Hagfish

photo via: seaturtlecamp.com

Habitat: mesopelagic to abyssal Pacific ocean, near the ocean floor.
Status: Data Deficient

Starting off our list of weird animals with absolutely disgusting defense strategies is the particularly handsome Hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii). These jawless, spineless denizens of the deep are a throwback to the Paleozoic Era when fish evolved. Using feelers located on the ends of its face, the hagfish locates dead and rotting animals that have sunk to the bottom of the ocean floor. Swarms of hagfish will penetrate the decomposing carcass and feast on the body from the inside out. It uses its razor sharp teeth to bite and tear rotting flesh right off the bones. It’s a good thing the poor animal is dead when all of this is happening because good god that sounds painful.

photo: Patrick Sumlee

Ferocious fangs aren’t the purpose this weird fish is included in our list, however. Hagfish have an entirely revolting trick up their sleeves to avoid predators. When disturbed, the hagfish will ooze proteins from slime glands in its skin that interact with the surrounding water to form a thick, slimy outer coating which ultimately expands into a HUGE mass of slime. In fact, deep-sea diving equipment has been thwarted from reaching its final destination in the past by large amounts of hagfish slime, produced when the fish are alarmed.

photo via: gogonews.com

Now, you’d think that people would want to have as little contact with this nasty slime as possible. But no, humans are sometimes even weirder than the creatures we feature here! Researchers are envisioning the hagfish slime to create clothes for us to wear. Yes, you read that correctly. Someday we could be seeing Mark Jacobs sending his {fabulous} line of hagfishware down the catwalk. You see, as of right now most synthetic fabrics (such as nylon and spandex) are made using oil and as we all know, oil is a dwindling resource. A new source will be needed in the future and that’s where hagfish slime comes in.

photo via: thefrisky.com

There are a few reasons why the slime might be useful in the fashion world: it’s incredibly strong, easily stretched, and when it dries, the texture becomes silky. While a hagfish only reaches up to a foot in length, one animal alone contains hundreds of miles of slime. That’s why researchers are trying to replicate the proteins of hagfish slime as we speak, in order to be able to manufacture an artificial product with similar properties. (source)

So you’re welcome Featured Creature readers, you’re now one step ahead in terms of fashion style. Work it!

Northern Fulmar

photo: Steve Metildi

photo: Nicola Saunders

Habitat: subarctic regions of the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans.
Status: Least Concern

The Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) was first described by Carl Linnaeus 1761, based on a specimen from within the Arctic Circle, on Spitsbergen. It looks very similar to your standard sea gull, however it is actually a member of Procellariidae family, which include petrels and shearwaters instead of gulls.

The term ‘Fulmar’ actually means “foul gull” and that’s exactly why this bird makes our list. The young chicks of the Northern Fulmar have evolved a unique defense mechanism that turns them into incredibly unsavory morsels. Though, from simply looking at them you would never be able to guess that these oh-so-fluffy birds are absolutely revolting creatures.

photo: George Stoyle
“What? I’m just a sweet, innocent little chick….”
LIES!

photo: http://shetlandpetrels.blogspot.com
the face of nasty comes in a surprising form

When confronted by anything- whether that be predatory eagles or a poor, unsuspecting passerby – the fulmar chick will PROJECTILE VOMIT all over the intruding creature’s face. The stream of bright orange puke creates a rotten fish smell that won’t come off of the unlucky animal no matter how hard it tries.

photo: Annelies Leeuw

Oh, and not only does the poor bird intruder have to suffer the putrid stank, the oil in the vomit coats the feathers of the bird so that they stick together – rendering it unable to fly. When the horrified birds try and flee the island of misfortune into the water, they are unaware that the vomit oil coating their feathers will take away their buoyancy; meaning they end up drowning.

Lovely little birds these Fulmars are, wouldn’t you agree?

