Lamprey Fact
Lamprey Fact

36 Weird Animal Facts

Karin Lehnardt
By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer
Published June 29, 2024
  • The frilled shark has 25 rows of 300 triangular-shaped, needle-sharp teeth. Its mouth reaches to the back of its head, where it joins with its gills.[13]
  • The star-nosed mole has 22 appendages covering its nose. They are so sensitive that they can detect earthquakes before they happen.[21]
  • The red-lipped batfish is a terrible swimmer. It moves around by using its pectoral fins to walk across the bottom of the ocean.[21]
  • The red kangaroo is the largest kangaroo on Earth. It grows up to 6 feet tall and weighs over 200 pounds. It has nearly 360-degree vision.[21]
  • The cry of the screaming hairy armadillo is similar to a newborn human baby's cry.[17]
  • The furry pink fairy armadillo is the smallest armadillo species in the world, at about 6 inches long, or the size of a dollar bill.[19]
    • sea Lamprey Fact
    The sea lamprey is sometimes called "the vampire fish"
  • Sea lampreys have at least 12 rows of teeth that are arranged in circles around their mouths. They have a single nostril that sits on top of their head.[20]
  • The Dumbo octopus has fins that look like Dumbo's ears. This octopus species lives at depths of 13,100 feet (4,000 m), making it the deepest-living octopus species known. It doesn't have an ink sac because it rarely meets predators that far down in the ocean.[8]
  • The deepest-living sea creature is the hadal snailfish. It lives as deep as 27,000 feet (8,200 m) and is small, pink, and scaleless.[9]
  • The yeti crab is a hairy crab with no eyes.[20]
  • The Japanese spider crab has the largest leg-span of all arthropods.[20]
  • Axolotls, a species of salamander, always looks like they are smiling. They are neotenic, which means they never lose their larval features, even when they reach maturity.[20]
  • The glass frog has a transparent abdomen, which makes its internal organs visible.[20]
  • The loudest animal in the world is a 2 cm-long tiger shrimp. It snaps its claws so quickly that it creates a sonic bubble blast that is louder than the Concorde's sonic boom. The boom can reach 230 decibels, and the imploding bubbles create temperatures nearly as hot as the sun.[20]
  • Many species of nudibranch turn the venom of their prey into stinging cells on their own bodies.[20]
    • Interesting Nudibranch Fact
    Nudibranchs are also hermaphrodites, which means they have both male and female genitals
  • The Inland Taipan snake is the most venomous snake in the world. Just one bite contains enough toxins to kill at least 100 fully grown men.[10]
  • The animal with the shortest lifespan is the mayfly. It lives just 24 hours.[6]
  • The shoebill stork is so named because their beaks resemble a Dutch wooden shoe. They also have an 8-foot wingspan and an intense stare.[20]
  • Lyrebirds are unique because they have curved tail feathers in the shape of a lyre. They can also mimic any sound, including animals, machinery, and humans. They can sing up to four hours a day during mating season.[20]
    • Fecal Shield Fact
    A fecal shield could come in handy
  • The larval cereal leaf beetle has a fecal shield, which is layer of armor made out of its own fecal material.[6]
  • Sloths only move about 40 yards per day and spend almost 20 hours a day sleeping.[20]
  • The satanic leaf-tailed gecko lives only on the island of Madagascar. Its tail looks like a leaf, and it even has notches to mimic the appearance of a dying leaf.[16]
  • Peacock spiders feature a variety of vibrant colors. They can also see a wide spectrum of colors, including UV light.[20]
  • Hippopotamuses kill more than twice as many humans a year than lions do.[12]
  • The Tennessee fainting goat is a breed of goat that carries a disorder that causes its muscles to remain rigidly locked after being frightened, forcing the goat to fall over until the muscles relax.[15]
  • The American bison, also called a buffalo, is the largest mammal in North America. Males can weigh up to 2,000 lbs (907 kg), and females up to 1,000 lbs (453 kg).[1]
  • Alaskan wood frogs have evolved the ability to survive in an almost-entirely frozen state during hard winters.[3]
  • A baby zebra identifies its mother by her stripes. Each zebra has a unique stripe pattern, much like a human fingerprint.[2]
  • Snow leopards are currently so rare that photographers in Asia must hike to elevations of over 12,000 feet, in the dead of winter, to catch even a glimpse of them.[18]
  • Black leopards appear to be a single shade of black; in reality, their coats exhibit the same rosette-spot pattern as regular leopards, but in two shades of black.[4]
    • Flying Frog Fact
    It can even turn by moving and twisting its legs
  • The Rhacophorus nigropalmatus frog can glide through the air using skin flaps on its sides and the webbing between its toes.[3]
  • The flat-headed frog of Borneo has developed the ability to breathe without lungs.[3]
  • The red fox is the most widespread carnivorous mammal on Earth.[7]
  • The average cow’s stomach holds up to 50 gallons—about the same amount as most bathtubs—of partially digested food.[14]
  • Twenty-five percent of the methane polluting the atmosphere in the United States comes from cow flatulence. Genetic scientists are attempting to modify bovine DNA to reduce the methane produced.[11]
  • The alligator gar dates back to over 100 million years ago and can grow to over eight feet. They have rows of sharp teeth and can actually breathe air.[5]
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