Unknown animals. The most unusual animals: the fantasy of nature

On my website, I regularly tell you about, for example, just a couple of days ago I published an article about. The rating of the article exceeded all my expectations and I decided to add more to this list 25 extraordinary animals.
1 Leafy Sea Dragon

What kind of animal: Sea fish, a relative of the sea horse.
Habitat: In the waters surrounding southern and western, more often in shallow water, in moderately warm water.
Distinguishing Features: The leaf-like appendages of the head and body serve only as a camouflage. Moves with the help of the pectoral fin located on the crest of the neck, as well as the dorsal fin in the region of the tip of the tail. These fins are completely transparent.
Dimensions: grows up to 45 cm.
By the way: the leafy sea dragon is the official emblem of the state of South Australia.

2. Malayan bear or biruang

What kind of animal: A mammal of the bear family.
Location: Northeast and the southern part through Myanmar, Thailand, the peninsulas of Indochina and Malacca to Indonesia.
Distinguishing Features: Stocky, strong animal with a short and broad muzzle. Ears are short and rounded. The limbs are high with disproportionately large paws; claws very large, curved. Feet are bare. The fangs are small. The fur of the biruang is short, hard and smooth. The color is black, on the muzzle it turns to roan-yellow. On the chest there is usually a large whitish or reddish spot in the form of a horseshoe, reminiscent of the shape and color of the rising sun. A nocturnal animal, often sleeping or sunbathing in the branches of trees for days on end, where it builds a kind of nest for itself.
Dimensions: The smallest representative of the bear family: it does not exceed 1.5 m in length (plus 3-7 cm tail), the height at the withers is only 50-70 cm; weight 27-65 kg.
By the way: Biruangs are one of the rarest types of bears.

3. Komondor

What kind of animal: The Hungarian Shepherd is a breed of dog.

Special signs: When keeping a Komondor, special care is required for its coat, the length of which can reach almost a meter. It is not subject to combing, but, as it grows, the formed strands must be separated so that the wool does not fall off.
Dimensions: This "King of the Hungarian Sheepdogs" is one of the most large dogs in the world, the growth at the withers in males is more than 80 cm, and the long White wool, folded into original laces, makes the dog even more massive and impressive.
By the way: Feeding this huge dog is not difficult. Like any shepherd dogs, they are very unpretentious and eat very little, a little more than 1 kg of food per day.

4. Angora rabbit

What kind of animal: A mammal from the breed of rodents.
Habitat: Where his home is, since this is a pet. More precisely, everywhere.
Special signs: This animal is really extremely impressive, there are specimens in which wool reaches a length of up to 80 cm. This wool is very much appreciated, and a wide variety of useful things are prepared from it, even linen, stockings, gloves, scarves and, finally, just fabrics. A kilogram of Angora rabbit wool is usually valued at 10 - 12 rubles. One rabbit can deliver up to 0.5 kg of such wool per year, but usually delivers less. The Angora rabbit is bred most often by ladies, which is why it is sometimes called "ladies".
Dimensions: Average weight 5 kg, body length 61 cm, chest girth 38 cm, but options are possible.
By the way: These rabbits should be combed every week, because if you do not take care of their hair, they get a disgusting appearance.

5. Lesser panda

What kind of animal: an animal of the raccoon family.
Habitat: China, northern Burma, Bhutan, and northeastern India. Not found west of Nepal. Lives in mountain bamboo forests at an altitude of 2000-4000 m above sea level in a temperate climate.
Distinguishing Features: Red or hazel on top, dark, tan or black underneath. The hair on the back has yellow tips. The paws are glossy black, the tail is red, with inconspicuous lighter narrow rings, the head is light, and the edges of the ears and muzzle are almost white, and a pattern in the form of a mask near the eyes. The small panda leads a predominantly nocturnal (or rather, twilight) lifestyle, during the day it sleeps in a hollow, curled up and covering its head with its tail. In case of danger, it also climbs trees. On the ground, pandas move slowly and awkwardly, but they climb trees very well, but, nevertheless, it feeds mainly on the ground - mainly young leaves and bamboo shoots.
Dimensions: body length 51-64 cm, tail 28-48 cm, weight 3-4.5 kg
By the way: Red pandas live alone. The "personal" territory of the female occupies an area of ​​​​about 2.5 square meters. km, the male - twice as much.

6. Sloth

What kind of animal: A toothless mammal belonging to the Bradypodidae family.
Habitat: found in Central and South America.
Special signs: Sloths spend almost all the time hanging on a tree branch with their backs down, 15 hours a day sloths sleep. The physiology and behavior of sloths is oriented towards energy austerity, as they feed on low-calorie leaves. Digestion takes about a month. In a well-fed sloth, ⅔ of its body weight can be food in the stomach. Sloths have a long neck to get leaves from large area without moving. The body temperature of an active sloth is 30-34 ° C, and even lower at rest. Sloths really do not like to get down from trees, because on the ground they are completely helpless. In addition, it requires energy costs. They climb down to perform natural needs, which they do only once a week (therefore bladder they are huge) and sometimes to move to another tree, where, in order to save energy, they often gather in groups in the forks of branches. There is an assumption that at the same time they lazily mate.
Dimensions: Sloth body weight different types varies from 4 to 9 kg, and the body length is about 60 centimeters.
By the way: Sloths are so slow that a moth often lives in their fur.

7. Imperial Tamarina

What kind of animal: Primate, chain-tailed monkey.
Habitat: In the rainforests of the Amazon Basin in areas of southeast Peru, northwest Bolivia and northwest Brazil.
Special signs: Distinctive feature species - especially long white mustaches hanging down to the chest and shoulders in two strands. The fingers have claws, not nails, only the big toes of the hind legs have nails. They spend most of their lives in trees, where larger species of monkeys cannot climb because of their weight.
Dimensions: Body length is 9.2-10.4 inches, tail length is 14-16.6 inches. The mass of adults is 180-250 g.
By the way: Tamarins live in groups of 2-8 individuals. All members of the group have their own rank, and the old female is at the highest level. Therefore, the cubs are carried by males.

8. White-faced saki

What kind of animal: Primate, broad-nosed monkey.
Habitat: They live in rain forests, more arid forests, and even in the savannas of the Amazon, Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.
Distinguishing features: The color of the coat is black, the front of the head, forehead and throat in males are light, almost white. Sometimes the head is reddish. The coat is thick and soft, the tail is long and fluffy. The tail is not grasping. In females, the general color is brown and solid. There are lighter stripes around the nose and mouth.
Dimensions: Males have a mass of 1.5-2 kg and are somewhat heavier than females. Body length 15 inches, tail 20 inches.
By the way: White-faced saki spend their whole lives on trees. Sometimes they descend into the lower tier of the tropical forest (on the lower branches of trees and shrubs) in search of food. In case of danger, they make long jumps, while the tail serves as a balancer. Active during the day and at night.

9. Tapir

What kind of animal: A large herbivore from the order of equids.
Habitat: In Central America, in warm places of South America and in southeast Asia.
Special features: Tapirs are relatively ancient mammals: even among the remains of animals 55 million years old, you can find many tapir-like animals. Closest to tapirs are other odd-toed ungulates: horses and rhinos. Their front legs are four-toed, and their hind legs are three-toed, with small hooves on their fingers, helping to move along the dirty and soft ground.
Sizes: Sizes of tapirs differ from species to species, but, as a rule, the length of a tapir is about two meters, the height at the withers is about a meter, and the weight is from 150 to 300 kg.
By the way: Tapirs are forest animals, water loving. In the forests, tapirs feed on fruits, leaves, and berries. Their main enemy is a man who hunts tapirs for their meat and skin.

