Top 10 Strangest Animals on Earth
#10: Blue-Footed Booby
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Whoever came up with the name of this species of bird must have had a good laugh about it. The blue-footed booby is a unique looking bird; imagine a mix of a penguin-esque short-legged stork with some duck thrown in, and voila! You have the blue-footed booby. They are marine birds that generally can be found in the region of the Pacific Ocean. Obviously, there is one thing particularly weird about them: their bright blue feet. Especially important during mating, males display their feet to other boobys they’re interested in, lifting them up and down as they strut their stuff.
#9: Japanese Spider Crab
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Don’t be fooled by the name; this creature is all crab and no spider. The Japanese spider crab looks like the real life version of the Pokémon Krabby. With the longest leg span of all arthropods -- 12 feet from claw to claw to be exact -- you could say they’ve got legs for days. Not to mention, they can get a bit hefty as well, with some weighing up to 42 lbs. The meaning of the name in Japanese literally translates to “tall legs crab” which is pretty fitting. Even though they may appear a little frightening, they’re actually fairly gentle giants!
#8: Sparklemuffin
All the arachnophobes out there should give this little guy a chance. We mean, come on, with a name like sparklemuffin, how could you not? And yes, Australia does have some rather frightening spiders, but luckily this one is teeny tiny, measuring less than half an inch. They can’t even puncture human skin because their jaws are so small! The sparklemuffin is an Australian jumping spider that boasts vibrant colors and enticing patterns, which are essential during courtship displays. The little dance that the male spiders do to impress the lady spiders is...oddly adorable? The weirdest part about this spider is how darn cute it is!
#7: Mantis Shrimp
Equal parts praying mantis and shrimp, you’d be hard pressed to find a creature more likely to win a staring contest. Those big bulgy eyes are a little freaky. Do they ever even blink?! Either way, they are seriously one strange looking animal. They also have quite a bad rap, with nicknames like “sea locusts” and “thumb splitters.” So not in the running for the most well liked crustacean. They’re generally solitary creatures, and enjoy hiding away in their homes, only leaving to find food. So, in a way, they’re pretty relatable to humans, despite their weird appearance.
#6: Axolotl
It’s hard to tell if the “Mexican walking fish” is super adorable or super creepy looking, but it’s even harder to pronounce its name! Funny enough, the axolotl is not actually a fish, but rather an amphibious salamander. They are unusually intriguing creatures due to the fact that they don’t undergo metamorphosis. Essentially, this means that instead of growing a pair of lungs and becoming land animals, they remain gilled and aquatic into their adulthood. In addition, they have the ability to regenerate limbs, similar to starfish. Axolotls have the highest regenerative ability of any four-footed animal, which is a little cool but also a little creepy.
#5: Saiga Antelope
At first glance, these animals look like run-of-the-mill bovid. But look a little closer, and it’s impossible to miss that giant honker of a nose! At least they have a good sense of smell though, right? During the summer, the long snout helps to cool the saiga’s blood, and in the winter, the nostrils heat up the air before it reaches the lungs. So, this antelope is definitely more about utility than beauty. Today, they are mostly found in Russia, Kazakhstan, and sometimes Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan. Even though the thick ringed horns on male Saiga Antelope are kind of cool, the super weird looking nose trumps it any day.
#4: Dumbo Octopus
Aptly named after the titular elephant of the Disney movie “Dumbo”, the resemblance between the main character and octopus is easy to see. The dumbo octopus has 2 fins that protrude from above each eye, which look like odd, mini wings. It’d be easy to assume that the wing-fins function like regular fins, but they are usually most useful for stabilization and direction. They are one of the deepest living octopuses known and can be found worldwide in cold waters. Unlike most other octopus, they do not produce ink, likely due to the fact that their habitat does not necessitate it.
#3: Tardigrade
With nicknames like the water bear or moss piglet, you know the tardigrade absolutely belongs on this list. Everything about it is weird, from their appearance to their location. They’re called water bears because, upon their discovery, it was observed that they walk similarly to how a bear does. While they generally reside on moss, they have also been found in marine or freshwater, soil, and sand. Oh, and they’re also environmentally everywhere! From volcanoes to rainforests to the Antarctic, it doesn’t matter -- they can survive extreme conditions, including temperature, pressure, quality of air, and resources. They’ve even been known to survive outer space. So...they’re kind of the closest thing to aliens that live on Earth.
#2: Aye-Aye
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While the aye-aye definitely has an...interesting appearance, it’s on this list for a different reason. Found in Madagascar, the aye-aye is a long-fingered primate lemur with teeth similar to rodents that never stop growing. They also have small beady eyes that are incredibly hard to ignore and could probably steal your soul with one glance. However, the weirdest, and most unique, thing about the aye-aye is their percussive foraging. In order to find food, they tap on trees to find hollow chambers, then chew holes into the wood so they can pull grubs out with their skinny little fingers. It is truly a weird and awesome sight to behold. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Hagfish Because They Are a Weird Slime-Producing Fish Chinese Water Deer Because They Have Tusks That Earned Them the Weird Nickname of “Vampire Deer” Vampire Bat Because an Animal That Actually Drinks Blood Is Both Weird & a Little Scary Lyrebird Because Their Ability to Mimic Sound Is Equally Cool & Weird. Pacu Fish Because They’ve Got a Really Strange Smile
#1: Blobfish
Ah, yes. The blobfish. In the case of this animal, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. And, well...sad to say, but the blobfish has a face only a mother could love. Naturally, so as not to be seen and made fun of, these creatures generally live in the Australian abyss, intentionally separate from civilization. It’s like a kind of normal fish, but 100% fat and 0% muscle. They are jelly-like with very little substance, and they don’t do too much either. They just kind of flat around, like the literal blobs they are. Fittingly enough, the blobfish is the mascot of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society, which kind of speaks for itself.
