Chondricthyans

[brontodocus]

Thanks widukind, Jetoar, and OkapiBoy! Like I said, I'm really pleased with it. There are so many shark figures that simply look ridiculous but this one is very accurate.

[stargatedalek]

so many shark figures turn out so plain, this one is great
mind if I ask about the other fish?

[brontodocus]

so many shark figures turn out so plain, this one is great
mind if I ask about the other fish?

Thanks, stargatedalek!  It's the Pacific Mackerel, Scomber japonicus, from Colorata's Salt Water Fish box:

[stargatedalek]

thanks for the help

[sbell]

Up from the depths...some new figures.

I suppose I could also list the new ones from CollectA but the new Japanese figures are so much more exciting:

First up, from the Kaiyodo Capsule Aquarium 3 set, a Bronze Whaler/Copper Shark/Narrowtooth shark, Carcharhinus brachyurus:


Second, a whiteip reef shark Trienodon obesus from the Kaiyodo Capsule Aquarium 5 set


This one shouldn't be confused with the Oceanic whiteip shark Carcharhinus longimanus from the Kaiyodo Aquatales series2 set:

Not that they look anything alike--but the names are of course similar, and sellers don't always know or differentiate. Which may be why I never noticed the whitetip reef shark until I bought it.

And just because I don't want to leave it out, even though it's on this thread somewhere, the sandtiger shark Carcharias taurusfrom Kaiyodo Capsule Aquarium 7:


And finally, one of my newest treasures, a giveaway from Hikari (aquarium food company--no idea who made it), and the first legitimately toy-like or figure-like potamotrygonid:


As I've said elsewhere I'm pretty sure this one is meant to be Potamtrygon henlei given the spot pattern. The full set was odd--many usual aquarium suspects (cory cat, redtail cat, clown loach, red-ear slider turtle, some other fish that clearly didn't get my attention!) but this was the only one I felt the need to get (the seller had the whole set on offer, individually, but I decided not to press my luck with it I didn't even have any competing bids!).

EDIT 1--I just found out the ray is supposed to be the Polka Dot Stingray, Potamotrygon leopoldi. I still don't agree.
EDIT 2--I just found the list of most of the Hikari figures in case anyone wants go crazy trying to find them: Polka Dot Stingray, Red Tail Catfish, Imperial Zebra Pleco, Clown Loach, juvenile box fish, albino Axolotl. I'm pretty sure there is a red-eared slider turtle and a coryadoras cat as well.

[postsaurischian]

  Beautiful Kaiyodo sharks! I had to get them too.

Hm, "Aqua Totto Gifu"? What is this - an Italian version?
Originally the Sand Tiger is from the "Shinagawa Aquarium" set

[sbell]

Beautiful Kaiyodo sharks! I had to get them too.

Hm, "Aqua Totto Gifu"? What is this - an Italian version?
Originally the Sand Tiger is from the "Shinagawa Aquarium" set

Apparently it is a real place:

http://aquatotto.com/

Which is starting to make sense--there are figures that have popped up in different sets, perhaps the bottlecaps change depending on the venue selling them? Mine came with a Capsule Aquarium pamphlet, implying a vending machine--so it is possible that they make different caps.

Also, I need to visit this aquarium--it is apparently a freshwater-focused one!

[bmathison1972]

Also, I need to visit this aquarium--it is apparently a freshwater-focused one!

Here is Atlanta we have a good aquarium but if you want a good freshwater one, you should try the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga!

[stargatedalek]

I've been to a few aquariums with notable freshwater segments, namely Quebec Biodome and California Academy of Sciences come to mind but I'm sure theres more

[widukind]

Up from the depths...some new figures.

I suppose I could also list the new ones from CollectA but the new Japanese figures are so much more exciting:

First up, from the Kaiyodo Capsule Aquarium 3 set, a Bronze Whaler/Copper Shark/Narrowtooth shark, Carcharhinus brachyurus:


Second, a whiteip reef shark Trienodon obesus from the Kaiyodo Capsule Aquarium 5 set


This one shouldn't be confused with the Oceanic whiteip shark Carcharhinus longimanus from the Kaiyodo Aquatales series2 set:

Not that they look anything alike--but the names are of course similar, and sellers don't always know or differentiate. Which may be why I never noticed the whitetip reef shark until I bought it.

And just because I don't want to leave it out, even though it's on this thread somewhere, the sandtiger shark Carcharias taurusfrom Kaiyodo Capsule Aquarium 7:


And finally, one of my newest treasures, a giveaway from Hikari (aquarium food company--no idea who made it), and the first legitimately toy-like or figure-like potamotrygonid:


As I've said elsewhere I'm pretty sure this one is meant to be Potamtrygon henlei given the spot pattern. The full set was odd--many usual aquarium suspects (cory cat, redtail cat, clown loach, red-ear slider turtle, some other fish that clearly didn't get my attention!) but this was the only one I felt the need to get (the seller had the whole set on offer, individually, but I decided not to press my luck with it I didn't even have any competing bids!).

