Tenrecs, or bristly hedgehogs.

About spiny hedgehogs everyone knows, from young to old. But in nature there are many other animals with needles, short and long. Moreover, they live not only on land, but also in sea depths. And some of them have needles that are not only sharp, but also poisonous, so an attempt to “get to know” their owners can end very sadly.

Mammals

IN different countries live mammals whose hair has changed in the process of evolution and turned into long needles. They serve as protection against natural enemies. Some animals have spiny hair:

Jerzy. They are well known and live in different countries. A total of 7 genera and 23 species are known. The smallest individuals grow up to only 10 cm, the largest - up to 45. The spiny hairs are short (maximum 5 cm), but there are quite a lot of them - up to 10,000. Hedgehogs lead night look life, they hibernate in winter. They live alone: a whole family can only be met while the cubs are with their mothers.

Contrary to popular belief, hedgehogs are active predators, and they good immunity to poisons, they can eat poisonous snakes and insects. And berries, fruits and mushrooms are far from the main “dishes” in the diet, since some types of hedgehogs do not even eat them, but can feed on carrion. Animals usually do not dig their own holes, preferring to occupy ready-made ones, since the structure of hedgehog paws is clearly not adapted for digging. At the slightest danger, hedgehogs curl up into a ball, protecting their soft abdomen, head and neck, on which only soft fur grows, from predators.

Interesting fact: many types of hedgehogs are excellent swimmers and even climb trees. They are also quite aggressive, and can sometimes fearlessly attack an attacker and bite.

Tenrec. Some species of Madagascar tenrecs are very similar to hedgehogs. The large and small tenrecs are completely covered with spines; in other species, the piercing cover may be partial (sometimes only on the back of the head). These animals are active predators and feed on insects.

Animals are able to change their body temperature, so their activity depends on environment(to survive the cold, they hibernate).

Echidnas. These amazing marsupials with a long nose and spines live in Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania.

Echidnas are unique, but they have so much in common with a variety of animals that it can be difficult to understand who they really are:

mammals: yes, but marsupials, without papillae, milk is simply squirted into the pouch where the newborn is located;
oviparous: yes, baby echidnas hatch from eggs and move into their mother’s pouch;
anteaters: thin long nose- an ideal device for eating ants, and they are the main food of echidnas, but at the same time they do not belong to the anteater family;
they hibernate like bears: yes, and at low temperatures their body also “cools down” to 4 0, this is at normal +32 0 (which is not very typical for warm-blooded animals), and they breathe only once every 3 minutes.

Echidnas are also long-lived (they live up to 50 years), they are good swimmers, and even large bodies of water are no obstacle for them. They do not dig holes, although when danger arises they burrow into the ground, leaving only their spiny defense visible.

Here is such an unusual animal - an echidna, covered with numerous spines (even on its legs) 5-6 cm long. It is predominantly nocturnal, feeds on ants and insects, which it catches with a long sticky tongue (25 cm), capable of “flying out” from the mouth by 18 cm.

This is an animal with large black and white needles up to half a meter long. Found in Europe, America, Africa, Asia, India, Transcaucasia, it leads a terrestrial lifestyle. The species of porcupine (arboreal) living in America is an excellent tree climber, and almost all are good swimmers. Porcupines are rodents; especially large individuals grow up to 0.9 m and gain up to 27 kg.

The long needles lie on the back at rest, but when in danger they rise vertically with the help of the dorsal muscles. At this time, the animal turns its back to the aggressor, stomps, snorts, hisses and rattles its long needles like a rattlesnake - its tail scales.

Interesting fact: the porcupine is not only frightening, it sharply and with lightning speed jumps onto the offender with its backside and returns to its original position. There are quite a few spines left in the predator’s muzzle: they are hollow and easily break off.

Several myths are associated with the prickly defense of these animals:

The spines are filled with poison: in other animals this is indeed the case, but in mammals there are no poison glands. The legend arose due to the fact that needles often cause inflammation - the terrestrial lifestyle of these animals makes the spines a source of infections. As a result, the injection sites become inflamed and painful.
You can pin something on them. This is not true; modified hair is very fragile and breaks easily. Pictures of hedgehogs carrying an apple or a mushroom on their back are fiction.
They “shoot”: this is not so, it’s just that those who want to feast on a hedgehog, echidna or porcupine will end up with fragments of quills in their paws or on their muzzle, which will subsequently cause many unpleasant moments.

In addition to hedgehogs and similar mammals, other “thorny” animals and insects also live on land.

Who has needles

Needles are used as a means of protection:

Lizards. In some lizards, the skin has changed and turned into spikes or sharp plates. The belt-tailed fish lives in Africa, its body is covered with sharp, spiny plates. When danger arises, the belt-tail grabs its own tail with its teeth, turning into a spiny wheel. The Moloch lizard from Australia is brightly colored, its horny scutes have modified and turned into spines covering the entire body. Despite her terrifying appearance, she is harmless.

A small (about 1 cm for females and 2-3 mm for males) spider with 6 spines is absolutely harmless to humans and never crawls into a home on its own. The spider got its name thanks to the 6 spines located on its back.

Grasshopper Spiny Devil . The small Ecuadorian grasshopper (7 cm), thanks to its bright color and numerous sharp needles, is perfectly protected from enemies. Moreover, he himself is capable of scaring even a small monkey: the grasshopper takes a threatening pose and opens its mini-jaws.