Pygmy Sperm Whale

photo: WaterFrame/Alamy

Habitat: throughout the tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Status: Data Deficient

Everyone knows about Sperm Whales… but did you know that there were pygmy sperm whales swimming around out there, too? The Pygmy Sperm Whale (Kogia breviceps) is actually one of three species of toothed whales in the sperm whale family. At birth they are about 3 ft 11 in. in length but mature to aruond 11 ft. Adults weigh about 880 lbs. They are hardly ever spotted at sea due to their preference to remain in off-shore waters at depths of anywhere from 1,300 to 3,300 ft. Therefore, most of the information (which is little at best) comes from stranded specimens. The total population of this species isn’t even known!

size compared to an average human!

What we do know about them is probably the nastiest aspect of the animal in general. Since pygmy sperm whales don’t have the size advantage that their cousins do when faced with danger they had to come up with another defense strategy. When faced with a predator attack from dolphins or sharks, the Pygmy Sperm Whale will secrete an anal syrup into the water. The whale then stirs up the water with its fins to create a giant poo cloud in which it can take cover in.

photo: Tony Wu

No predator wants to venture into THAT! And that’s just what the pygmy sperm whale is banking on. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, they aren’t only able to produce one cloud at a time. Oh no, my friends, these whales will keep on producing poo clouds if they are pursued (WHY WOULD YOU GO AFTER IT?!) until the aggressor gives up.

photo: Tony Wu

I’d nope the heck out of there at the first meet and greet with the stinky poo cloud of doom. Sharks and Dolphins must have a much higher tolerance for diluted whale crap than I do…

Leopard Sea Cucumber

photo: Zubi

Habitat: Western Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
Status: No Conservation Concerns

Ah, the Sea Cucumber. One of nature’s weirdest creations, in my humble opinion. This particular species is the Leopard Sea Slug (Bohadschia argus) which is shaped like a sausage with various dark spots surrounded by white haloes. It can grow up to two feet in length.

What makes this creature so wonderfully disgusting is its remarkable defense mechanism. Like other sea cucumbers, the Leopard Sea Cucumber has one way of protecting itself – and it’s just crazy enough to work. When threatened, the sea cucumber will begin to violently shake its body until it has expelled its sticky intestines and other organs… out of its anus. The sticky intestines latch onto the attacker, entangling it in this morose web. This really throws the predator off track and usually sends it on its way.

photo: Wolfgang Poelzer

In some species of sea cucumber, the intestines are poisonous, containing a toxic chemical called holothurin which really irritates the skin of the offending creature.

While this whole process might seem quite exhausting and elaborate – I mean, think about it, wouldn’t you be tired after spitting out all of your guts from your butt? – it’s actually not that harsh on the sea cucumber. It takes around 6 weeks for the missing body parts to be completely regenerated. Isn’t that incredible? I mean it’s really, really gross… but still incredible.

Horned Lizard

photo: Jason Penney

photo: Amy_b

Habitat: North America; ranges from Colorado and Kansas to northern Mexico (in the Sonoran desert), and from southeastern Arizona to Texas.There are also isolated, introduced populations in the Carolinas, Georgia, and northern Florida. May be native to Louisiana and Arkansas
Status: Least Concern
*note: this species is in sharp decline over a large part of its historical range and is listed as a threatened species by the State of Texas.

I’ve posted on the Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) in the past but it just has too creepy of a defense strategy not to be included on this list.

