The Strangest Animals That Exist

3 minutes

Last update: 20 June, 2018

No, they’re not animations or edited photos… These are some of the strangest animals that currently exist. Did you know that humans know less than a fifth of all the animal species on the planet?

Surely there are many more rarities living separate from us. In this article, you will find out about a few species that have caught many peoples’ attention.

The Strangest Animals in the World

They’re really amazing, and although they look like something out of a George Lucas science-fiction film… they’re real! Here are some of the strangest animals that exist (or we currently know of):

1. Cuban Greater Funnel-eared Bat

Its scientific name is Natalus Primus and it belongs to the Natalidae family. Its strange appearance has yellowish-red fur and funnel-shaped ears. This bat is only found on the Isla de la Juventud (Island of Pines), in Cuba. It’s called “Yoda” because it looks like the character from Star Wars.

2. Pink Fairy Armadillo

This animal looks like a Pokémon dressed up like a Princess. It’s a very small armadillo (only 10 cm long) which lives in the Cuyo region of Argentina. It’s silky white fur is covered by a pink shell.

This species spends many hours underground, so it’s difficult to spot them walking on the surface. They don’t like being close to humans and if caught only they live up to a week in captivity.

3. Elephant Shrew

Its scientific name is Macroscelidea, apart from being one of the strangest animals, it also has a very unusual name. Why the “elephant” shrew? It definitely has relationship to the enormous mammal. It’s because it has a long trunk-like snout. It also gets this name because it’s the biggest of all shrews.

They can measure up to 30 cm long (and their tails up to25 cm). They’re mainly daytime animals and hide in cracks in rocks, gaps in tree trunks, or abandoned nests.

4. Aye-Aye

Daubentonia madagascariensis is a mix between a bat, monkey and meerkat. It has enormous eyes, a bushy tail, large ears, and long primate-like fingers, and only lives in Madagascar. In general, they’d rather spend all of their time in tree branches than on the ground. They are nocturnal animals that sleep in a spherical nest made out of sticks and leaves.

5. Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat

Lasiorhinus Krefftii is one of the strangest species of mammal in the world. Although it lived since ancient times in New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria, today its habitat is limited to a 33 km² territory at the Epping Forest National Park.

Sadly, it’s at serious risk of extinction. It has a pig-like nose, lynx-like ears, and a squirrel-like body.

6. Star-nosed Mole

Its scientific name is Condylura Cristata and it belongs to the Talpidae family. It lives across North America, although it’s mainly found on the North-eastern coast of the United States.

The star-nosed mole measures 20 cm long and has 44 teeth. It’s main feature (which makes it one of the strangest animals in the world) is its nose that has 22 pinkish moving tentacles which guide it through the darkness. They also help it hunt insects, worms, and crustaceans.

7. Sawfish

With a name like that you can probably imagine what it looks like. This large fish’s nose (they can grow up to 5 m long) is shaped like a saw. Pristis Pristis lives in deep subtropical waters in the Pacific Ocean and belongs to the Pristidae family (related to rays).

8. Harp Sponge

If you’re looking for the strangest animals, this one without a doubt takes first place. This species is shaped like a candelabra… like it was something left in the ocean after a shipwreck. It might look delicate and very elegant, but it’s very dangerous for crustaceans… it devours them rather quickly!

Source of Images: noticiaspet.com, www.infoanimales.com

All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.

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