Have you heard of a caterpillar that fights using its cast-off skin? How about a "wolf" that looks like a fox and loves fruit? There's plenty of strange beasts in the world - let's take a look at...
This macabre arrangement may actually serve a purpose. Being a slow-moving leaf-eater, it is pretty vulnerable to predators such as stink bugs. By using the "hat" the caterpillar can bat away any small predator that gets close, meaning that they may give up and seek easier, less annoying prey.
This huge mouth is put to good use crunching up crustaceans or battling other fringeheads - the fish slam their open mouths together in a "who has the biggest mouth" competition, with the loser being driven away.
If pressed, the velvet ant will retaliate with a vicious stinger that can reach half its body length in size. The pain of the sting varies from species to species with Dasymutilla klugii holding the record - entomologist Justin Schmidt likens it to being splashed with oil straight from a deep fat fryer. The pain can be so intense that an urban myth arose from it, labelling the velvet ants as "cow killers."
The armadillo girdled lizard can shed its tail as a distraction, but this leaves it unable to curl into a ball until it regrows. It compensates by having a surprisingly strong bite that can sever digits or small limbs, especially if the lizard rolls to deflect an attack!
Large blooms of these cnidarians appear in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Adriatic during late Summer and early Autumn. The image of a swarm of carnivorous fried eggs may seem like something out of a low budget horror movie, but their sting poses no real threat to humans. In fact, extracts from these creatures have some potential as a cancer treatment.
With a thick, dusty-red coat and long black legs, this omnivorous survivalist is well adapted to the savannas that make its home. Around 50% of their diet is fruit and vegetable based - they show a particular affinity for lobeira, a shrub that produces fruit resembling tomatoes externally and aubergines (eggplants) internally. The rest of their diet consists of small animals, located via their large ears or the high vantage point provided by their long legs. Once a meal is located, the maned wolf will flush it out with foot tapping, dig for it or even leap into the air to catch small birds.
7. The SiphonophoreThe Portuguese man o' war might seem like one of the strangest colony animals out there... but the giant siphonophore has it beaten. Like a giant bioluminescent rope, these entities are made up of tiny clones making a free-floating structure.
Like the man o'war, the giant siphonophore captures prey to consume. However, rather than a jellyfish shape it stretches out in a massive "string" only an inch or so across. One example sighted off the coast of Australia reached a mighty 46m long!
The male tufted deer has elongated tusk-like canines in the upper jaw, which it uses in combination with their horns in a fight. Despite their vampiric appearance, these deer are herbivorous and prefer flight to a fight - they bob up and down whilst moving in an erratic pattern, able to confuse an attacker as their white tail flips in and out of sight.
Researchers have found juvenile king crabs huddled between the tubular feet beneath the sea pig. It is thought that the crustaceans are using the sea pigs as mobile cover - the flat muddy plains of the deep ocean floor offer little shelter until you can burrow!
- The Mad Hatterpillar (beats predators with cast-off skin)
- The Sarcastic Fringehead (the mouthy blenny)
- The Velvet Ant (really a squeaking, wingless wasp)
- The Armadillo Girdled Lizard (part armadillo, part crocodile)
- The Fried Egg Jellyfish (attack of the killer breakfast)
- The Maned Wolf (neither wolf nor fox, but a fruit-loving canid)
- The Siphonophore (stinging sea-rope)
- The Tufted Deer (venison with a bite)
- The Sea Pig (a sea-cucumber ridden by crabs)
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| Tufted deer have fangs! (Surprising_Media) |
1. The Mad Hatterpillar
Like many caterpillars, Uraba lugens molts as it grows. Unlike other caterpillars, it keeps the heads of its previous exoskeletons, stacking them up like a hat. The whole arrangement is thought to be held together by sticky hairs on the crown of the head, resulting in a cone of discarded exoskeleton.This macabre arrangement may actually serve a purpose. Being a slow-moving leaf-eater, it is pretty vulnerable to predators such as stink bugs. By using the "hat" the caterpillar can bat away any small predator that gets close, meaning that they may give up and seek easier, less annoying prey.
2. The Sarcastic Fringehead
Making a home in anything from an empty shell to a discarded bottle, this blenny comes equipped with a huge mouth. With splayed jawbones, a flexible cheek membrane, a double row of teeth, a purple tongue and yellow mouth rim, these fish can put on a disturbing display when they want by simply opening their mouth.This huge mouth is put to good use crunching up crustaceans or battling other fringeheads - the fish slam their open mouths together in a "who has the biggest mouth" competition, with the loser being driven away.