10. Mixins

What kind of animal: an animal from the jawless class.
Habitat: Inhabit the seas temperate latitudes, keeping near the bottom at a depth of up to 400 m. At a salinity below 29%, they stop feeding, and at 25% and below they die.
Distinguishing Features: The mouth opening of the hagfish is devoid of a suction disk and is surrounded by only two pairs of antennae. Biting into the skin of the victim with strong horny teeth, they inject enzymes that dissolve proteins. The prey of hagfish are most often weakened vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as carrion. Often they find skeletons of fish covered with skin, and inside - hagfish that have eaten away all the insides and muscles.
Dimensions: Body length up to 80 cm.
By the way: In Japan and some other countries, hagfish is eaten.

11. Starship

What kind of animal: An insectivorous mammal of the mole family.
Habitat: Occurs only in Southeastern Canada and the Northeastern United States.
Special features: Outwardly, the star-nosed star differs from other members of the family and from other small animals only by its characteristic structure of the stigma in the form of a rosette or a star of 22 soft, fleshy, mobile bare rays.
Dimensions: The size of the starship is similar to the European mole. The tail is relatively long (about 8 cm), covered with scales and sparse hair.
By the way: When the stellate is looking for food, the fleshy rays on the stigma are in constant motion, with the exception of the two middle upper ones, which are directed forward and do not bend. When he eats, the rays are drawn together in a compact pile; while eating, the animal holds food with its front paws. When the star-bearer drinks, it immerses both the stigma and all the whiskers for 5-6 seconds in water.

12. Nosach

What kind of animal: A species of primates from the subfamily of thin-bodied monkeys as part of the marmoset family.
Habitat: Distributed exclusively on the island of Borneo, where it inhabits coastal regions and valleys.
Distinguishing Features: The most conspicuous feature of the proboscis is its large, cucumber-like nose, which, however, is found only in males. The coat of the proboscis is yellowish-brown on the upper side, it is colored white on the underside. The arms, legs and tail are grey, and the hairless face is red.
Dimensions: The size of the proboscis reaches from 66 to 75 cm, the tail is about as long as the body. The weight of males ranges from 16 to 22 kg - twice as much as the weight of females.
By the way: Nosachi are excellent swimmers, jumping into the water directly from the trees and able to overcome up to 20 meters diving under water. Of all the primates, they are perhaps the best swimmers.

13. Small cloak-bearer

What kind of animal: A family of mammals of the edentulous order.
Habitat: Armadillos inhabit steppes, deserts, savannas and forest edges of Central and South America.
Distinguishing Features: These are the only modern mammals whose body is covered on top with a shell formed by dermal ossification. The carapace consists of head, shoulder and pelvic shields and a number of hoop-shaped bands encircling the body from above and from the sides. Parts of the shell are interconnected by elastic connective tissue, which gives mobility to the entire shell.
Dimensions: Body length from 12.5 (frilled armadillos) to 100 cm (giant armadillo); weight from 90 g to 60 kg. Tail length from 2.5 to 50 cm.
By the way: Airways in armadillos, they are voluminous and serve as a reservoir of air, so that these animals can hold their breath for 6 minutes. This helps them to move through the reservoirs (often armadillos simply cross them along the bottom). The air drawn into the lungs compensates for the weight of the heavy shell, allowing the armadillo to swim.

14. Axolotl

What kind of animal: A larval form of an amphibian from the ambistom family.
Habitat: In mountain ponds of Mexico.
Distinguishing features: On the sides of the axolotl's head grow long, shaggy twigs, three on each side. These are gills. Periodically, the larva presses them to the body, shakes them to clear them of organic residues. The tail of the axolotl is long and wide, which helps it well when swimming. It is interesting that the axolotl breathes with both gills and lungs - if the water is poorly oxygenated, then the axolotl switches to pulmonary breathing, and over time, its gills partially atrophy.
Dimensions: Total length - up to 30 cm.
By the way: Axolotls lead a very calm measured lifestyle, not bothering themselves with unnecessary expenditure of energy. They lie quietly at the bottom, sometimes, wagging their tail, rise to the surface of the water "for a breath of air." But this is a predator attacking the victim from an ambush.

15. Ay-ay

What kind of animal: the largest animal of their nocturnal primates.
Habitat: Eastern and northern Madagascar. Lives in the same ecological niche as woodpeckers.
Distinguishing features: It has a brown color with white specks and a large fluffy tail; it feeds, like woodpeckers, mainly on worms and larvae, although it was originally thought that they eat like rodents because of their teeth.
Dimensions: Weight - about 2.5 kg. Length - 30-37 cm without a tail and 44-53 cm with a tail.
By the way: One of the rarest animals on the planet - several dozen individuals, and therefore discovered relatively recently.

16. Alpaca

What kind of animal: an animal of the camel family.
Habitat: Peru, Bolivia, Chile, at an altitude of over 3500-5000 meters.
Distinctive features: Valued primarily for its wool (24 natural shades), which has all the properties of sheep, but is much lighter in weight. From one individual, 5 kg of wool is sheared, they are sheared once a year. The absence of front teeth forces alpacas to pick up food with their lips and chew with their side teeth. Very good-natured, intelligent, inquisitive animal.
Dimensions: Alpaca height - 61-86 cm, and weight - 45-77 kg.
By the way: The Indians believed that in order for the alpaca wool to be blessed, it was necessary to kill it by tearing the heart out of the chest. Now this is considered barbaric, but there are still cases when several men hold an alpaca, and someone cuts a heart out of its chest.

17. Tarsier

What kind of animal: a mammal from the genus of primates.
Habitat: Tarsiers live in Southeast Asia, primarily on the islands.
Distinguishing Features: Tarsiers have long hind limbs, a large head that can turn almost 360°, and good hearing. The fingers are extremely long, the ears are round and bare. Soft wool has a brown or grayish tint. However, the most notable feature is big eyes diameter up to 16 mm. In projection to human height, tarsiers correspond to the size of an apple.
Dimensions: Tarsiers are small animals, their height is from 9 to 16 cm. In addition, they have a bare tail 13 to 28 cm long. Weight varies from 80 to 160 grams.
By the way: In the past, tarsiers played a big role in the mythology and superstition of the peoples of Indonesia. The Indonesians thought that the heads of tarsiers were not attached to the body (since they could rotate almost 360 °), and were afraid to collide with them, because they believed that the same fate could happen to people in this case.

18. Dumbo Octopus

What kind of animal: Small and peculiar deep sea octopus, a representative of the cephalopods.
Habitat: Found in the Tasman Sea.
Distinguishing Features: He got his nickname, apparently, in honor of the famous cartoon character, Dumbo the elephant, who was ridiculed for his big ears(In the middle of the body, the octopus has a pair of rather long, paddle-like fins resembling ears). Its individual tentacles are literally connected to the ends by a thin elastic membrane called an umbrella. She, along with the fins, serves as the main mover of this animal, that is, the octopus moves like jellyfish, pushing water out from under the umbrella bell.
Dimensions: found octopus - half the size of a human palm.
By the way: Little is known today about the varieties, habits and behavior of these octopuses. Watch on YouTube.

19. Frilled Lizard

What kind of animal: A lizard from the Agam family.
Habitat: Northwest of Australia and south of New Guinea. There she lives in dry forests and forest-steppes.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Yellow-brown to black-brown. It is distinguished by its long tail, which is two thirds of the body length of the frilled lizard. However, the most noticeable feature is a large collar-like skin fold located around the head and adjacent to the body. The fold contains numerous blood vessels. The frilled lizard has strong limbs and sharp claws.
Dimensions: The length of the frilled lizard is from 80 to 100 cm, females are much smaller than males.
By the way: In case of danger, it opens its mouth, sticks out its brightly colored collar (it can stand up to 30 cm from the body), stands on its hind legs, makes hissing sounds and beats its tail on the ground - which makes it seem scarier and more dangerous than it is.

