.
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is a resin figure made by forum member Panji Zulkaisar out of Indonesia. Most figures in the collection are around 1:10 in scale. The bird cannot be removed from its base. Among more well-known companies, Kaiyodo produced this species for its Yokohama Zoorasia Lunch Book collection in 2004.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Northwest Bali; endemic to Bali Barat National Park and surrounding offshore islands
Habitat: Open forests with grassy understory; arboreal, mainly coming to the ground to feed, drink, and gather nesting materials
Diet: Fruits, seeds, insects and other invertebrates, small reptiles
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Critically Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Like other mynahs in the family Sturnidae, the Bali mynah is capable of mimicking human speech.



Clue for tomorrow's species:
Native to China and the Korean Peninsula, this popular pet with a plastron can be detrimental in areas where it's not native due to its high propensity for hybridization with related species.

[JimoAi]

Yujin reeves turtle