3. The Velvet Ant
Covered in a coat of fur, often brightly colored and possessing a loud warning squeak, the female "velvet ant" is really a wingless wasp. Whilst the males are winged, the females traipse across the ground in search of food and nest sites - leaving them much more vulnerable. As a result, the female boasts strong muscles and a hardened exoskeleton that takes a lot of pressure to crush (around 11 times that required to crush a honeybee) and easily deflects bites and stings.If pressed, the velvet ant will retaliate with a vicious stinger that can reach half its body length in size. The pain of the sting varies from species to species with Dasymutilla klugii holding the record - entomologist Justin Schmidt likens it to being splashed with oil straight from a deep fat fryer. The pain can be so intense that an urban myth arose from it, labelling the velvet ants as "cow killers."
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| Actually a wasp... (Brett_Hondow) |
4. The Armadillo Girdled Lizard
Looking like a draconic creature crawling straight from the pages of a sword and sorcery novel, Cordylus cataphractus is a lizard from the semi-desert Karoo region of South Africa. This reptile comes sports bony scales that offer protection against attackers, especially when it enters a defensive posture - the lizard grips its tail in its jaws and curls up into a tight and armored ball.The armadillo girdled lizard can shed its tail as a distraction, but this leaves it unable to curl into a ball until it regrows. It compensates by having a surprisingly strong bite that can sever digits or small limbs, especially if the lizard rolls to deflect an attack!
5. The Fried Egg Jellyfish
Perhaps one of the most surreal sights in the ocean, Cotylorhiza tuberculata consists of a yellow blob inside a translucent-white body, making it resemble a fried egg. This 35cm diameter jellyfish sports a trailing mass of tentacles beneath the body - some of which hold zooxanthellae, symbiotic algae that provide some food for the jellyfish via photosynthesis. The rest of the tentacles are coated in nematocyst cells, miniature barbed chemical bombs that detonate on contact like a poisoned harpoon. These are used to hunt the prey of the fried egg jellyfish - usually gelatinous plankton and other, smaller jellyfish.Large blooms of these cnidarians appear in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Adriatic during late Summer and early Autumn. The image of a swarm of carnivorous fried eggs may seem like something out of a low budget horror movie, but their sting poses no real threat to humans. In fact, extracts from these creatures have some potential as a cancer treatment.
6. The Maned Wolf
Despite looking like a fox and being called a wolf the maned wolf is neither, being the only member of the genus Chrysocyon. They are the largest canid in South America (standing just shy of a meter at the shoulder) and only puma or domestic dogs are known to kill them.With a thick, dusty-red coat and long black legs, this omnivorous survivalist is well adapted to the savannas that make its home. Around 50% of their diet is fruit and vegetable based - they show a particular affinity for lobeira, a shrub that produces fruit resembling tomatoes externally and aubergines (eggplants) internally. The rest of their diet consists of small animals, located via their large ears or the high vantage point provided by their long legs. Once a meal is located, the maned wolf will flush it out with foot tapping, dig for it or even leap into the air to catch small birds.
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| The maned wolf is neither a wolf or fox - it also likes vegetables! (aiamkay) |
7. The SiphonophoreThe Portuguese man o' war might seem like one of the strangest colony animals out there... but the giant siphonophore has it beaten. Like a giant bioluminescent rope, these entities are made up of tiny clones making a free-floating structure.
Like the man o'war, the giant siphonophore captures prey to consume. However, rather than a jellyfish shape it stretches out in a massive "string" only an inch or so across. One example sighted off the coast of Australia reached a mighty 46m long!
8. The Tufted Deer
You wouldn't expect a small deer to be packing a set of fangs, but the tufted deer can bring a dangerous bite to any conflict. Native to Myanmar and China, these creatures live in high-altitude forests and rainforests.The male tufted deer has elongated tusk-like canines in the upper jaw, which it uses in combination with their horns in a fight. Despite their vampiric appearance, these deer are herbivorous and prefer flight to a fight - they bob up and down whilst moving in an erratic pattern, able to confuse an attacker as their white tail flips in and out of sight.
9. The Sea Pig
Sometimes reaching a diminutive 15cm in length, the sea pig is not the most imposing of animals. This marine invertebrate is a type of sea cucumber, sifting through the muddy sediment to find chunks of decaying flesh, vegetation or feces that it scoops up with tentacles around its mouth. Massive gatherings of these pinkish creatures can occur in the right circumstances, such as when a whale carcass falls to the ocean floor.Researchers have found juvenile king crabs huddled between the tubular feet beneath the sea pig. It is thought that the crustaceans are using the sea pigs as mobile cover - the flat muddy plains of the deep ocean floor offer little shelter until you can burrow!
Thanks for reading - for more curious creatures, try...