20. Narwhal

What kind of animal: a unicorn, a mammal of the unicorn family.
Habitat: Narwhal lives in high latitudes - in the waters of the Arctic Ocean and in the North Atlantic.
Special features: The size and shape of the body, pectoral fins and dark color of suckers are similar to beluga whales, however, adults are spotted - grayish-brown spots on a light background, which sometimes merge - and the presence of only 2 upper teeth. Of these, the left one develops in males into a tusk up to 2-3 m long and weighing up to 10 kg, twisted in a left spiral, and the right one usually does not cut through. The right tusk in males and both tusks in females are hidden in the gums and rarely develop, in about one in 500 cases.
Dimensions: The body length of an adult narwhal is 3.5-4.5 m, newborns are about 1.5 m. The weight of males reaches 1.5 tons, of which about a third of the weight is fat; females weigh about 900 kg.
By the way: Why the tusk of a narwhal is not exactly clear, but just not in order to break through a crust of ice. This tusk is a sensitive organ and supposedly allows the narwhal to sense changes in pressure, temperature, and the relative concentration of suspended particles in the water. Crossing tusks, narwhals, apparently, clear them of growths.

21. Madagascar Suckerfoot

What kind of animal: Chiropteran mammal.
Habitat: Found only in Madagascar.
Special features: At the bases of the thumbs of the wings and on the soles of the hind limbs, suckers have complex rosette suckers, which are located directly on the skin (unlike suckers in suckers bats).
Dimensions: Small animal: body length 5.7 cm, tail 4.8 cm; weight 8-10 g.
By the way: The biology and ecology of sucker-foot is practically not studied. Most likely, it uses folded leathery palm leaves as shelters, to which it clings with its suckers. All suckers were caught near the water. Included in the Red Book with the status of "vulnerable".

22. Dwarf marmoset

What kind of animal: One of the smallest primates, belongs to the broad-nosed monkeys.
Habitat: South America, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador.
Distinctive Features: The nostrils of the marmoset are directed forward, and the nose is large and wide.
Dimensions: The weight of an adult does not exceed 120 g.
By the way: It lives great in captivity. When kept, it requires a constant temperature of 25-29 degrees, a slightly higher humidity of 60%.

23. Drop fish

What kind of animal: fish, scientific name Psychrolutes marcidus.
Habitat: lives in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, found in deep waters (about 2800 m) of the coasts of Australia and Tasmania.
Special signs: Drop fish live at depths where the pressure is several tens of times higher than at sea level, and in order to maintain viability, the body of a drop fish consists of a gel-like mass with a density slightly less than water; this allows the fish to swim above the seafloor without expending energy in swimming.
Dimensions: The maximum body length is about 65 cm.
By the way: The lack of muscles is not a disadvantage, since the blob fish feeds on the prey that swims around it.

24. Platypus

What kind of animal: A waterfowl mammal of the monotreme order.
Habitat: Australia.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Its most curious quality is that instead of a normal mouth, it possesses a duck's beak, which allows it to feed in the mud like birds.
Dimensions: The body length of the platypus is 30-40 cm, the tail is 10-15 cm, it weighs up to 2 kg. Males are about a third larger than females.
By the way: The platypus is one of the few poisonous mammals, it is generally not fatal for humans, but it causes very severe pain, and edema develops at the injection site, which gradually spreads to the entire limb, pain can last for many days or even months.

25. Kitoglav or royal heron

What kind of animal: Ankle-legged bird.
Habitat: Africa.
Distinguishing features: The neck of the shoebill is not very long and thick. The head is large, with a small and, one might say, sloppy crest on the back of the head. The beak is massive and very wide, somewhat swollen. There is a hanging hook at the end of the beak. The plumage of the shoebill is generally dark gray, and there is powder down on the back, but there is no such down on the chest. Legs are long and black. The tongue of the shoebill is short; there is no muscular stomach, and the glandular one is very large.
Dimensions: Kitoglav is a large bird, in a standing position it is 75-90 cm tall; wing length 65-69 cm.
By the way: This sluggish bird often stands completely still, holding its large beak on its chest. The whalehead is fed by various aquatic animals - fish, crocodiles, frogs and small turtles.

As you know, the world ecosystem is formed by a huge number of living organisms that inhabit the planet Earth. They live in water, on land, in soil and develop comfortably in various conditions. But also on our planet there are also such species of animals about which there is very little information, and only a few have had a chance to see them with their own eyes. This is mainly due to the habitat of these animals. It is either underground or deep in the ocean. They also live in Antarctica, that is, in places practically inaccessible to humans.

The underwater world has only been partially explored by man. Features of the depths of the ocean are less than half studied, so sometimes people discover unusual, amazing creatures. One of these rare inhabitants of the ocean is hellish vampire. This mollusk is similar to the octopus and squid, but was isolated by scientists as a separate species due to its characteristic features. The infernal vampire got its name due to its appearance. It has a reddish body color and bulges on the head of the animal, similar to horns.


Also in the oceans and seas lives a kind of fish called. In shape, this fish resembles a disk, which is why it got its name. With its peculiar way of swimming, it differs from other fish. The mola-mola swims on its side, but at the same time its young swim like other fish. Therefore, some experts suggest that only sick individuals swim on their sides, since the caught fish had an empty stomach.

Apart from unusual inhabitants sea, there are many types of land animals. Their little known is due to the fact that there are some difficulties in their detection. Many of these animals are endangered. For example, in Africa there is an animal called galago. The reason why these animals are little studied is the laborious way of observing them - they feel the human presence at a very long distance. Galago are primates, but have similarities with kangaroos, squirrels and cats. With its body shape, the galago resembles a kangaroo, it looks like a squirrel with its fluffy tail, and the habits of this animal are inherent in the representatives of the cat family. Galago prefers to live alone, which has also become the reason for little study - they are almost impossible to track down.


Among the little-known animals can be distinguished little red panda. The color of their coat is very attractive, as a result of which hunting for these animals was very popular. Since the middle of the twentieth century, hunting for the red panda began to stop, since there are quite a few of them left in nature. To date, the small red panda can only be found in the north of India, Burma and in the mountainous provinces of China.


Among the inhabitants of the underworld, one can distinguish unusual frog. It's called purple or lilac frog. Lives exclusively in India. The body of the purple frog is squat, slightly rounded. The head is small, with a pointed nose. The frog comes to the surface of the earth only during the monsoons, in order to procreate. It eats underground inhabitants, for example, termites. The secretive lifestyle of this unusual animal was the reason that biologists simply did not know about its existence, and they discovered the purple frog only in 2003.


Another animal that lives underground - starship. This is a mammal belonging to the mole family, living in the eastern part North America. It differs from other moles in that on its muzzle there are 22 soft and mobile growths arranged in the form of an asterisk. One of the features of this animal is that it feels great underwater. The starfish swims well and dives for the purpose of obtaining food. In addition, they also often come out to hunt on the surface of the earth.

Amazing and varied. Of course, rare and unknown animals are represented by a much larger number of species. Today, a person faces a large number of mysteries and questions for which it will take a long time to find answers.

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A selection of the 30 most unusual creatures of our planet...
Based on materials: wikipedia.org & animalworld.com.ua & unnatural.ru

Madagascar Suckerfoot
Found only in Madagascar. At the bases of the thumbs of the wings and on the soles of the hind limbs, suckers have complex rosette suckers, which are located directly on the skin (unlike suckers in sucker-footed bats). The biology and ecology of the sucker-foot is practically not studied. Most likely, it uses folded leathery palm leaves as shelters, to which it clings with its suckers. All suckers were caught near the water.

