The Curious Compendium 2023-2024: Shih-tzu, maltese, pekingese!

[sbell]

I'm back! Last week was a loooong week...

Coral snakes!

These guys are actually incredibly venomous; it acts as a neurotoxin and is incredibly painful if you are bitten (they can kill adult humans!). However, they are generally considered much less dangerous than other venomous snakes because their teeth are so small that they have to "chew" the venom into the prey item's tissue to be effective. I love these snakes and have gotten a fair number of models of them!

But do you have any weird Asian species!?

https://animaltoyforum.com/blog/blue-malaysian-coral-snake-animal-kaiser-by-bandai/

With how bad the paint is on that one I don't think I would want it xD

The goofy part is that it's not a completely terrible representation...

Someone with paint and patience could probably correct it quickly and easily. Mostly a dark wash across the back, leave the scale edges bright blue.

[JimoAi]

https://youtu.be/HWS4hJcYeaE?si=mrANFXsCj7bIpovi

[EpicRaptorMan]

I'm back! Last week was a loooong week...

Coral snakes!

These guys are actually incredibly venomous; it acts as a neurotoxin and is incredibly painful if you are bitten (they can kill adult humans!). However, they are generally considered much less dangerous than other venomous snakes because their teeth are so small that they have to "chew" the venom into the prey item's tissue to be effective. I love these snakes and have gotten a fair number of models of them!

But do you have any weird Asian species!?

https://animaltoyforum.com/blog/blue-malaysian-coral-snake-animal-kaiser-by-bandai/

With how bad the paint is on that one I don't think I would want it xD

The goofy part is that it's not a completely terrible representation...

Someone with paint and patience could probably correct it quickly and easily. Mostly a dark wash across the back, leave the scale edges bright blue.

Arguably. How hard is it to sculpt a snake? This snake could repainted in a variety of other species. The coloration alone is the Blue Malayan Coral Snake's sole distinguishing characteristics among many species — which is not displayed well here.

[sbell]

I'm back! Last week was a loooong week...

Coral snakes!

These guys are actually incredibly venomous; it acts as a neurotoxin and is incredibly painful if you are bitten (they can kill adult humans!). However, they are generally considered much less dangerous than other venomous snakes because their teeth are so small that they have to "chew" the venom into the prey item's tissue to be effective. I love these snakes and have gotten a fair number of models of them!

But do you have any weird Asian species!?

https://animaltoyforum.com/blog/blue-malaysian-coral-snake-animal-kaiser-by-bandai/

With how bad the paint is on that one I don't think I would want it xD

The goofy part is that it's not a completely terrible representation...

Someone with paint and patience could probably correct it quickly and easily. Mostly a dark wash across the back, leave the scale edges bright blue.

Arguably. How hard is it to sculpt a snake? This snake could repainted in a variety of other species. The coloration alone is the Blue Malayan Coral Snake's sole distinguishing characteristics among many species — which is not displayed well here.

The whole line is based on some kind of card/show/game thing out of Japan. There's a range of animal figures meant to reflect characters or something... some better than others

[bmathison1972]

Not to highjack Paige's thread, but Sean is absolutely right. The Animal Kaiser figures were produced alongside a competitive card game. MANY of the figures (especially the mammals) are highly stylized and anthropomorphized. To criticize this (and other AK figures) based on scientific accuracy is a moot point. They were not created as scientifically accurate models; they were made to be combative game pieces.

It is time to put this discussion to bed, at least in this thread. 

[JimoAi]

animal kaiser is a big part of my childhood and I still have some of my cards. Do drop a message if you would like to discuss this topic further.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I don't mind if you all discuss things here. I have a few Kaiser figures and they are very stylized. I would love to get that Asian coral snake! They are gorgeous animals in real life.

Sea snakes!



There are 69 species of sea snakes.These guys don't exist in the atlantic ocean, caribbean, or red sea. The first sea snakes began to evolve 6-8 million years ago, but most modern species are much younger evolving at around 3 million years ago. Lastly, they can die of thirst; sea kraits go to land to find a freshwater source while sea snakes must wait for rainstorms to deposit freshwater on the surface.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Here is  double post to make up my delay yesterday.

