Release Date - To Be Announced We are preparing to embark upon an excursion to travel the oceans in search of tropical paradise! We hope to sail away into the tropics and discover the isles hiding within. The Hawaiian Islands and Papua New Guinea are just a few of the places we plan to explore, seeing such animals as the Hawaiian Monk Seal and the Northern Cassowary as they live in their lush and vibrant homes. We will be documenting our trips and showing you all of the wondrous plants and animals we see. Artifex Mailbox:
Follow our journeys around the world on the S.S. Artifex by checking out our regular mail home in the form of our informative ship's logs - complete with photographs and all! Features:Amazing AnimalsOver 20 animals from across the globe are available for your zoos, from the tiny Sumatran Striped Rabbit to the magnificent Southern Minke Whale. Many of these animals are endemic to the islands they live on, showcasing the biodiversity of the worlds islands.
Ancient RuinsCracked walls, shattered columns and cryptic runes are staples of this dramatic theme, providing underwater themed scenery to match the ocean-bound animals of this pack.
Tropical ParadiseFlowers, palm trees and colourful sea creatures are incorporated into our other theme, that of tropical splendour and relaxing sunshine! The perfect accompaniment to tropical animals!
Expressive Foliage
Towering trees and fabulous flowers from all over the globe ensure that no matter what the island, your animals will always have the regional foliage they love and deserve!
Enhancing Enrichment
Sprawling reefs and crashing waterfalls add extra depth to your animals' exhibits and comfort to their needs.
| Animals:
 Channel Island Fox
Urocyon littoralis
The Channel Island Fox split from the gray fox after being isolated
on the Channel Islands off the coast of California, USA. Due to
their island habitat, these foxes are very small and lack resistance
to many diseases. They inhabit all the climates of islands, which
is generally consists of dry grasslands and scrubs, where they eat
a diet of primarily insects and fruits.
 Hawaiian Monk SealMonachus schauinslandi
This rare seal lives on the less inhabited Hawaiian islands as well as
some neighbouring islands. They spend much of their time in reefs for
feeding and beaches for basking and sleeping. In the reefs, they feed
mainly on fish, with the occasional mollusc or crustacean as well.
This seal is naturally tame, making it very easy to find and therefore
kill, leading to many declines in population. In the 1980s, however,
conservation efforts began to work and the population is now
relatively constant, although low.
 Spotted Eagle Ray
Aetobatus narinari
This large ray is distinctive both for it's long tail and numerous
white rings that decorate its dorsal surface. They are commonly
found in shallow coastal waters amongst coral reefs worldwide.
Their prey include molluscs, shrimp and crabs. A fully grown
spotted eagle ray can reach a wingspan over ten feet, and with
a potential total length of five metres, this truly a giant of the reefs.
Whilst being venomous, this ray tends to avoid human contact.
 Javan Langur
Trachypithecus auratusThe Javan Langur is a large monkey that mostly eats
leaves, fruit and the occasional insect. Found only on
the island of Java and a couple of smaller ones, there are
two principle subspecies of this ebony monkey. Like all
langurs, Javan Langurs are sociable and live in small
family groups. These langurs are endangered and becoming
rarer due to deforestation.
 Southern Minke Whale
Balaenoptera bonaerensisThe southern minke whale worldwide in the southern hemisphere
where it eats a diet of krill and small fish using its baleen bristles
to capture them. They travel alone or in groups up to 4, but can
be seen in the hundreds when krill is especially plentiful. These
whales have been hunted commercially for meat and oil, but due
to their small size, the hunting was never as damaging as it was
for other species of whale.
 Sumatran Striped Rabbit
Nesolagus netscheriThis critically endangered rabbit is only found in restricted areas
on the island of Sumatra. At just over a foot long and primarily
nocturnal, as well as equipped with a highly camouflaged coat,
this species has been sighted only three times since 1972. Little
is known about this species, but it has been kept in captivity.