Rabbit angora (lady's)
These rabbits look quite impressive, there are specimens whose hair reaches 80 cm in length. Their wool is highly valued, and a wide variety of things are made from it: stockings, scarves, gloves, just fabrics, and even linen. One kilogram of wool of this rabbit is estimated at about 10 - 12 rubles. One rabbit produces about 0.5 kg of this wool per year, but usually much less. Most often, angora rabbits are bred by women, which is why it is sometimes called "ladies". The average weight of such a rabbit is 5 kg, body length 61 cm, chest girth 35-40 cm, but other options are possible.

marmoset monkey
This is the most amazing species of monkeys living on Earth. The weight of an adult does not exceed 120 g. When you look at this tiny creature the size of a mouse (10-15 cm) with a long tail (20-21 cm) and with large Mongoloid eyes with a conscious look, you feel some embarrassment.

coconut crab
This is one of the representatives of decapod crustaceans. Habitat, this animal is the western part Pacific Ocean and islands in the Indian Ocean. This animal of the land crayfish family is quite large for representatives of its species. An adult can reach 32 cm in length and weigh up to 3-4 kg. For a long time it was erroneously believed that palm thief can crack coconuts with its claws in order to then eat them, but now scientists have proven for sure that this cancer, despite the enormous strength of its claws, is not able to crack a coconut, but it can easily break your arm ...

Coconuts split when falling make up their main source of nutrition, which is why this crayfish was called the palm thief. However, he is not averse to eating other food - the fruits of plants, organic elements from the earth, and even God's creatures similar to themselves. His character, meanwhile, is timid and friendly.

The coconut crab is unique in its kind, its sense of smell is as highly developed as that of insects, and besides, it has organs of smell that ordinary crabs lack. This feature developed after this species emerged from the water and settled on land.

Unlike other crabs, they do not move sideways, but forward. They don't stay in the water for a long time.

Sea cucumber. Holothuria
Sea cucumbers, egg-pods (Holothuroidea), a class of invertebrates of the type of echinoderms. The modern fauna is represented by 1150 species, divided into 6 orders, which differ from each other in the shape of tentacles and calcareous ring, as well as the presence of some internal organs. There are about 100 species in Russia. The body of the holothurian is leathery to the touch, usually rough and wrinkled. The body wall is thick and elastic, with well-developed muscle bundles. The longitudinal muscles (5 bands) are attached to the calcareous ring around the esophagus. At one end of the body is the mouth, at the other - the anus. The mouth is surrounded by a corolla of 10-30 tentacles that serve to capture food, and leads to a spirally twisted intestine.

Usually they lie "on their side", raising the anterior, oral end. Holothurians feed on plankton and organic residues extracted from bottom silt and sand, which is passed through the digestive canal. Other species filter their food with sticky mucus-covered tentacles from the bottom waters.

hellish vampire

This animal is a mollusc. Despite its outward resemblance to an octopus or squid, scientists separated this mollusk into a separate series Vampyromorphida (Latin), because, only it has retractable receptive bead-like filaments.

Almost the entire surface of the body of the mollusk is covered with luminous organs - photophores. They look like small white discs that grow at the ends of the tentacles and at the base of the fins. Photophores are absent only on the inner side of the tentacles with membranes. The infernal vampire has very good control over these organs and is capable of producing disorienting flashes of light lasting from hundredths of a second to several minutes. In addition, it can control the brightness and size of color spots.

Amazonian dolphin
It is the largest river dolphin in the world. Inia geoffrensis - as scientists called it, can reach 2.5 meters in length and weigh up to 200 kg. Young individuals are light gray in color, but brighten with age. The body of the Amazonian dolphin is full, with a narrow muzzle and thin tail. Round forehead, slightly curved nose and small eyes. You can meet the Amazonian dolphin in rivers and lakes Latin America.

starship
Starship - insectivorous mammal from the mole family. You can meet such an animal only in Southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Outwardly, the star nose differs from other animals of this family and from other small animals, only it has a snout structure in the form of a rosette or an asterisk of 22 soft moving fleshy naked rays. The size of the star nose similar to its European counterpart, the mole. Its tail is relatively long (about 8 cm), covered with scales and sparse hair. When the star-bearer is looking for food, the rays on the stigma are constantly moving, with the exception of the two middle upper ones, they are directed forward and do not bend. When he eats, the rays shrink into a compact ball; while eating, the animal holds food with its front paws. When the star-bearer drinks, it lowers both the stigma and all the whiskers into the water for 5-6 seconds.

Fossa
These amazing animals live only on the island of Madagascar, they are nowhere else in the world, even in Africa. Fossa is the rarest animal and the only representative of the genus Cryptoprocta, while the fossa is the largest predator that lives on the island of Madagascar. The appearance of the fossa is a little unusual: it is something between a civet and a small cougar. At times, the fossa is also called the Madagascar lion, the ancestors of this beast were much larger and reached the size of a lion. The fossa has a strong build, a massive and slightly elongated body, its length can reach up to 80 cm (on average, the fossa body reaches 65-70 cm). The legs of the fossa are high, but rather thick, in addition, the hind legs are longer than the front ones. The tail of this animal is very long, often reaches the length of the body and reaches 65 cm.

Japanese giant salamander
The largest amphibian found in the world, this salamander can reach 160 cm in length and weigh up to 180 kg. In addition, such a salamander can live up to 150 years, although the most officially attested great age a huge salamander is 59 years old.

Madagascar rukonozhka (or Ai-Ai)
Madagascar arm (lat. Daubentonia madagascariensis) or ah-ah, this is a mammal of the semi-monkey suborder; the only representative of the family of rukonoki. One of the rarest animals on the planet - there are only five dozen individuals, which is why it was discovered relatively recently. The largest animal of the nocturnal primates.

Arm body length 30-37 cm without tail, 44-53 cm with tail. Weight - about 2.5 kg. The head is large, the muzzle is short; ears are large, leathery. The tail is large and fluffy. Fur color is dark brown to black. They live in the East and North of the island of Madagascar. They lead a nocturnal lifestyle. They feed on the fruits of the mango tree and coconut palms, the core of bamboo and sugar cane, wood beetles and larvae. They sleep in hollows or nests.

This animal is one of the most unique mammals on the planet, it has no similar features with any other animal. The arm has a thick, wide head with large ears, because of this, the head seems even wider. Small, bulging, immobile, and burning eyes with smaller pupils than those of a nocturnal monkey. Its muzzle, which bears a great resemblance to the beak of a parrot, has an elongated body and a long tail, which, like the rest of the body, is seldom covered with long, bristle-like hair. And finally unusual hands, and these are precisely the hands, their middle finger looks like a withered one - all these features, connected together, give the ah-ah such a peculiar look that you involuntarily rack your brains in a vain zeal to find a related creature similar to this animal "- wrote in his book "Animal Life" by A. E. Bram.

Listed in the "Red Book", ah-ah the most wonderful animal, over which a serious danger of extinction hangs. Daubentonia madagascariensis is the only surviving representative of not only the genus, but also the family.

Guidac
The photo shows the longest-lived and at the same time the largest (up to 1 meter in length) burrowing mollusk in the world (the age of the oldest individual found is 160 years). The concept of Guidak is taken from the Indians and translated as - "deep digging" - these gastropods can indeed dig deep enough into the sand. From under the thin fragile shell of the giodak, a “leg” protrudes, which is three times the size of the shell (there were cases that specimens with a leg length of more than 1 meter were found). Clam meat is very tough and tastes like abalone(this is also a mollusk, terribly tasteless, but with a very beautiful shell), so the Americans usually cut it into pieces, beat it off and fry it in butter with onions.

liger
Liger (English liger from English lion - "lion" and English tiger - "tiger") is a hybrid between a male lion and a female tigress, looking like a giant lion with blurry stripes. In appearance and size, it is similar to the cave lion, which became extinct in the Pleistocene, and its relative, the American lion. Ligers are the largest big cats in the world today. The largest liger is Hercules from the Jungle Island interactive theme park.

