10 Animals You Won't Believe Are Real
- 8 years ago
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Here's further proof that it's a wild and wonderful world. Some of these animals seem like they're characters from a Sci-Fi movie about Mars, others look like they're from another dimension...but all of them are here on earth.
1. The Irrawaddy Dolphin
Irrawaddy dolphins are found in coastal areas in South and South east Asia. These animals are known for their bulging forehead and short beak, giving them a far stranger appearance than other dolphins.
2. The Dumbo Octopus
The ear-like fins of this octopus have earned it the name “Dumbo.” The octopus lives at extreme depths of 10,000 to 11,000 feet, searching for worms and other crustaceans at the sea floor.
3. Red Lipped Batfish
Batfish are found in the waters around the Galapagos Islands, but are terrible swimmers. Instead, the fish have learned to walk the ocean floor on their fins.
4. Mantis Shrimp
The colourful mantis shrimp spends most of its life tucked away in burrows and holes, meaning that we know very little about them. The shrimp is capable of breaking through aquariums by moving at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.
5. The Gnome Shark
The terrifying goblin shark measures between 8 and 13 feet and was first discovered in 1898. Referred to as a ‘living fossil,’ these terrifying animals are the only surviving member of a 125 million year-old family.
6. The Barreleye Fish
The barreleye, found at depths of 2000 feet in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, is most notable for its transparent head and highly sensitive eyes. The green lenses above each eye allow the fish to filter out what little sunlight makes it down to these depths and focus on the lights of its prey.
7. The Snub Nose Monkey
David Attenborough once remarked that these marvelous monkeys look like “elves” and others like “plastic surgery gone too far.” Found in Asia, at heights of up to 13,000 feet, these primates with a short stump of a nose are rarely spotted.
8. Yeti Crab
Only recently discovered in 2005, not much is known about this hairy crustacean found in the South Pacific Ocean.
9. Frilled Shark
In the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans this prehistoric beast boasts 300 trident-shaped teeth, aligned in 25 rows to rip through any prey. Scientists also believe that the frilled shark breaks the record for gestation periods amongst sharks, taking three and a half years to give birth.
10. Giant Crab
This arthropod can reach heights of 12 feet tall and weigh up to 42 pounds, all while moving like a spider - yikes! The crabs are only found in the waters off the island of Honsh?.
11. Blobfish
Deep in the waters off the coast of Australia and Tasmania is the ‘unique’ blobfish. The flesh of a blobfish is a gelatinous mass that’s less dense than water, giving the fish its unique look, and allowing it to float above the sea floor without swimming.
12. Sarcastic Fringehead
While the name would have you think otherwise, these fish are far more vicious than they are sarcastic. Found in the waters off the West Coast of America, fringeheads can grow 12 inches long and have eerily large mouths, which they press up against each others, as if kissing, to assert authority.
13. Long Necked Turtle
These turtles with a rather literal name can be found throughout Australia. Their remarkable necks can reach the same length as their shells, or around 10 inches.
14. Bearded Vulture
These beautiful birds inhabit Everest, the Himalayas and other mountainous regions in Europe and Asia. They were nearly eradicated because people used to fear that bearded vultures would attack lambs and children, and now, the WWF estimates only 10,000 are left.
15. The Chinese Water Deer
Chinese Water Deer have earned the nickname “Vampire Deer” for their prominent tusks, which are used in territorial battles.
16. The Aye-Aye
The aye-aye is a nocturnal lemur native only to Madagascar. The creature has rodent-like teeth which it uses to chew small holes into trees and then uses its narrow fingers to pull grubs out.
17. The Panda Any
This fluffy creature with panda markings is actually a type of wingless wasp from South America. It has only been spotted a handful of times but it is known to have a potent sting.
18. The Sea Bunny
This is supposedly an adorable sea slug that just so happens to look like a bunny rabbit. Honestly, that’s the most fake thing science has ever tried to tell us.
19. The Saiga
The saiga is a critically endangered antelope that inhabits the Eurasian steppe, including Dzungaria and Mongolia. Its strange nose is extremely flexible and helps to filter out dust kicked up by the migrating herd.
20. Dragon Slug
Called the “blue dragon”, this fantastical creature is actually a one inch long sea slug. Commonly found off the East and South Coast of South Africa and Australia, divers should beware the powerful sting of this beast.
