Weird Animals On Earth

Aye-Aye

The Aye-Aye is the world’s largest nocturnal primate. It has rodent-like teeth that grow perpetually, and a special middle finger that is long, thin and skeletal in appearance. A great start to the weird list!

Axolotl

The Axolotl or ‘Mexican Walking Fish’ as it’s more commonly known isn’t actually a fish, it’s an amphibian. The branches which extend from the side of its head are actually its gills.

Bald Uakari

Bald Uakari (pronounced ‘wakari’) is a small monkey found in the Amazon basin with a long ginger shaggy coat, and a hairless head and face – which is coloured bright red.

Barbirusa

Babirusas have a distinct prehistoric appearance with long canine tusks and a distinct weird prehistoric appearance.

Barreleye Fish

The barreleye is a small deep-sea fish with a dome-shaped transparent head that contains glowing green eyes. hrough the transparent dome, you can see their eyes, brain and nerves!

Bat-Eared Fox

The bat-eared fox is a cute little fox species, with huge dish-like ears that lives on the plains of Eastern and Southern Africa eating termites and fooling around.

Blobfish

The Blobfish is a deep-sea fish described as the ugliest fish in the world. However, this popular impression is a myth, they actually look like any other fish in their usual environment.

Blue-Tongued Skink

Skinks are lizards, and the aptly named Blue-Tongued Skink is contains some of the largest members of the skink family. Their blue tongue helps scare off potential predators as a bluff-warning.

Bobbit Worm

The bobbit worm is a bristle worm that can grow up to 3m in length, that likes to dig burrows in the ocean floor near coral reefs. It will detect prey before striking and pulling them into its burrow!

Capybara

Capybaras are the worlds largest rodent. They are semi-aquatic, well known for looking like giant guinea pigs, and other animals just love sitting on their heads.

Colossal Squid

The colossal squid is a deep-sea squid that occupies some of the coldest, darkest parts of the Southern ocean. It’s the heaviest squid ever discovered.

Colugo (Flying Lemur)

The colugo, is a tree-dwelling gliding mammal found in South East Asia. While they are known as flying lemurs, they are not actually lemurs, and they also can’t fly, but instead glide.

Dementor Wasp

The Demontor Wasp is a species of cockroach wasp native to Thailand. They prey on cockroaches by injecting venom into their head, which turns them into a zombie that walks into the wasps nest.

Dragon-Headed Caterpilla

Dragon head caterpillars are known for the tell-tale “head capsules” which resemble wide set horns. These strange creatures are actually very common.

Dugong

Dugong are a herbivorous marine mammal sometimes referred to as a ‘sea cow’, with an adorable, plump appearance, with a dolphin tail, round head and downward snout.

Dumbo Octopus

The Dumbo octopus has been labelled by many as the cutest octopus out there. They are so named because of the Dumbo the elephant ear-like fins that protrude from the sides of their heads.

Echidna

Echidnas are sometimes referred to as ‘spiny anteaters‘ and their unusual appearance and characteristics have fascinated scientists for hundreds of years.

Egg-Eating Snake

Dasypeltis is the largest genus of egg eating snakes. They have evolved to live exclusively on birds eggs and have adapted to live in locations with lots of birds to feed their egg-craving!

Fangtooth

The Fangtooth, also known as the ‘Ogre Fish’ are dee-sea fish found up to 5,000m below the sea. They have the largest relative teeth to their size in the ocean!

Flying Fox

Flying foxes are not actually foxes, they are enormous ‘megabats’ with heads that resemble a fox with small ears and large eyes, oh and a wing span of up to 1.5m (5 feet!).

Flying Snake

Chrysopelea are most commonly known as the flying snake, or gliding snake – capable of traveling up to 100 metres in a single glide.

Fossa

The Fossa is a strange cat-dog-mongoose like carnivorous mammal that is native to Madagascar.

Fried Egg Jellyfish

Fried egg jellyfish are free-swimming ocean animals with bright yellow domes and trailing tentacles. Also known as the egg-yolk jellyfish, they have bodies made from a jelly-like substance!

Gerenuk

The gerenuk is one of the lesser-known antelope species that have unusually long necks and are known as the giraffe gazelle.

Gharial

The gharial is one of two crocodilians from the Gavialidae family that is known for its narrow, elongated snout and sharp, interlocking teeth.

Ghost Shark

Ghost sharks are not actually sharks, but specialist deep water fish that have the slowest evolving genome of all known invertebrates – with a ghost like appearance!

