The Curious Compendium 2023-2024: Golden retriever!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Hello! I am a new(ish) face here. Long story short, my website is defunct while I work out updating things and found out it will take longer than I thought. I am still taking photos for updating, and figured it was a good time to start posting here. I am a collector of nearly everything (even insects as bmathison slowly convinced me to with his amazing collection!) and currently have something over 5,000 pieces though I do not have a recent count. Nothing is on display anymore sadly, as I just downsized my home. But anywho, I will go ahead and post my family portraits for species/grouped animals 1-2 times a week around my busy schedule. General categories include Mammals (roughly by continent), Other Wildlife Groups (Insects, reptiles, Amphibians, etc.), Domestics (Livestock, Companion Animals), Marine Life, Prehistoric Life, Miscellaneous (Historical, Fantasy, Human figures etc.). Once I get to prehistorics, I will post also on DTF). This time around I am starting off with Oceanian mammals. Given my particular interest in canids, we will begin with one.

So without further ado...

[BlueKrono]

Welcome! That sounds like a truly massive collection. I will enjoy seeing these groupings.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Thank you! I look forward to presenting it.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

And here, another favorite species of mine from down under... the Tasmanian devil! I was excited to learn a while back that a wildlife team (Aussie Ark) are working on getting these animals reintroduced to mainland Australia (for the first time in 3,000 years)!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Also, I would like to note while thinking about this and having a private discussion elsewhere... what we think is the "ancestor" species for the New Guinea Singing Dog (and likely the dingo as well), the Highland Dog, of Southeast Asia, has recently been rediscovered.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-guineas-singing-dogs-found-alive-wild-180975704/

https://www.science.org/content/article/new-guinea-s-mysterious-singing-dogs-found-again-wild

[Gwangi]

Great collection thread! I only collect one figure per species so seeing groupings like this is great for me in deciding what to get.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Ha! In recent years, synoptic collections have become very common. My "family portraits" have proven useful for many in that style of collecting. I collect anything that catches my interest, giving me pretty good sized groups usually. I am happy to be of service! Feel free to throw out requests if you would like to see something in particular. It will take some time to get through my collection in this way.

[BlueKrono]

I'd be interested in seeing snapping turtles, neotenic salamanders, and horned frogs.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I have a few snapping turtles, even fewer neotenic salamanders (I admit, I had to Google what "neotenic" meant, thanks for the new word!), and I have a couple of horned frogs of different species! I will try to oblige when I can.

Next photo is for thylacines.



My last very favorite Australian species. I recently came across this article which I found intriguing... I have thoughts that lie on either side of this debate... but I am curious if anyone here would care to share theirs? The article is in regards to a project to make this species "de-extinct" and reintroduce it to it's historic range.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/de-extinction-company-aims-to-resurrect-the-tasmanian-tiger/

[Gwangi]

Excellent! I have the Mojo Thylacine but this is an animal that I like well enough that I would consider getting more. Love CollectA's with the pouch.

A synoptic collection is my way of putting limits on my collection. It's not something that I used to do when I only collected prehistoric animals but since collecting extant animals I decided there needed to be rules in place. I do make a few exceptions though.

[bmathison1972]

I went with the S.R. thylacine, mainly because I wanted as many species from that line as possible. I almost went with Mojo (which was sculpted by forum member Ana, BTW), as it's the only standard one that doesn't have its mouth gaping open.

@Gwangi - you and I have similar collecting habits, it's just the 'non-synoptic' part is shifted taxonomically LOL 

[Gwangi]

I went with the S.R. thylacine, mainly because I wanted as many species from that line as possible. I almost went with Mojo (which was sculpted by forum member Ana, BTW), as it's the only standard one that doesn't have its mouth gaping open.

@Gwangi - you and I have similar collecting habits, it's just the 'non-synoptic' part is shifted taxonomically LOL 

The Mojo thylacine was the only decent one available at the time that I got it, having been released before S.R. and CollectA's. I remember who sculpted it though, as I gave her and this forum a shoutout in my review for it! I originally wrote the review for the DTB but it has since been transferred to the ATB, making it my first ATB review, I guess. I don't much care for S.R.'s with its gigantic canine teeth and sorta weird head sculpt. Would love to see Safari make a thylacine.

I've gotten pickier with my prehistorics too and try not to repeat genera too many times. It's harder with prehistoric animals because there are so many different great interpretations of a single animal.