EDIT 1--I just found out the ray is supposed to be the Polka Dot Stingray, Potamotrygon leopoldi. I still don't agree.
EDIT 2--I just found the list of most of the Hikari figures in case anyone wants go crazy trying to find them: Polka Dot Stingray, Red Tail Catfish, Imperial Zebra Pleco, Clown Loach, juvenile box fish, albino Axolotl. I'm pretty sure there is a red-eared slider turtle and a coryadoras cat as well.

Very beautieful figurines!!Special congrats for the ray, i prefer saltwater fishes but if i will find this figurine i would add it in my zoo 

[sbell]

And finally, one of my newest treasures, a giveaway from Hikari (aquarium food company--no idea who made it), and the first legitimately toy-like or figure-like potamotrygonid:


As I've said elsewhere I'm pretty sure this one is meant to be Potamtrygon henlei given the spot pattern. The full set was odd--many usual aquarium suspects (cory cat, redtail cat, clown loach, red-ear slider turtle, some other fish that clearly didn't get my attention!) but this was the only one I felt the need to get (the seller had the whole set on offer, individually, but I decided not to press my luck with it I didn't even have any competing bids!).

EDIT 1--I just found out the ray is supposed to be the Polka Dot Stingray, Potamotrygon leopoldi. I still don't agree.
EDIT 2--I just found the list of most of the Hikari figures in case anyone wants go crazy trying to find them: Polka Dot Stingray, Red Tail Catfish, Imperial Zebra Pleco, Clown Loach, juvenile box fish, albino Axolotl. I'm pretty sure there is a red-eared slider turtle and a coryadoras cat as well.

Very beautieful figurines!!Special congrats for the ray, i prefer saltwater fishes but if i will find this figurine i would add it in my zoo 

It is a really nice figure, very detailed (hard to see on a black figure...). I'll do a walkaround of it at some point.

[Quagga]

Lots of nice sharks.

[brontodocus]

Another new one:



Kaiyodo CapsuleQ Museum Animatales Series 7 (Yaeyama) No. QMN 052 Tiger Shark, Galeocerdo cuvier (Péron & Lesueur, 1822). Length (TL) 86 mm, scale approx. 1:29 - 1:87. Human figure (from Kaiyodo CapsuleQ Museum Dinosaur Excavation Plesiosaurus set) is approx. 1:65 - 1:75 scale.

[sbell]

It looks like a nice tiger shark figure. For some reason, I didn't immediately order one from Brett so now I have to wait for the next order to get mine.

[widukind]

Interesting tiger shark:)

[OkapiBoy]

[]

[brontodocus]

It looks like a nice tiger shark figure. For some reason, I didn't immediately order one from Brett so now I have to wait for the next order to get mine.

I'm quite happy with it, too (although we've seen Animatales with less conspicuous seams before). The paint job looks so much more convincing than that of any other Tiger Shark figure I know.

And talking about Tiger Shark figures, it's interesting how OkapiBoy's CollectA version apparently has fewer and a little darker, more contrasting stripes than mine from the walk-around.

[Pinkamena]

Very pretty, definitely one on my wishlist

[widukind]

A nice figurine of thie specie:)

[brontodocus]

Happy New Year, everyone! I'll (sort of) begin it with the Kaiyodo Aquatales Polyresin Series 2 No. 002 Manta Ray. Although the box says Manta birostris it has more similarities with the more coastal Reef Manta Ray, Manta alfredi (Krefft, 1868), a species that was not considered a valid, separate species until 2009. The characters that led me to identify this figure as a Reef Manta instead of a Giant Manta are: Whitish shoulder markings more rounded than angulate, dark spots on ventral side located near posterior end and between gill slits, pectorals without any significant whitish margin visible from above, lower margin of mouth whitish instead of black. The latter character is subject to individual variation, though, as both Manta birostris and M. alfredi can be either very pale or dark. But most M. birostris would have a lower margin of the mouth that is entirely black. Considering these key characters for telling both recognised Manta species apart I wonder how many Manta Ray figures might actually be more similar to M. alfredi, too (although most of them might be too generic to qualify for a proper species-level identification since the differences are still very subtle). The Aquatales Polyresin figure shows some amazing details, e.g. sculpted teeth and gill arches inside the mouth. The entire mouth cavity is also very deep and reaches behind the fifth gill arch. Total length of the figure is 114 mm (of which 59 mm are disk length) and disk width is 115 mm (measured as if the pectorals were stretched out). So the scale may be around 1:26 to 1:47 (Reef Mantas are somewhat smaller than Giant Oceanic Mantas). The human figure (scuba diver from Safari Ltd Coral Reef Toob) is approx. 1:32 - 1:35 scale. Like the related Giant Manta, the Reef Manta Ray is in decline due to overfishing in unprotected parts of its range and IUCN considers the species "Vulnerable".





















Edit 2017-02-04: Fixed broken image urls.