Goblin Shark

The Goblin Shark is a deep-sea shark, that has an elongated, flattened snout. Within it are weird protruding jaws, that are filled with teeth that resemble nails.

Hammer-headed Bat

The hammer-headed bat, also known as the hammer head fruit bat and big-lipped bat, is one of the most unique species of bats around. They’re a type of megabat, just like flying foxes.

Helmeted Hornbill

The Helmeted hornbill is a large bird from Southeast Asia that has a solid casque or ‘helmet’ on their beak and a unique call with a maniacal laughter. Sadly, they are endangered due to poachers.

Honduran White Bat

The Honduran white bat is also known as the Caribbean white tent-making bat and is a pygmy species of bat, which has white fur and leaf-shaped nose and ears.

Irrawaddy Dolphin

Irrawaddy dolphins have rounded heads with short snub noses and live in small populations throughout parts of southeast Asia.

Jabiru

Jabirus are large storks, and the tallest flying birds in South and Central America with a long, bald neck and scaly legs giving it a distinctly dinosaurian appearance.

Jaguarundi

The jaguarundi is a wild cat native to central and south America. It has a weasel-like appearance, with a long body and short legs.

Japanese Spider Crab

The Japanese spider crab is a giant crustacean that can grow up to 12.5 feet that is most commonly found on the Pacific side of Japan.

Jerboa

Jerboas are a group of jumping rodents found in Northern Africa, with a quirky kangaroo-like appearance, long back legs and tails, and tiny forearms.

Kakapo

The Kakapo is a species of large, nocturnal, flightless and ground-dwelling parrot. It’s the world’s only flightless parrot and one of the longest-living birds, native to New Zealand.

Kinkajou

Kinkajou are a species of mammals related to raccoons and lemurs. They are best known for their unusual tails and their intelligence.

Lesula

Lesula are a species of monkey that live deep in the jungle of the Lomani basin in Congo, with eerily human-looking eyes that have been described as looking like Jake Gyllenhaal and David Schwimmer.

Liger

The Liger is a hybrid offspring of a male Lion and a female Tiger. They typically grow signifcantly larger than either parent species, making their appearance rather weird.

Manatee

The manatee are rather strange-looking rotund floaty vegetarians that bounce about in the shallows of the tropics, often referred to as ‘sea cows’.

Maned Wolf

The maned wolf is an elegant, long-legged animal, that looks like a fox and a wolf, but is actually a member of the dog family from South America.

Mantis Shrimp

The Mantis Shrimp is a small, aggressive marine Crustacean that are able to club prey with the force of a bullet, or spike them with their sharp claws.

Marabou Stork

The Marabou Stork is a giant stork, known as the ‘undertaker’ bird due to it’s rather evil looking appearance. It has one of the largest wingspans in the world, and likes to kill flamingos.

Markhor

The Markhor is a large wild goat which is found in the mountains of Asia and has majestic corkscrew-shaped horns and a long beard.

Mata Mata

The mata mata is a freaky-looking turtle that looks like a piece of wood, and likes to suck in fish from the muddy shallow waters of the Amazon.

Megamouth Shark

The Megamouth shark is a species of rare deep-water shark known for its large head, unusually large lips and oral cavity – which it swims with wide open, catching krill, plankton and jellyfish.

Mexican Mole Lizard

What would happen if you were to combine a lizard, a mole, a snake, and a worm? You’d probably end up with something that looks a lot like the Mexican Mole Lizard.

Naked Mole-Rat

The Naked Mole-Rat is a rodent that has virtually no hair. Despite the name, they are neither moles, or rats. They are more closely related to porcupines and guinea pigs.

Narwhal

The Narwhal is a medium-sized, elusive whale, that’s referred to as the ‘unicorn of the sea‘, as the male Narwahl has a single long sword-like spiral tusk, which protrudes from their heads.

Okapi

Okapi are referred to as a ‘living fossil’ and have several different names including zebra giraffe, Congolese giraffe and forest giraffe for obvious reasons.

Pangolin

Pangolins are shy, nocturnal mammals that are completely covered in plate-like scales, and often referred to as ‘scaly anteaters’. They are worlds most trafficked animal and critically endangered.

Penis Snake

The ‘penis snake’ as it has since been dubbed due to its appearance, isn’t actually a snake. Its species, caecilian, is a group of limbless, amphibians that are snake like, but have rings like a earth worm. Now that is a weird animal.