Here's further proof that it's a wild and wonderful world. Some of these animals seem like they're characters from a Sci-Fi movie about Mars, others look like they're from another dimension...but all of them are here on earth.
1. The Irrawaddy Dolphin
Irrawaddy dolphins are found in coastal areas in South and South east Asia. These animals are known for their bulging forehead and short beak, giving them a far stranger appearance than other dolphins.
2. The Dumbo Octopus
The ear-like fins of this octopus have earned it the name “Dumbo.” The octopus lives at extreme depths of 10,000 to 11,000 feet, searching for worms and other crustaceans at the sea floor.
3. Red Lipped Batfish
Batfish are found in the waters around the Galapagos Islands, but are terrible swimmers. Instead, the fish have learned to walk the ocean floor on their fins.
4. Mantis Shrimp
The colourful mantis shrimp spends most of its life tucked away in burrows and holes, meaning that we know very little about them. The shrimp is capable of breaking through aquariums by moving at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.
5. The Gnome Shark
The terrifying goblin shark measures between 8 and 13 feet and was first discovered in 1898. Referred to as a ‘living fossil,’ these terrifying animals are the only surviving member of a 125 million year-old family.
6. The Barreleye Fish
The barreleye, found at depths of 2000 feet in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, is most notable for its transparent head and highly sensitive eyes. The green lenses above each eye allow the fish to filter out what little sunlight makes it down to these depths and focus on the lights of its prey.
7. The Snub Nose Monkey
David Attenborough once remarked that these marvelous monkeys look like “elves” and others like “plastic surgery gone too far.” Found in Asia, at heights of up to 13,000 feet, these primates with a short stump of a nose are rarely spotted.
8. Yeti Crab
Only recently discovered in 2005, not much is known about this hairy crustacean found in the South Pacific Ocean.
9. Frilled Shark
In the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans this prehistoric beast boasts 300 trident-shaped teeth, aligned in 25 rows to rip through any prey. Scientists also believe that the frilled shark breaks the record for gestation periods amongst sharks, taking three and a half years to give birth.
10. Giant Crab
This arthropod can reach heights of 12 feet tall and weigh up to 42 pounds, all while moving like a spider - yikes! The crabs are only found in the waters off the island of Honsh?.
11. Blobfish
Deep in the waters off the coast of Australia and Tasmania is the ‘unique’ blobfish. The flesh of a blobfish is a gelatinous mass that’s less dense than water, giving the fish its unique look, and allowing it to float above the sea floor without swimming.
12. Sarcastic Fringehead
While the name would have you think otherwise, these fish are far more vicious than they are sarcastic. Found in the waters off the West Coast of America, fringeheads can grow 12 inches long and have eerily large mouths, which they press up against each others, as if kissing, to assert authority.
13. Long Necked Turtle
These turtles with a rather literal name can be found throughout Australia. Their remarkable necks can reach the same length as their shells, or around 10 inches.
14. Bearded Vulture
These beautiful birds inhabit Everest, the Himalayas and other mountainous regions in Europe and Asia. They were nearly eradicated because people used to fear that bearded vultures would attack lambs and children, and now, the WWF estimates only 10,000 are left.
15. The Chinese Water Deer
Chinese Water Deer have earned the nickname “Vampire Deer” for their prominent tusks, which are used in territorial battles.
16. The Aye-Aye
The aye-aye is a nocturnal lemur native only to Madagascar. The creature has rodent-like teeth which it uses to chew small holes into trees and then uses its narrow fingers to pull grubs out.
17. The Panda Any
This fluffy creature with panda markings is actually a type of wingless wasp from South America. It has only been spotted a handful of times but it is known to have a potent sting.
18. The Sea Bunny
This is supposedly an adorable sea slug that just so happens to look like a bunny rabbit. Honestly, that’s the most fake thing science has ever tried to tell us.
19. The Saiga
The saiga is a critically endangered antelope that inhabits the Eurasian steppe, including Dzungaria and Mongolia. Its strange nose is extremely flexible and helps to filter out dust kicked up by the migrating herd.
20. Dragon Slug
Called the “blue dragon”, this fantastical creature is actually a one inch long sea slug. Commonly found off the East and South Coast of South Africa and Australia, divers should beware the powerful sting of this beast.