As you can see from the photos above, its coloration proves very useful when camouflaging itself in its rocky and arid environment. However, hiding is only the first line of defense for this rather diminutive lizard species, which can grows on average to 2.7 in from snout-vent. When it really feels like it’s in trouble, the Texas Horned Lizard will restrict the blood flow leaving its head, thereby increasing its blood pressure until it ruptures the tiny blood vessels around its eyelids. The lizards are able to squirt an aimed stream of BLOOD with precision for a distance up to 5 feet!

photo: Dave Beaudette

Not only does the blood squirting confuse predators, but the blood apparently tastes pretty foul, making the lizard seem incredibly unappetizing. The gross taste is only picked up by feline and canine predators, however. So if the danger posed to the lizard comes in the form of a bird it might want to utilize one of the other tricks it has to make a smooth getaway. This includes (other than camouflage), puffing up its body as to appear larger than it actually is (and thus more intimidating), elevating its head so that the sharp horns on its cranium are aimed at the would-be attacker, or run in short bursts and then stop in order to confuse the predator’s visual acuity.

photo: The Horned Jack Lizard

Whatever method it chooses to escape, the Texas Horned Lizard definitely stands a fighting chance against its tormentors with its wide array of defense strategies, especially the disgusting blood spewing trick.

 

Cereal Leaf Beetle

photo: Ken

Habitat: native to Europe and Asia, parts of northern Africa; now present in the United States
Status: No Conservation Concerns

So the above beetle looks like a nice enough insect, am I right? It’s sort of attractive with its iridescent blue wing plates and red body and at only 3/16 inch in length how bad could they be… right?

Well, first off, these Cereal Leaf Beetles (Oulema melanopus or Lema melanopa) are major agricultural pests. They dessimate crop populations of wheat, oats, barley, rye and other grasses. Serious eradication efforts didn’t begin in the United States until 1960s when entire oat fields were being destroyed. To stop the bugs from completely ruining the crop population, parasitic wasps were introduced in an attempt to have them feast on the insects and bring them into submission. Insecticides were also employed. While the fact that it’s a major nuisance to farmers is upsetting, nothing is quite as disturbing as the defense mechanism employed by the larvae of the Cereal Leaf Beetle.

photo: Claude Pilon

What you see above is the larvae of the Cereal Beetle… covered in its own feces. Can I get an ‘EWWWW’ now? K, thanks. So what it does is, the larva will coat themselves in this jelly substance that contains expelled poop. It’s basically mimicking bird poop, which as we all know (except for maybe one freak out there reading this) that bird poop is not the most sought after meal on the menu.

photo: Giles San Martin

This particular larva shown above has another hitchhiker besides the load of poop fascended to its back – that pesky parasitic wasp’s baby I was telling you about earlier. You can see it if you look closely; it’s right in the front between the last two legs looking like a tiny worm. The wasp larva will ultimately eat the beetle larva and emerge from its skin once its done with its pooptastic meal. MMmmm! Delish!

