Mysterious Mammalia

I'm often up late at night, staying awake being a common side effect of having Insomnia. Often I flick on the Discovery channel or Animal Planet, as both tend to be rather interesting. Last night a program came on Animal Planet, a David Attenborough type documentary. It followed the lives of some very peculiar looking animals that I didn't even know existed.
This got me a'researchin'. Here is a list of obscure animals I've just discovered, and/or think are kind of neat.


#1: Pangolin


These anteating creatures reside in Africa and Asia. Now I know this looks an awful lot like an Armadillo, and for a while it was classified as being in the same family as one, but alas they are infact quite different. Now to appreciate the obscure nature of this animal, you must watch it walk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btkVS7uYNwM
Yes. It walks like a T-rex. It doesn't get much cooler than this in the Animal Kingdom.


#2: Long-eared Jerboa


Very little is known about the long-ear Jerboa, which I think is kind of cool, except that they live in and around Mongolia. Honestly, how cute is this! I mean, really!


#3: Yeti Crab


I think this creature is hilarious. Albeit, if I were to face one of these in the wild unaware of their existance, I think I would more than definately wet myself. The fuzzy sleeves actually serve the animal a purpose, other than fashion couture. It lives by hydrothermal vents which emit poisonous minerals, and the hairs detoxify these minerals. Anyone else see the smiley face on his back? Never seen a crab with a tattoo...


#4: Blobfish


Disturbing. They live off the coast of Australia at the very depths of the sea, thankfully... I don't know how well I'd sleep knowing something like that is within a 5 mile radius of me. Britney Spears bald phase, anyone? No?


#5: Narwhal


Now I couldn't leave this list without including the animal that features in my blog title! These curious looking critters live year-round in the Arctic, under thick layers of ice. I suggest you don't google image pictures of Narwhal, as there are some disturbing images of them being hunted, and nobody likes to see that sort of stuff. Assholes.


#6: Dumbo Octopus


I have a huge affinity for the Octopus and the Squid. And look, at, this one! What more could you ask for in a mollusk? Apparently this genre of Octopus is very rare, as they live some thousands of meters under the sea. I would love to add this guy, and #7 to my tank collection.

#7: Bobtail Squid


Now this is my kind of animal! I have a huge affection towards Squid, I think they are just fantastic. And this creature is just the icing on the cake. The colours these things have are phenomenal, and the size of them... Well, let me show you!




#8: Aye-Aye


A little disturbing, yes... But who am I to judge? These queer looking things live in Madagascar and are supposedly the largest nocturnal primate. I find the Aye-aye quite sophisticated looking; perhaps it is the mad scientist hairdo.


#9: Sea Pig


This reminds me of some sort of Pokemon. It is, however, actually a type of sea cucumber. It lives on the ocean floor, eating mud. What a life, eh? Scientist don't understand how they have become such a successful species.. Ha ha ha ha!

#10: Okapi


How fantastic is this! What a fine splicing of animals! These babies live in Africa, and supposedly the stripes on their legs are to help their young follow them through the dense rain forest, which makes sense. Zorse comes to mind when I see one of these.

#11: Saiga Antelope

Does this not remind you of Watto from Star Wars? I would love to hear Darwins reasoning behind that nose.



I personally don't see much need to look elsewhere in other galaxies on other planets for Aliens. I mean, look at what we've got on the planet we're on!
I'm not sure how more peculiar it could get...