Show me some weird animals

[Jaden9933]

Obviously a bit more common, but Arrow Crabs are so weird

 

[vetteguy53081]

Sugar Glider

 

[sfin52]

I could have gone my whole life without seeing this...Thank you for the nightmares.

Don't look at the snake lol

 

[GARRIGA]

 

[redfishbluefish]

The times I tell members that they have isopods, and most times I'll warn them about googling photos.....this alien isn't what you have:

 

[Slocke]

Tailed horned viper. Tail looks and it can move it to mimic a spider.

To mimic a camel spider I believe which isn’t a spider but also very weird

 

[sfin52]

To mimic a camel spider I believe which isn’t a spider but also very weird

Seen them in person. Very weird creatures.

 

[michelle j w]

It's not often that I find out about a new animal, since I grew up reading encyclopedias(I was weird) but I just learned about these guys

Velvet worm
Peripatoides novaezealandiae
I also learned about argonuats or paper nautilus about a month ago

Argonaut
Argonauta argo
If you know ANY weird animals please post them here! We'll see if I know them or not.

Wowzers the Argonaut is a Bobby Dazzler

 

[timmyrules]

This is called an Aye-Aye…

 

[TX_REEF]

 

[Miami Reef]

Obviously a bit more common, but Arrow Crabs are so weird

I love this photo. I recently added 2 for the first time. It was one of the best purchases because they are eating the bristleworms!

 

[Fish Fan]

Two pages and no one has mentioned the Octopus!

Weird, and SMART! If octopuses lived longer and could write things down so other octopuses could learn from them, we'd all be speaking Greek right now!

 

[formallydehyde]

Pterotracheoidea super family sea slugs are neat. They're pelagic predators, some of them have incredible eye sight for gastropods, up there with conchs, if not better.

 

[exnisstech]

Not rare but I find flat worms very interesting. The way they can shape is just cool


Even this one killing euphylia was cool to watch. It was like watching clouds change and picking out shapes. Sorry for the long vid it was just interesting. To me it looks like it has bunny ears at the end

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Sorry, I don't have photos; this post is too long as is haha.


Some weird critters:

Longfin damselfish, Stegastes diencaeus - they farm algae and ranch domesticated mysid shrimp.

Hatchet-type mantis shrimp, Acanthosquilla derijardi.

Eusocial Snapping Shrimp species (Synalpheus spp.; Synalpheus regalis is the best known, but there are reportedly a couple other species from the genus which exhibit this behavior as well) - these form ant-like colonies with one reproductive queen and several "workers" in the colony; they also live inside of and defend a home sponge.

Semi-terrestrial Shrimp species (Merguia spp.; M. oligodon and M. rhizophorae) which can climb trees and hop away from danger.

Tonna galea is a very large sea snail that eats sea cucumbers and reportedly leaves a bioluminescent trail.

Yellow-coated Clusterwink, Hinea brasiliana - they have a bioluminescent mantle and a specially designed shell; when they glow (typically glowing when disturbed), their shell diffuses the blue-green light they produce, and their entire shell lights up as a result.

Helmet/Shingle Urchin, Colobocentrotus atratus - this one's pretty straightforward when you see a pic of them.

Swimming Anemones - the best known example in the hobby is Boloceroides mcmurrichi, but there are a few others that swim too.

Shaggy Frogfish, Antennarius hispidus, has a bioluminescent lure, and Hairy Frogfish, Antennarius striatus, has a biofluorescent lure.

Paguritta species are filter-feeding, sessile hermit crabs that live in tubes in corals.

Salps.

Siphonophores.

Fried-egg Jellyfish, Cotylorhiza tuberculata:
"Its sting is so mild that the tentacles sometimes provide shelter to small fish in the open ocean."**
"Sometimes small animals like crabs hitch a ride on top of and inside the jellyfish’s bell, tucked away from the stingers.2"**

**Source:

Fried Egg Jellyfish | Oceana

The fried egg jellyfish, primarily found in the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Aegean Seas, only lives for about half a year, from summer to winter. Learn more.

oceana.org

Longnose Walking Batfish, Ogcocephalus corniger.

Pancake Batfish, Halieutichthys aculeatus.