Male ligers, with rare exceptions, have almost no mane, but unlike lions, ligers can and love to swim. Another feature of ligers is that female ligers (ligers) can produce offspring, which is unusual for feline hybrids. The unusual gigantism of ligers is due to the fact that ligers receive genes from the lion father that promote the growth of offspring, and the tigress mother does not have genes that inhibit the growth of offspring. Whereas the tiger father does not have genes that promote growth, and the lioness mother has growth inhibiting genes that are passed on to her offspring. This explains the fact that the liger is larger than the lion, and the tigrolev is smaller than the tiger.

Imperial tamarin
The name of the species (“imperial”) is associated with the presence of lush white “whiskers” in these monkeys and is given in honor of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Body length - about 25 cm, tail - about 35 cm. Weight of adults - 250-500 grams. Tamarins feed on fruits and are diurnal. They live in small groups of 8-15 individuals.

Emperor tamarins inhabit the Amazonian rainforest and are found in northwestern Brazil, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia. In the east, the range is limited by the Gurupi River, in the upper Amazon by the Putumayo River in the north and the Madeira River in the south. Although the species lives in hard-to-reach places, its conservation status is assessed as vulnerable.

Cuban flint tooth
Cuban flint tooth, an outlandish creature similar to big hedgehog with a funny long-nosed muzzle, when it bites, it kills insects and small animals with poisonous saliva. For humans, the shale-tooth is not dangerous, rather the opposite. Until 2003, the animal was considered extinct, until a few specimens were caught in the forest. There is no immunity to its venom, so fights between males are usually fatal for all participants.

kakapo parrot
The New Zealand kakapo parrot, also known as the owl parrot, is probably the most unusual parrot in the world. He never flies, weighs 4 kilograms, croaks in a nasty voice and is nocturnal. It is considered extinct in nature due to the ecological imbalance caused by rats and cats. Experts hope to restore the kakapo population, but it is very reluctant to breed in zoos.

Cyclocosmia (Cyclocosmia)
This type of spider stands out from the representatives of its kind only with a very original shape of the abdomen. Cyclocosmia breaks through minks in the ground with a depth of 7-15 cm. Its abdomen, at the end, is, as it were, chopped off and ends with a chitinized flat disc-shaped surface; it serves to close the entrance to the mink when the spider is in danger. This method of protection was called Pragmosis (eng. Phragmosis) - a method of protection in which an animal, in case of a threat, hides in a hole and uses part of its body as a barrier, blocking the path of a predator.

Tapir
Tapirs (lat. Tapirus) are large herbivores from the order of equids, somewhat resembling a pig in shape, but with a short trunk adapted for grasping.

The sizes of tapirs differ from species to species, but as a rule, the length of a tapir is about two meters, the height at the withers is about a meter, and the weight is from 150 to 300 kg. Life expectancy in the wild is about 30 years, the cub is always born alone, pregnancy lasts about 13 months. Newborn tapirs have a protective coloration consisting of spots and stripes, and although this coloration seems to be the same, there are still some differences between species. The front paws of tapirs are four-toed, and the hind paws are three-toed, on the fingers there are small hooves that help to move along the dirty and soft ground.

Mixin
Myxina (lat. Myxini) common lives at depths of 100-500 meters, the predominant habitat is near the coasts of North America, Europe, Iceland, East Greenland. Sometimes it can be found in the Adriatic Sea. AT winter time hagfish sometimes descends to great depths - up to 1 km.

The size of this animal is small - 35-40 centimeters, although sometimes there are giant specimens - 79-80 centimeters. Naturalist Carl Linnaeus, who discovered this miracle in 1761, initially even included it in the class of worms because of its specific appearance. Although in fact hagfish belong to the class of cyclostomes, which are the historical predecessors of fish. The color of hagfish can be different, but the predominant colors are pinkish and gray-red.

A distinctive feature of hagfish is the presence of a series of holes that secrete mucus, which are located along the lower edge of the body of the animal. It should be noted that mucus is a very important secret of hagfish, which is used by animals to penetrate into the cavity of the fish chosen as a victim. Mucus plays an important role in the respiration of the animal. Mixina is a real slime making plant, in particular, if you put it in a bucket, full of water, then after a while all the water will be converted into mucus.

The hagfish's fins are actually not developed, they are difficult to distinguish on the long body of the animal. The organ of vision - the eyes see poorly, they are masked by light patches of skin in this area. In the round mouth there are as many as 2 rows of teeth, there is also one unpaired tooth in the region of the sky. Mixins "breathe through the nose", while water enters the hole at the end of the snout - the nostril. The respiratory organs of hagfish, like all fish, are gills. The zone of their location are special cavities-channels that run along the body of the animal. Hagfish hunts only for those fish that are sick, weakened (for example, after spawning) or got into gear, nets installed by man. The attack process itself is as follows: the hagfish eats away with its sharp teeth the wall of the body of the fish, after which it enters the body, consuming first the internal organs, and then muscle mass. If the unfortunate victim is still able to resist, then the hagfish passes into the gills and fills them with mucus, abundantly secreted by its glands. As a result, the fish dies from suffocation, leaving the hunter the opportunity to eat her body.

nosach
Nosach, or Kahau (lat. Nasalis larvatus) is a monkey that is widespread in only one small area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe globe - the valleys and coast of the island of Borneo. The proboscis belongs to the family of thin-bodied marmoset monkeys and got its name due to the huge nose, which is a hallmark of males.

So far, it has not been possible to establish the exact purpose of such a large nose, but, obviously, its size plays a role in choosing a mating partner. The coat of these monkeys is yellowish-brown on the back and white on the belly, the limbs and tail are gray, and the face is not covered with hair at all and has a fairly bright reddish, and in the cubs it has a bluish tint.

The size of an adult proboscis can reach 75 cm, excluding the tail, and twice as much - from the nose to the tip of the tail. The average weight of a male is 18-20 kg, females weigh almost half as much. Almost never moving away from the water, the proboscis were known as excellent swimmers who can overcome more than 20 meters under water. In open shallow water rainforest proboscis move, like most primates, on four limbs, but in the wild thickets of mangroves (the rainforests of the island of Borneo are otherwise called), they walk on two legs, almost vertically.

Axolotl
Representing the larval form of the ambistoma, the axolotl is considered one of the most interesting objects for study. Firstly, axolotls do not need to reach an adult form and undergo metamorphosis in order to reproduce. Surprised? The secret lies in neoteny - a phenomenon in which sexual maturity occurs in the axolotl even in "childhood" age. Note that the tissues of this larva react rather poorly to the hormone secreted by the thyroid gland.

Experiments have shown that lowering the water level during home breeding of these larvae contributes to their transformation into an adult. The same thing happens in cooler and drier climates. If an axolotl lives in your aquarium, and you want to turn it into an ambistomy, then be sure to add the hormone thyroidin to the larva's food. A similar result can be achieved with an injection. As a rule, the transformation of the axolotl will take several weeks, after which the shape of the body and its color will change in the larva. In addition, the axolotl will forever lose its external gills.

In the literal translation from the Aztec language, the axolotl is a “water toy”, which is consistent with its appearance. Once you see an axolotl, you are unlikely to forget its unusual, bizarre appearance. At first glance, the axolotl resembles a newt, but has a rather large and wide head. The smiling "face" of the axolotl deserves special attention - tiny beady eyes and an exorbitantly wide mouth.

As for the body length of an amphibian, it is about thirty centimeters, and axolotls are characterized by the regeneration of lost body parts. natural environment The habitat of the axolotl is concentrated in Xochimailco and Cholco - the mountain lakes of Mexico.