And caterpillars can also be called the most “needle-shaped” on earth. Most of them have numerous bristles-spines. Moreover, for some they are quite poisonous and can cause serious intoxication. Determining in advance whether this is so is sometimes quite simple: than prettier caterpillar, the more poisonous its sharp bristles can be.

Underwater inhabitants

Among the inhabitants of the underwater kingdom there are also animals with rather large needles:

These underwater inhabitants can be found in almost all seas and oceans; in terms of salinity, only the Black and Caspian Sea. There are many types of sea urchins, their spines can be large or small. Even a simple injection can cause a lot of unpleasant moments: their long needles break easily. And they remain in the human body. Some species are poisonous.

Urchin fish. Lives in tropical seas near coral reefs. Some specimens, even in their normal state, are quite large, growing up to 90 cm, and the entire body is covered with spines. At the slightest danger, the fish swallows water and air, turning into a large, prickly and rather dangerous ball. The hedgehog fish is no less poisonous than the famous puffer fish.

Lion fish. The slow and very beautiful lion fish is reliably protected by long spines. There are 18-19 of them on the body, and each one is poisonous. The bright color serves for camouflage: among the colorful coral reefs of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the lion fish can go unnoticed.

Ecology

They say that the best remedy defense - attack, although some prefer to flee in case of danger, covering their tracks. However, some animals have adapted to defend themselves in completely different, more original ways. Find out what methods of protection some living creatures on our planet have.

1) Possum: best defense is coma

Virginia opossum ( Didelphis virginianus), which lives over a fairly large area from Canada to Costa Rica, usually reacts in times of danger as many mammals do: it hisses, growls and shows its teeth. If you touch it, it can bite painfully. However, if this does not help, and the situation becomes increasingly dangerous, this animal plays dead, it falls to the ground, drools, and then stops moving, leaving its mouth open. The animal also begins to exude a horrid odor from its anal glands, similar to that of a corpse.

Many predators prefer to eat fresh meat, so when they see already dead, and even the smelly beast quickly loses interest and leaves him alone. But the most interesting thing about this method of protection is that the animal does it unconsciously, it is just a reaction to a strong stressful situation, the opossum falls into a comatose state that can last for several hours. The Possum only returns to consciousness after the enemy has disappeared. How his mind knows when to return remains a mystery.

2) Potto: secret sharp weapon

Found in the jungles of Africa, pottos look like cute little bear cubs but are classified as primates. They are nocturnal and feed on tree sap, fruits and insects. Due to their slow movements, pottos are very vulnerable to danger from predators, which is why they invented unusual way protection.

The potto has elongated vertebral spines on its neck. These appendages have sharp ends and animals use them as weapons, because predators that grab onto the throat of these primates can choke.

3) Pangolin: better to curl up in a ball

Pangolins are very strange mammals, whose bodies are almost completely covered with large scales, so the animal resembles a giant living pine cone. They primarily feed on pine cones and are found in Africa and Asia. Although they have large and powerful claws on their front feet, pangolins rarely use them as weapons. Instead, in case of danger, the animals curl up into a ball, and so tightly that it is almost impossible to turn them around. The sharp edges of their scales allow them to defend themselves from most predators. They can also strike with their powerful and heavy tail, which can seriously injure with its sharp scales.

And that's not all. Sumatran pangolins can curl up into balls and then roll off high speed from the slopes in order to hide from the enemy. And the last defense of pangolins is the disgusting odor that the animals secrete through their anus. Needless to say, this animal has very few enemies?

4) Armadillo: turning into a perfect ball

As their name suggests, these animals have special kind armor that helps them protect their delicate body, as does the shell of turtles, but in most armadillos the shell does not help protect against large predators. These animals prefer to burrow into the ground to hide from the enemy. The South American three-banded armadillo is the only species of these creatures that can curl up into a perfect ball. This is possible thanks to special structure armor, allowing the animal to move freely, and the tail and head ideally block the “structure”. This allows animals to become invulnerable.

With such abilities, the three-banded armadillo does not need to be able to dig well and quickly burrow into the ground; it often “borrows” other people’s holes and does not bother digging its own.

5) Crested porcupine: life-saving quills

Inhabitant of Africa and southern Europe(mainly Italy), the crested porcupine is one of the largest rodents on the planet, and also one of the creatures with the best defenses. Its needles with white and black stripes are visible to predators from a great distance. It is actually modified hair covered with layers of hard keratin. The quills are longer in the front part of the body; the porcupine can raise its mane in case of danger, thus scaring away the enemy. However, the most dangerous needles are the shorter ones located on the back. When an animal is threatened by a predator, the porcupine begins to shake its tail with quills, which make a rattling sound because they are hollow. If this does not help, the porcupine tries to stab with its quills on its back.

Porcupine quills break fairly easily once they enter an enemy's body. The tiny burrs push them deeper into the enemy's body, so predators can die from wounds, infection, or because the quills damage blood vessels or internal organs. Porcupines also live in North America, but they are usually much smaller than their African relatives and spend most of their time in trees. Interestingly, porcupines have very powerful natural antibiotics in their blood. They often fall from trees while searching for food and can get hurt by their own games. If they did not have such protection, most porcupines would die from self-inflicted wounds during such falls, but nature took everything into account!

6) Dwarf sperm whale: muddy water

Unlike its more famous relative, the giant sperm whale, which can reach 20 meters in length, the rarer pygmy sperm whale is only 1.2 meters long. This makes it especially vulnerable to its enemies - sharks and killer whales. To protect itself, this sperm whale uses an unusual method: it secretes a stream of reddish, syrup-like liquid from its anus, and then uses its tail to stir it into the water, resulting in a dark, large cloud. This allows the sperm whale to gain time and, while the predator tries to see at least something in the “fog,” the animal quickly disappears into the depths of the ocean, swimming away to a safe distance.

