25 Awesome Animals You Won’t Believe Exist

Posted by , Updated on March 21, 2024

These are no ordinary creatures. These fascinating animals encompass some of the most peculiar appearances and the most extreme sizes around. Consider the silkie, a bird that appears to be a blend of a chicken and a puddle. Or the glass octopus, a creature so transparent you can see right through it! And certainly, we cannot overlook the Fairyfly, the smallest wasp out there. So, if you’re prepared to discover some unrivaled creatures you likely wasn’t aware of, you are cordially invited to explore these 25 unbelievable animals you won’t believe actually exist.

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25

Bergamasco Shepherd

bergamaso

Italian Alps near Bergamo, where it was originally used as a herding dog.

24

Pacu Fish

Pacuwww.ibtimes.co.uk

Known as “the ball cutter” fish, these bizarre fish have a set of chompers closely resembling that of human teeth. Their diet mainly consists of tree nuts; however, this piranha relative has also developed a taste for human flesh. This is bad news for guys since they have been known to target male genitalia (hence the nickname).

23

Lowland Streaked Tenrec

streaked-tenrec

Found only in Madagascar, the lowland streked tenrec is a small mammal covered in barbed quills, which he uses against potential predators. The quills also produce a faint chattering sound when vibrated and are used for communication. In fact, the tenrec is the only mammal that uses stridulation for generating sound (something usually insects and snakes do).

22

Japanese Giant Spider Crabs

Japanesegiantspidercrab

The Japanese giant spider crab is aptly named with the largest leg span of any anthorpod, reaching up to 3.8 meters (12ft) and weighing up to 19 kilograms (42lbs).

21

Glass Octopus

Glassoctopus

Transparent, gelatinous, and almost colorless, the glass octopus (Vitrledonella richardi) is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas.

20

Sea Salp

seasalp

The sea salp is a barrel-shaped, plantokic tunicate that moves by pumping water through its gelatinous body and are known for their bizarre and complicated lifecycle.

19

Pinochio Frog

Pinochiofrogwww.timlaman.com

Discovered in the Foja mountains of Paua , Indonesia during a 2008 expedition by Conservation International and National Geograhic Society; the Pinochio frog is named after is elongated nose.

18

Smallest Vertebrate

peasized-frogwww.popularmechanics.com/Conservation International

Talking about frogs, the smallest known vertebrate in the world was discovered in Papua New Guinea in August of 2009 by Louisiana State University herpetologist Christopher Austin and his PhD student Eric Rittmeyer. The frog only measures about 7.7mm (0.30 in) in length and are able to jump thirty times their body length.

17

ET Salamander

Ugly-SalamanderJessica Deichmann / Conservation International

This poor little guy has been dubbed as the “ET” or “Ugly” salamander by the media due to his appearance. Not much is known about this new species yet, except that it’s lungless (breathes through its skin) and climbs vegetation (something normal salamanders usually don’t do).

16

Snakehead Fish

snakehead-fish

Known for its insatiable appetite, this monstrous looking fish not only hunts in lakes and ponds, but can also slither onto dry land. Able to stay out of the water for up to three days, the snake fish can also eat small terrestrial animals.

15

Giant Coconut Crab

Giantcoc

The Giant Coconut crab is the largest land-living arthropod in the world weighing up to 4.1 kg (9lbs) and can grow to up to 1m (3ft3in) in length.

14

Penis Snake

penissnake

Discovered by engineers while draining a portion of the Madeira River, the “penis snake” is actually a Caecilian that primarily feeds on small fish, worms and other aquatic invertebrates and can reach lengths of up to 81cm (32 inches).

13

Illacme plenipes

illacme

Found in the central region of the U.S. state of California, the Illacme plenipes is a species of millipede that has up to 750 legs, more than any other millipede. First seen in 1926, it was rediscovered in 2005.

12

Harp Sponge

Harpsponge

Discovered in 2000 off the central California coast, the “harp sponge” is a meat eating sponge that feeds on tiny crustaceans.

11

Silkie

silkie2

Looking like some bizarre animal union between a poodle and a bird, the silkie is a breed of chicken sporting fluffy plumage which is said to feel like silk (hence the name). Besides the feathers, the silkie also has black skin and bones, blue earlobes and five toes on each foot (most chickens have four).

10

Zebra Duiker

zebraduiker

Found within the Ivory Coast region, these tiny antelopes are distinguishable by their red-brown or golden coats that have pronounced stripes similar to those of a zebra. Zebra duikers can grow up to 90 centimeters (35.4 inches) in length and 45 centimeters (17 inches) in height with an average weight of 20kg (44lbs).

9

Skeleton Shrimp

Skeletonshrimp

Also known as ghost shrimps, skeleton shrimps are easily recognizable by their slender bodies which enable them to blend in with fine filament of seaweed.

8

Tinkerbell Fairyfly

Tinkerbellwww.cnn.com

Found in the rain forests of Costa Rica, the Tinkerbell fairfly is a new member to the wasp family. This was truly an incredible find when you consider that the fairfly measures only 250 micrometers (0.00984 inches) long. That’s about 2 ½ times the width of a human hair!

7

Glue-Spitting Velvet Worm

gluespiting

Deep in the jungles of Vietnam, a new species of velvet worm has been found. Measuring about 6 centimeters (2.5 inches), the velvet worm is able to tackle prey larger than itself (though it normally prefers prey that are smaller) by spitting at them with an immobilizing glue, after which it injects them with saliva before devouring them.

6

The Squidworm

squidworm

This bizarre looking worm startled scientists after it was discovered in 2007 by a research team scanning the depths off the Philippines. Measuring nearly nine centimeters (4 inches), the newly discovered worm has eight arms as longs as its body that it uses for breathing and two other appendages used for feeding.

5

Terebellida

Terebellida

Talking about worms; the terebllinda AKA “bristle worm” is a deposit feeder which lives in small tubes built from mud or burrows in the sand.

4

Ceratonotus steiningeri Copepod

eeks5

Discovered in the deep waters of the Angola Basin in 2006, this copepod only measures about 0.5mm (0.0196 inches). Shortly after its discovery, scientists were able to find it in the Atlantic Ocean and then again 8,000 miles (12874.75 Kilometers) away in the central pacific ocean, puzzling scientists as to how they hadn’t discovered this creature sooner.

3

Sea Spider

Sea-spider

Found primarily in the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas, sea spiders are not spiders at all but rather marine arthropods. There are over 1300 known species raging in size from 1 mm (0.039 in) to over 90 cm (35 in).

2

Bald Ukari

baldukari

This small New World monkey is characterized by a very short tail; bright, crimson face, and a bald head. It’s restricted to the varzea forests and other wooded areas near water in the western Amazon Brazil and Peru.

1

Saddleback Caterpillar

caterpillar

Is a brightly colored larva of a dark brown moth and is covered in venom-secreting thorn-like hairs. The venom from these caterpillars can cause a painful swollen rash on humans and sometimes even nausea (so be sure to stay clear away from these guys).