The Weirdest Animals On Earth

The Weirdest Animals on Earth...  

The long eared Jerboa is a nocturnal mouse-like rodent found in the deserts of China and Mongolia. It has a long tail, long legs and extremely large ears. Being such a rare creature, it is in danger of extinction.

The Hispaniolan Solenodon, a strange looking shrew-like creature with a long snout and specialised teeth capable of delivering venom. Only two solenodon species exist today, one in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and the other in Cuba.

The star-nosed Mole's snout has 22 fleshy tentacles that are used to identify food by touch. Often found in North America, it lives in wet lowland areas and eats small invertebrates, aquatic insects, worms and molluscs.

Seapigs live on, or just underneath, the bottom of the ocean and feed on the mud of the seafloor. Scientists haven't yet worked out how they are such a successful deep-sea creature.

The Blobfish is a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than that of the water it occupies. This helps it maintain buoyancy. Hovering just above the sea-floor, the blobfish gobbles edible matter that floats past it.

Discovered in 2005 in the South Pacific Ocean, this creature was dubbed the "yeti lobster" or "yeti crab". It lives at a depth of 2,200 metres on hydrothermal vents along the Pacific-Antarctic.

The White Turtle, whose creamy colour is offset by a few hints of pink, features prominently in Chinese culture - a character in Journey to the West is turned into one for his wrongdoings.

The aye-aye shares a lot in common with the woodpecker - it taps trees to find grubs. When food is located it uses its rodent-like teeth to gnaw a hole, then digs them out with its long middle finger.

The Saiga's unusually over-sized, and flexible, nose warms up the air in winter and filters out the dust in summer.

Leafy Seadragons are covered with leaf-like appendages, making them remarkably camouflaged. Found in Australia, they inhabit calm, cold water and have been protected by the government since 1982.

The slender loris inhabits tropical moist lowland forests found in India or Sri Lanka. The species is threatened by habitat loss.

The Indian Gharial is a critically endangered species and one of the longest of all living crocodilians, sometimes measuring over 20 feet.

The Axolotl is a Mexican neotenic mole salamander. The species originates from the lake underlying Mexico City. Axolotls are used extensively in scientific research due to their ability to regenerate most body parts.

The Guineafowl Puffer, from the Pacific Ocean. When fully expanded, it can reach 50 cm in length.

The frill-necked Lizard, so called because of the large ruff of skin around its neck, runs on its hind-legs when frightened. This behaviour has earnt it the name 'bicycle lizard' in Australia.

Although the Tarsier was once more widespread, all the species living today are found on the islands of Southeast Asia. Each eyeball is approximately 16 mm in diameter and is as large as their entire brain.

The Red Panda is a herbivorous mammal about the size of a cat. It has semi-retractible claws and thick fur on its soles to protect it from the cold and to hide its scent.

The most distinctive trait of the roboscis monkey is the male's large protruding nose. It has been suggested that the female proboscis monkey prefers big-nosed males.