If you look closely at the head of an amphibian, you can see six long gills, symmetrically located on the sides of the head. The gills of the axolotl outwardly resemble thin shaggy twigs, which the larva cleans from organic residues from time to time.

Thanks to their wide long tail, axolotls are excellent swimmers, although they prefer to spend most of their lives on the bottom. Why bother with unnecessary movements if the food itself floats into the mouth?

At first, biologists were surprised respiratory system axolotl, including both lungs and gills. For example, if water environment The habitat of the axolotl is not sufficiently saturated with oxygen, the larva quickly adapts to such a change and begins to breathe with the lungs.

Naturally, the transition to lung breathing has a negative effect on the gills, which gradually atrophy. And, of course, you should pay attention to the original coloring of the axolotl. Small black spots evenly cover the green body, although the belly of the axolotl remains almost white.

Zoologists have speculated about what it is that attracts the candira to the human genitals. The most plausible assumption seems to be that the candiru are extremely sensitive to the smell of urine: it happened that the candiru attacked a person a few moments after he urinated into the water. It is believed that candiru are able to find the source of the smell in the water.

But the candiru does not always penetrate the victim. It happens that, having overtaken the prey, the candiru bite through the skin of a person or the gill tissue of a fish with long teeth that grow in their upper jaw, and begin to suck blood from the victim, which causes the body of the candiru to swell and swell. Candiru hunt not only for fish and mammals, but also for reptiles.

Tarsier
Tarsier (Tarsier, lat. Tarsius) is a small mammal from the order of primates, whose very specific appearance created a somewhat ominous halo around this small animal weighing up to one hundred and sixty grams.

Particularly impressionable tourists say that when they first see how huge shining eyes stare at them without blinking, and the next moment the animal turns its head almost 360 degrees and you look straight at the back of its head, it becomes, to put it mildly, uncomfortable. By the way, local natives still believe that the head of the tarsier exists separately from the body. Well, this is all speculation, of course, but the facts are obvious!

There are about 8 species of tarsiers. The most common are the Bankan and Philippine tarsier, as well as a separate species - the ghost tarsier. These mammals live in Southeast Asia, the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi and the Philippines, as well as in adjacent territories.

Outwardly, tarsiers are small animals, the size of which does not exceed sixteen centimeters, with large ears, long thin fingers and a long tail of about thirty cm, and at the same time with very little weight.

The coat of the animal is brown or greyish, and the eyes are much larger in comparison with human proportions - about the size of an average apple.

In nature, tarsiers live in pairs or small groups of eight to ten individuals. They are nocturnal, and feed exclusively on food of animal origin - insects and small vertebrates.

Their pregnancy lasts about six months and a small animal is born, which, a couple of hours after birth, clutching its mother's fur, will make its first journey. The average life expectancy of a tarsier is about ten to thirteen years.

Narwhal
Narwhals (lat. Monodon monoceros) is a protected rare view, belonging to the unicorn family and listed due to its small number in the Red Book of Russia. The habitat of this marine animal is the waters of the Arctic Ocean, as well as the North Atlantic. The size of an adult male often reaches 4.5 meters, with a mass of about one and a half tons. Females weigh slightly less. The head of an adult narwhal is round, with a large bumpy forehead, and there is no dorsal fin. Narwhals are somewhat outwardly reminiscent of beluga whales, however, compared to the latter, animals have several spotted skin and 2 upper tooth, one of which, growing, turns into a three-meter tusk weighing up to 10 kg.

Narwhal tusk, twisted to the left in the form of a spiral, is quite rigid, but at the same time it has a certain limit of flexibility and can bend up to thirty centimeters. Previously, it was often passed off as a unicorn horn, which has healing power. It was believed that if you throw a piece of narwhal horn into a glass of poisoned wine, it will change its color.

AT given time There is a hypothesis that is very popular in scientific circles, proving that the narwhal horn, covered with sensitive endings, is needed by the animal in order to measure water temperature, pressure and other equally important parameters of the aquatic environment for life.

Narwhals live most often in small groups of up to ten animals. The basis of the diet of narwhals, which, by the way, can hunt at a depth of more than a kilometer, is cephalopods and bottom fish. The enemies of narwhals in nature can be called other inhabitants of these territories - polar bears and killer whales.

However, the greatest damage to the narwhal population was still caused by a person who hunted them because of their tasty meat and horns, successfully used for the manufacture of various handicrafts. At present, animals are under the protection of the state.

Octopus Jumbo
Dumbo is a very small and unusual deep-sea octopus, a representative of cephalopods. Lives only in the Tasman Sea.

Jumbo got its name, apparently, in honor of the famous cartoon character, Dumbo the elephant, who was ridiculed for his large ears (in the middle of the body, the octopus has a pair of rather long, paddle-like fins resembling ears). Its individual tentacles are literally connected to the ends by a thin elastic membrane called an umbrella. She, along with the fins, serves as the main mover of this animal, that is, the octopus moves like jellyfish, pushing water out from under the umbrella bell.

The largest Jumbo was found in the Tasman Sea - half the size of a human palm.

Medusa Cyanea
Jellyfish Cyanea - is considered the largest jellyfish in the world, living in the Northwest Atlantic. The diameter of the cyanide jellyfish bell reaches 2 meters, and the length of the thread-like tentacles is 20-30 meters. One such jellyfish, washed ashore in Massachusetts Bay, had a bell diameter of 2.28 m, and its tentacles extended 36.5 m.

Each such jellyfish eats about 15 thousand fish during its life.

pig squid

This is deep water sea ​​dweller, because of its rounded body, nicknamed the "squid pig". The scientific name of the piglet squid is Helicocranchia pfefferi. Not much is known about him. It is found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at a depth of about 100 meters. Swims slowly. And under the eyes (like many deep-sea animals) it has luminous organs - photophores.

The “piglet”, unlike other squids, swims upside down, so its tentacles look like a crest.

Carla snake
There are currently 3,100 species of snakes known on our planet. But Carla's snake from the island of Barbados is the smallest of them. The maximum length that it reaches in adulthood is 10 centimeters.

Leptotyphlops carlae was first officially described and identified as a new species in 2008. Blair Hedge, a Pennsylvania biologist, named the snake after his wife, Carla Ann Hass, a herpentologist who was also on the team that made the discovery.

It is believed that the Barbados thread, as this snake is also called, is close to the theoretically possible minimum size for snakes that evolution allows. If suddenly the snake happens to be even smaller, it simply will not be able to find food for itself and will die.

The Carl snake feeds on termites and ant larvae.

Due to its diminutiveness, the thread snake bears only one egg, but it is large. The size of the snake that was born at the time of birth is half the body of the mother. However, this is normal for snakes. The smaller the snake, the proportionally larger its offspring - and vice versa.

Leptotyphlops carlae has been found so far only on the island of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea, and even then only in its east-central part. Much of Barbados' forests have been cut down. And since the thread snake lives only in the forest, it is assumed that the territory suitable for the habitation of an outlandish creature is limited to only a few square kilometers. So the survival of the species is a concern.

Lamprey
Lampreys look like eels or huge worms, although they have nothing to do with either. They have a naked, slimy body, which is why they are mistaken for worms. In fact, these are primitive vertebrates. Zoologists combine them into special class cyclostomes. You can’t say about cyclostomes that they have a tongue without bones. Their mouth is just the same equipped with a complex system of cartilage that supports the mouth and tongue. There are no jaws, so food is sucked into the mouth, as if into a funnel. Along the edges of this funnel and on the tongue are teeth. Lampreys have three eyes. Two on the sides and one on the forehead.

Lampreys are predators and attack mainly fish. Lamprey sticks to the victim, gnaws through scales, drinks blood and bites meat (from the area into which it stuck). In our country, lamprey fishing is carried out in the Neva and other rivers flowing into the Baltic Sea, as well as in the Volga. In Russia, lamprey is considered an exquisite delicacy. But in many countries, for example in the USA, lampreys are not eaten.

