Mathison Museum of Natural History

[bmathison1972]

Looks like you have a strong bias towards Kaiyodo - but is probably just that they have a very wide taxonomic collection, more than any other brand

Yes, and they have a very wide taxonomic assortment of smaller species (and since Kaiyodo figures are small, I only collect their small species, exclusive of Arthropoda, of course)

Next up:

Species: Bufo japonicus Temminck & Shlegel, 1838 (Japanese common toad)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Yujin
Series: Frogs in Colour Pictorial Book
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Snout-to-vent length approximately 4.5 cm for a scale of 1:1-1:3.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was specifically marketed as the eastern subspecies, B. j. formosus.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan
Habitat: Subarctic forests, temperate forests and shrubland, swamps, marshes, agricultural fields, parks, gardens
Diet: Terrestrial invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Bufo japonicus is native to the Japanese islands of Honshu, Kyusku, and Shikoku; the eastern subspecies B. j. formosus has been introduced to the islands of Izu Ōshima and Hokkaido where it is considered an invasive species.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Mastigias papua Lesson, 1830 (spotted jellyfish; Papuan jellyfish; golden medusa)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Qualia
Series: JOIN Collection - Jellyfish
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Total figure height roughly 6.0 cm; disc 1.7 cm in diameter for a scale of 1:1.8-1:4.7
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: There are five figures in Qualia's JOIN Collection of jellyfish; the bases of any four figures can 'join' together to form a mini circular diorama. The animal is removable from the bubble stream, and there are three points of attachment on the stream on which to place the animal. These five species were included in Kitan Club's Nature Techni Colour jellyfish collection; the NTC figures are approximately twice the size of the Qualia figures and more detailed, but I like the ability to display them on habitat-style bases.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indo-West Pacific
Habitat: Pelagic, in coastal waters, lagoons, marine lakes; usually at depths of 0-2.5 m
Diet: Energy derived from symbiotic zooxanthallae as well as predation of zooplankton, phytoplankon, microcrustaceans
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Mastigias papua prefers to hang out in shallower waters, where it derived roughly 70% of its energy from symbiotic zooxanthallae. At night, it often goes to lower depths to prey on planktonic organisms.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Closterium sp.

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Ayano Kayayama
Series: Fascinating Microorganisms
Year of Production: 2019
Size/Scale: Length 6.3 cm for a scale of 250:1-80:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Figures in the Fascinating Microorganisms collection are flat and acrylic, much like acrylic 'mascot' figures made by Ikimon. They are made by an artist named Ayano Katayama and sold on a site called minne (an Etsy-like site out of Japan). They are usually sold as keychains, but I had a custom set made without the holes to accommodate the chains.

About the Organism:
Geographic distribution: Cosmopolitan
Habitat: Freshwater lakes and ponds, rivers, ditches, sewage ponds
Diet: Energy derived from photosynthesis
IUCN (at the time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Closterium can reproduce both sexually and asexually; sexual reproduction usually takes place in stressful environments, such as the drying of a water habitat or nitrogen shortage. Sexual reproduction consists of conjugation resulting in the formation of zygospores. Some populations form zygospores from single clones of the same parent alga (homothallism) while others form zygospores from clones from different parent algae (heterothallic). A mature zygospore will eventually produce two vegetative individuals of the alga. Asexual reproduction results from binary fission from a partitioned parent cell.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Orectolobus maculatus (Bonnaterre, 1788) (spotted wobbegong)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Schleich
Series: Coral Reef Diver
Year of Production: 2016 (2006)
Size/Scale: Body length 11.5 cm for an average scale of 1:5.2-1:15.7; 1:28 for a maximum-sized specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare (unique as a sculpt?)
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure is the 2016 version of a model originally released in 2006. The 2006 version was a stand-alone figure and was retired in 2009, but the 2016 version came in a set with a human diver and a sandy base with coral, shells, and sea grass.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Coastal southern and eastern Australia
Habitat: Coral reefs, at depths of 0-248 meters (usually 0-110 meters)
Diet: Benthic invertebrates, small fish
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Orectolobus maculatus is a nocturnal ambush predator. They have been observed patiently waiting while potential prey comes right up to their mouths, sometimes even attempting to nibble on their dermal lobed. It has been suggested that these lobes are bait for prey. When prey gets close enough, the wobbegong uses a suction motion in combination with specialized fang-like teeth to draw the prey into its mouth. Common prey include crabs, lobsters, octopi, sea bass, scorpionfishes, luderick, and small rays.

[Gwangi]

I need to add that one to my shopping list.

[MudpupWaterdog]

That shark is one of my favorite figures for reasons that I can't quite articulate. I just like the way it looks, I guess.

I have always wondered why they chose to stop the patterns after the first dorsal fin. At first I assumed mine had a printing error but as far as I've seen even the Chinese knock-offs replicate the same pattern.

[bmathison1972]

That shark is one of my favorite figures for reasons that I can't quite articulate. I just like the way it looks, I guess.

