The variety of shapes, colors and sizes of the creatures that inhabit our planet surpasses even the richest imagination. We are pleased to introduce you the most unusual animals in the world. Some of them look like characters in a science fiction movie about Mars, others seem to have come from a different dimension, but they all live on Earth and were created by Mother Nature.
25. Octopus Dumbo
The funny octopus opens the hit parade of amazing creatures. He lives at great depths (from one hundred to five thousand meters) and is primarily engaged in the search for crustaceans and worms on the seabed. The octopus got its name, reminiscent of a baby elephant with big ears, thanks to two fins of an unusual shape.
24. Darwin's Bat
Creatures from the bat family are found in the waters around the Galapagos Islands. They are terrible swimmers and instead learned to walk the bottom of the ocean on their fins.
23. Chinese water deer
This animal received the nickname "Vampire deer" for its outstanding fangs, which are used in battles for the territory.
22. Starbringer
The small North American mole got its name from a circle of 22 pink, fleshy tentacles at the end of the snout. They are used to identify food of the starfish (worms, insects, and crustaceans) to the touch.
21. Ay-ah
In this photo - one of the most unusual animals in the world with the name "ah-ah" or "arm-shaped". This native of Madagascar is distinguished by its unique method of finding food; he knocks on trees to find larvae, and then gnaws holes in the wood and inserts an elongated middle finger to pull out the prey.
20. The Living Stone
Pyura Chilensis are living, breathing organisms that live on Chilean beaches. Their appearance allows them to avoid predators. Interestingly, these creatures have both male and female organs and can reproduce without the help of a partner.
19. Fish pacu
Freshwater fish with human teeth are found in rivers in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, as well as in Papua New Guinea. The nightmare of local fishermen who are afraid to swim in the water due to the fact that the male eggs are confused with pacus with nuts falling from the trees into the water.
18. Drop fish
One of the strangest animals in the world. From the appearance of this creature, we can say that it is embodied despondency. It lives in deep waters off the coast of Australia and Tasmania.
A drop fish lives in the depths and its flesh is a gel-like mass with a density slightly less than that of water. This allows the “dull” creature to stay afloat.
17. Eastern long-necked tortoise
These turtles can be found throughout Australia. Their wonderful necks can reach a length of up to 25 cm.
16. Surinamese pipa
The leaf-like appearance of the Surinamese pipa is a natural defense against predators. These toads have a unique method of reproduction: the female lays eggs, and the male simultaneously releases sperm. The female dives down and the eggs fall on her back, in the cells where they are, until the young peeps have time to be born.
15. Crab Yeti
The “hairy” claws of this crustacean, which lives in the depths of the southern part of the Pacific Ocean, contain many filamentous bacteria. They are needed to neutralize toxic minerals from water and, possibly, serve their carrier as food.
14. The bearded man
These beautiful birds inhabit Everest, the Himalayas and other mountainous regions in Europe and Asia. They were almost destroyed because people feared that bearded men would attack animals and children. Now there are only 10 thousand of them left on Earth.
13. Pike sea dog
They live in the waters off the west coast of America, can grow up to 30 cm in length and have frighteningly large mouths. Their pike sea dogs show each other, as if kissing. Who has a larger mouth, and that is more important.
12. Decorated Tree Kite
A revived nightmare of many people: a snake that climbs trees and then jumps down. Before the jump, the reptile curls up in a spiral, and then abruptly turns and throws itself into the air. In flight, it stretches out and gently lands on the lower branch or another tree. Fortunately, bats do not pay attention to people, they are more interested in bats, frogs and rodents.
11. What kind of North American
The homeland of this cute little raccoon animal is the arid regions of North America. Kakomitsli is so easy to tame that miners and settlers once held them as companions and gave the nickname "miner cat".
10. Striped Tenrek
It lives only in the tropical forests of Madagascar. Tenrek is somewhat similar to porcupine, and the needles in the central part of the back can vibrate. With their help, animals locate each other.
9. Pink Sea Cucumber
It looks like a character in a science fiction film, but in fact - a harmless creature. And more like a jellyfish than its kinsmen the holothurians. Around his red mouth are tentacles that dig up edible dirt from the bottom of the sea. From there, it enters the creature’s intestines.
8. Rinopithecus
The famous TV presenter and naturalist David Attenborough once noticed that these amazing monkeys with a stubby nose and a blue “mask” around their eyes look like “elves”. And you can, looking at them, say that "plastic surgery has gone too far." Rinopithecus live in Asia, at altitudes of up to 4000 meters and are rarely found in humans.
7. Mantis Cancer
The colorful mantis or mantis shrimp spends most of its life hiding in burrows. Able to break through the walls of aquariums by moving at speeds up to 80 km per hour. During mating games, mantis shrimps actively fluoresce, and the fluorescence wavelength corresponds to the wavelength that pigments can perceive in their eyes.
6. Panda ant
Among the most unusual animals of the planet is a furry creature with the coloring of a panda. In fact, this is not an ant, but a wingless wasp that lives in South America. She is very similar in appearance to an ant, but, unlike him, has a powerful sting.
5. Leaf-tailed gecko
The master of disguise comes from Madagascar. Thanks to its leaf-shaped tail, it can fit into the “interior” of the local jungle.
4. Gerenuk
It's hard to believe that this long-necked charm is not a mini giraffe, but a real African gazelle. In order to reach the high branches, the henrenuck lacks only the length of the neck. I have to stand on my hind legs.
3. Chinese giant salamander
It can grow up to 180 cm long and weighs up to 70 kg. If you are in China and you see such a creature in the local reservoir, then you should know that the water in this reservoir is very clean and cold.
2. Angora rabbit
It looks like the result of an experiment in crossing a snowman with a kitten. Angora rabbits were extremely popular in the 17th and 18th centuries among European nobles. They were not eaten, but kept as a pet.
1. A goblin shark (aka a brownie shark)
The first number of our top 25 strange creatures is a rare shark, sometimes called a "living fossil." This is the only surviving representative of the Skapanorinch family, whose pedigree is about 125 million years old. Goblin sharks live all over the world at depths of more than 100 m, therefore they are not dangerous for swimmers.