Fluffy Crab, Lamarckdromia beagle.

Doughboy Scallop, Mimachlamys asperrima - these are known for having sponge grow all over their shell, so you can pretty well only see their mantle (the honestly look kind of like a hamburger).

Trophodiscus species, which are aboral-brooding starfish (they literally brood the baby sea stars on their top-sides).

Glass sponges which build reefs.

Carnivorous tunicates, sponges, and bivalves (mostly/exclusively found in the deep-sea).

Melibe species - predatory nudibranchs with massive mouths.

Male and female deep-sea anglerfish:
"An even more unusual and distinctive characteristic of many anglerfish species is related to their mode of reproduction. The free-swimming tiny male anglerfish can sniff the female’s waterborne pheromones and latch itself onto the female with its sharp teeth. While in some species, male attachment to females occurs temporarily and does not involve fusion of tissues, in other species, the male releases enzymes that dissolve the female’s tissue around his mouth, leading to anatomical joining of the male and female tissues [1]—a naturally occurring form of parabiosis [12] (see Figure 1). Thereafter, the male loses its eyes, fins, and internal organs, except for its testes. Its blood system fuses with that of the female host, and from that point on it receives all its nutrients via the joined circulatory system."*

*Source:

Histocompatibility and Reproduction: Lessons from the Anglerfish

Reproduction in certain deep-sea anglerfishes involves the permanent attachment of dwarf males to much larger females and fusion of their tissues leading to the establishment of a shared circulatory system. This unusual phenomenon of sexual parasitism ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

(There are a ton of odd deep sea creatures).

Giant isopods (Bathynomus species), giant amphipods (Alicella gigantea), giant copepods (Pennella balaenopterae - a parasite of fin whales), giants ostracods (Gigantocypris species), etc.

Micro-predator and parasitic isopods (the Tongue-eating Louse, Cymothoa exigua, is a great example).

Clam Shrimp.

Tadpole Shrimp (Triops species).

Bagworm Moth (Psychidae) caterpillars.

Junk Bug/Lacewing (Chrysopidae) larvae.

Case-building Caddisfly (Trichoptera) larvae.

Bagheera kiplingi - the herbivorous spider.

Diving Ants, Colobopsis schmitzi - these dive into the digestive fluids of carnivorous pitcher plants to fish out trapped bugs to eat.

Intertidal Ants, Polyrhachis sokolova - these nest in mangroves, and their colonies are completely submerged at high tide; they can swim as needed.

Nomadic Mushroom Harvester Ants, Euprenolepis procera - these literally travel around like army ants foraging for mushrooms to feed on; they're fungivorous.

Honeypot Ants, Myrmecocystus species - these are famous for their repletes, which are ants that basically store food for the colony to survive times of famine; the color of the "Honeypot" replete changes with the color of food/drink fed.

Turtle Ants, Cephalotes species - the soldiers of these ants have flattened, armored heads and literally block the entrances to their nests in the trees with their own heads to control entry/exit.

Striped sheep - yes, these are real, albeit quite rare at the moment.

Frigate Birds (the males in particular).

Sage Grouse (again, particularly the males).

Death-feigning Beetles.

Ant-mimic spiders and beetles.

Okapi.

Alligator Snapping Turtle.

Mata Mata/Matamata Turtle.

Jackson's Chameleon - these have three horns like a triceratops.

Pangolins.

Indicine cattle (Zebu cows).

 

[Slocke]

Great list! I knew about half I think. Maybe more with those easy terrestrial animals

Sorry, I don't have photos; this post is too long as is haha.


Some weird critters:

Longfin damselfish, Stegastes diencaeus - they farm algae and ranch domesticated mysid shrimp.

Hatchet-type mantis shrimp, Acanthosquilla derijardi.

Eusocial Snapping Shrimp species (Synalpheus spp.; Synalpheus regalis is the best known, but there are reportedly a couple other species from the genus which exhibit this behavior as well) - these form ant-like colonies with one reproductive queen and several "workers" in the colony; they also live inside of and defend a home sponge.

So ants are taking over the ocean too

Semi-terrestrial Shrimp species (Merguia spp.; M. oligodon and M. rhizophorae) which can climb trees and hop away from danger.

