Weird Animals

Illustration of the Elysia chlorotica by Mary Peart from "Report on the Invertebrata of Massachusetts" by Augustus A. Gould, W. G. Binney

A Green Sea Slug Steals Power From Algae

The discovery makes this a true plant-animal hybrid

The garden center spider combs and pulls on its silk to create electricostatically-charged threads

Spiders Spin Electrically Charged Silk To Make It Sticky

The garden center spider doesn’t put sticky glue on its web; it uses a complex spinning process to build prey-snaring silk threads

Naked mole rats are likely contenders for the most hideously adorable creature on Earth - but also one of the longest lived.

The Secret to a Long Life: Be Cooperative and Live Underground

Naked mole rats enjoy exceptionally long, healthy lives, and there's more than good genes at work

The world's six known punked out snail species, which have mohawk-like spikes, acidic-dyed psychedelic colors and hardcore shells that are falling apart.

New Deep-Sea Snails Are Nature’s Own Punk Rockers

The spikes on one hardcore species inspired scientists to name it after Joe Strummer of the Clash, who was also an ardent environmentalist

L. larvaepartus (male, left, and female) from Indonesia is the only frog ever discovered to birth live tadpoles.

This Exotic Frog Skips the Eggs, Gives Birth to Live Tadpoles

The species is one of just a handful of frogs that use internal fertilization, and the only one found that births tadpoles

Dumpling squid don't let danger stop them from mating.

Threat of Being Eaten Doesn’t Deter Dumpling Squid From Sex

The adorable cephalopods seem to rate mating higher on their list of priorities than survival

Get a good look at Sinea incognita, a newly recognized species of assassin bug.

Meet the Stealthiest Assassin Bug in the United States

The unique and secretive species has been living among us unrecognized for a century

Aspidoscelis neavesi, a species unlike any other.

This New Lizard Species Evolved in a Lab

The novel reptile shows that hybrids can indeed lead to viable species, but not by the normal reproductive route

At 26,700 Feet, This Is the Deepest-Swimming Fish Known

Researchers found a new fish in the depths of the Mariana Trench

By Absorbing Smells From Its Food, This Fish Gets Scent Camouflage

The harlequin filefish is a master of camoufalge

The Black Sea Devil, a Rare Deep-Sea Anglerfish, Filmed for the First Time

Fewer than half a dozen anglerfish have ever been recorded swimming in their undersea habitat

The worm's progression through the man's brain, over a four year period.

A Tapeworm Crawled Around In This Man's Brain for Years

Studying the extracted parasite might help others avoid a similar infestation

A pair of fuzzy alpaca.

Why the Alpaca Has No Humps

The camel cousin evolved fluff instead of fat because it was able to linger in an evolutionary slow lane, suggest newly sequenced genomes

An Australian banded stilt in Victoria.

These Extreme Desert Nomads Set Records for Migrating Birds

Australian banded stilts use mysterious cues to know when to head toward ephemeral lakes in the country’s otherwise dry interior

How the Humble Hydra Lives, As Far as We Know, Forever

Hydra don't seem to die of old age. But why?

Crabby Tenants Defend Corals From Marauding Predators

A diversity of coral guard-crabs is needed to fend off attacks by hungry snails and giant spiky sea stars

A different Wyandotte chicken, this one still with head firmly attached.

Mike the Chicken Lived for 18 Months Without a Head

In 1945, a decapitation gone awry gave birth to Miracle Mike

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Thousands of Strange Green Balls Appeared Overnight on a Beach in Australia

Scientists believe that the balls are actually extremely rare algae congregations called marimo

A genet riding a rhino.

A Fuzzy Little Genet Is Hitching Rides on Rhinos and Buffalo, And No One Can Figure Out Why

Camera traps exposed the secret world of a rhino-riding genet

The "skylight" appears as a light pink splotch atop this leatherback sea turtle's head.

Leatherback Sea Turtles Can Measure Sunlight Through Their Skulls

The anatomical skylight allows the turtles to synch up with the seasons

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