Mathison Museum of Natural History

[bmathison1972]

I really wish we would get some news about the next wave of Yowie figures. It's been Animals with Superpowers for over a year now.

You and me both; it's become one of my top favorite collections/lines!

[bmathison1972]

Species: Dicerorhinus sumatrensis (Fischer, 1815) (Sumatran rhinoceros)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Wildlife
Year of Production: 2018
Size/Scale: Height at shoulder 5.3 com for a scale of 1:21-1:27
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique or very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: According to Toy Animal Wiki, Pfeiffer produced a Sumatran rhinoceros in 1914; however I am unsure if that was the intended species or if it is a chimeric animal vaguely resembling D. sumatrensis. Either way, this Safari Ltd. figure is the only one from a major company in a very long time and the only one currently available.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Sumatra (Kerinci Seblat, Gunung Leuser, Bukit Barisan Selatan, Way Kambas National Parks) and Borneo (East Kalimantan)
Habitat: Rainforest, swamps, cloud forest
Diet: Saplings, leaves, fruit, twigs, and bark
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Critically Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Dicerorhinus sumatrensis is considered one of the rarest and most threatened mammals, and it is believed fewer than 100 animals remain in the wild. The major causes of its decline are habitat destruction by logging and clearing of land for agriculture, poaching for purported medicinal value of its horns, meat, bones, and other organs, and more recently inbreeding depression. Conservations efforts have been a challenge, because D. sumatrensis does not thrive well outside of its native ecosystem. Wild populations are all currently confined to various National Parks in Sumatra and Borneo.

[Isidro]

and Borneo (East Kalimantan)

Not anymore. Bornean subspecies is extinct AFAIK.

[bmathison1972]

and Borneo (East Kalimantan)

Not anymore. Bornean subspecies is extinct AFAIK.

It was classified as Extinct in the Wild prior to 2016; there are believed to be roughly 15 individuals in East Kalimantan and that subspecies has been relegated to Critically Endangered.

[bmathison1972]

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

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: F-Toys
Series: Insect Hunter Beetle and Stag Beetle
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Body length (including pronotal horn) 8.2 cm for a scale of 1:2 for a large male specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is our ninth time seeing D. hercules in the Museum. F-toys is well known for re-releasing the same species, and sometimes the same sculpts, on a regular basis, to the point I no longer collect them unless they are new species or a marked improvement over something I already have. I believe today's figure is a repaint of a yellow version of this species from 2015.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Central and South America, Caribbean
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: At a maximum length of approximately 18.8 cm (including the pronotal horn), D. hercules is the longest extant beetle!

[bmathison1972]

Species: Balaenoptera borealis Lesson, 1828 (sei whale)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Safari Ltd.
Series: Wild Safari Sealife
Year of Production: 2018
Size/Scale: Body length 18.5 cm for a scale of 1:70-1:108
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: It's hard to find complaints about, and it's impossible to compare anything with, this figure, since it's a unique model. In his review on the Animal Toy Blog, forum member callmejoe3 noted the presence of a dewclaw on the pectoral fins, a very minor and inconspicuous anatomical error.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Nearly worldwide, rare in extreme polar and tropical waters
Habitat: Pelagic, offshore, at depths of 0-342 meters
Diet: Pelagic plankton
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Endangered
Miscellaneous Notes: Balaenoptera borealis is a filter feeder and obtains food by skimming the water and catching prey between its baleen plates, usually near the surface of the water. Common prey consists of planktonic or otherwise small animals, including calanoid copepods, euphausiids, amphipods, and small fish (anchovies, saury, sardines, mackerel) and squid. An average adult sei whale will eat about 900 kilograms of food a day.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Erasmia pulchella nipponica Inoue, 1976

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Ikimon
Series: Science Techni Colour - Private Specimen of a Lepidopterist Acrylic Mascot 3
Year of Production: 2022
Size/Scale: Wingspan 6.0 cm for a scale of 1:1.3
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This must be the fastest turnaround for the time a figure was released (last month) to the time I received it (last week) to it showing up in this thread via a random method of selection! Prior to the release of this figure last month, the Yujin version of this species was unique. The figures in this series are essentially photographs of butterflies and moths embedded in acrylic. Flip the figure over and the underside reveals an image of the ventral side of the animal, too. They are also sold as keychains (hence the hole in the acrylic above the head).

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan
Habitat: Broadleaf forests
Diet: Larvae feed on Helicia cochinchinensis, Quercus acutissima (sawtooth oak), and Tridica sebifera (Chinese tallow); adults feed on nectar
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: The subspecies highlighted today is endemic to Japan, being found on Mainland Japan, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Other subspecies and their geographic distributions include E. p. pulchella (northern India), E. p. chinensis (China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam), E. p. hobsoni (Taiwan), E. p. kumageana (Japan: Yakushima and Tanegashima), E. p. sakishimana (Japan: Yaeyama Islands), and E. p. fritzei (Japan: Amami Ōshima and Okinawa Prefecture).