So semi-arboreal

Tonna galea is a very large sea snail that eats sea cucumbers and reportedly leaves a bioluminescent trail.

Yellow-coated Clusterwink, Hinea brasiliana - they have a bioluminescent mantle and a specially designed shell; when they glow (typically glowing when disturbed), their shell diffuses the blue-green light they produce, and their entire shell lights up as a result.

Helmet/Shingle Urchin, Colobocentrotus atratus - this one's pretty straightforward when you see a pic of them.

Actually those are the eggs of the lizard men that control the government

Swimming Anemones - the best known example in the hobby is Boloceroides mcmurrichi, but there are a few others that swim too.

Shaggy Frogfish, Antennarius hispidus, has a bioluminescent lure, and Hairy Frogfish, Antennarius striatus, has a biofluorescent lure.

Paguritta species are filter-feeding, sessile hermit crabs that live in tubes in corals.

Salps.

Siphonophores.

Fried-egg Jellyfish, Cotylorhiza tuberculata:
"Its sting is so mild that the tentacles sometimes provide shelter to small fish in the open ocean."**
"Sometimes small animals like crabs hitch a ride on top of and inside the jellyfish’s bell, tucked away from the stingers.2"**

**Source:

Fried Egg Jellyfish | Oceana

The fried egg jellyfish, primarily found in the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Aegean Seas, only lives for about half a year, from summer to winter. Learn more.

oceana.org

Longnose Walking Batfish, Ogcocephalus corniger.

Pancake Batfish, Halieutichthys aculeatus.

Fluffy Crab, Lamarckdromia beagle.

Looks fake to me

Doughboy Scallop, Mimachlamys asperrima - these are known for having sponge grow all over their shell, so you can pretty well only see their mantle (the honestly look kind of like a hamburger).

That’s a jelly doughnut actually, Crustlam jamus. Pretty common in most Dunkin Donuts

Trophodiscus species, which are aboral-brooding starfish (they literally brood the baby sea stars on their top-sides).


Glass sponges which build reefs.

Hexactinellid

Carnivorous tunicates, sponges, and bivalves (mostly/exclusively found in the deep-sea).

Melibe species - predatory nudibranchs with massive mouths.

Male and female deep-sea anglerfish:
"An even more unusual and distinctive characteristic of many anglerfish species is related to their mode of reproduction. The free-swimming tiny male anglerfish can sniff the female’s waterborne pheromones and latch itself onto the female with its sharp teeth. While in some species, male attachment to females occurs temporarily and does not involve fusion of tissues, in other species, the male releases enzymes that dissolve the female’s tissue around his mouth, leading to anatomical joining of the male and female tissues [1]—a naturally occurring form of parabiosis [12] (see Figure 1). Thereafter, the male loses its eyes, fins, and internal organs, except for its testes. Its blood system fuses with that of the female host, and from that point on it receives all its nutrients via the joined circulatory system."*

*Source:

Histocompatibility and Reproduction: Lessons from the Anglerfish

Reproduction in certain deep-sea anglerfishes involves the permanent attachment of dwarf males to much larger females and fusion of their tissues leading to the establishment of a shared circulatory system. This unusual phenomenon of sexual parasitism ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

(There are a ton of odd deep sea creatures).

Giant isopods (Bathynomus species), giant amphipods (Alicella gigantea), giant copepods (Pennella balaenopterae - a parasite of fin whales), giants ostracods (Gigantocypris species), etc.

Micro-predator and parasitic isopods (the Tongue-eating Louse, Cymothoa exigua, is a great example).

Clam Shrimp.

Tadpole Shrimp (Triops species).

Sea monkeys!!

Bagworm Moth (Psychidae) caterpillars.

Junk Bug/Lacewing (Chrysopidae) larvae.

Those bite. I do not like them

Case-building Caddisfly (Trichoptera) larvae.

Bagheera kiplingi - the herbivorous spider.

Diving Ants, Colobopsis schmitzi - these dive into the digestive fluids of carnivorous pitcher plants to fish out trapped bugs to eat.

Intertidal Ants, Polyrhachis sokolova - these nest in mangroves, and their colonies are completely submerged at high tide; they can swim as needed.