Among mammals, this method of defense is not very common. Usually, mollusks resort to it - squid and octopus, which, ironically, are the main delicacy for this sperm whale.

7) Sonya: it’s better to lose your tail than your head

These small edible rodents are found in Europe, and some species can also be found in Africa and Asia. Dormouses usually flee from their enemies, but they have another trick in their arsenal, which they use in extreme cases. The skin on the dormouse's tail dangles freely, and if a predator grabs the rodent by the tail, the skin easily separates, allowing the mouse to escape. This is a type of autotomy, when an animal loses a part of its body for protection. Autotomy is often observed among reptiles, for example, lizards shedding their tail, or among invertebrates, but it is a very rare phenomenon among mammals.

Unlike other animals, dormice can only use a trick once. Exposed bones without skin usually fall off or are chewed off by the dormouse itself, because the skin cannot be restored and a new tail, like in lizards, does not grow. Some species of dormouse have fluffy tails that act as bait, attracting the attention of a predator and distracting it from the head of the animal.

8) Skunk: chemical attack

Everyone is familiar with skunks and their original method protection, their chemical weapons unusually powerful. The skunk's protective fluids are produced by a pair of glands located in the anus area. Although many carnivorous predators also have such glands, especially members of the mustelid family, the glands of skunks are more developed, and they have powerful muscles that allow them to spray a smelly liquid up to 3 meters away.

Skunks also prefer to spray it directly into the enemy’s face, and this liquid is so poisonous that it can deprive the poor creature of his sight, including a person’s, so it is better not to touch skunks out of harm’s way. Because of their unique abilities skunks have made very few enemies; the most dangerous for them is considered to be the great eagle owl, which has no sense of smell and can attack a skunk unexpectedly from above. Before the poor skunk knows it, he ends up dead.

The method of protection with the help of a stinking liquid is a last resort, since the skunk has a limited supply of this liquid, and the glands take about 10 days to recover.

9) Platypus: poisonous spurs

The strange creature, the platypus, once thought to be a myth, and the only mammal today that lays eggs, also has unique means protection. The male platypus has a sharp, retractable spine on each hind leg that contains venom glands. If the platypus is caught by an enemy or a curious ignorant person, it stabs with its spines, injecting enough poison to escape. Although platypus venom can kill animals as large as dogs, it is not fatal to humans. However, this is not a pleasant feeling. Those stung claimed that the pain was so severe that they had never experienced anything like it, and the effect of the poison could last for several days. The pain may lead to fainting.

I wonder what poisonous thorns are found only in male platypuses; females cannot harm other creatures, with the exception of small invertebrates on which they feed. This suggests that the poisonous spines were originally an intraspecific weapon used by males against each other during the breeding season to ward off rivals.

10) Slender loris: poisonous fur

This nocturnal animal lives in the tropical forests of southeast Asia. Loris has a body length of an average of 35 centimeters and feeds on various small animals that it manages to catch, and can also drink tree sap. Due to their small size and slowness, loris are very vulnerable in the face of the enemy, so they have developed an original method of defense. The slender loris has venom glands on its elbows, making it a venomous primate. Moreover, the animal licks the poison that these glands produce and spreads it throughout its fur. Female slender lorises apply their poison to the bodies of their young before they go hunting and leave them alone.

Because the animals lick the venom, their bite also becomes poisonous, making it especially painful and causing swelling. Some people have died from anaphylactic shock after being bitten by the slender loris, although the venom itself is not fatal to humans or large animals.

The most original looking species is the striped tenrec, which lives in Madagascar. With a body length of 15 to 18 cm, it weighs from 80 to 280 grams. Its body is covered with black and yellow spines, interspersed with coarse hairs. The fur coat is designed to protect tenrecs from those who dream of feasting on them: mongooses and fossos.

A “comb” of jagged needles grows behind the animals’ ears. yellow, serving as the main weapon in the fight for survival. Sensing a threat, the kids tilt their heads and begin to rustle. If threats do not help, needles fly at the predator, separated from the body by sharp turns of the head. Some of the sounds emitted by tenerecs are audible even to humans.

Tenrecs are equally active at any time of the day, but, like hedgehogs, they hibernate in winter. They can climb trees, although they do this very rarely. They usually feed on worms obtained from under fallen leaves and plant roots. For living, they build burrows, some of which can accommodate a group of adults.

The tenrec can be found in wooded areas with high humidity or in the rice plantations of Madagascar.

Needles instead of the usual wool cover - not only an amazing “built-in” defense mechanism, but also, in some cases, dangerous weapon. We present to your attention a list of the ten most prickly animals in the world.

Spiny Orb-weaver

Spiny Orb-weaver or Gasteracantha is a genus of spiders with about 70 species. They are distributed throughout the world and grow up to 3 cm in diameter. Despite their terrifying appearance, these spiders are completely harmless to humans.

Lesser belttail

The Lesser Belttail is a species of lizard found in desert and rocky areas along the west coast South Africa. They grow 15–21 cm in length. They feed mainly on small invertebrates such as crickets and spiders. They live in groups of 30 to 60 individuals, but usually fewer, hiding in gorges and crevices. They are considered one of the most amazing animals on the planet.

crown of thorns- starfish that lives on coral reefs in tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as in the waters of the Red Sea. Considered one of the largest starfish in the world. An adult Crown of Thorns grows up to 50 cm and has up to 21 rays. Their bodies are covered with hard and very sharp needles up to 3 cm long at the base, which contain poisonous glands, so their injections are very painful and cause serious poisoning even in humans.

