In the wild, blobfish live thousands of feet underwater. But they can float thanks to their fatty bodies which help them depressurize faster than water.
Baby gerenuks look like a cross between a zebra and a deer and have wide eyes, but they’re actually related to giraffes. They scavenge for fruits, insects, eggs and even termites with their long tongues.
10 - The Axolotl
The axolotl is a fascinating salamander that's been capturing people's imaginations for millennia because of its incredible regenerative abilities. This amphibian can regrow limbs, tails, jaws, spinal cords, and even parts of its brain!
They can also re-grow their own skin and lungs, which gives them superpowers that make them an ideal research animal. Scientists are using them to learn about the genes that allow axolotls to regenerate, in hopes of someday helping humans do the same.
But while axolotls are thriving in labs and aquariums, they're disappearing in their native waters. The only place where you can find them in the wild is a watery borough of Mexico City. This has prompted scientists to work hard to rebuild the species in its natural habitat. They're doing so by restoring canals and encouraging farmers to use less chemicals in their crops.
9 - The Dugong
With their wide-set eyes and snouts that seem to always be smiling, dugongs (Dugong dugon) are one-of-a-kind marine mammals. They are part of the Sirenia order, along with manatees and elephant seals, and their unique appearance has inspired folklore for centuries.
These herbivorous marine mammals are known as sea cows because of their grazing habits on underwater seagrasses. They use their muscular, cleft upper lips to root around in the ocean floor and pull up seagrasses by their roots.
Dugongs can live up to 70 years and their tusks are used to help scientists determine their age. Each year, a new layer of growth is added to the tusks and the patterns they create can be analyzed to estimate the dugong’s age. They communicate with each other through a mixture of whistles, barks, and chirps that echo underwater.
8 - The Okapi
The okapi is an elusive herbivore that inhabits only a small area of Central Africa's tropical mountain forest. It is so rare, that it was not formally categorized as a species until the 1900s.
Its zebra-like stripes offer camouflage in the partial sunlight of its rainforest habitat. Their bold patterns may also help a calf follow its mother through the dark forest. Okapis have long, prehensile tongues that help them reach leaves in the canopy and assist with grooming. They are even able to lick their ears!
Like giraffes, they are diurnal and browse on leaves, buds, grasses, fungi, and fruit. They supplement their diets with clay and burnt wood for minerals. They are solitary, except for mating pairs and females with calves. They communicate with each other in a series of bleats and chuffs. A scent gland on their feet leaves a sticky tar-like trail, marking their territory.
7 - The Sawfish
The Sawfish is an unusual marine predator whose long flat nose, called the rostrum, is lined with lethal sharp 'teeth'. This distinctive feature is actually a sensory organ that can detect weak electric fields produced by prey and other organisms.
The five species of sawfish in the genus Pristis and Anoxypristis are found in shallow, tropical marine and brackish waters. They are bottom dwellers that frequent bays and estuaries and have even been seen swimming considerable distances up rivers.
Though they have shark-like bodies, sawfish are a type of ray with cartilage skeletons. They are part of the family Elasmobranchs, which also includes stingrays and skates. Like all chondrichthyans, sawfish lay their eggs in the water and give birth to live young that are genetically identical to themselves (ovoviviparity). All five species of sawfish are considered critically endangered.
6 - The Kakapo
When the name Kakapo, or Strigops habroptila, is in the news it's usually not good. This large flightless parrot is critically endangered and only survives on predator-free island sanctuaries in New Zealand. They are moss green mottled with black and yellow above, and more yellow below. They waddle long distances to feed, chewing tree roots and rhizomes with their ridged beaks.
They breed in leks, males calling from excavated arenas, and females incubating eggs. One male can fertilize many females, but without enough females, the population cannot grow.
Rangi, a male kakapo hand-reared as an infant in 1992, has become famous worldwide for his bond with humans. The lovable bird is the New Zealand government's official ambassador for conservation, and helps raise awareness for this elusive species. He has even been known to mate with people and wear a special sperm-collecting hat!