[bmathison1972]

Species: Septa hepatica (Röding, 1798) (black-striped triton)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Small Sea Shells
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Shell length 3.5 cm for a scale of 1:1.2-1:1.8
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Unlike most other Play Visions toys, these small shells are not marked with either a common name or a year of production, and the species designations are my own or from input by others on the forums.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Indo-Pacific
Habitat: Benthic, coral reefs; at depths of 1-40 meters
Diet: Benthic invertebrates
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: In life, the colorful shell of S. hepatica is concealed by a thick, hairy periostracum, making the animal difficult to detect on the ocean floor.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Luehdorfia japonica Leech, 1889 (Japanese leuhdorfia; Gifu butterfly)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Chocoegg Animatales Series 1
Year of Production: 1999
Size/Scale: Wingspan 4.5 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Being one of the original Chocoegg figures, some assembly is required

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan
Habitat: Open woodlands
Diet: Larvae feed on plants in the genus Asarum (wild ginger); adults feed on nectar from flowers
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Near Threatened
Miscellaneous Notes: After mating, male Luehdorfia japonica will insert a sphragis (mating plug) into the genital opening of the female to prevent her from mating with other males.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Pygoscelis adeliae (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841) (Adélie penguin)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Colorata
Series: Penguins of the World
Year of Production: 2017 (2003)
Size/Scale: Height 6.0 cm for a scale of approximately 1:10
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: My figure is the 2017 release of a model that originally came out in 2003

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Coastal Antarctica and surrounding islands
Habitat: Coastal ice platforms; breeding occurs on ice-free rocky beaches
Diet: Krill, fish, squid
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Pygoscelis adeliae is a very social animal and lives in very large colonies. Living in large colonies affords protection from would-be predators, not only for the adult penguins but also their eggs and chicks. Common predators of P. adeliae include leopard seals, southern polar skuas, giant petrels, kelp gulls, snowy sheathbills, and killer whales.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Chrysochroa limbata (Nonfried, 1891)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: DeAgostini
Series: World Insect Data Book
Year of Production: unknown
Size/Scale: Body length 5.7 cm, within scale 1:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
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 and today's buprestid. 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: Malaysia (Sabah)
Habitat: Rainforest
Diet: Larvae burrow in living hardwood trees; adults feed on pollen
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: I had difficulty researching information on this species, including host trees.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Colletes sp. (plasterer bee)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Bees, Wasps, and Hornets
Year of Production: 1996
Size/Scale: Body length 4.5 cm for a scale of 6.4:1-2.8:1 for North American species (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Play Visions only labeled this figure as a plasterer bee; with nearly 500 described species worldwide (and nearly 100 described species just in North America, where all species in the set occur), getting a species-level identification is nearly impossible.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Nearly worldwide (except Southeast Asia, Australia, Antarctica)
Habitat: Varied based on host flower, including fields, meadows, open woodlands, parks, gardens
Diet: Larvae are feed pollen provisioned by adults; adults feed on pollen
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A [status species-based]
Miscellaneous Notes: Colletes spp. are solitary bees (but individual nests are often close together in aggregations). Cells in underground nests are lined with a polyester-like compound, hence other common names for these bees 'polyester bees' and 'cellophane bees'. This compound is secreted from a gland in the bee's abdomen, known as Defour's gland.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Zosterops japonicus Temminck and Schlegel, 1845 (warbling white-eye; Japanese white-eye)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Eikoh
Series: Minatureplanet Vol. 15
Year of Production: 2015
Size/Scale: Body length 4.2 cm for a scale of 1:2.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: The only other figure of this species I am aware of is by Kaiyodo for their Birdtales line. There are actually more figures of the Bonin white-eye (Apalopteron familiare), a rarer species with a more restricted distribution.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southeast Asia; breeds in Russia (Sakhalin), Japan, Korean Peninsula, Moluccas, Philippines, and Indonesia, with some populations wintering in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and China (Hainan Island). Adventive in Hawaii.
Habitat: Forests, shrublands, agricultural fields, parks, gardens
Diet: Fruit, nectar, insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: The common English name for this bird was Japanese white-eye when Z. japonicus was more narrowly defined and the mountain white-eye (Z. montanus) was considered a valid species. Molecular studies have demonstrated that Z. japonicus and Z. montanus are conspecific, and some subspecies of Z. japonicus should be elevated to species status. The common name 'warbling white-eye' was created to encompass the current concept of Z. japonicus. At the time of the writing, there are 15 recognized subspecies of Z. japonicus, many endemic to islands in the South Pacific. Those subspecies and their distributions are as follows: Z. j. japonicus (Japan, Korean Peninsula, Sakhalin), Z. j. stejnegeri (Izu Islands to Nanpo Archipelago), Z. j. alani (Iwo Jima), Z. j. insulari (northern Ryukyu Islands), Z. j. loochooensis (southern Ryukyu Islands), Z. j. daitoensis (Borodino Islands), Z. j. obstinatus (Ternate, Tidore, Bacan Islands, Seram Island), Z. j. montanus (Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sundas, Sulawesi, Moluccas), Z. j. difficilis (Mount Dempo), Z. j. parkesi (Palawan), Z. j. whiteheadi (Luzon), Z. j. diutae (northern Mindanao), Z. j. vulcani (central Mindanao), Z.j. pectoralis (Negros), and Z. j. halconensis (Mindoro).