I have always wondered why they chose to stop the patterns after the first dorsal fin. At first I assumed mine had a printing error but as far as I've seen even the Chinese knock-offs replicate the same pattern.

When preparing this for review I also pondered the paint scheme farther down the body; I thought it looked 'off'.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Dynastes hercules (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hercules beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: AAA
Series: Insects
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length 5.0 cm for a scale of 1:1.3 for a large female
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is our seventh time seeing D. hercules in the Museum. Forty-five figures of this species in my collection (at the time of this writing), and this is the only female! It is one of only a couple females I am aware of (DeAgostini had one as a secret/chase figure in their large collection of 1:1 boxed figures).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Bolivia
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae feed on rotting wood; adults are attracted to fresh and overripe fruit
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like many other dynastine scarab beetles, D. hercules exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism. Only males have cephalic and pronotal horns. The males use their horns for fighting rival males and securing feeding and breeding sites. Females (as shown here today) lack horns.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Parus minor Temminck & Schlegel, 1848 (Japanese tit; Oriental tit)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Furuta
Series: Chocoegg Animatales - Birds
Year of Production: 2003
Size/Scale: Wingspan 7.5 cm. Body length 4.5 cm for a scale of 1:2.7-1:3.1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Chocoegg figures, some assembly is required, and the animal is removable from its base. This figure was originally marketed as the great tit (P. major) until the splitting of that species in 2005 (see below). Luckily for collectors of taxa, Papo looks to be releasing a true P. major later this year!

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: East Asia (east of the Amur River), Japan
Habitat: Hardwood forests, mixed forests, wooded hillsides, parks, gardens
Diet: Primarily insects and other arthropods in the summer; during fall and winter, the diet is supplemented with berries and seeds
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated (IUCN still treats P. minor within P. major, which it classifies as Least Concern).
Miscellaneous Notes: In 2005, Parus major was split into three species based on geographic, bioacoustic, and molecular studies: the great tit (P. major) which occurs throughout much of the Palearctic east to the Amur River Valley, the Japanese tit (P. minor) which occurs in Asia east of the Amur River, Japan, and the Kuril Islands, and the cinereus tit (P. cinereus) which occurs in southern and Southeast Asia. Parus bokharensis, which historically was treated as a separate species, is now considered a subspecies of P. major. Populations of P. major and P. minor overlap in the Amur River Valley; however, intermingling and natural hybridization appears to be a rare phenomenon.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Groenlandaspis sp.

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Cadbury
Series: Lost Kingdoms Series A
Year of Production: 2000
Size/Scale: Body length 7.0 cm for a scale of 1:1.1-1:14 (scale species-dependent)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Being an original Australian Yowie, assembly is required. I am not sure how many other figures of this genus exist; Groenlandaspis is not made as frequently as its cousin, Dunkleosteus terrelli. COG Ltd. made one, and a large 3D-printed model is available by Paleozoo.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Late Devonian, worldwide
Habitat: Presumably benthic along the coastal margins of freshwater lakes and rivers
Diet: Presumably freshwater invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [Prehistoric]
Miscellaneous Notes: Based on the structure of its jaw, Groenlandaspis was believed to have been a benthic predator of freshwater invertebrates. The presence of tooth plates in the form of infragnathals and supergnathals suggested it was adapted for crushing hard-shelled invertebrates, such as mollusks and crustaceans.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Odontolabis eremicola Möllenkamp, 1905

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Sega
Series: Mushi King - standard series, small
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Length (including mandibles) 4.8 cm for a scale of roughly 1:1.25
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This figure was marketed as Odontolabis cypri, which is now considered a synonym of O. eremicola. It appears to have been sculpted after a female or minor male (which could have something to do with its taxonomic confusion, see below), hence the scale above is calculated based on the lower end of the range. I have one other figure of this species, also by Sega.
The Sega 'small standard series' were 10 sets of 10 figures each, for a total of 100 figures representing roughly 75 species of Lucanidae and dynastine Scarabaeidae. The dates of release are currently unknown to me (c. 2008). The figures were produced in conjunction with Bandai and came with Pokemon-style playing cards. At the time of this writing, I think I have all but two of the species. For a review of the sets, please see here.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Borneo
Habitat: Rainforests
Diet: Larvae feed in rotting wood; adults feed on tree sap
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had difficulty researching information on this species. Some of the biological information above is inferred from other members of the genus. This species has a confusing nomenclatural history. In addition to its current placement as a synonym of O. eremicola, O. cypri has also been considered a subspecies of O. sommeri.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 (seven-spotted lady beetle)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Papo
Series: Wild Animals
Year of Production: 2020
Size/Scale: Body length 2.8 cm for a scale of 4.3:1-3.5:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the third time we've seen C. septempunctata in the Museum; it's probably the most commonly made species of beetle not in the Scarabaeoidea. When seen from above, this figure is probably a bit elongate for C. septempunctata, which has a subspherical shape. Still, it's nice to see major companies outside of Japan making insect figures regularly!

