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Certainly, the animal world is a true mystery and, on more than one occasion, the rare species leave us with our mouths open. Surely, on this list, there is more than one animal that you did not know. All of them are creatures of nature and they have in common that they are very strange to us, although, at the same time, we are interested in knowing much more about them. Find out in this Green Ecologist article 10 strange animals that you may not know.
The okapi, a mix between zebra and hyena
Without a doubt, the okapi has all the merits to head the list of strange animals. If we look at a photograph of it, it appears to have been produced by computer retouching programs rather than by nature itself. It is an animal native to Central Africa, particularly the Congo and looks like a rare cross between zebras and hyenas, although it actually comes from the giraffe family. At the top, their hair is reddish and spiky, while at the bottom (legs and buttocks) we would immediately associate it with a zebra, due to its unmistakable black and white stripes.
The okapi is a kind of Artiodactyl mammal considered, it is considered the closest living creature to the giraffe. It has been appreciated that its particular morphology and appearance bears a very important resemblance to the first jiraphids of prehistory. Some characteristic features give it away as a jiraphid: the shape of its body, the small horns on both sides of its head and the long black tongue that it uses to eat tree leaves. This tongue is so long that the okapi can access the inside of its ears if it wishes. Some have also associated them with the horse family due to their morphological resemblance to them.
Its length oscillates around 2 meters and its tail can be between 30 and 40 centimeters. It is a fairly heavy animal that can reach 300 kilos. Females only give birth to one young and have a pregnancy that lasts more than a year. The okapi, this strange animal, usually lives alone, very rarely in pairs.
Pink fish with hands
Although it may seem incredible, the truth is that the National Geographic documentaries ended up discovering species of fish that, in addition to fins and bronchi, have hands. This fish is believed to be serious Danger of extinction, in fact it is very difficult to find it and only four specimens have been seen by humans, in one island near Tasmania.
The pink fish with hands (we do not know what its scientific name is or if it has been given one) is one of the nine species of fish that have hands, so it is not the only one with this particularity.
The blue dragon
We like this creature for its unique beauty, as it presents a mixture of bluish, silver and bright colors on its body that makes it worthy of being admired. Its scientific name is Glaucus Atlánticus, lives in tropical waters and it floats thanks to the air it carries in its stomach. In fact, its morphology resembles that of a large slug, and we are not misguided, as it is part of the mollusks. They are hermaphroditic animals.
The beautiful creature inhabits the seas of the South African, European, Mozambican or Australian coasts. It opts for temperate and tropical waters. Despite being a mollusk, they do not have a shell. It has survived because its intense color keeps predators away, who consider it an inedible species. They themselves feed on a poisonous animal called a Portuguese boat and do not die because they have a part that acts as a barrier with the poison. The downside is that, when eaten, it produces a much more toxic substance.
The blue dragon is highly coveted by aquariums, for its peculiarities and its beautiful color.
The monstrous saber fish is more feared
It is one of the fashionable animals when it came out last summer to the surface of a beach on Catalina Island (California) and frightened all the bathers. The experts classified this fact as very strange, since the saber fish does not usually come to the surface. It is feared and rare because it is a very large marine creature, in fact we could be talking about species of up to 17 meters in length. The saber fish is a very curious animal for students of biology and the marine world.
The peacock spider
It is the colors of this particular arachnid that have earned it its name. Although the spider is not usually a very pretty animal, this particular species has on its body vivid and attractive colors. Without a doubt, one of the most colorful insects, scientifically called Maratus volans.
The giant sunfish
Of course, the person who decided to baptize it as a sunfish was not wrong. This very large marine creature of more than 3 meters in length and 1,000 kilos in weight, looks like a large moon for its size and color.
Is a tetraodontiform pelagic fish of the Molidae family and also the heaviest in the world, among marine vertebrates. As a curiosity, it does not have a particular area to live, but rather swims in both tropical and temperate waters. In addition, it is a highly prolific species, as females can lay up to 300 million eggs.
The self-cloning lizard
It seems impossible to believe, but, once again, nature surpasses the imagination. A lizard, the Leiolepis ngovantrii species, whose female reproduces by cloning and without needing any help from the males.
The sphinx cat
Sometimes we will have seen this animal (for many, exotic, for others, horrendous) in publications and others, because it is so rare that it became very famous. So much so, that it became fashionable and, especially in the United States and Canada, it is becoming more and more common to have sphinx cats as pets. It draws attention to being a totally bald cat, no fur, so it is a white creature with noticeable folds and wrinkles on its skin. However, experts insist that it does have hair on its body, a layer so thin that humans cannot feel with the eyes or touch, but that protects and warms the animal.
The yeti crab
Curious name for one of the most striking crabs we have ever seen. It is actually called Kiwa hirsuta and its natural habitat is the Pacific waters. It has been found on occasions south of Easter Island.
It's about a blind crab that only manages to survive thanks to its other senses and science has not yet found an explanation to justify the filaments (which look like hairs) on its extremities.
The gelatinous blur fish
It is called a smudge fish, a drop fish or Janira, although its real name is Psychrolutes marcidus. It inevitably reminds us of a pink amorphous gelatin mass, like chewing gum. It is a marine creature that lives in the depths, up to a kilometer away from the surface and has been seen near Australia and Tasmania.
Without a doubt, it is one of the most sedentary animals in the world, it cannot swim (it does not have any limbs that allow it), but the density of its body allows it to float on the bottom and move. It simply feeds by catching everything that floats next to it and thus survives. Some consider it the ugliest animal in the world.
Ninja snail
We love this snail for its bright yellow and lemon lime colors and also because of the romantic story around his behavior. It has been found in the Borneo mountains relatively recently and is particularly striking due to the great length of its tail, much larger than that of the snails we have seen so far.
What this snail does to attract the female is to throw a few "love darts" made up of hormones and thus be able to get closer to her. For this reason, biologists refer to it as the ninja snail, although it is also called the cupid snail.
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