photo: Pudding4Brains

These photos show what the larvae look like without the jelly poop casing across its back. It’s still kind of sluggy-looking, but definitely no where near as stomach churning as the top left photo in the series (the poop master).

~~~

So there you have it. Six of the most disgusting animal defenses in nature summed up just for you. Hope you enjoyed! If so, please take a moment to share with your friend who could use a good “I think I’m going to throw up” moment. I know we’re all always lusting after those, after all….

The post 6 of the Most Disguting Animal Defenses in Nature appeared first on The Featured Creature.

photo: cute-baby-animals.tumblr.com

photo via: slothadventure

photo via: http://standardfailure.tumblr.com

photo via: http://thatslothblog.tumblr.com

photo: buzzfeed animals

photo via: http://thatslothblog.tumblr.com

photo via: slothsaturday

photo via: http://thatslothblog.tumblr.com

“COME AT ME BRO!”

photo via: ownthewalls.tumblr.com

photo via:  thatslothblog.tumblr.com

photo: Flavio Brandao

photo: Daniel

photo via: slothsaturday.tumblr.com

photo via: omgsloths.tumblr.com

photo via: fuqyeahsloths.tumblr.com

Sloth .gifs!

Snackin’:

Boatin’:

Yawnin’:

Itchin’:

Bathin’:

Loungin’:

Sharin’:

Fallin’:

Ponderin’:

Shy Guyin’:

And there you have it, folks! If you’re not slothed out by now I really don’t know what to tell you. You might want to visit a doctor because you’ve got DA SLOTH SICKNESS! It’s highly contagious, too… so one share of this post and you’re guaranteed to have infected your friends!

The post TONS of Sloth Photos and .Gifs That Are Guaranteed to Make Your Heart Explode appeared first on The Featured Creature.

photo via: lifesci.ucsb.edu

photo via: lifesci.ucsb.edu

Habitat: Deep sea
Status: Unknown

I’m sad to report that I have little to no information on this spectacular denizen of the deep. It’s an undescribed species of hydromedusa jellyfish in the genus Tetrochis that possesses some bioluminescent capabilities.

From the UCSB website: “pink pigmentation [is] due to absorbance, and [the] rainbow iridescence [is] due to the thin-film effect of its tissue acting on white incident light.”

The Hydromedusae, is a subclass within the Class Hydrozoa, that contains mostly small, inconspicuous species of medusae jellyfish. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that this stunning species of jelly is very, very tiny.

I apologize for the lack of info on this one, but it was just too beautiful not to post! Anyone with more to say on this fantastic creature, please leave a comment!

The post Undescribed Species of Rainbow Hydromedusa Jellyfish is Absolutely Stunning appeared first on The Featured Creature.

photo via: calacademy.org

photo: João Pedro Pio

photo via: mantisshrimp.wordpress.com

photo: islandbiodiversityrace.wildlifedirect.org

photo: Josef Uyeda

Habitat: São Tomé and Ilhéu das Rolas.
Status: Least Concern

This bright yellow, worm-like creature is the São Tomé Caecilian (Schistometopum thomense) but it’s locally known as the Cobra Bobo. Why… I’m not really too sure. But I love it.

This caecilian (legless amphibian) grows to around 12 inches in length and is commonly found in large numbers in the banana plantations on the island, among other places in the moist lowland forests. Maybe the bright yellow color comes from all the bananas it hangs around with. That’s my very scientific guess.

Like most caecilians, the Cobra Bobo has very limited vision since it lives primarily underground. Instead of using vision to get around, it has two small ‘tentacles’ on either side of its eyes that it uses to feel out the world around it.

I’m not sure if it employs the same appetizing feeding strategy with its young as this Ringed Caecilian, but one can only hope. Because doesn’t eating your mothers skin sound like such a delicious treat?!

The post The Bright Yellow Cobra Bobo is One Strange Amphibian appeared first on The Featured Creature.

photo: Samuel W. James

photo: Samuel W. James

Habitat: Philippines
Status: Not Evaluated

Everyone knows the old saying “The early bird catches the worm…” but what happens when the worm looks like it’s the one that’s got the delicious breakfast?! That really throws a wrench in the mix, now don’t it?

This bizarre denizen of the Earth is called the Fried Eggs Worm (Archipheretima middletoni) and it was only discovered back in 2001 on a few islands of the Philippines. Unlike most species of earthworms, this one doesn’t actually live underground. Instead, it slinks about in the leaf litter on the forest floor. All species of this genus are blue, varying from aquamarine to shades of indigo to dark blue with spots that resemble fried eggs.

The remarkable pattern may serve the worm by providing cryptic and/or disruptive coloration. Some researchers have ventured that the ‘fried eggs’ are there to resemble small patches of light reflecting off dead leaves or they may just be there in order to break up the outline of the animal. Whatever purpose they serve, it’s definitely one of the coolest patterns on a WORM I’ve ever seen!

