Ten Weirdest Animal Stories of 2013
By Christine Dell'Amore, National Geographic News, 24 December 2013.
By Christine Dell'Amore, National Geographic News, 24 December 2013.
Nature pushed the boundaries on bizarre this year, offering up a Pinocchio lizard, a hot-pink slug, and even a sea cucumber that eats with its anus. Luckily for you, we’ve recapped the oddest of the odd: Here are our editor’s picks for 2013′s weirdest animal discoveries.
Tenth on our list of oddest animal stories is a new species of Amazonian spider, a 0.2-inch-long (five-millimetre-long) arachnid that uses its web to create a decoy spider around five times its size to scare off potential predators.
10. New Spider Weaves Spider-Shaped Web
A new species of spider hides behind a giant decoy it built out of debris.
The newfound spider is probably in the genus Cyclosa because they are also known to make structures in their webs. We also got over 150 comments in January when we asked readers to name the new arachnid - some suggested monikers included the puppeteer spider, shadow weaver, and David Copperweb. Full story>>
9. Giant Sea Cucumber Eats With Its Anus
A California sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) in California.
Scientists discovered that the giant California sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) actually uses its anus as a second mouth, we reported in March. The discovery, some of our readers cleverly noted, gives new meaning to the term “bottom feeder.” Full story>>
8. New Hot-Pink Slug Found in Australia
The new hot-pink slug found in Australia.
He’s big. He’s slimy. And he’s…neon pink. Meet Triboniophorus aff. graeffei, a new species of 8-inch-long (20-centimetre-long) slug that’s found only on one Australian mountain. The pink slug, we told you in June, had gone unstudied for so long because Australian slug and snail researchers - known as malacologists - are far outnumbered by their koala-investigating brethren. Readers were tickled pink by the story, which earned 30,000 Facebook likes. Full story>>
7. Hero Shrew Found, One of “Most Bizarre Animals on Earth”
The new shrew.
Watch out, Mighty Mouse: Scientists have found a new species of shrew that has incredible strength. Dubbed Thor’s hero shrew after the brawny god of strength in Norse mythology, Scutisorex thori is one of the most bizarre animals on Earth thanks to its supertough, interlocking spine, we reported in July. Full story>>
6. What’s the World’s Ugliest Animal?
The blobfish was voted the ugliest animal.
In September, the public chose the deep-sea blobfish to represent endangered ugly animals everywhere. The sagging, gelatinous creature became the new mascot of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society, which draws attention to the need to conserve animals of all shapes and sizes. Other winners included the proboscis monkey and the axolotl - but many readers claimed these homely contestants are actually quite cute. Full story>>
5. Praying Mantis Mimics Flower to Trick Prey
Orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus) camouflaged on flower in Borneo, Malaysia.
It may look pretty, but this “orchid” actually has a trick under its, well, leaves - it’s actually a praying mantis trying to get a meal, according to a September post. Until recently, scientists weren’t sure if this flower mimic was accurate enough to deceive bugs. But a recent study says it is - and it’s the first scientific evidence of an animal imitating a flower to attract prey. Full story>>
4. “Extinct” Pinocchio Lizard Found in Ecuador
The long-nosed Pinocchio lizard.
It’s no lie - scientists spotted a lizard with a nose like Pinocchio in an Ecuadorian cloud forest, scientists announced in October. What’s more, the long-nosed reptile had been thought to be extinct, as it had been seen only a few times in the past 15 years.
“It’s hard to describe the feelings of finding this lizard. Finding the Pinocchio anole was like discovering a secret, a deeply held secret. We conceived it for years to be a mythological creature,” Alejandro Arteaga, a photographer and one of the lizard’s spotters, said in a statement. Full story>>
3. Baby Olinguito Found in Colombia
A baby olinguito found in Colombia.
What’s better than discovering a rare, furry carnivore that resembles a teddy bear? Stumbling upon a baby version of the same creature. Scientists trekking deep in Colombia‘s La Mesenia Reserve Forest recently spotted a young olinguito, a mammal that was confirmed as a new species in August. Scientists say it is the first new carnivore found in the Western Hemisphere in more than three decades. Full story>>
2. Exclusive Video: World’s Biggest Pig Revealed
A giant forest hog rests in Kibale National Park. The large cheeks may protect the animal’s eyes
as it moves through dense brush.
Meet the giant forest hog, which at up to 600 pounds (275 kilograms) brings home the record-setting bacon as the world’s biggest pig.
Despite its imposing size, there’s relatively little known about the African species, a bristly black animal with prominent cheeks and sharp tusks, we reported in November. In fact, the hog was first scientifically described in 1904 - making it one of the last big mammals to be identified on the continent. Full story>>
1. Troll-Haired Mystery Bug Found in Suriname
The young planthopper’s crazy “hair.”
Trond Larsen was lucky enough to notice and photograph the tiny insect - about 0.2 inches (five millimetres) long - during an international expedition of field biologists to the mountainous region of southeastern Suriname in 2012, he told us in November. Full story>>
Here’s hoping for another wonderfully weird year in 2014!
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