Humans, one may say arguably, are the most peculiar creatures of the animal kingdom. We have rather weird features that to other animals may look alien. We find ourselves looking at other animals in nature and finding them weird too. Here are 10 strange creatures that you never knew existed.
1. Panda Ant
Found in the coastal region of Central Chile, these Black and white specimens are sometimes known as panda ants due to their hair coloration resembling that of the giant panda however they are in fact not ants but a species (Multillidae) of wasps. Multillidae is a family made up of more than 3,000 species of wasps in which the females represents an ant. The females of these wasp species are often wingless, huge and have fur on their body. These insects have a pretty appearance but are known as “cow-killers,” since they are capable of knocking out a cow or other animals that are much larger than they are with their nasty sting. .You certainly wouldn’t want one of these pretty hairballs stinging you.
2. Aye Aye
The aye-aye is a lemur, primate native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth that continuously grow and a special thin middle finger that is used to pull out grubs from within tree hollows. The aye-aye commonly eats seeds, fruits, nectar and fungi, but also insect larvae. Aye-ayes tap on the trunks and branches of trees at a rate of up to eight times per second, and listen to the echo produced to find hollow chambers in which hide their favorite insect larvae.
3. Star nosed Mole
The star-nosed mole is a small mole found in wet low areas of eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. This mole is easily identified by the twenty-two pink fleshy appendages ringing their snout which is used as a touch organ with more than 25,000 minute sensory receptor with which they feels their way around.
4. Dumbo Octopus
These kinds of Octopus are called Dumbo Octopos because of how their ear-like fins protruding from the top of their head-like bodies resemble the ears of Walt Disney’s flying elephant Dumbo. They live at extreme depths of 3,000 to 4,000 meters below sea level, which is the deepest of any known octopus. They do look cute don’t they but the only way you can see them face to face is by diving to those depths.
5. BlobFish
The Blobfish inhabits the deep waters off the coasts of mainland Australia and Tasmania, as well as the waters of New Zealand. The flesh of the Blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water; this allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming.
6. Red Lipped Batfish
This fish is mainly known for its bright red lips. Batfish are not good swimmers; they use their highly adapted pectoral fins to “walk” on the ocean floor. Red-lipped batfish have extremely bright red lips, which allow people to distinguish them from other batfish. Marine biologists believe that the bright red lips of the red-lipped batfish may be used to enhance species recognition during spawning. Who says only women love red lips?
7. Penis Snake
Oh Yes. You heard the name right. This is a limbless amphibian that resembles an earthworm or as some say, part of the male genitals. The “penis snake” feeds on small fish, worms, and other aquatic invertebrates, has poor eye-sight and navigate primarily though smell and were discovered by engineers building a dam in the Amazon. What say guys? Seems familiar?
8. Blue Dragon
These beautiful creatures are sea slugs that float upside down by using the surface tension of the water to stay up, where they are carried along by the winds and ocean currents. It has dark blue stripes on its head. It has a flat, tapering body and six appendages that branch out into rayed like fins. They can be found off the coast of Andhra Pradesh, in the Bay of Bengal and off the coast of Tamil Nadu. However don’t ever catch them with your bare hands, they gill give you a very nasty sting.
9. Sea Pig
Sea Pigs are closely related to sea cucumbers .The average sea pig has a fat, oval body, with a length ranging from 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches). The mouth is surrounded by ten feeding tentacles and they have five to seven pairs of feet that are used exclusively for walking on the sea bottom. They can be found in deep ocean bottoms in all major oceans, at depths of 1000 meters or greater. Do I hear Bacon?
10. Mexican Walking Fish
Although colloquially it is known as a “walking fish”, it is not a fish, but an amphibian. Their heads are wide, and their eyes are lidless. Their limbs are underdeveloped and possess long, thin digits. The axolotl is carnivorous, consuming small prey such as worms, insects, and small fish in the wild. These creatures are sold as food in Mexican markets. The sad part is that these exotic alien looking creatures are on the verge of extinction because of habitat destruction and water pollution.
Comment and tell us which of these 11 creatures you found to be strangest. If you know of other strange creatures then do tell us in the comments below and we will add them to the article.