The seventh place on the list of the most spiny animals in the world is occupied by the Anisota stigma caterpillar, a species of moth widespread in Massachusetts, southern Ontario in Florida, as well as in western Minnesota, Kansas and Texas.

Hedgehog fishes are a family of fish with 6-8 genera. Found in almost all tropical seas and oceans. They grow up to 30 cm in length and weigh 4–5 kg. The skin and innards of some species of these fish are poisonous and contain tetrodotoxin, which is at least 1,200 times more potent than cyanide. The poison is produced by several types of bacteria that the fish get from their diet.

There are about 940 known in the world modern species sea urchins, which live in all oceans and seas with normal salinity at different depths up to 5,000 m. They grow to sizes from 2 to 30 cm. They are almost omnivorous.

The Moloch, also known as the thorny devil, is one of the most unusual lizards in the world, widespread in the deserts and semi-deserts of Central Australia. They grow up to 20 cm and can live up to 20 years. They feed exclusively on foraging ants. Despite their appearance, they are almost harmless.

Echidna is a class of mammals common in Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. Contains two genera and 4 species. Their maximum body length is 30 cm. They feed mainly on ants and termites. Echidnas resemble anteaters in appearance, and other spiny mammals such as hedgehogs and porcupines.

Porcupine is a genus of rodents common in wooded areas on almost all continents of the planet. There are about 29 various types porcupines. They are mainly nocturnal and feed on leaves, grass and branches, and in winter on bark. Often climbs trees in search of food. They are the third largest rodent in the world after the Capybara and the Beaver. The porcupine's body length is 64–91 cm, weight 5.4–15.9 kg.

Hedgehog

The hedgehog is a mammal widely distributed in Europe, southern Asia and Africa. They lead a strictly nocturnal lifestyle. They are practically omnivorous; on average, they eat up to 200 grams of insects per night. The lifespan of a hedgehog, depending on size, in nature is 4-7 years, in captivity up to 16 years.

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A selection of the 30 most unusual creatures of our planet...
Based on materials from: wikipedia.org & animalworld.com.ua & unnatural.ru

Madagascar suckerfoot
Found only in Madagascar. On the bases of the thumbs of the wings and on the soles of the hind limbs of the suckerfoot there are complex rosette suckers, which are located directly on skin(unlike the suckers of sucker-footed bats). The biology and ecology of the suckerfoot has been virtually unstudied. Most likely, it uses rolled up leathery palm leaves as shelters, to which it sticks with its suckers. All suckers were caught close to the water.

Angora rabbit (ladies)
These rabbits look quite impressive; there are specimens whose fur reaches up to 80 cm in length. Their wool is extremely valuable, and a wide variety of things are made from it: stockings, scarves, gloves, just fabrics and even linen. One kilogram of this rabbit's wool is valued at about 10 - 12 rubles. One rabbit produces about 0.5 kg of this wool per year, but usually much less. Most often, Angora rabbits are bred by women, which is why they are sometimes called “ladies’ rabbits.” Average weight such a rabbit weighs 5 kg, body length 61 cm, chest girth 35-40 cm, but other options are possible.

Monkey marmoset
This is the most amazing species of monkeys living on Earth. The weight of an adult does not exceed 120 g. When you look at this tiny creature the size of a mouse (10-15 cm) with a long tail (20-21 cm) and large Mongoloid eyes with a conscious gaze, you feel some embarrassment.

Coconut crab
This is one of the representatives of decapod crustaceans. The habitat of this animal is the western part Pacific Ocean and islands in Indian Ocean. This animal of the land crayfish family is quite large for representatives of its species. An adult can reach 32 cm in length and weigh up to 3-4 kg. For quite a long time, it was mistakenly believed that the palm thief could split coconuts with its claws in order to then eat them, but now scientists have definitely proven that this cancer, despite the enormous strength of its claws, is not capable of splitting a coconut, but can easily break your arm...

Coconuts that split when they fall constitute their main source of nutrition, which is why this crayfish was named the palm thief. However, he is not averse to enjoying other food - the fruits of plants, organic elements from the earth, and even God's creatures similar to themselves. His character, meanwhile, is timid and friendly.

The coconut crab is unique in its kind, its sense of smell is as developed as that of insects, and it also has olfactory organs that ordinary crabs lack. This feature developed after this type came out of the water and settled on land.

Unlike other crabs, they move forward rather than sideways. They don't stay in the water for long.

Sea cucumber. Holothuria
Sea cucumbers, egg capsules (Holothuroidea), a class of invertebrates such as echinoderms. The modern fauna is represented by 1,150 species, divided into 6 orders, which differ from each other in the shape of the tentacles and calcareous ring, as well as the presence of some internal organs. There are about 100 species in Russia. The body of sea cucumbers is leathery to the touch, usually rough and wrinkled. The body wall is thick and elastic, with well-developed muscle bundles. Longitudinal muscles (5 ribbons) are attached to the calcareous ring around the esophagus. At one end of the body there is a mouth, at the other there is an anus. The mouth is surrounded by a corolla of 10-30 tentacles, which serve to capture food, and leads into a spirally twisted intestine.