The post Serve Me Up Some Fried Eggs Worm! appeared first on The Featured Creature.

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photo: Art

photo: flmnh.ufl.edu

photo: Moorea Biocode

Habitat: Society Islands; Moorea; S of Vaiare Pass, French Polynesia, South Pacific Ocean
Status: Not Evaluated

I had no idea what this thing was when I first saw it. At first I thought it might just be some coral or a type of sponge because, honestly, how could this thing actually be alive?! Then, after a little research I realized that this is in fact a sea urchin – a Short-spined Urchin, to be exact (Chondrocidaris brevispina).

These bizarre creatures resemble miniature alien suns with their sharp, sponge-tipped spines which emanate from the center of the animal itself. They’re found anywhere from between 30-35m deep in the areas they inhabit.

It was described in 1925 after it was dredged up as bycatch and to this day remains incredibly rare. There are very few photos and even less information on this fascinating marine animal. If anyone has any other facts or info they’d like to add, please leave me a comment below!

photo: Art

The post The Short-spined Urchin Looks More Like an Alien Sun Than a Living Creature! appeared first on The Featured Creature.

photo: DR Larry Stoter

photo: Nico Smit

photo: Ecoprint

Habitat: South Africa & Lesotho
Status: Least Concern

This handsome creature is called the Bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus pygarus), one of the rarest antelopes in Southern Africa. There are actually two subspecies of the bontebok; the bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus pygarus), occurring naturally in the Fynbos and Renosterveld areas of the Western Cape, and the blesbok (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi) occurring in the highveld. The blesbok differs from the bontebok in two ways: First, the bontebok has an unbroken white facial blaze, whereas the blesbok has the white blaze broken by a brown band between the eyes. The bontebok also has a purplish sheen to its coat, whereas the blesbok is more reddish-brown.

Both species of Bontebok are extinct in the wild. They were hunted into extinction mainly during the early 19th century, leaving only 17 individuals to create a new population (source). Luckily, farmers had the foresight to protect these remaining individuals and enclosed them onto their land. While hunting and trade of both subspecies still occurs, this is believed to be strictly controlled and so no longer poses a major threat. It is incredibly sad that both the Bontebok and the Blesbok no longer roam wild in South Africa, however I am thankful that the species remains due to the protection it has on farms and game reserves.

photo: Duncan Noakes

photo via: http://natureontheedge.com

Young bontebok will eventually grow into full-size adults, measuring 80 to 100 cm (31 to 39 in) high at the shoulder and 120 to 210 cm (47 to 83 in) along the head and body. They are classified as tall, medium-sized antelope. Body mass can vary from 50 to 155 kg (110 to 340 lb) but males are slightly larger and noticeably heavier than females.

The post Bontebok are Incredibly Handsome ‘Extinct in the Wild’ Creatures appeared first on The Featured Creature.

photo: leandroarthropodsclub44

photo: Michel Ehrhardt

photo: D_Mar

photo: Chris

Habitat: Eurasia; In the UK, this endangered beetle is currently known only from Caernarvonshire in Wales; since 1980 it has been recorded from Snowdon and Cwm Idwal. Elsewhere the species is found in northern, central and southern Europe
Status: Classified as Endangered in the UK and protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981

You don’t usually hear about insects being endangered since they’re typically found in huge numbers. However, the Rainbow Leaf Beetle (Chrysolina cerealis) is an extremely rare species of bug that is only found in a few small populations (though they are considered very difficult to locate, so maybe there are more out there we don’t know of!) in Eurasia. It’s interesting that such a vividly colored beetle is found in Europe; I would imagine this being found in the jungles of Borneo or some other extremely tropical location instead!

At only 5.5 – 10 mm in length, the Rainbow Leaf Beetle is arguably the most beautiful beetle in all of Britain. It has long bands of red, green, and purple running down its wing cases, or “elytra.”

The species is being monitored and it seems that there hasn’t really been a decline in population numbers per se; it might just be that this species was always rare! Makes sense – rainbows are, after all, are a special treat. It makes sense that a rainbow beetle would be just as coveted as the natural weather phenomenon it is named after!

photo via: myscienceacadamy.org

The post The Extremely Rare Rainbow Leaf Beetle Is A Major Treat For The Eyes appeared first on The Featured Creature.

Looks like the owl is grooming the dog… they do sort of look alike!

What a cute video

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