Just when we thought we've seen it all, up pops some bizarre but adorable-looking animal that we never even knew existed. It's almost like unlocking a secret level in a video game...
The reality is that Earth is far more creative than many of us give it credit for. And Mother Nature really does have a lot of tricks and surprises up her sleeve. If you've never seen bagworms, tiger quolls or greasefish before, you're not alone.
There's an online community called "Animals I Didn't Know Existed." It has around 29,000 weekly visitors. And as the name suggests, it's dedicated to sharing posts about rare, unusual and lesser-known creatures - great and small.
Some are strange mash-ups that look like nature's version of a mythical hybrid. Others could have walked straight out of a fantasy novel. Then there are those that deserve to be in a sci-fi film. And, of course, let's not forget the cuties that could audition for a Disney cartoon.
Bored Panda has put together a list of the most weird and wonderful animals featured on the page for you to scroll through while you contemplate getting an unexpected exotic pet. Don't forget to upvote your favorites.
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Tiger Quoll (Dasyurus Maculatus)
It's highly unlikely you'll see every type of animal on the planet. And that's because there are just too many. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.
It tracks the number of described species and updates this figure annually based on the latest work of taxonomists. In case you're wondering, taxonomists are biologists who specialize in identifying and classifying life on the planet.
In 2022, the IUCN listed 2.16 million species on earth. This included 1.05 million insects, over 11,000 birds, more than 11,000 reptiles, and more than 6,000 mammals. And those are only the ones known to experts.
The Rarely-Seen Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista Petaurista)
Chrysina Limbata, A Species Of Scarab Beetle Found In Costa Rica And The Rainforests Of South America
In 1998, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) noted that "more than 200 years after biologists began naming and classifying the world´s plants and animals, they still do not know how many species exist. Estimates range from 3 million to 100 million or even more."
The NWF said that around 13,000 more species are added to the list of known creatures every year. And while a large portion of the world´s mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and flowering plants are named, there are loads more species to be listed.
"Ghost Birds" - A Name For A Type Of Potoo (Family Nyctibiidae) That Is Found In The Amazon Basin
I've Know About Draco Lizards(Genus: Draco) For Awhile But I Wanted To Share
Theloderma Corticale Also Know As Vietnamese Mossy Frog
"The lion´s share of unknown species are small, mostly microscopic organisms that live in some of Earth´s least-accessible habitats: beneath the ground, in the deep sea, in the crowns of tropical trees, and on the backs or in the guts of other creatures," explains the NWF.
"Such insects, worms, mites, fungi, bacteria and other tiny life forms are what Harvard University biologist Edward O. Wilson calls 'the black hole of taxonomy.' Unimaginably abundant, their numbers could alter overall species totals by a factor of 10 or more," it adds.
Male Violet-Backed Starling (Cinnyricinclus Leucogaster)
Nyala (Tragelaphus Angasii): Real-Life Forest Spirit?
The Spiny Flower Mantis (Pseudocreobotra Wahlbergii)
A 2018 PLOS Biology study revealed that 86% of all land and 91% of sea species had not been discovered yet.
When it comes to the number of animals, not species, here a few fun facts... Chickens outnumber humans on earth by a staggering four chickens to each person on earth. "That translates into 26.5 billion chickens for 8.1 billion humans," notes the World Animal Foundation (WAF).
The most common animal in the world is the ant, says the WAF. "With an estimated population of around 10 quadrillion (10,000,000,000,000,000) individuals, ants are incredibly numerous and found in almost every terrestrial habitat on Earth," reads the site.
South America Has Its Own, Much Smaller Version Of The Snow Leopard: Meet The Andean Mountain Cat (Leopardus Jacobita), A Close Relative Of The Jungle-Dwelling Ocelot
Jaguarundi (Herpailurus Yagouaroundi) Closest Relative Of The Mountain Lion
Cochranella Euknemos - Glass Frog
"When it comes to creatures that are not big or fuzzy, what we don´t know is a percentage somewhere in the double digits," says director of the Texas Memorial Museum and president of the Association of Systematics Collections (ASC), Edward Theriot.
A sentiment echoed by George Washington University microbiologist Diana Lipscomb. "We don´t even know enough to tell you what we don´t know," she said.