Clam killer
This curiosity lives on coral reefs at a depth of almost 25 meters. The mollusk weighs up to 210 kilograms with a body length of up to 1.7 meters. Life expectancy - up to 150 years. Because of its impressive size, it gave rise to many rumors and dark legends.

It is called Giant clam (from the English giant clam), Tridacninae, Tridacna. The giant clam is a delicacy in Japan, France, Southeast Asia and many Pacific islands. Lives due to symbiosis with algae that live on it. And also knows how to filter the water passing through it and extract plankton from there.

In fact, he does not eat people, but if an imprudent diver tries to touch the mantle of a mollusk with his hand, the shell flaps reflexively close. And since the contraction force of the muscles of the tridacna is huge, a person risks dying from a lack of oxygen. Hence the name - "shellfish killer".

In this post there will be scary, nasty, cute, kind, beautiful, incomprehensible animals.
Plus a short comment about each. They all really exist.
Watch and be amazed

SCHELEZUB- a mammal from the order of insectivores, divided into two main species: the Cuban flint tooth and the Haitian. Relatively large, relative to other types of insectivores, the beast: its length is 32 centimeters, and the tail, on average, 25 cm, the weight of the animal is about 1 kilogram, the physique is dense.


MANED WOLF. Lives in South America. The long legs of the wolf are the result of evolution in matters of adaptation to the habitat, they help the animal overcome obstacles in the form of tall grass growing on the plains.


AFRICAN CIVETA- the only representative of the same genus. These animals live in Africa in open spaces with high grass from Senegal to Somalia, southern Namibia and eastern South Africa. The dimensions of the animal can visually increase quite strongly when the civet raises its hair when excited. And her fur is thick and long, especially on the back closer to the tail. The paws, muzzle and end of the tail are completely black, most of the body is spotty-striped.


MUSKRAT. The animal is quite famous, thanks to its sonorous name. It's just a good photo.


PROEKHIDNA. This miracle of nature usually weighs up to 10 kg, although larger specimens have also been noted. By the way, the length of the body of the prochidna reaches 77 cm, and this is not counting their cute five to seven centimeter tail. Any description of this animal is based on comparison with the echidna: the paws of the echidna are higher, the claws are more powerful. Another feature of the appearance of the prochidna is the spurs on the hind legs of males and the five-fingered hind limbs and the three-fingered forelimbs.


CAPIBARA. Semi-aquatic mammal, the largest of modern rodents. It is the only representative of the capybara family (Hydrochoeridae). There is a dwarf variety of Hydrochoerus isthmius, sometimes considered as a separate species (capybara).


SEA CUCUMBER. Holothuria. Sea-pods, sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea), a class of invertebrates of the echinoderm type. Species eaten are collectively called "trepang".


PANGOLIN. This post just couldn't do without it.


HELL VAMPIRE. Mollusk. Despite its obvious similarity with the octopus and squid, scientists have identified this mollusk in a separate order Vampyromorphida (Latin), because as soon as it has retractable sensitive bee-shaped filaments.


AARDVARK. In Africa, these mammals are called aardvark, which means "earth pig" in Russian. In fact, the aardvark in appearance very much resembles a pig, only with an elongated muzzle. The ears of this amazing animal are very similar in structure to those of a hare. There is also a muscular tail, which is very similar to the tail of such an animal as a kangaroo.

JAPANESE GIANT SALAMANDRA. To date, this is the largest amphibian that can reach 160 cm in length, weigh up to 180 kg and can live up to 150 years, although the officially registered maximum age of a giant salamander is 55 years.


BEARDED PIG. In different sources, the bearded pig species is divided into two or three subspecies. These are the curly-haired bearded pig (Sus barbatus oi), which lives on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra, the Bornean bearded pig (Sus barbatus barbatus) and the Palawan bearded pig, which, judging by the name, live on the islands of Borneo and Palawan, as well as in Java , Kalimantan and small islands of the Indonesian archipelago in Southeast Asia.




SUMATRAN RHINO. They belong to the equine-hoofed animals of the rhinoceros family. This species of rhinoceros is the smallest of the entire family. The body length of an adult Sumatran rhinoceros can reach 200 - 280 cm, and the height at the withers can vary from 100 to 150 cm. Such rhinos can weigh up to 1000 kg.


SULAWESI BEAR CUSCOUS. Arboreal marsupial living in upper tier lowland tropical forests. The coat of the bear couscous consists of a soft undercoat and coarse guard hairs. Color ranges from gray to brown, with a lighter belly and limbs, and varies by geographic subspecies and age of the animal. The prehensile, hairless tail is about half the length of the animal and acts as a fifth limb, which makes it easier to move through the dense rainforest. Bear couscous is the most primitive of all couscous, retaining primitive tooth growth and skull features.


GALAGO. Its large fluffy tail is clearly comparable to that of a squirrel. And the charming muzzle and graceful movements, flexibility and insinuation, clearly reflect his feline trait. The amazing jumping ability, mobility, strength and incredible agility of this animal clearly show its nature as a funny cat and elusive squirrel. Of course, it would be where to use their talents, because a cramped cage is very poorly suited for this. But, if you give this little animal a little freedom and sometimes allow him to walk around the apartment, then all his quirks and talents will come true. Many even compare it to a kangaroo.


WOMBAT. Without a photograph of a wombat, it is generally impossible to talk about strange and rare animals.


AMAZONIAN DOLPHIN. It is the largest river dolphin. Inia geoffrensis, as scientists call it, reaches 2.5 meters in length and weighs 2 centners. Light gray juveniles lighten with age. The body of the Amazonian dolphin is full, with a thin tail and a narrow muzzle. A round forehead, a slightly curved beak and small eyes are the features of this species of dolphins. There is an Amazonian dolphin in the rivers and lakes of Latin America.


FISH-MOON or MOLA-MOLA. This fish can be over three meters long and weigh about one and a half tons. The largest specimen of the moonfish was caught in New Hampshire, USA. Its length was five and a half meters, data on weight are not available. In shape, the body of the fish resembles a disk, it was this feature that gave rise to the Latin name. The moonfish has thicker skin. It is elastic, and its surface is covered with small bony protrusions. Fish larvae of this species and juveniles swim in the usual way. Adult large fish swim on their side, quietly moving their fins. They seem to lie on the surface of the water, where they are very easy to notice and catch. However, many experts believe that only sick fish swim in this way. As an argument, they cite the fact that the stomach of fish caught on the surface is usually empty.


TASMANIAN DEVIL. Being the largest of modern predatory marsupials, this animal is black in color with white spots on the chest and sacrum, with a huge mouth and sharp teeth, has a dense physique and a severe disposition, for which, in fact, it was called the devil. Emitting ominous cries at night, the massive and clumsy Tasmanian devil outwardly resembles a small bear: the front legs are slightly longer than the hind legs, the head is large, and the muzzle is blunted.


LORI. A characteristic feature of loris - big size eyes, which may be bordered by dark circles, between the eyes there is a white dividing strip. The muzzle of a lory can be compared to a clown mask. This most likely explains the name of the animal: Loeris means "clown" in translation.


GAVIAL. Of course, one of the representatives of the detachment of crocodiles. With age, the muzzle of the gharial becomes even narrower and longer. Due to the fact that the gharial feeds on fish, its teeth are long and sharp, located with a slight inclination for the convenience of eating.