Pink Fairy Armadillo

The Pink Fairy Armadillo is a desert-adapted mammal with a ‘pink’ bony armor shell, and the smallest species of armadillo in the world.

Platypus

The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal native to Australia that is famous for its odd appearance, with a duck-shaped bill, a beaver-like tail, and the feet of an otter.

Potoo

Potoos are neotropical birds, famous for their incredible camouflage skills and seen in memes due to their slightly goofy-come-creepy looks, with enormous googly yellow eyes.

Proboscis Monkey

The proboscis monkey – also known as the long-nosed monkey – is one of the largest Old World monkey species found only in Borneo.

Quokka

Quokka are small wallabies about the size of a cat that are native to Australia – and famous for cute selfies, due to their happy and rather adorable appearance.

Red-Lipped Batfish

The red-lipped batfish is a strange and surprising fish which looks like it’s wearing lipstick, found off the coast of the Galapagos Islands and Peru.

Rosy Maple Moth

Clad in neon pink and yellow, the rosy maple moth is woolly and can be found in a range of areas along the east coast of North America.

Saiga Antelope

The Saiga Antelope have an unusual hanging nose, which makes them look like a camel, although they are goat-sized, and male saigas have horns.

Sarcastic Fringehead

Named for its huge mouth and aggressive temperament, the sarcastic fringehead is a fascinating small saltwater fish which can open it’s mouth like a Demogorgon from Stranger Things.

Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko

The satanic leaf-tailed gecko is one of the smallest leaf-tailed gecko species. It has a horned head, red eyes and a tail with notches that helps it mimic the look of decaying leaves.

Sawfish

Sawfish are ancient, mysterious and highly endangered family of rays with a long, narrow nose which has sharp ‘teeth’ each side like a saw – which they use to attrack prey!

Secretarybird

The secretarybird or secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is an African, primarily terrestrial, bird of prey. It has a distinctive appearance, as it has the body of an eagle, but the legs of a crane.

Shoebill

The Shoebill is a large, elusive, stalk-like bird with an almost prehistoric appearance, due to its oversized shoe-shaped beak. They can clatter their bills which make a sound like a machine gun.

Sichuan Takin

The Sichuan takin is a rather odd goat-antelope-sheep animal. They are large and muscular, with horns and a bear-like tail, that are native to Tibet and China.

Spanish Dancer

The Spanish Dancer is a large colourful sea-slug, with frilly mantles that swims like they are doing a flamenco, and loves to eat sea sponges.

Star-Nosed Mole

The Star-Nosed Mole is a small mole with a weird star-shaped nose that’s ringed with 22 fleshy apprendages (called ‘rays’), which they use to feel its way around, and even hunt prey.

Tapier

Tapir are herbivorous mammals that live in the jungles and forests of South and Central America. They have snouts resembling that of anteaters, that enable them to grab onto branches and leaves.

Tarsier

The tarsier (pronounced TAR-see-er) are small primates found only in the islands of Southeast Asia. Due to their small size and weird enourmous eyes, you might want one of your own!

Thorny Devil

The Thorny Devil is a small Australian lizard which inhabits deserts and scrub lands. Their body is covered in spikes and scales, which help it defend from predators.

Tufted Deer

Tufted deer resemble a sort of punk vampire muntjac, with its with enormous fangs and sticking up hair.

Vampire Ground Finch

The Vampire Ground Finch lives on the The Galapagos Islands and looks like any other innocent finch, however it has a rather unusual diet – it likes to drink the blood of other birds.

Vampire Squid

The Vampire Squid is a deep-sea cephalopod that wears a cloak like a vampire, can illuminate, turn itself inside-out, and has eight-foot long tentacles it uses like fishing lines to eat dead sea animals.

Venezuelan Poodle Moth

The Venezuelan Poodle Moth is a mysterious and fluffy insect that’s only been found once, and is said to resemble a poodle. That is, if poodles had huge wings and feathers instead ears.

Vinegaroon

Vinegaroons are an ancient arachnid, with the face of a spider and the crushing limbs of a scorpion. Oh, and a whip-like tail. While harmless to humans, they do shoot acid from their butts.

Yeti Crab

Kiwa are a genus of marine decapods that inhabit hydrothermal vents at deep-sea. The name comes from their weird hairy appearance, that resembles that of the legendary snow monster Yeti.

More Weird Animals

We’re adding weird and rather strange animals to Fact Animal constantly. If there’s a particular weird animal you’d like to see covered, then get in touch.