new member studying evolutionary biology

[radrob2]

Hello Animal Toy Forum!

I'm a bit new to being active on this forum, so I'd like to introduce myself.

I've been collecting toy animal replicas for a few years now. As a graduate student in evolutionary biology, I see my collection as a representation of the tree of life. Therefore, I get the most excited about figures that are biologically accurate (especially for dinos), that typify a particular branch of the tree of life, or that represent important specimens for understanding evolution (archaeopteryx and coelacanth are classic examples).

I love sharing my passion for biology and evolution with others. I plan to use my collection as a way to instill some of that passion to others, especially my future children (My wife will be having our first this June). My 3-year-old niece often plays with my figurines and now knows the names of quite a few of the animals.

Here is a photo of a more liberal interpretation of a Christmas nativity scene I made with some of my collection this past year:



I look forward to getting to know some of you better and possibly contributing to the animal toy wiki in the future.

[bmathison1972]

Welcome, radrob2!

It's nice to have someone studying evolutionary biology. I am a professional biologist/microbiologist myself, with a specialty in human parasitology and medical entomology. And I see we are both in Utah! I am adjunct faculty at the U of Utah

I saw you reserve the Safari clouded leopard for the Blog; I secured it for you!

[Gwangi]

Welcome to the forum! And congrats on the baby.

[NSD Bashe]

hello   

[AnimalToyForum]

Welcome to the forum! I'm a palaeontologist and curator, my undergrad was in palaeobiology and evolution. A lot of academics are toy collectors too, you're in good company!