Coral

A fantastic addition to your oceanographic diorama!

Our Coral Replica

This engaging, realistic-looking plastic coral is made of solid, flexible plastic. The body has well-defined detail. It is 2 1/2 inches tall. It represents three different types of coral, staghorn, brain and rock coral. This adds color to a sealife school project or fits in a diorama. Check out our other sealife toys and gifts.

About Corals

Corals are marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone-like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals. The group includes the important reef builders that are found in tropical oceans, which secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton. Corals can eat by stinging and capturing small fish or obtain nutrients from algae. They make up shallow reefs especially off of Australia and Hawaii.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Plastic Blue Crab

Loved by millions...with a little lemon and garlic!

Our Plastic Blue Crab

Our plastic blue crab measures 2 inches from side to side. This plastic crustacean is one of our series of lively and lifelike plastic animals. Its realistic shape and details will be enjoyed as part of a school project, diorama, plastic animal collection, as a party favor, or gift. Our plastic crab toy is for decoration or play only. It does not float, and should NOT be put in your aquarium. However, you can make an interesting sea-life or aquarium shoebox diorama using this and other plastic aquatic creatures and mammals, sharks, fish, sea turtles, birds, and decor from our gift shop. There is no mess, no feeding, and no tank cleaning :) Be sure to look over our other crab toys and gifts.

About Blue Crabs

Although there are over 50 crab families and 1000s of species, all crabs have basically the same body plan: four pairs of walking legs and one pair of claws (also called nippers or pincers). Their shell is actually their skeleton, called an exoskeleton, and protects their thorax, gills and the internal organs of the head. Like the octopus and sea star, if the crab loses a limb it will regenerate (grow back).

Atlantic blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) are found in the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific coast of Central America, and the western waters of the Atlantic Ocean. While ignored as a food source in Central America, Atlantic blue crabs are fished extensively along the north Atlantic states of the United States. Atlantic blue crabs are the state crustacean of Maryland. In addtition to humans, Atlantic blue crabs are preyed upon by eels, sharks, trout, bass, and other fish. Atlantic blue crabs are omnivores, feeding on virtually anything smaller than themselves, including other blue crabs and carrion.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Plastic Trilobite

No evolution diorama is complete without them!

Our Plastic Trilobite Replica

Made of solid plastic, this trilobite's superior design and details make it a museum-quality replica or collector's item, and yet the price puts it in range for the average collector of plastic animals. Topside details include blue-gray eyes and the three ridged lobes for which it was named. The underside also shows the three segments and details of the trilobite's anatomy. It measures 2 inches wide by 3 inches long. The word "Trilobite" is embossed on the underside. Our model trilobite is made in Germany and hand painted; it comes with an informational tag in both German and English. This sturdy, durable trilobite is also excellent for school projects, novelties, party favors or even as a children's toy. Our plastic trilobite is for decoration or play only. It does not float, and should NOT be put in your aquarium with living fish or other aquarium dwellers. However, you can make a terrific ancient sea life shoebox diorama using this wonderful plastic trilobite replica.

About Trilobites

Trilobites were an early form of life on earth that have left many fossils, some of which has been made into beautiful jewelry including a 25,000 year old Cro-Magnon pendant. They appeared about 600 million years ago during the Cambrian period and are believed to be the first animal to have sight. This simple, unassuming creature evolved to become one of the most successful lifeforms in our planet's history. Their descendants include centipedes, spiders, crabs, shrimps and insects. Trilobites lived in shallow seas, swimming, crawling, and burrowing.  You can learn more about these interesting creatures at trilobite.com.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Plush Hermit Crab

Can you carry YOUR house on your back?

Our Stuffed Hermit Crab

This playful stuffed hermit crab is made of extremely soft plush material. This replica has a detailed face and body with a loving expression. It is 12 inches long. It makes for a nice pet, fits into a stuffed animal collection or serves as a great cuddly friend and is fun for all kinds of games. Check out our other crab toys and gifts.

About Hermit Crabs

There are approximately 500 different species of hermit crabs living in saltwater intertidal zones. It isn't a true crab, but has a soft belly which it protects by crawling into an abandoned mollusk shell. This behavior of living in an abandoned cave evokes the image of a hermit, thereby getting its name. As the hermit crab grows, it must find an ever larger shell to inhabit. The hermit crab is fussy about which shell it takes. It likes those that have anemones or sea plants growing on it and even decorates his shell with these living things. This provides a symbiotic relationship, food for them and they provide better security from predators through camouflage.There are land varieties of hermit crabs and, surprisingly enough, there is an organization of hermit crab pet lovers, who keep them at home in aquariums.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Our very popular plastic MARYLAND BLUE CRAB and RED LOBSTER are back!

Come on over and celebrate! Take a couple home to Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, your best friend, girlfriend, boyfriend, hubby or wife, your teacher, or even your dog. Need decor for your crab cook or lobster bake? Squishy and adorable, these plastic sea animals are favorites with our customers. Click on the photos to visit each critter, or check them both out on this page of our online store.

Our blue crab and red lobster were so popular they sold right out of inventory. But the good news is . . . guess what? THEY ARE BACK!

Plastic sea life is hot this summer!

What's hot this summer? Plastic sea life is! This guy was sold to us as a lobster, but we think it makes a good crayfish, too. In either case, we have lots of them ready for shipment. They float and they're fun to play with, but they also make great party favors or decorations for your summer clam-bake or lobster feed. Or your crawfish party! Have fun with them!

Back in stock and gorgeous as ever: Lobster jewelry in two styles

Some of our favorite animal jewelry in Tapir and Friends are these two brilliantly colored and detailed lobsters! Click the image for a larger view and check them out on our painted animal jewelry Web site!

What fun! Plastic giant squid and more . . .

Hi there, our parcel arrived this morning, my little boy is SO EXCITED with all his new sea creatures, he loves them all but he's especially taken with the giant squid! Thanks for the spinner too, that was so kind of you to include that. . . . It has been a real pleasure doing business with you, I'll put another order in as soon as the sea otter with the starfish is back in stock.

I showed my children where the parcel had travelled from on Google Earth this morning, Astoria looks fantastic with all that water around you.

Thanks again for all your help and for such wonderful service,

Sarah

Three sizes of stuffed manatee

These three adorable stuffed manatees are avialable online at Tapir and Friends. Please take a look! Our home base is in Astoria, Oregon, USA, but we'll ship them anywhere in the world. We love our overseas customers as well as those in the US. We strive to make every order easy for you. Please check out Pavel's unsolicited letter below this post!

Attractive and weird stuffed animal . . . the krill!

This stuffed krill is one of the more unusual stuffed animals in our online animal gift shop! Check out The Discovery Channel Web Site to see what real Antarctic krill are about. There have been some remarkable recent findings. Here's a teaser from the site: "The discovery radically changes the scientific understanding of the major food source for marine animals including fish, squid, penguins, seals and whales, said the study, published in the journal Current Biology."