They usually lie “on their side”, raising the front, oral end. Holothurians feed on plankton and organic debris extracted from bottom silt and sand, which is passed through the digestive canal. Other species filter food from bottom waters with tentacles covered with sticky mucus.

Hell Vampire

This animal is a mollusk. Despite its external similarity to an octopus or squid, scientists separated this mollusk into a separate series, Vampyromorphida (lat.), because only it has retractable receptive whip-shaped filaments.

Almost the entire surface of the mollusk’s body is covered with luminescent organs - photophores. They appear as small white discs enlarging at the ends of the tentacles and at the base of the fins. Photophores are absent only on the inner side of the membraned tentacles. The hellish vampire has very good control over these organs and is capable of producing disorienting flashes of light lasting from hundredths of a second to several minutes. In addition, it can control the brightness and size of the color spots.

Amazonian dolphin
This is the largest in the world river dolphin. Inia geoffrensis, as scientists have named it, can reach 2.5 meters in length and weigh up to 200 kg. Juveniles are light gray in color, but become lighter with age. Body Amazonian dolphin full, with a narrow muzzle and a thin tail. Round forehead, slightly curved nose and small eyes. You can meet the Amazonian dolphin in the rivers and lakes of Latin America.

Star-nosed
Star-nosed - insectivorous mammal from the mole family. You can meet such an animal only in South-Eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States. Externally, the star-nosed snake differs from other animals of this family and from other small animals, only it is characterized by the structure of its snout in the form of a rosette or an asterisk made of 22 soft mobile fleshy naked rays. The size of the star-nosed ray similar to its European relative the mole. Its tail is relatively long (about 8 cm), covered with scales and sparse hair. When the starfish is looking for food, the rays on the stigma are constantly moving, with the exception of the two middle ones, they are directed forward and do not bend. When he eats, the rays are pulled together into a compact lump; While eating, the animal holds the food with its front paws. When the starfish drinks, it immerses both the stigma and all the whiskers in the water for 5-6 seconds.

Fossa
These amazing animals live only on the island of Madagascar; there are nowhere else in the world, not even in Africa. Fossa is a rare animal and the only representative of the genus Cryptoprocta, while Fossa is the most large predator, living on the island of Madagascar. The appearance of the Fossa is a little unusual: it is something between a civet and a small puma. At times, the Fossa is also called the Madagascar lion; the ancestors of this animal were much larger and reached the size of a lion. The fossa has a strong build, a massive and slightly elongated body, its length can reach up to 80 cm (on average the fossa body reaches 65-70 cm). The fossa's paws are high, but rather thick, and the hind paws are longer than the front paws. The tail of this animal is very long, often reaching the length of the body and reaching up to 65 cm.

Japanese giant salamander
The largest amphibian found in the world, this salamander can reach 160 cm in length and weigh up to 180 kg. In addition, such a salamander can live up to 150 years, although the officially recorded longest age of a huge salamander is 59 years.

Madagascar crayfish (or Aye-Aye)
The Madagascar monkey (lat. Daubentonia madagascariensis) or aye-aye, is a mammal of the suborder of prosimians; the only representative of the family of arms. One of the rarest animals on the planet - there are only five dozen individuals, which is why it was discovered relatively recently. The largest animal of the nocturnal primates.

The body length of the arm is 30-37 cm without a tail, 44-53 cm with a tail. Weight - about 2.5 kg. The head is large, the muzzle is short; The ears are large and leathery. The tail is large and fluffy. The coat color ranges from dark brown to black. They live in the East and North of the island of Madagascar. They are nocturnal. They feed on the fruits of mango trees and coconut palms, the core of bamboo and sugar cane, tree beetles and larvae. They sleep in hollows or nests.

This animal is one of the most unique mammals on the planet; it has no similar features to any other animal. The little arm has a thick, wide head with large ears, which makes the head appear even wider. Small, protruding, motionless, and glowing eyes with smaller pupils than those of a nocturnal monkey. Its muzzle bears a close resemblance to the beak of a parrot, an elongated body and a long tail, which, like the whole body, is sparsely covered with long, stiff, bristle-like hair. And finally, unusual hands, and these are hands, their middle finger has a dried-out appearance - all these features connected together give the ah-ah so peculiar appearance“that you involuntarily rack your brains in a vain zeal to find a related creature similar to this animal,” wrote A. E. Bram in his book “The Life of Animals.”

Listed in the “Red Book”, ay-ay is the most remarkable animal, over which a serious danger of extinction hangs. Daubentonia madagascariensis is the only representative of not only the genus, but also the family that has survived to this day.

Guidak
The photo shows the longest-living and at the same time the largest (up to 1 meter in length) burrowing mollusk in the world (the age of the oldest individual found is 160 years). The concept of Guidak was taken from the Indians and is translated as “deep-digging” - these gastropods can actually bury themselves quite deep in the sand. A “leg” protrudes from under the thin, fragile shell of the hyodac, which is three times larger than the shell (there have been cases where specimens with a leg length of more than 1 meter were found). The mollusk meat is very tough and tastes like abalone (this is also a mollusk, terribly tasteless, but with a very beautiful shell), so Americans usually cut it into pieces, beat it and fry it in butter with onions.

Liger
The liger (English liger from the English lion - “lion” and English tiger - “tiger”) is a hybrid between a male lion and a female tigress, looking like a giant lion with blurred stripes. Similar in appearance and size to those extinct in the Pleistocene cave lion and his relative the American lion. Ligers are the largest big cats in the world today. The largest liger is Hercules from the interactive theme park Jungle Island.