OKAPI. FOREST GIRAFFE. Traveling in Central Africa, journalist and African explorer Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) encountered local natives more than once. Having once met an expedition equipped with horses, the natives of the Congo told the famous traveler that they had wild animals in the jungle, very similar to his horses. The Englishman, who had seen a lot, was somewhat puzzled by this fact. After some negotiations in 1900, the British were finally able to purchase parts of the skin of a mysterious beast from the local population and send them to the Royal Zoological Society in London, where they gave the unknown animal the name "Johnston's Horse" (Equus johnstoni), that is, they identified it as a member of the horse family. . But what was their surprise when a year later they managed to get a whole skin and two skulls unknown beast, and discover that It looks more like a pygmy giraffe from the times ice age. Only in 1909 was it possible to catch a live specimen of Okapi.

VALABY. WOOD KANGAROO. To the genus Tree kangaroos - wallabies (Dendrolagus) include 6 species. Of these, D. Inustus or bear wallaby, D. Matschiei or Matchish wallaby, which has a subspecies D. Goodfellowi (Goodfellow wallaby), D. Dorianus - Doria wallaby, live in New Guinea. In Australian Queensland, there are D. Lumholtzi - Lumholtz's wallaby (bungari), D. Bennettianus - Bennett's wallaby, or tharibina. Their original habitat was New Guinea, but now wallabies are also found in Australia. Tree kangaroos live in tropical forests mountainous areas, at an altitude of 450 to 3000m. above sea level. The body size of the animal is 52-81 cm, the tail is from 42 to 93 cm long. Wallabies weigh, depending on the species, from 7.7 to 10 kg males and from 6.7 to 8.9 kg. females.


WOLVERINE. Moves quickly and dexterously. The animal has an elongated muzzle, a large head, with rounded ears. The jaws are powerful, the teeth are sharp. Wolverine is a “big-legged” beast, the feet are disproportionate to the body, but their size allows them to move freely through the deep snow cover. Each paw has huge and curved claws. Wolverine climbs trees perfectly, has sharp eyesight. The voice is like a fox.


FOSS. On the island of Madagascar, such animals have been preserved that are not found not only in Africa itself, but throughout the rest of the world. One of the rarest animals is Fossa - the only representative of the genus Cryptoprocta and the largest predatory mammal that lives on the island of Madagascar. Appearance fossa is a little unusual: it is a cross between a civet and a small cougar. Sometimes the fossa is also called the Madagascar lion, since the ancestors of this animal were much larger and reached the size of a lion. Fossa has a squat, massive and slightly elongated body, the length of which can reach up to 80 cm (on average it is 65-70 cm). The legs of the fossa are long, but thick enough, with the hind legs higher than the front ones. The tail is often equal to the length body and reaches 65 cm.


MANUL approves of this post and is only here because it should be. Everyone knows him.


FENEC. STEPPE FOX. He agrees with the manula and is present here in so far as. After all, everyone saw him.


THE NAKED DIGGER puts the manula and the fennec fox in karma and invites them to organize a club of the most feared animals in Runet.


PALM THIEF. A representative of the decapod crustaceans. Which habitat is the western part of the Pacific Ocean and the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean. This animal from the family of land crayfish is quite large for its species. The body of an adult individual reaches a size of up to 32 cm and a weight of up to 3-4 kg. For a long time it was mistakenly believed that with its claws it could even split coconuts, which it then eats. To date, scientists have proven that cancer can only eat already split coconuts. They, being its main source of nutrition, gave the name palm thief. Although he is not averse to eating other types of food - the fruits of Pandanus plants, organic matter from the soil, and even their own kind.

On the coast of Guinea in West Africa, a huge unknown animal was found on the shallows.

The dead monster washed ashore during a storm.

Judging by the photo, the possibility of discovering a new species of animals, hitherto unknown to science, is not ruled out.

At mysterious monster you can clearly see the head, paws, teeth and tail ...

All the residents of nearby villages gathered to stare at the monster.

But on July 28, 2008, in the USA, another animal unknown to science washed up on the coast of Long Island by sea.

While scientists are examining the corpse, many researchers are already guessing. Many tend to believe that the terrible corpse belongs to an ordinary turtle, only without a shell.

But the fishermen in one of the ponds of the Konstantinovsky district of the Donetsk region caught an unknown creature, which was filmed mobile phone. Judging by the record, the creature consists of a tail and a flat, round body covered with a shell. When turned over on its back, numerous moving legs are found under the shell. The size of the animal has not yet been determined.

According to preliminary data, this is a shield from the order of branchiopods. Shields are considered one of the most ancient animals on earth. Their morphology has been preserved since Triassic period(220 million years ago). They have about 70 pairs of legs, on which the gills are located.

Shields can live in any water bodies, including puddles on all continents except Antarctica. They are omnivorous, digging in the mud, feeding on larvae, tadpoles, etc. Shields are the main predators in their ecological niche, they eat everything that is smaller than them. Cannibalism is widespread in most species.

USA, Texas. A resident of the city of Cuero, Phillips Kanion, found a strange dead animal on his ranch, previously unknown to science. Scientists attributed this animal to the Chupacabra. The photo shows only the head of the animal.

Eyewitnesses claim that the one and a half meter creature walks on its hind legs and is somewhat reminiscent of a reptile or dinosaur. He only has three toes on his feet, so the footprints are like those left by a chicken, only much larger and with indentations from the claws. The features of a baboon are clearly visible on the muzzle, and the huge red eyes are exactly the same as those of the aliens depicted in the pictures.

On the Internet every now and then you can find photos of the Chupacabra, allegedly found by one of the farmers.

But so far, the existence of this very Chupacabra has not been scientifically confirmed.

On one of the beaches of the Pacific Ocean, Chilean fishermen found a 13-ton carcass sea ​​monster. The organism is a huge gray jelly-like body approximately 12 meters long and weighing approximately 13 tons. The carcass has already begun to decompose, which significantly complicates the identification process. Pending DNA analysis, scientists speculate that the organism could be a giant squid, the half-decayed remains of a strange swollen whale, or an octopus. The latter version seems to them the most probable.

In April 1977, a sensational message about the discovery of Japanese fishermen from the trawler "Tsuyo Maru" went around the world. When fishing for mackerel near New Zealand, the net brought a half-decomposed corpse of an unknown animal. The condition of the find was deplorable. The thirteen-meter carcass, weighing about two tons, spread a stench. The fishermen discerned a shapeless body with four limbs (either fins or flippers), A long tail and a small head on a thin neck. The prey was measured, photographed, and then had to be thrown overboard.

On the island New Britain, which is part of the Pacific state of Papua New Guinea, locals found a huge scary beast. The first to bring this news was a resident of a remote village, Christina Samey, who personally observed the appearance of a 3-meter monster with a dog's head and a crocodile's tail from the swamp. The tribesmen were quite skeptical about her story, but with an increase in the number of eyewitnesses, as well as frightening details, passions began to heat up. In the end, the local administration considered it necessary to inform about unusual phenomenon central authorities, christening the swamp hybrid "prehistoric dinosaur". An animal unknown to science was captured on film: shooting by Robert Le Serrec, Hook Island, Australia.

This photo has gone all over the internet. Miracle Yudo whale fish was caught by fishermen from Astrakhan. The fishermen were so surprised at the find that their imagination was enough to capture the monster on a cell phone camera and throw the carcass back into the sea.

However, often mysterious finds still have their own explanation. So, near the village of Tangi on the northern and almost impassable tip of Sakhalin Island, fishermen discovered the carcass of a huge sea animal, which they identified as a pleosaurus - an animal that lived millions of years ago, in Jurassic.

Soon, ichthyologists issued a verdict - the Sakhalin "fossil lizard" turned out to be an ordinary large killer whale.

A large killer whale was thrown onto the rocks by a strong storm, where the carcass was stuck in a twisted position.

The “thick hair” of the animal that struck the fishermen turned out to be algae stuck in a huge amount, and for the “crocodile face” they took the skull, which was flattened from hitting stones and exposed.