Mixed snakes 1



Black mambas are one of the world's fastest snakes! They can move from 4.3 to 5.2 meters per second!

Mixed snakes 2



Gaboon vipers tie for my favorite snake species, but I do love a good viper/adder! These guys actually quite temperate in disposition; it usually takes a lot to provoke them to actually bite! However, even being a rather "chill" snake who gives loud hisses as a warning, you need to report to a hospital ASAP as they are also incredibly deadly venom-wise. This can also be a challenge if the event is in their natural habitat of African rainforest as they generally dwell far away from human habitation.

[BlueKrono]

I'd love to breed rhinoceros vipers someday. The colors they can appear in are out of this world. I'd need a separate reptile room though, so it'll have to happen after I win the lottery. Right now I'm putting together a collections room, so I should have some pics of organized collections within the next few months, including my horned viper (toy) collection.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

They are simply gorgeous snakes, that is for sure! Once your collection is on display I would love to see it! Mine was for years but then with my last 2 moves there just isn't room for it. But, I may see if I can make a small exception work...

[EpicRaptorMan]

The gaboon viper looks really good. Although I have the water moccasin/cottonmouth and I already know that that is pretty small for my liking.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Now my very favorite snakes, rattlers!





There are some disagreements on how many species exist, but generally it is thought that there are somewhere between 32 and 45. 3 species are endangered, the Santa Catalina rattlesnake, Tancitaran dusky rattlesnake, and the Long-tailed rattlesnake.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Another double post since life has gotten me all tied up!

Misc. snakes again!

Ringneck snakes apparently coil and flip their tails over (exposing their brightly  colored bellies) as a defense mechanism.

And my last group of snakes!

Rubber boas are one of a rather few species native to my home state of Idaho. I have met and held one before. These guys are very slow moving on land, but despite their looks are great swimmers and climbers!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

And now the reptiles page is live! Please forgive some of the weird formatting, I worked on this page in the chaos of packing and moving to another state, and of course the hosting site chose to do some updates and it whacked out some things on this page I have yet to figure out how to fix... But bear with me!



As always, I reccomend using the desktop version even if you are on a mobile device.

https://thecuriouscompendium.wixsite.com/curiouscompendium

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Onward and upward; Birds are next!

Albatrosses and a Shearwater!


I read about a Laysan albatross named Wisdom. She is some 70 years old, is still laying eggs and raising chicks, in 2021 her estimated 40th baby hatched! She has flown 3 billion miles doing what albatrosses do; spending 80% of their lives flying over the sea. Wisdom is currently the oldest known bird.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Mixed group of water loving/living birds!





I adore cormorants! I learned that their feathers are NOT waterproof like a duck's because that would prevent diving efficiency; their feathers DO soak up water which helps them sink, but it also means they have to dry off- this leads to the iconic open wing pose when resting on land. Most of these birds can dive 20+ feet, but some species are recorded at 150+!!! That is some of the deepest avian divers known. Their wings are developed to be propelling forces underwater, but this comes at a cost for efficient flying. Lastly, just like owls, these guys regurgitate pellets of undigestible parts of their food (scales, bones, etc). Pretty amazing bird family!

[Sim]

I'm surprised you don't have the Papo cormorant!

[Isidro]

It would be indeed a nice addition and easy to acquire for cheap. This would lead to your group shoot to have just three representatives of each family of Pelecaniformes.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

That model is definitely on the list! Nust haven't gotten around to acquiring it just yet.

Another group of birds- on stilts!



Marabou storks proved to be very interesting. They can soar up to an impressive 13,000 feet! And when flying they do NOT extend their necks like other long necked birds, they keep it tucked into a tight S shape. Their chicks have some of the highest survival rates of any species we know of; 64% likely to survive their first year. Lastly, despite their reputation of being "ugly", they have been hunted for their soft tail feathers to use in millinery, and locals do hunt them for parts to use in local traditions.

[EpicRaptorMan]

Papo should really redo the Marabou stork for rerelease and change the feet/base to be better.