Nomadic Mushroom Harvester Ants, Euprenolepis procera - these literally travel around like army ants foraging for mushrooms to feed on; they're fungivorous.

Honeypot Ants, Myrmecocystus species - these are famous for their repletes, which are ants that basically store food for the colony to survive times of famine; the color of the "Honeypot" replete changes with the color of food/drink fed.

Turtle Ants, Cephalotes species - the soldiers of these ants have flattened, armored heads and literally block the entrances to their nests in the trees with their own heads to control entry/exit.

Striped sheep - yes, these are real, albeit quite rare at the moment.

Frigate Birds (the males in particular).

Sage Grouse (again, particularly the males).

Death-feigning Beetles.

Ant-mimic spiders and beetles.

Okapi.

Annoyingly Okapi means giraffe in Otjiherrero

Alligator Snapping Turtle.

I find the common more interesting

Mata Mata/Matamata Turtle.

Now that’s a cool turtle

Jackson's Chameleon - these have three horns like a triceratops.

Love theM

Pangolins.

The most valuable creature in the world. I worked with some rescues. I can’t tell you where though because it’s literally illegal

Indicine cattle (Zebu cows).

Mhhh
Is it as cool a domesticated Elands?

 

[Slocke]

Looks like I have to up my game. Time for the Pipa pipa. Yes those are baby frogs emerging from its back.

Oh and how about the satanic nightjar, Eurostopodus diabolicus. The second creepiest of birds named for their cry if I remember correctly. The first is of course the horned screamer, Anhima cornuta.

How about a fish that can survive the kalahari desert. The African lungfish, Protopterus annectens, one of my favorites when I lived down there.

I wish I saw a golden rolling spider though, Carparachne aureoflava. Which moves by cartwheeling!

Chrysopelea spp are snakes that fly glide.

That’s a quick top of the head list

 

[BristleWormHater]

Sorry, I don't have photos; this post is too long as is haha.


Some weird critters:

Longfin damselfish, Stegastes diencaeus - they farm algae and ranch domesticated mysid shrimp.

Hatchet-type mantis shrimp, Acanthosquilla derijardi.

Eusocial Snapping Shrimp species (Synalpheus spp.; Synalpheus regalis is the best known, but there are reportedly a couple other species from the genus which exhibit this behavior as well) - these form ant-like colonies with one reproductive queen and several "workers" in the colony; they also live inside of and defend a home sponge.

Semi-terrestrial Shrimp species (Merguia spp.; M. oligodon and M. rhizophorae) which can climb trees and hop away from danger.

Tonna galea is a very large sea snail that eats sea cucumbers and reportedly leaves a bioluminescent trail.

Yellow-coated Clusterwink, Hinea brasiliana - they have a bioluminescent mantle and a specially designed shell; when they glow (typically glowing when disturbed), their shell diffuses the blue-green light they produce, and their entire shell lights up as a result.

Helmet/Shingle Urchin, Colobocentrotus atratus - this one's pretty straightforward when you see a pic of them.

Swimming Anemones - the best known example in the hobby is Boloceroides mcmurrichi, but there are a few others that swim too.

Shaggy Frogfish, Antennarius hispidus, has a bioluminescent lure, and Hairy Frogfish, Antennarius striatus, has a biofluorescent lure.

Paguritta species are filter-feeding, sessile hermit crabs that live in tubes in corals.

Salps.

Siphonophores.

Fried-egg Jellyfish, Cotylorhiza tuberculata:
"Its sting is so mild that the tentacles sometimes provide shelter to small fish in the open ocean."**
"Sometimes small animals like crabs hitch a ride on top of and inside the jellyfish’s bell, tucked away from the stingers.2"**

**Source:

Fried Egg Jellyfish | Oceana

The fried egg jellyfish, primarily found in the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Aegean Seas, only lives for about half a year, from summer to winter. Learn more.

oceana.org

Longnose Walking Batfish, Ogcocephalus corniger.

Pancake Batfish, Halieutichthys aculeatus.

Fluffy Crab, Lamarckdromia beagle.

Doughboy Scallop, Mimachlamys asperrima - these are known for having sponge grow all over their shell, so you can pretty well only see their mantle (the honestly look kind of like a hamburger).

