An international committee of taxonomists compiled a list of the most surprising and peculiar new species discovered in 2009.
Spookiest Species List
- Dracula Fish: This little minnow has one major thing in common with the Count… and that’s its pointy pearly whites! These canine-like fangs are used for fighting other males for territory.
- Psychedelic Frogfish: Perfectly suited for Halloween, this creature gets its name from the orange-and-white swirled pattern of its skin and its bizarre teal-colored eyes.
- Golden Orb Spider: This tiny crawler spins one of the largest webs around (nearly 1 meter across)!
- Killer Sponge: Sponges can be a little more menacing when they are carnivorous and stalk the deep seas!
- Insect-Eating Slug: Hey, at least we didn’t say human-eating slug. These creepy black blobs must look pretty scary to a bug.
- Bombardier Worm: These underwater worms shoot off glow-in-the-dark bubble bombs to scare off predators!
- Pincher Plant: This carnivorous plant is the size of a football! It’s also on the endangered species list.
- Electric Fish: Its common name, the banded knifefish, is almost as good for Halloween.
- Odd Yam: This “udderly weird” yam has multiple lobes that hang down to look like an udder!
- Phallic Mushroom: The creepiest thing about this species has got to be the stink! These shrooms reak of a foul, rotten meat odor.
I hope you don’t run into any of these guys when you’re out for trick-or-treat… They are pretty cool to read about though!
- Top Ten List (LiveScience)