On a fun and interesting side note, as many of you are aware, I use a random method of selection to determine which figure will be reviewed next. I draw from a separate dataset than my main collection whereby all figures are listed alphabetically by genus and species, regardless of higher taxonomy. Anyway, today's was alphabetically next to the last on the list. Only a European burnet moth (Zygaena ephialtes) comes after. This might be the closest the random number generator has come to one of the ends of the list, either at the beginning or the end.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Maratus personatus Otto & Hill, 2015 (masked peacock spider)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Bandai
Series: Diversity of Life on Earth - Peacock Spiders
Year of Production: 2021
Size/Scale: Legspan 12.0 cm. Body length 8.0 cm for a scale of 21:1-17:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique
Miscellaneous Notes: Like other models in the Diversity of Life on Earth line by Bandai, today's peacock spider is large, requires some assembly, is articulated, and may be expensive. These are models for serious collectors and not toys to be played with. There were four species of Maratus in this collection, with a male and female of one of the species.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Australia (endemic to Cape Riche, Western Australia)
Habitat: Among small herbaceous plants near the ground and in leaf litter
Diet: Small insects and spiders
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Like other peacock spiders, males of M. personatus engage in an elaborate courtship display to attract a female. Unlike many other peacock spiders, however, M. personatus does not use a modified opisthosoma (abdomen), but rather it relies on its third pair of legs to get the attention of a potential mate while stepping from side to side. They also hold their pedipalps in such a way that the black chelicerae (jaws) are visible to the female. If the male is successful, mating will occur. However, if the female is not interested, she will turn her back to the male, raise her opisthosoma, and wave it from side to side.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Peucetia viridans (Hentz, 1832) (green lynx spider)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Play Visions
Series: Habitat Earth - Tarantulas and Spiders
Year of Production: 1995
Size/Scale: Body length 2.6 cm, within scale 1:1 for a large specimen
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare (see below)
Miscellaneous Notes: The Play Visions spiders are marked with a common name on the underside. The figure on the right is by PV; the figure on the left is by a set from an unknown manufacturer. This unknown set of spiders consists of 12 species that were all produced by Play Visions or Club Earth for their Spiders to Go collection (or both). While the sculpts are not 100% identical to those by either CE or PV, they are also stamped with the common name on the underside, so there is little question where the influence came from.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Southern United States, Mexico, Central America, West Indies
Habitat: Prairies, meadows, agricultural fields, xeric scrub, parks, yards, gardens; usually among low, shrubby vegetation
Diet: Insects
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Not Evaluated
Miscellaneous Notes: Peucetia viridans is considered an economically beneficial spider, as it is a major predator on some crop pests, such as Helicoerpa zea (corn earworm), Alabama agrillaceai (cotton leafworm), and Trichophusia ni (cabbage looper).

[bmathison1972]

Species: Cambaroides japonicus (De Haan, 1841) (Japanese crayfish; Nihon zarigani)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Capsule Q Museum - Tohoku
Year of Production: 2013
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding appendages) 4.5 cm for a scale of 1:1.5
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Rare
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the second time we've seen C. japonicus in the Museum. Some assembly is required.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Japan (Hokkaidō and northern Tōhoku)
Habitat: cool, clean montane streams and lakes
Diet: detritus; primarily leaves and branches that fall into the water
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Data Deficient
Miscellaneous Notes: Cambaroides japonicus thrives in colder water and is restricted in habitat selection by water temperature. In most habitats, C. japonicus cannot survive above 19-21 C°.

