Run, Jump, Scream: The World's 10 Ugliest Animals |
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by Kenny Stenzerfield, Feb 15, 2008 |
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These ugly animals could kill you with their looks. |
Mata Mata
The mata mata is a freshwater turtle found mainly in South America, especially in the Amazon region and Orinoco basins. Its main habitat is very swampy and filled with poisonous dangerous creatures. It is an animal highly skilled in hunting techniques and very adaptable.Hagfish
Despite their name, there is some debate about whether Hagfish are a fish, since they belong to a much more prehistoric ancestry than any other group that is commonly defined fish. Hagfish are lengthy, vermiform and can convey abundant quantities of a sticky slime or mucus. When captured and held by the tail, they escape by secreting the gristly slime, and then cleaning off by tying themselves in a knot. Hagfish have elongated, "eel-like" bodies, and paddle-like tails. They are one of the nastiest creatures you will run into in the ocean and are a delicacy in Asia.Star-Nosed Mole 
The Star-Nosed Mole is a small mole that is found in North America. It lives in wet lowland areas and eats small animals, bugs, and worms. It is a good swimmer and can forage along the bottoms of streams and ponds. Like other moles, this animal digs tunnels for foraging. It is active day and night and remains active in winter, when it has been observed tunneling through the snow and swimming in ice-covered streams. Both the water and the land act as its main habitat. This mole is very adaptive to weather and climate changes.Sloth
Sloths are medium-sized mammals that live in Central and South America. They eat insects, small reptiles and carrion, but their diet consists mostly of buds, and plants. Sloth fur also exhibits specialized functions: the outer hairs grow in a direction opposite from that of other mammals. In most mammals, hairs grow toward the extremities, but because sloths spend so much time with their legs above their bodies, their hairs grow away from the extremities in order to provide protection from the elements while the sloth hangs upside down. This is very odd and gives them the look of a porky pine.Axolotl
The Axolotl is the best-known of the Mexican neoteric mole salamanders belonging to the Tiger Salamander complex. Larvae of this species fail to undergo metamorphosis, so the adults remain aquatic and gilled. Their heads are wide, and their eyes are lidless. Their limbs are immature and hold long, thin digits. The primary method of feeding is by suction, during which their rakers interlock to close the gill slits. Axolotls have four different colors, two naturally occurring colors and two mutants. The two naturally occurring colors are wild type, which are brown and black. The two mutants' colors are pink with black eyes and golden with pink eyes such as the one ubove.Tarsier
Tarsiers are primates of the genus Tarsius. Tarsiers have enormous eyes and long feet. Their feet have extremely elongated tarsus bones, which is how they got their name. They are primarily insectivorous, and catch insects by jumping at them. They are also known to prey on birds and snakes. As they jump from tree to tree, tarsiers can catch even birds in motion. They are very quick and are startled easily. Tarsiers have never formed successful breeding colonies in captivity, and when caged, tarsiers have been known to injure and even kill themselves because of the stress. They are very odd creatures and are hard to understand.Aye-aye
The Aye-aye is a native to Madagascar that has rodent-like teeth with a lengthy, thin middle finger. They use the finger as a tool to get bugs out of trees. The Aye-aye is the world's largest nocturnal primate, and dwells predominantly in forest coverings. The adult Aye-aye has black or dark brown fur covered by white guard hairs at the neck. The Aye-aye's face is also rodent-like, its' face is somewhat like a raccoon's, and houses bright, beady, luminous eyes. Horseshoe Bat
Horseshoe bats are from the Rhinolophidae family which contains about 130 species grouped in 10 genera. Horseshoe bats have leaf-like swelling on their noses. In rhinolophines species, these take the shape of a horseshoses. They are leaf like or spear-like. They produce calls through these structures, which may serve to focus the sound. Most rhinolophids are dull brown or reddish brown in color. They vary in size from small to reasonably large.Naked-Mole Rat
The Naked-Mole Rat, is a burrowing rodent native to parts of East Africa. Typical individuals weigh 30 to 35 grams and are 8 to 10 centimeters long. Queens are larger and may weigh 50 to 80 grams. They are well-adapted for their underground existence. Their eyes are just narrow slits, and consequently their eyesight is little to none. However, they are highly adapted to moving underground, and can move backwards as fast as they move forwards. Their large, protruding teeth are used to dig. Their legs are thin and short. They have little hair (thus the origin of the name) and have wrinkled pink skin.Blobfish
The Blobfish inhabits the deep waters off the coasts of Australia and Tasmania. Due to the inaccessible habitat, it is infrequently seen by humans. Blobfish are found at very deep depths where the pressure is several dozens of times higher than at sea level. To remain afloat, the flesh of the Blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water; which allows the fish to float in mid water and preserve energy. The relative lack of muscle is not a disadvantage due to the fact in which it swallows matter that floats in front of its' face.
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