Find a friend who loves to pet a range of unusual animals from hedgehog, tarantula, or shark (oh, well), show them the list we brought you here, and see if they know these strange animals!
Dumbo Octopus
This creature comes from the genus of Grimpoteuthis and you may not see them often since dumbo octopus can only be found at the extreme depths of at least 9,800 feet. You get to sink yourself until you touch the ocean floor to meet them.
Source: Ocean Exploration Trust/NOAA
Lamprey
Considered as one of vampire animals, lamprey is a destructive pest and parasitic on a wide range of fish. If you notice their unique skeleton with weird-shaped holes coming out of it, it is actually not their bones, but cartilages. Lamprey is also categorised as a primitive animal because according to studies, this native Atlantic Ocean was born way before the dinosaurs.
Source: Natural Visions/Alamy Stock Photo
Star-nosed Mole
Star is often used to symbolise glory and achievement—the more of them, the better. Sorry to disappoint you (or you might be interested?), this particular star we are talking about, belongs to a mole and is attached to their mouth! Part of the genus Condylura, you can find star-nosed mole in wet lowland areas of North America. They super skill includes being able to smell underwater.
Source: Wordlifeexpectancy.com
Blob fish
Be prepared to see the world’s ugliest animal—at least as they claim it to be and we wholeheartedly second the claim. Blob fish looks like an internal organ that just comes out of our body with jelly-like texture, big mouth covering the cheeks, and huge head—ugh, no joke! This Psychrolutidae family is hard to find since it inhabits the deep seas of Australia and New Zealand.
Source: Rex Features
Orchid Mantis
Calm down, after seeing the ugliest, you probably need a more pleasing animal to view, that is why we put orchid mantis on the list! You can easily guess this beautiful animal is part of insects as they mimicked flowers for camouflage. Pretty but deadly and more than just flowery flattery, orchid mantis beautiful look would attract other insects in no time. When they get closer, orchid mantis are ready to snatch them out!
Source: Shutterstock
Dementor Wasp
Wait, you are of course familiar with the name Dementor! Yes, this dementor-named animal is inspired by Harry Potter’s dementors. It sounds a little bit modern for an animal’s name, because this animal was found just in 2015. As scary as it might sound, dementor wasp attacks its preys in a very horrific way you may not imagine before. They will insert their liquid toxin into their prey’s body to make them paralysed. So it does not kill the preys? Not sure, because afterwards most likely the preys will be eaten alive.
Atretochoana
In 2011 when a hydroelectric project was conducted in part of Madeira River, Amazon, some workers of the project encountered Atretochoana. You will easily mistake this animal for regular snake, but what separates them from common snakes is, this one is eyeless! Some people claim this snake looks like a male phallic organ and you can tell why.
Source: news.mongabay.com
Hoatzin
Also popular as Canje pheasant, the locals name this species as punk-rock bird, I mean look at the hair! This tropical bird lives in the southern and northern parts of South America, especially in the lowland areas.
Source: Jeff Cremer and Lucas Bustamante/perunature.com