Male ligers, with rare exceptions, have almost no mane, but unlike lions, ligers know how and love to swim. Another feature of ligers is that female ligers can give birth to offspring, which is unusual for feline hybrids. The extraordinary gigantism of ligers is due to the fact that ligers receive genes from their lion father that promote the growth of their offspring, while the tiger mother does not have genes that inhibit the growth of their offspring. While the tiger father does not have genes that promote growth, the lioness mother has genes that inhibit growth, which are passed on to her offspring. This explains the fact that the liger is larger than the lion, and the tiger lion is smaller than the tiger.

Imperial tamarin
The name of the species (“imperial”) is associated with the presence of fluffy white “whiskers” on these monkeys and is given in honor of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Body length - about 25 cm, tail - about 35 cm. Weight of adult individuals - 250-500 grams. Tamarins feed on fruits and lead a diurnal lifestyle. They live in small groups of 8-15 individuals.

Emperor tamarins are native to the Amazon rainforest and are found in northwestern Brazil, eastern Peru and northern Bolivia. In the east, the range is limited by the Gurupi River, in the upper reaches of the Amazon - by the Putumayo rivers in the north and Madeira in the south. Although the species lives in hard-to-reach places, it protective status assessed as vulnerable.

Cuban slittooth
The Cuban slittooth, a strange creature that looks like a large hedgehog with a funny long-nosed muzzle, when it bites, kills insects and small animals with poisonous saliva. The slit tooth is not dangerous for humans, quite the contrary. Until 2003, the animal was considered extinct until several specimens were caught in the forest. The slittooth has no immunity to its poison, so fights between males are usually fatal for all participants.

Kakapo parrot
The New Zealand kakapo parrot, also known as the owl parrot, is probably the most unusual parrot in the world. He never flies, weighs 4 kilograms, croaks in a nasty voice and is nocturnal. It is considered an extinct species in nature due to ecological imbalance caused by rats and cats. Experts hope to restore the kakapo population, but it is very reluctant to breed in zoos.

Cyclocosmia
This species of spider stands out from the representatives of its genus only by the very original shape of its abdomen. Cyclocosmia digs burrows 7-15 cm deep in the ground. Its abdomen, at the end, is as if chopped off and ends with a chitinized flat disc-shaped surface; it serves to close the entrance to the burrow when the spider is in danger. This method of defense is called Pragmosis (eng. Phragmosis) - a method of defense in which an animal, if threatened, hides in a hole and uses part of its body as a barrier, blocking the path of a predator.

Tapir
Tapirs (lat. Tapirus) are large herbivores from the order of equids, somewhat reminiscent of a pig in shape, but with a short trunk adapted for grasping.

The sizes of tapirs differ from species to species, but as a rule, the length of a tapir is about two meters, the height at the withers is about a meter, and the weight is from 150 to 300 kg. Life expectancy in the wild is about 30 years, the cub is always born alone, pregnancy lasts about 13 months. Newborn tapirs have protective coloring consisting of spots and stripes, and although this coloring appears to be the same, different types there are some differences. The front paws of tapirs are four-toed, and the hind paws are three-toed; the toes have small hooves that help them move on muddy and soft ground.

Mixin
The hagfish (lat. Myxini) lives at depths of 100-500 meters, its predominant habitat is near the shores North America, Europe, Iceland, East Greenland. Sometimes it can be found in the Adriatic Sea. IN winter time The hagfish sometimes descends to great depths - up to 1 km.

The size of this animal is small - 35-40 centimeters, although sometimes giant specimens are found - 79-80 centimeters. Naturalist Carl Linnaeus, who discovered this miracle in 1761, initially even included it in the class of worms because of its specific appearance. Although in fact hagfish belong to the class of cyclostomes, which are the historical predecessors of fish. The color of hagfish can vary, but the predominant colors are pinkish and gray-red.

A distinctive feature of hagfish is the presence of a number of holes that secrete mucus, which are located along the lower edge of the animal’s body. It should be noted that mucus is a very important secretion of hagfish, which is used by the animal to penetrate into the cavity of the fish chosen as a victim. Mucus also plays an important role in animal respiration. The hagfish is a real mucus-creating plant, in particular, if you put it in a bucket full of water, then after a while all the water will be converted into mucus.

The fins of hagfishes are actually not developed; they are difficult to distinguish on long body animal. Organ of vision - the eyes see poorly; they are masked by light areas of skin in this area. The round mouth has as many as 2 rows of teeth, and there is also one unpaired tooth in the palate area. Hagfish “breathe through their nose”, and water enters the hole at the end of the snout - the nostril. The respiratory organs of hagfish, like all fish, are gills. The area where they are located are special cavities-channels running along the animal’s body. The hagfish hunts only those fish that are sick, weakened (for example, after spawning) or caught in gear or nets installed by humans. The attack process itself occurs as follows: the hagfish eats with its sharp teeth the wall of the fish’s body, after which it enters the body, consuming first the internal organs, and then muscle mass. If the unfortunate victim is still able to resist, then the hagfish passes into the gills and fills them with mucus, abundantly secreted by its glands. As a result, the fish dies from suffocation, leaving the hunter the opportunity to eat its body

Proboscis
The proboscis monkey, or Kahau (lat. Nasalis larvatus) is a monkey widespread in only one small area globe- valleys and coast of Borneo. The proboscis monkey belongs to the family of thin-bodied monkeys and got its name thanks to its huge nose, which is hallmark males.