[bmathison1972]

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

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Stasto 3D File
Series: Ladybug Collection; Ladybugs & Scarabs
Years of Production: 2020; 2021
Size/Scale: Body length 5.5 cm for a scale of 8.5:1-7:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Common
Miscellaneous Notes: This is the fourth time we've seen C. septempunctata in the Museum; it's probably the most commonly made species of beetle not in the Scarabaeoidea. The orange figure and the red figure on the upper right are from the 2020 Ladybug Collection; the yellow figure and the red figure on the far left are from the 2021 Ladybugs & Scarabs collection (the 2022 release of this series just came out, but this species was not represented again).
The Stasto 3D File ladybug figures have an ingenious design for distribution that minimizes packaging. There are eight figures in a collection. Two figures come connected to form their own gashapon capsule. The two figures are separated by gently twisting them. Once apart, the bottom of the figure extends, revealing the legs and antennae. The legs and antennae are extended and placed in the desired position and then the body is closed back up, revealing the final product.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Native to the Palearctic; naturalized in 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: Coccinella septempunctata overwinters as an adult and will often aggregate in large numbers, sometimes in the range of hundreds of individuals. These aggregations are usually found in densely packed foliage or among boulders, but sometimes they occur on or around houses, garages, and sheds, and people will often report 'swarms' of ladybugs on their premises!

[bmathison1972]

Species: Rupicapra rupicapra (Linnaeus, 1758) (Alpine chamois)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Papo
Series: Wild Animals
Year of Production: 2011
Size/Scale: Height at shoulder 6.0 cm for an average scale of 1:12
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Uncommon
Miscellaneous Notes: To my knowledge, this is the only figure of R. rupicapra still available; those by Bullyland (1989, 2004, 2012) and Schleich (1997) are retired or otherwise difficult to come by.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Mountainous southern Europe and western Asia, from the Pyrenees to the Caucasus; adventive on the South Island of New Zealand
Habitat: Alpine and sub-alpine meadows, wintering in pine forests
Diet: Herbs, flowers, lichens, mosses, pine shoots
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: The main predators of R. rupicapra are wolves and Eurasian lynx; however, they are also a prized game meat and hunted by people as well. The chamois is also hunted for its hide, which is made into a leather, also called chamois (pronounced 'shammy') used in clothing and for cleaning glass and polishing automobiles. Nowadays, chamois leather is more commonly made of sheepskin.

[bmathison1972]

Species: Hasarius adansoni (Audouin, 1826) (Adanson's house jumper)

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Kaiyodo
Series: Capsule Q Museum - Sticky Tack Insect Set
Year of Production: 2016
Size/Scale: Body length 2.4 cm for a scale of 6:1-3:1 for a male spider (see below)
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Very rare
Miscellaneous Notes: Figures in the Sticky Tack Insect collection come with a unique option for display. The figures come with a plastic receptacle on the underside designed to hold accompanying 'sticky tack' so the toy can be affixed to vertical surfaces such as walls. This receptacle is removable, easily snapping in and out (for a couple of the figures in the set, the receptacle an be somewhat obtrusive). Hasarius adansoni is sexually dimorphic, and while many spider figures represent females, today's is a male.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Believed native to Middle East and/or or Africa, now introduced to much of the world in warmer climates
Habitat: Woodlands, fields, orchards, parks, gardens, greenhouses, human habitations
Diet: Small insects and spiders
IUCN Status (at time of posting): Least Concern
Miscellaneous Notes: Being an anthropophilic species, H. adansoni has been introduced to much of the world via human activity. It is believed to be native to the Middle East and/or Africa but now occurs throughout the Americas, in Western, Central, and Mediterranean Europe, India, Laos, Vietnam, China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and several Pacific Islands, among other places. Where temperatures are cooler, the house jumper is often found in artificial climates, such as in greenhouses or homes.

[bmathison1972]

Species: †Dithyrocaris rolfei Schram and Horner, 1978

About the Figure:
Manufacturer: Paleocasts
Series: N/A
Year of Production: 2017
Size/Scale: Body length (excluding appendages) 5.0 cm. Carapace width 3.0 cm for a scale of 2:1
Frequency of species in toy/figure form (at time of posting): Unique (as a sculpt)
Miscellaneous Notes: Paleocasts is a line of prehistoric animals, mainly invertebrates, produced by artist Patrick May and sold on Etsy in the U.S. The figures can usually be purchased finished (as shown here) or unfinished. The species-level identification is my own, as many of Paleocasts' earlier models are based the fauna of the Mazon Creek Fossil Beds.

About the Animal:
Geographic distribution: Carboniferous (late Mississipian to early Pennsylvanian) of present-day northern North America
Habitat: Marine, probably benthic to demersal
Diet: Presumably filter feeder of microorganisms and organic material
IUCN Status (at time of posting): N/A (prehistoric)
Miscellaneous Notes: Dithyrocaris rolfei fossils have been found in the Heath Shale Formation (late Mississippian in Fergus County, Montana) and Mazon Creek Fossil Beds (early Pennsylvanian in Grundy County, Illinois).