 Visayan Spotted Deer
Rusa alfredi
The Visayan spotted deer lives only in the central Philippines
and is one of the rarest and least documented of all deer
species. Deer generally travel in small groups of less than
eight, but are also rarely viewed by humans due to habitat
loss and hunting. This has led them to become the most
endangered species of deer alive.
 Visayan Warty PigSus cebifrons
The Visayan warty pig is a critically endangered species
threatened by lack of food, habitat destruction and
hunting. 95% of their habitat has been turned into farms,
leading these pigs to often feed upon cultivated crops,
although their diet in the forest generally consists of
fruits and roots.
 Tamaraw
Bubalus mindorensis
The tamaraw is an ungulate confined solely to the island
of Mindoro in the Philippines and is critically endangered
due to habitat loss, disease and hunting. They live
solitary lives in the forest where they feed upon grasses
and bamboo. Tamaraw young stay with their mother
for several years and then often form small groups
together until adult hood, when they begin their
solitary life in the forest where a large group is impractical.
 Sulawesi Ground DoveGallicolumba tristigmata
The Sulawesi ground dove is a bird that lives
exclusively in the jungle of Sulawesi in the
Indonesia. This dove has not been studied
extensively, and is luckily not in present danger
of extinction. The doves forage for various
foliage in the jungle as well as insects.
 Sulawesi Palm CivetMacrogalidia musschenbroekiiThe Sulawesi palm civet is an adept
hunter both in trees and on the ground, and
quite large for a palm civet, reaching over a metre
in length. These mammals are closely related to
cats, but are in their own family, the Viverrids.
 Bornean Clouded LeopardNeofelis diardiOnce thought to have been a subspecies of the
mainland Clouded Leopard, this medium sized
feline is the newest feline described by science,
even if it's existence has been known for centuries.
As the majority of it's prey live in the trees,
Bornean Clouded Leopards are adept climbers.
 Borneo River SharkGlyphis sp. B
This species of shark is incredibly new to science,
and part of a family of scarcely known freshwater
sharks. Thought to be about two metres long,
several smaller specimens have been found in the
Kinabatangan River in Borneo. Flatback TurtleNatator depressus
This species of sea turtle is endemic to the
continental shelf of Australia, found in the seas
between Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand, as
well as southern Indonesia. It lays fewer eggs than other sea
turtle species, but these eggs are also larger. This
species is vulnerable and its hatchlings are threatened by both
land and sea predators.
 Spotted CuscusSpilocuscus maculatus
The spotted cuscus lives in northern Australia and the island
of New Guinea where it inhabits the tropical rainforests. The
cuscus is a very shy animal and is therefore very rarely seen,
especially in Australia. However, the cuscus is not in danger
of becoming extinct. They are solitary creatures, spending their
nights foraging for food and sleeping during the day up
in the safety of the trees.
 Northern CassowaryCasuarius unappendiculatus
The Northern Cassowary is a large flightless bird,
found primarily in northern New Guinea. They are solitary animals,
and like all members of the cassowary family, it is the males
that look after the eggs and chicks. Like many rainforest
dwelling animals, they are vulnerable to habitat loss and hunting.
 Hector's DolphinCephalorhynchus hectoriThis dolphin lives solely within the waters surrounding New
Zealand. They are very small dolphins that generally stay
in groups of two to eight, but occasionally merge into groups
of twenty or even up to two-hundred. They feed on a variety
of marine life, including fish, squid and crustaceans.
Unfortunately, due to its small, coastal range, the dolphin is
highly sensitive to pollutants in the water as well as entanglement
in nets.
 TakahePorphyrio hochstetteri
The takahe is now confined to the grassy mountains
on the South Island of New Zealand after the northern
species went extinct. This flightless bird was thought
to be extinct entirely until more were discovered in 1948.
Now, many conservation efforts are in place to help
revive this endangered bird.