It has not yet been possible to establish the exact purpose of such large nose, but obviously its size plays a role in choosing a mating partner. The fur of these monkeys is yellowish-brown on the back and white on the belly, the limbs and tail are colored gray, and the face is not covered with hair at all and has a fairly bright reddish tint, and in the cubs it has a bluish tint.

The size of an adult proboscis monkey can reach 75 cm, excluding the tail, and twice that size from the nose to the tip of the tail. Average weight males weigh 18-20 kg, females weigh almost half as much. Almost never moving away from the water, proboscis whales were known as excellent swimmers who could travel more than 20 meters underwater. In open shallow water tropical forests proboscis monkeys move, like most primates, on four limbs, but in the wild thickets of mangroves (as they are also called tropical forests islands of Borneo) they walk on two legs, almost vertically.

Axolotl
Representing the larval form of Ambystoma, the axolotl is considered one of the most interesting objects for study. Firstly, axolotls do not need to reach adult form and undergo metamorphosis to reproduce. Surprised? The secret lies in neoteny - a phenomenon in which the axolotl reaches sexual maturity while still in childhood. Note that the tissues of this larva react rather poorly to the hormone secreted by the thyroid gland.

Experiments have proven that a decrease in water level when home breeding of these larvae contributes to their transformation into adults. The same thing happens in cooler, drier climates. If an axolotl lives in your aquarium, and you want to turn it into an ambistoma, then be sure to add the hormone thyroidin to the larva’s food. A similar result can be achieved with an injection. As a rule, the transformation of an axolotl will take several weeks, after which the larva will change its body shape and color. In addition, the axolotl will permanently lose its external gills.

Literally translated from the Aztec language, axolotl is a “water toy,” which is quite consistent with its appearance. Once you see an axolotl, you are unlikely to forget its unusual, bizarre appearance. At first glance, the axolotl resembles a newt, but has a rather large and wide head. The smiling “face” of the axolotl deserves special attention - tiny beady eyes and an excessively wide mouth.

As for the amphibian’s body length, it is about thirty centimeters, and axolotls are characterized by the regeneration of lost body parts. The natural habitat of the axolotl is concentrated in Xochimailco and Cholco - mountain lakes Mexico.

If you look closely at the amphibian's head, you will notice six long gills, symmetrically located on the sides of the head. The axolotl's gills externally resemble thin shaggy twigs, which the larva cleans from time to time of organic debris.

Thanks to their wide, long tail, axolotls are excellent swimmers, although they prefer to spend most of their life at the bottom. Why bother with unnecessary movements if the food floats into your mouth by itself?

At first, biologists were quite surprised respiratory system axolotls, including both lungs and gills. For example, if aquatic environment The axolotl's habitat is not sufficiently saturated with oxygen, the larva quickly adapts to such a change and begins to breathe with its lungs.

Naturally, the transition to pulmonary breathing negatively affects the gills, which gradually atrophy. And, of course, it is worth paying attention to the original coloring of the axolotl. Small black spots evenly cover the green body, although the axolotl's abdomen remains almost white.

Zoologists have made different assumptions as to what exactly attracts the candira to the human genitals. The most plausible assumption seems to be that the candiru are extremely sensitive to the smell of urine: it happened that the candiru attacked a person a few moments after he urinated in the water. It is believed that candiru are able to find the source of smell in water.

But the candiru does not always penetrate the victim. It happens that, having overtaken prey, the candiru bites through the skin of a person or the gill tissue of a fish with long teeth that grow in their upper jaw and begins to suck blood from the victim, causing the body of the candiru itself to swell and swell. Candiru hunt not only fish and mammals, but also reptiles.

Tarsier
Tarsier (Tarsier, lat. Tarsius) is a small mammal from the order of primates, the very specific appearance of which has created a somewhat ominous halo around this small animal weighing up to one hundred and sixty grams.

Particularly impressionable tourists say that the first time they see huge shining eyes looking at them without blinking, and the next moment the animal turns its head almost 360 degrees and you look straight at the back of its head, you feel, to put it mildly, uneasy. By the way, local aborigines still believe that the tarsier’s head exists separately from the body. Well, this is all speculation, of course, but the facts are obvious!

There are about 8 species of tarsier. The most common are the Bankan and Philippine tarsier, as well as a separate species - the ghost tarsier. These mammals live in the territory Southeast Asia, the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi and the Philippines, as well as in surrounding areas.

Externally, tarsiers are small animals, the size of which does not exceed sixteen centimeters, with large ears, long thin fingers and a long tail of about thirty cm and at the same time with very little weight.

The animal's fur is brown or grayish, and its eyes are much larger compared to human proportions - about the size of an average apple.

In nature, tarsiers live in pairs or small groups of eight to ten individuals. They are nocturnal and feed exclusively on animal origin - insects and small vertebrates.

Their pregnancy lasts about six months and a small animal is born, which, within a couple of hours after birth, grasping the mother’s fur, will make its first journey. Average duration The lifespan of a tarsier is about ten to thirteen years.

Narwhal
Narwhals (lat. Monodon monoceros) are a protected rare species belonging to the unicorn family and are listed in the Red Book of Russia due to their small numbers. The habitat of this marine animal is the waters of the Northern Arctic Ocean, as well as the North Atlantic. The size of an adult male often reaches 4.5 meters, weighing about one and a half tons. Females weigh slightly less. The head of an adult narwhal is round, with a large, tuberous forehead, and there is no dorsal fin. Narwhals are somewhat reminiscent of beluga whales, although compared to the latter, the animals have somewhat spotted skin and 2 upper teeth, one of which, growing, turns into a three-meter tusk weighing up to 10 kg.