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Native to the Palearctic; introduced to North America and southern Africa
Habitat: Forests, grasslands, marshes, deserts, agricultural fields, disturbed areas, parks, and gardens
Diet: Soft-bodied insects, especially aphids and scale insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The bright color of C. septempunctata functions as aposematic coloration. The lady beetle has several toxic N-oxides and alkaloids that can be exuded from glands in the femoral-tibial juncture.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Panulirus interruptus (Randall, 1840) (California spiny lobster, Mexican spiny lobster)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Incredible Creatures
Year of Production: 2018
Size/Scale: Total figure length 34 cm. Body length (excluding appendages) 16.5 cm for a scale of 1:1.8-1:3.6
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Safari Ltd. only marketed this toy as a spiny lobster; the designation of P. interruptus is my own based on morphology, color, and Safari's hinting during the product's reveal it is from North America.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: West Coast of North America, from San Luis Obispo Bay, California to southern Mexico, including the Sea of Cortés
Habitat: Benthic, coastal; usually in rocky areas at depths of 0-150 meters (usually around 65 meters)
Diet: Benthic invertebrates, carrion, algae, seagrass, detritus
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Panulirus interruptus is an important commercial species for southern California. Since 1916, annual commercial landings ranged between 90 and 270 metric tons.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Trigonophorus rothschildi Fairmaire, 1891

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Adventure Planet
Series: Insects
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length (including cephalic horn) 6.3 cm for a scale of 1.8:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Thig figure came in a polybag set of otherwise 'generic bugs' but I retained it since it appears to have been influenced by a recognizable species (and unique one at that). The purple color suggests it may have been modeled after the Taiwanese subspecies, T. r. varians.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia (China, Taiwan)
Habitat: Broadleaf forests
Diet: Unknown; larvae presumably breed in decaying organic material, such as detritus in tree holes or leaf litter. Adults are attracted to overripe fruit and sap flows.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had trouble researching information on the biology, habitat, and diet of this species. Some of the information above is inferred from related goliathine scarabs.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Civettictis civetta (Schreber, 1775) (African civet)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: CollectA
Series: Wildlife
Year of Production: 2018
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding tail) 7.0 cm for a scale of 1:9.5-1:12
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The Play Visions figure from 1998 was unique until this CollectA version was released 20 years later.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central and Southern Africa
Habitat: Savanna, open forests, riparian areas; often in areas with tall grasses and thickets
Diet: Fruit, rodents, reptiles, birds, eggs, arthropods, carrion
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Civettictis civetta is typically a solitary and nocturnal animal. Adults mainly come together for mating. Females are polyestrous and can have 2-3 litters a year, with 1-4 pups per litter. Young are reared in a nest that is usually in dense vegetation or in the hole made by another animal. Young civets start to leave the nest and explore after about 18 days, but continue to nurse for another two months.

[Isidro]

I had strong suspect that it's too oversized for me when I caught it...  now that I read your scale, it's confirmed! But I will keep it anyway.

[bmathison1972]

I had strong suspect that it's too oversized for me when I caught it...  now that I read your scale, it's confirmed! But I will keep it anyway.

The PV figure might be a better size, but the paint isn't quite as nice.

[Gwangi]

I like that figure a lot, it's on my wish list.

[Isidro]

It's not for the paint (anyway I repainted my CollectA civet), but the PlayVisions sculpt quality is worse than the CollectA

[bmathison1972]

Species: Idea leuconoe Erichson, 1834 (paper kite; large tree nymph)

About the Figure:
Manufacturers: K&M International; Insect Lore
Series: Butterflies Mini Polybag (K&M); Big Bunch-O Butterflies (IL)
Years of Production: unknown (K&M); 2013 (IL)
Size/Scale: Wingspan 4.2 cm for a scale of 1:2.8-1:3.3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is our third look at I. leuconoe in the Museum. Neither figure was identified at the species level and the identification, while tenuous, is my own. The justification is that the K&M figure (which is the older of the two) appears to be based off of a larger 2004 K&M figure from the Butterflies Nature Tube collection. And while that larger K&M figure also isn't identified at the species level, it is the same sculpt and paint as a 2001 Safari Ltd. figure from the Butterflies of the World Collector's Case that is specifically sold as I. leuconoe. As previously mentioned in this thread, sometimes researching the pedigrees of toy butterflies feels like an exercise in futility...
The figure on the upper left is by K&M International; the one on the lower right is by Insect Lore. The two figures are nearly identical and without unique markings. I only know which is which because I can compare the nuances of the paint application with images in earlier posts on the forum! Whether Insect Lore copied K&M (I do know the K&M model came first) or they both outsourced the same manufacturer, I do not know.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia, from Thailand to Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, southern Japan, and northern Australia
Habitat: Lowland forests, mangrove swamps
Diet: Larvae feed on plants in the genera Parsonsia, Tylophora, and Cynanchum; adults take nectar from flowers.
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like with other danaine butterflies, the host plants for I. leuconoe are poisonous; the larvae and adult butterflies retain the toxins and are distasteful to birds and other would-be predators.