 Speckled Longfin EelAnguilla reinhardtii
New Guinea, Tasmania and New Caledonia it's home. Found in all
sources of fresh water including rivers, ponds and lakes, it has a
wide and varied diet including crustaceans, amphibians, fish and even
small waterfowl.
Sri Lankan Axis Deer Axis axis ceylonensis The Sri Lankan axis deer is a subspecies of the Axis Deer, also known as the spotted deer or the chital. The name chital, however, is not used in Sri lanka. This deer lives in the dry forests of Sri Lanka where if feeds mainly on grasses, fruits and leaves.The mainland axis deer is not considered threatened, but the Sri Lankan subspecies is vulnerable due to the smaller range as well as hunting and deforestation.
Daubentonia madagascariensis Aye-ayes are endemic to Madagascar where they come out at night to
forage through the canopy. Generally aye-ayes are solitary, but sometimes form foraging groups of 2-3 individuals. They tend to eat insects and fruits that they find throughout the forest. The aye-aye is listed as endangered due to the vast amount of rainforest destruction, as well as being killed by natives who see them as pests and bad omens.
Dendrolagus mbaiso The Dingiso or Bondegezou is a type of marsupial known as a tree-kangaroo, but paradoxically the Dingiso actually spends most of its time on the ground! It is an ancestor for the Moni tribe, and the mbaiso in it's name means "the forbidden animal". It is endemic to Western New Guinea and eats mostly leaves and fruit.
Eupleres goudotii The falanouc is extremely rare and solitary, so not much is currently known about its behaviors. The falanouc lives in the lowland rainforests of Madagascar where it feeds on insects, primarily earthworms. They defend large territories that are marked using special scent glands. The falanouc is considered endangered due to human activity and predation by domestic dogs.
 Streaked TenrecHemicentetes semispinosus The streaked tenrec lives in the rainforest of Madagascar where it feeds primarily on earthworms in groups of a few individuals up to about fifteen. Tenrecs make many sounds for communication, including one by vibrating specialized quills. The tenrec also constructs nesting burrows where it gives birth to a litter of 2 to 4 babies but up to 11 in some conditions!
Hispaniolan Solenodon Solenodon paradoxus
The Hispaniolan solenodon is an extremely strange animal that lives only on the island of Hispaniola, shared by the nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The solenodon has toxic saliva that flows through a grove in its teeth, making it one of only a few venomous mammals. The solenodon has essentially no natural predators, and thus evolved with very few defenses, but with the introduction of feral cats and dogs, the solenodon's future began to look bleak, and this particular species is listed as endangered.
Cuban Hutia Capromys pilorides The Cuban, or Desmarest's Hutia is a species of rodent found only on the island of Cuba, but is quite common on the island. It has been hunted for food in the past, because its large size made it a substantial meal. Hutias, like most rodents, are diurnal, meaning that they are most active at dawn and dusk, and their diets are omnivorous, meaning they eat leaves, bark and fruit, as well as insects and small lizards.
Procyon pygmaeus The Cozumel Island raccoon lives only on Cozumel Island where it tends to dwell in mangrove wetland areas. This raccoon is closely related to its mainland cousin, but with clear differences in appearance including a much smaller size and redder tail. This raccoon is endangered due to habitat loss and scientists do not know much about it.
Cozumel Island Coati Nasua nelsoni The Cozumel Island Coati is a species (although whether it is a subspecies instead is under debate!) of coati that resides on the island of Cozumel. It is one of the smaller species of coati, and was probably introduced to the island by the Mayans. These coatis are omnivorous and active during the day, retreating to the tree branches at night for safety.
Coryphaena hippurus The Mahi-mahi, or dolphin-fish, is found in tropical and temperate waters across many areas of the world, and is often hunted for both pleasure and food. It is one of the fastest growing fish, reaching nearly five feet in length. The males have blunt protruding foreheads, whilst the females have a more regular head shape. Their bright colours make them an attractive catch, but the population appears to be stable because of their fast growth and rapid reproductive cycle. |