The narwhal tusk, twisted to the left in the form of a spiral, is quite rigid, but at the same time it has a certain limit of flexibility and can bend up to thirty centimeters. Previously, it was often passed off as a unicorn horn, which had healing powers. It was believed that if you throw a piece of narwhal horn into a glass of poisoned wine, it will change its color.

IN given time There is a hypothesis, which is very popular in scientific circles, proving that the narwhal’s horn, covered with sensitive endings, is needed by the animal to measure water temperature, pressure and other parameters of the aquatic environment that are no less important for life.

Narwhals most often live in small groups of up to ten animals. The basis of the diet of narwhals, which, by the way, can hunt at a depth of more than a kilometer, are cephalopods and bottom fish. The enemies of narwhals in nature can be called other inhabitants of these territories - polar bears and killer whales.

However, the greatest damage to the narwhal population was caused by people who hunted them for their delicious meat and horns, which are successfully used to make a variety of crafts. At this time, animals are under state protection.

Octopus Jumbo
Dumbo is a very small and unusual deep sea octopus, representative cephalopods. Lives only in the Tasman Sea.

Jumbo apparently got his name in honor of the famous cartoon character, Dumbo the elephant, who was ridiculed for his big ears(in the middle of the body the octopus has a pair of rather long, oar-shaped fins resembling ears). Its individual tentacles are literally connected to the ends by a thin elastic membrane called the umbrella. It, together with the fins, serves as the main mover of this animal, that is, the octopus moves like jellyfish, pushing water out from under the umbrella bell.

The largest Jumbo was discovered in the Tasman Sea - half the size of a human palm.

Medusa Cyanea
Medusa Cyanea - considered largest jellyfish in the world, living in the North-West Atlantic. The diameter of the bell of the cyanea jellyfish reaches 2 meters, and the length of the thread-like tentacles is 20-30 meters. One of these jellyfish, washed ashore in Massachusetts Bay, had a bell diameter of 2.28 m, and its tentacles extended 36.5 m.

Each such jellyfish eats about 15 thousand fish during its life.

Piglet squid

This is a deep-sea marine inhabitant, which received the nickname “pig squid” because of its round body. The scientific name of piglet squid is Helicocranchia pfefferi. Not much is known about him. It is found in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at a depth of about 100 meters. Swims slowly. And under the eyes (like many deep-sea animals) it has luminous organs - photophores.

“Little Pig”, unlike other squids, swims upside down, so its tentacles look like a tuft.

Snake Carla
There are currently 3,100 known species of snakes on our planet. But the snake Carla from the island of Barbados is the smallest of them. The maximum length it reaches in adulthood is 10 centimeters.

Leptotyphlops carlae was first officially described and identified as a new species in 2008. Blair Hedge, a biologist at Penn State, named the snake after his wife, herpentologist Carla Ann Hass, who was also part of the team that made the discovery.

The Barbados thread, as this snake is also called, is believed to be close to the theoretically possible minimum size for snakes that evolution allows. If suddenly the snake happens to be even smaller, it simply will not be able to find food for itself and will die.

The snake Carla feeds on termites and ant larvae.

Due to its miniature size, the thread snake bears only one egg, but it is a large one. The size of the born snake at the moment of birth is half the mother’s body. However, this is normal for snakes. How smaller snake, the larger in proportion her offspring are - and vice versa.

Leptotyphlops carlae has so far been found only on the island of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea, and even then only in the east-central part of it. Most of Barbados' forests have been cleared. And since the thread snake lives only in the forest, it is assumed that the territory suitable for habitation of the strange creature is limited to just a few square kilometers. So the survival of the species is a concern.

Lamprey
Lampreys look like eels or huge worms, although they have nothing to do with either one. They have a naked body covered with mucus, which is why they are mistaken for worms. In fact, these are primitive vertebrates. Zoologists group them into a special class of cyclostomes. You can’t say about cyclostomes that they have a tongue without bones. Their mouth is just equipped complex system cartilage that supports the mouth and tongue. There are no jaws, so food is sucked into the mouth like into a funnel. Along the edges of this funnel and on the tongue there are teeth. Lampreys have three eyes. Two on the sides and one on the forehead.

Lampreys are predators and attack mainly fish. The lamprey attaches itself to the victim, gnaws through the scales, drinks the blood and snacks on the meat (from the area it bit into). In our country, lamprey fishing is carried out in the Neva and other rivers flowing into the Baltic Sea, as well as in the Volga. In Russia, lamprey is considered an exquisite delicacy. But in many countries, such as the USA, lampreys are not eaten.

Killer Clam
This curiosity lives on coral reefs at a depth of almost 25 meters. The mollusk weighs up to 210 kilograms with a body length of up to 1.7 meters. Life expectancy is up to 150 years. Due to its impressive size, it gave rise to many rumors and dark legends.

It is called Giant clam (from the English giant clam), Tridacninae, Tridacna. The giant clam is a delicacy in Japan, France, Southeast Asia and many Pacific Islands. Lives due to symbiosis with the algae that live on it. It also knows how to filter water passing through it and extract plankton from there.

It doesn’t actually eat people, but if a careless diver tries to touch the mollusk’s mantle with his hand, the shell flaps will reflexively close. And since the compression force of the tridacna muscles is enormous, a person risks dying from lack of oxygen. This is where the name “killer clam” comes from.