With Spring on everyone’s mind, it’s interesting to know what animals we have sharing our planet. Take a look at the Top 10 peculiar animals that live amongst us, that you probably never knew existed.
We hope this gives you some insight into the Animal kingdom and how complex these animals actually are.
To get an idea of what we mean by Peculiar, take a look at the Emperor Tamarin on the top right side of this post. This animal is found in the Amazon and carries with it a very strange fur growth on it’s face.
There are many interesting animals in the list below that will interest you, take a look and let us know what you think
- Axolotl: Native only to Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco in central Mexico and a critically endangered animal. The axolotl is part of the neotenic mole salamanders belonging to the Tiger Salamander family.
- Dumbo Octopus: From the genus Grimpoteuthis. Their ear-like fins protruding from the top of their head-like bodies resemble the ears of Walt Disney’s flying elephant. Typically, they live from 100 to 5,000 meters below sea level though they have been found living as deep as 7,000 meters, the deepest depth of any octopus. There are 14 different species of Dumbo Octopusses.
- Pink Fairy Armadillo: The smallest armadillo species. Found in central Argentina’s dry grasslands and sandy plains. The Pink Fairy Armadillo is between 90 and 115mm long. The Pink Fairy Armadillo spends much of its time under the ground as it is a “sand swimmer” similar to the Golden Mole or the Marsupial Mole.
- Pygmy Marmoset: Also referred to as the Dwarf Marmoset. Native to the rainforest canopies of Western Brazil, South Eastern Colombia, Eastern Ecuador, Eastern Peru and Northern Bolivia. Its body length ranges between 14 to 16 cm (excluding its 15-20cm tail). The Pygmy Marmoset is world’s smallest true monkey.
- Yeti Crab: This crustacean was discovered in the South Pacific Ocean in 2005. It’s about 15cm long and its notable for the quantity of silky blond setae (resembling fur) covering its pereiopods (thoracic legs and claws). The animal has strongly reduced eyes that lack pigment and its thought to be blind.
- Star Nosed Mole: A small Northern American Mole found in low areas that have moisture. They are easily identified by the 11 pairs of pink fleshy appendages ringing their snout which are used as a touch organ with more than 25,000 minute sensory receptors, with which this hamster-sized mole feels its way around.
- White Nosed Saki Monkey: Also known as the Guianan Saki and is found in the rain forests of Brazil in South America. The average body mass of a male white-nosed saki is about 3.1 kg. The average body mass of a female is 2.5 kg.
- Coconut Crab: This anthropod (meaning “skeleton is outside the body”) is found mainly on Pacific Islands. It’s the largest land-living anthropod in the world. Most references give it a body length of up to 40 cm and a weight of up to 4.1 kg.
- Aye-aye: This popular animal is part of the lemur family and is found in Madagascar. This animal uses its large middle finger to peck wood. The Aye-aye sleeps during the day in nests built in the forks of trees. The original meaning of the name Aye-aye has been lost, as the originating language is extinct.
- Alpaca: These animals graze the fields of Ecuador and surrounding areas. They are used mainly for their luxurious fibre for knitted garments. Alpaca look like small llamas. These creatures graze at altitudes between 3,500 and 5,000 m
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