5 - The Marabou Stork
The Marabou Stork is a large African bird of the stork family and belongs to the order Ciconiidae. These birds scavenge and can be seen near carrion, plowed fields and rubbish piles. They breed in colonies and lay 2 to 3 eggs each during the dry season.
At up to five feet tall, this bird is hard to miss. Its wingspan is over 8.5 feet and it has a bald head and massive bill that is shaped like a wedge. This enigmatic creature can often be found standing still for long periods of time, conserving energy and spreading out its wings to catch sun rays.
Its scientific name, Leptoptilos crumenifer, is Latin for a money bag worn around the neck and refers to the naked pinkish pouch hanging from its throat (known as the gular sac). This bird can make loud noises by clapping its beak together.
4 - The Rosy Maple Moth
The Rosy Maple Moth, scientifically known as Dryocampa rubicunda, is a moth with an incredibly bright pink and yellow color pattern. They are most common in northern regions of the United States, including Florida, but can also be found in southern Canada and Texas. Their forewings can range in color from yellow to cream, with varying amounts of pink on the edges. There is even a paler subspecies, called D. rubicunda alba, that occurs in Missouri and is white with a few pink markings.
Rosy Maple Moths don’t have ears, so they use their many setae—small hairs that relay tactile information to the brain—to sense sounds in their habitat. They also use their antennae to smell pheromones from the opposite sex during mating. They become sexually mature at 2 to 9 months of age. Their larvae, which are called greenstriped maple moths, feed on the leaves of maple trees.
3 - The Giant Isopod
Every year, scientists discover new species of animals that amaze even the most seasoned experts. These include the adorable axolotl and the coatimundi, an animal that looks like a raccoon but is actually closely related to dogs.
Giant isopods are aquatic versions of woodlouse and pill bugs, but they have a shell fused to their head for protection. They also have 14 legs and a coloration that ranges from pinkish to lilac. Giant isopods are bottom feeders that spend their time scavenging the ocean floor for food. Their large size is the result of a phenomenon called "deep sea gigantism," which causes animals to grow larger in waters with higher pressures. Their eyes and two pairs of antennae help them sense their surroundings as they scour the depths for food. They're often found scavenging for the carcasses of dead whales and fish.
2 - The Large Philippine Eagle
The Large Philippine Eagle is a beautiful, large-bodied bird of prey with a wingspan of up to two meters. This species is endemic to the Philippines and found in forest habitats on four islands, including Samar, Leyte, Mindanao, and Luzon. It was originally known as the monkey-eating eagle because it was believed to prey on macaque monkeys (Macaca fascicularis philippensis) almost exclusively, but this theory was disproved after undigested monkey remains were discovered in the eagle’s stomach.
It is considered endangered, and it faces many challenges in the wild, including deforestation and hunting. However, efforts to conserve this remarkable bird are underway, including passing legislation prohibiting persecution and protecting nests, breeding in captivity, and conservation education programs focusing on the Large Philippine Eagle. This apex predator is an important part of the ecosystem, and its loss would have serious repercussions for its habitat.
1 - The Pink Fairy Armadillo
The Pink Fairy Armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus) is one of the weirdest but cutest animals on the planet. This tiny armadillo has a rosy-hued armor that gives it a fairy-like appearance, and spends most of its life burrowing in the desert.
Because they are so elusive, not much is known about them in the wild. Scientists can't even track them, since their unique body shape makes standard radio transmitters useless.
Rain poses a major threat to the pink fairy armadillo's population, as it will vacate its burrow to avoid getting wet and potentially hypothermic. In addition, farmers are destroying their habitats by plowing through their burrows to plant crops. This, combined with a high demand for their meat—which tastes like pork—has made the Pink Fairy Armadillo critically endangered. Superina has been trying to solve this puzzle by training scent detection dogs to find these evasive mammals so that scientists can fit them with improved radio transmitters.