[bmathison1972]

Nice! I probably haven't seen your review of it, since I wasn't so active on DTF/DTB then. I should go back and read your reviews that have transferred over 

[Gwangi]

Nice! I probably haven't seen your review of it, since I wasn't so active on DTF/DTB then. I should go back and read your reviews that have transferred over 

That's the only review that I have transferred.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I completely understand the preference for a more relaxed looking model, though of course the reason these thylacines have an open gape is because they had such a characteristic wide gape, a hallmark for the species. I would love a Safari version! They tend to do canines rather well, so a canine looking animal would be a great alternative.

The article that I posted is intriguing... I think reviving extinct species is a curious concept. There are 6+ movies to explain the drawbacks of the practice ()... I have never thought that reviving the mammoth with the DNA we do have is viable, at best you would be getting a modern elephant with extra hair and maybe more cold tolerance. But at the end of the day, the DNA proves, it is NOT  a mammoth. It is a mere approximation of one.

The thylacine is a better bet, with a more complete genome. But again, you will still be getting something that is not quite... right. Not 100%, close, but not the full example of one.

Lastly, the habitat and niche that  mammoths inhabited doesn't exist anymore. So you would be further bastardizing the utility of the "Frankenstein's Monster", or simply subdue it to being an entertainment in zoo settings. The thylacine however, could take up its mantle again as top predator in mainland Australia as well as New Zealand. It's original habitat still exists. It would probably help curtail the invasive deer population there too.

Thus, my feelings are that de-extinction is not necessary and should have limitations (with incomplete DNA reservoirs, as well as what role, if any, that animal could take in the wild), but with some examples of human caused extinction, this could be a chance to give these animals a second try.

Lastly, my main argument would be: why are we investing in animals loooong gone and ones where the world has adapted to its abscence, while we have still living but critically endangered species who could use the help (/technology/resources/ingenuity...). The freshwater turtle female who just passed and doomed the possibility of recovery, could use this cloning tech instead.

[EpicRaptorMan]

I've been meaning to add a dingo to the collection. Still don't know how I feel about the Safari Ltd one as that's the one I'd most likely get.

[bmathison1972]

I've been meaning to add a dingo to the collection. Still don't know how I feel about the Safari Ltd one as that's the one I'd most likely get.

I got the Safari version because I felt the face best captures the actual animal, but the pose is rather static. It's one of the few species I didn't go with Southlands (which was still active when I bought my dingo)

[Gwangi]

I have no issue with trying to bring back the thylacine or any other species that has gone extinct in recent history at the hands of man. And I think de-extinction is a useful science to explore and hone because it could allow us to bring back other species too, like the Yangtze softshell turtle. If we can bring back the thylacine we should be able to bring back just about anything that has gone extinct over the last couple centuries. The mammoth I'm a bit more iffy about but damnit if I wouldn't be tickled to death to see the thing.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I agree with your points, and honestly there are a lot of ways to approach this concept. Another thought I have had, is we could use this tech for the Northern White Rhinoceros. A species that, when the last male went extinct a few years back I was thinking it would never be seen again in my lifetime. But now, if it were applied, the technology we have even just a few years later, could bring them back IN my lifetime.

My main complaint with the de-extinction idea is where it applies to reintroducing these species into wild habitats. Using my previous examples, the habitat and ecosystem of Siberia likely could not support a wild herd of recreated mammoths. Where as the locale of the thylacine remains the same (obviously the time scale for each species is radically different, hence why one  habitat remains and the other has morphed). If we reintroduced a thylacine population, it could even very well help other man made issues like incredibly invasive and damage causing whitetail deer in NZ. That is partly why the Tasmanian devils are being reintroduced to mainland AU, to rectify ecological issues.

The mammoth I'm a bit more iffy about but damnit if I wouldn't be tickled to death to see the thing.

Even I have to admit... it would be quite the experience to behold! No one can deny even that. But don't get me started on dino-chickens. 

[stargatedalek]

I'm fine with dino-birds becoming a thing, but we need to be realistic about what they are; hyper-augmented designer pets, and not kid ourselves into thinking that constitutes de-extinction. I have no more issues with dino-birds than I do with things like weird reptile morphs, aside from potential false advertising.

Thylacines in New Zealand would be a horrible mistake, as they aren't native to New Zealand. Tasmanian devils have already done a lot of damage to the island they were moved to, nearly killing off the native penguins entirely. Just because something is (or was) native to the general area doesn't mean it can't become an extremely destructive invasive!

Thylacines would need to be introduced to the mainland extremely carefully, and only into their confirmed former ranges, otherwise this could happen again. Relevant areas would also need to be cleared of dingoes, which is something I am all for, but I know that causes political pushback.