Trophodiscus species, which are aboral-brooding starfish (they literally brood the baby sea stars on their top-sides).

Glass sponges which build reefs.

Carnivorous tunicates, sponges, and bivalves (mostly/exclusively found in the deep-sea).

Melibe species - predatory nudibranchs with massive mouths.

Male and female deep-sea anglerfish:
"An even more unusual and distinctive characteristic of many anglerfish species is related to their mode of reproduction. The free-swimming tiny male anglerfish can sniff the female’s waterborne pheromones and latch itself onto the female with its sharp teeth. While in some species, male attachment to females occurs temporarily and does not involve fusion of tissues, in other species, the male releases enzymes that dissolve the female’s tissue around his mouth, leading to anatomical joining of the male and female tissues [1]—a naturally occurring form of parabiosis [12] (see Figure 1). Thereafter, the male loses its eyes, fins, and internal organs, except for its testes. Its blood system fuses with that of the female host, and from that point on it receives all its nutrients via the joined circulatory system."*

*Source:

Histocompatibility and Reproduction: Lessons from the Anglerfish

Reproduction in certain deep-sea anglerfishes involves the permanent attachment of dwarf males to much larger females and fusion of their tissues leading to the establishment of a shared circulatory system. This unusual phenomenon of sexual parasitism ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

(There are a ton of odd deep sea creatures).

Giant isopods (Bathynomus species), giant amphipods (Alicella gigantea), giant copepods (Pennella balaenopterae - a parasite of fin whales), giants ostracods (Gigantocypris species), etc.

Micro-predator and parasitic isopods (the Tongue-eating Louse, Cymothoa exigua, is a great example).

Clam Shrimp.

Tadpole Shrimp (Triops species).

Bagworm Moth (Psychidae) caterpillars.

Junk Bug/Lacewing (Chrysopidae) larvae.

Case-building Caddisfly (Trichoptera) larvae.

Bagheera kiplingi - the herbivorous spider.

Diving Ants, Colobopsis schmitzi - these dive into the digestive fluids of carnivorous pitcher plants to fish out trapped bugs to eat.

Intertidal Ants, Polyrhachis sokolova - these nest in mangroves, and their colonies are completely submerged at high tide; they can swim as needed.

Nomadic Mushroom Harvester Ants, Euprenolepis procera - these literally travel around like army ants foraging for mushrooms to feed on; they're fungivorous.

Honeypot Ants, Myrmecocystus species - these are famous for their repletes, which are ants that basically store food for the colony to survive times of famine; the color of the "Honeypot" replete changes with the color of food/drink fed.

Turtle Ants, Cephalotes species - the soldiers of these ants have flattened, armored heads and literally block the entrances to their nests in the trees with their own heads to control entry/exit.

Striped sheep - yes, these are real, albeit quite rare at the moment.

Frigate Birds (the males in particular).

Sage Grouse (again, particularly the males).

Death-feigning Beetles.

Ant-mimic spiders and beetles.

Okapi.

Alligator Snapping Turtle.

Mata Mata/Matamata Turtle.

Jackson's Chameleon - these have three horns like a triceratops.

Pangolins.

Indicine cattle (Zebu cows).

I'll get through this whole pokedex someday, but semi-terrestrial shrimp made me come to a full stop. Imagine walking around and just seeing a shrimp with no prior knowledge that these exist, I would second guess what medicine I took in the morning.

 

[Lowsingle]

Thanks for posting this, informative and quite funny.

I’m very much a nerd for the weird. I could go on. Like there are a bunch of suspension feeding sea cucumbers

 

[BristleWormHater]

Looks like I have to up my game. Time for the Pipa pipa. Yes those are baby frogs emerging from its back.

Oh and how about the satanic nightjar, Eurostopodus diabolicus. The second creepiest of birds named for their cry if I remember correctly. The first is of course the horned screamer, Anhima cornuta.

How about a fish that can survive the kalahari desert. The African lungfish, Protopterus annectens, one of my favorites when I lived down there.

I wish I saw a golden rolling spider though, Carparachne aureoflava. Which moves by cartwheeling!

Chrysopelea spp are snakes that fly glide.

That’s a quick top of the head list

Oooooggghhh I hate that frog it's so gross