Weird Animals

"Missing Link" Cave Fish Walks Like a Salamander

A fish that wiggles up waterfalls may help researchers understand how life shifted from water to land

Prairie Dogs: The Fiercest Killers in the West

New study reveals white-tailed prairie dogs attack and kill ground squirrels with no provocation

Storks Move to a Trashy Neighborhood

White storks in Portugal and Spain are forgoing thier annual migration to Africa to pig out in landfills

Wading Birds 'Pay' Alligators for Their Protection

It's a give-and-take relationship: alligators may chow down on a few chicks, but they keep predators at bay

Omo hanging with her herd

Rare White Giraffe Survived Her First Year

The 15-month old calf has so far survived possible predation from lions, leopards, hyenas and human poachers

Trioceros hoehnelii, one of the 20 chameleons whose tongues a researcher tested for speed

Tiny Chameleon’s Tongue Can Beat the Fastest Sports Car

The Rosette-nosed Pygmy Chameleon can launch its tongue toward prey at 8,500 feet per second

A Giant Squid Visits a Japanese Harbor

These denizens of the deep usually lurk between 2,000 to 3,000 feet below the surface

On the left are one type of Myxozoan-- spores of Kudoa iwatai--microorganisms recently reclassified as a member of the same group that includes jellyfish like the Aurelia aurita (moon jelly) on the right.

This Parasite Is Really a Micro-Jellyfish

Somewhere along its evolution this jellyfish-turned-parasite got really strange

Giant guitarfish (Rhynchobatus djiddensis)

Instead of Eyelids, This Fish Retracts Its Eyeballs

The giant guitarfish can pull its eyes nearly 1.6 inches inside its head

"Flatties" might be more aptly nicknamed "fliers" for their ability to glide to safety should they lose their grip in tree canopies.

Gliding Spiders Found Falling From Tropical Trees

Flat-bodied spiders that live in the rainforest strike a Superman pose to take control of their free-falls

The larger Pacific striped octopus uses unique prankster shoulder-tapping techniques to lure shrimp prey within arms' reach.

Tropical Octopus Definitely Mates Beak-to-Beak

Larger Pacific striped octopus couples engage in a host of behaviors unheard of among other octopuses

A wasp larva perches on its hapless spider host.

Parasitic Wasps Turn Spiders Into Zombie Weavers

Arachnids injected with a potent neurotoxin are forced to create shiny new web cradles for wasp larvae

Black chicken served with bamboo shoots and caterpillar fungus

Why This Chicken is Black From Comb to Feathers to Muscles

The Ayam Cemani is the Goth of the chicken world

A swarm of mayflies in Ontario

Officials Had to Use A Snowplow to Reclaim a Bridge in Iowa Swarmed by Mayflies

An unusually large emergence of aquatic insects created temporarily hazardous conditions

This Fungus Eats the Butts off Cicadas

It’s totally not a big deal, though

These Worms Hitchhike in the Belly of Slugs To Get Around

New study shows that worm their way into slug guts and feces to travel long distances

Unlike the tails of almost all other animals, seahorse tails are more like square prisms than cylinders.

Why Seahorses Have Square Tails

Engineers show that the animals' prism-like tails are mechanically superior to cylindrical ones

Researchers witnessed this coral slowly slurp up a sea slug back in December of 2014.

That Time a Mushroom Coral Ate a Sea Slug

Researchers observed the rare event off the coast of Thailand

Poop or a caterpillar? The giant swallowtail caterpillar is one of a few species that elude birds by pretending to be their poop.

Here Are The Animals That Are the Best at Pretending to Be Poop

Moth caterpillars change their posture to look like bird dung, and they’re not alone

A trap-jaw ant opens its massive mandibles.

Watch These Ants Hurl Themselves Out of Death Traps With Their Mouths

At least one trap-jaw ant species has coopted its exceptionally strong mandibles to escape its nemesis, the ferocious antlion

Page 32 of 36