The Dik-Dik Antelope Refers To 4 Species Of The Genus Madoqua. This Is The Silver Dik-Dik (Madoqua Piacentinii), The Smallest Of The Genus, Native To Somalia And Ethiopia. Full Sized Ranges From 4-6.5 Pounds Max. They Have Sharp Hooves And Mark Their Territory With Their Tears!
They are so tiny and cute! Saw them at the zoo and they melted my heart 🥰🥰🥰
The Paradise Flying Snake (Chrysopelea Paradisi) Can Flatten Its Body To Glide Between Trees Like A Flying Squirrel
Endangered Canid Native To Asia, The 'Dhole' (Cuon Alpinus)
Absolutely gorgeous little canid. They are fairly physically distinct from the majority of other canine species (their skull is convex instead of concave, for one, and they have one fewer lower molar than most other canids.) They're fairly small (average weight 30 lbs) but they are lovely canines!
The Bat-Eared Fox (Otocyon Megalotis)
Roseate Spoonbill Aka Platalea Ajaja. I Prefer To Call It A Duckmingo Or A Fluck
Striped Pyjama Squid (Sepioloidea Lineolata)
🔥 Perfect Camouflage. Alaskan State Bird Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus Lagopus) Blending In With Winter Landscape
So beautiful! However, described on the hover over description as "Bird with detailed brown and white feathers perched on a snow-capped tree branch in a winter landscape, tiger quoll not visible." NOT-a-Tige...6a7cae.jpg
🔥 The Red-Shanked Douc Langur
The King Bird Of Paradise,(Cicinnurus Regius)
Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo (Dendrolagus Goodfellowi)
Sulawesi Moon Moth ( Actias Isis )
The Black Serval (Leptailurus Serval)
This is NOT a separate species/subspecies of serval. This is a melanistic serval. Melanism can happen in many animals. It's VERY cool (both jaguars and leopards are commonly seen to have melanistic individuals) but it's not a separate species XD
Bassariscus Astutus (Ringtail Cat)
Great Eared Nightjar (Lyncornis Macrotis) Recently Encountred In Thailand
Great-Eared Nightjars are my favorite birds (because they look like dragons)
Secretary Birds Are Famous For Its Snake-Stomping Legs; A Single Kick Delivered Some 195 Newtons Of Force. They Are Also Famous For Their Long Eyelashes
The African Forest Buffalo (Syncerus Caffer Nanus) Is The Smallest Subspecies Of The African Buffalo, Weighing In At 550–705 Lbs
The Short /Round Eared Elephant Shrew
Absolutely one of my favourite little animals and NOT, as the hover over description says, a "Close-up of a tiger quoll with its tongue out."
Wandering Leaf Sheep
So they are saying that the tiger quoll isn't interesting?! How dare you, AI?!
Priotrochatella Constellata.hey Are Critically Endangered Due To The Exploitation Of The Marble Quarries In Cuba That They Inhabit
I must say, the description you get of this animal when you hover your cursor over the photo, is one of the funnier ones on this list. BP, your AI has a fixation with tiger quolls! 8`-)
These Prehistoric Looking Beetles
Aardwolf, Proteles Cristata. One Aardwolf Can Lap Up As Many As 250,000 Termites During A Single Night!
Not a wolf or even a canid, but a member of the hyena family :) Though I choose to call them my lovely cousins XD
Sumatran Striped Rabbit (Nesolagus Netscheri)
Greater Lophorina (Lophorina Superba)
Galidia Elegans: Ring-Tailed Vontsira
Pygmy Tufted Squirrel, (Exilisciurus Whiteheadi)
Elephantfish (Campylomormyrus Sp.)
Chinese Water Deer (Hydropotes Inermis)
Their tusks are modified canine teeth! Only the males' tusks grow this large, and they're loose in their sockets, so the male can literally "pull them back" while feeding. They're used in displays of aggression and dominance.
This Photograph Of A Male Bargibant's Seahorse Was Taken Off The Coast Of Bali In Indonesia
Spangled Cotinga (Cotinga Cayana)
Bagworms (Psychidae) Make Portable Houses Out Of Small Sticks And Silk
The Daring Owl Butterfly (Scientific Name: Dynastor Darius) Looks Incredible At Every Life Stage
The Bush Dog Is A Stocky Canid With A Bear-Like Face That Lives Near Water In Central And South America. It Has Partially Webbed Feet, Keeping It From Sinking Into Mud And Assisting It In Swimming And Diving. Don't Be Fooled By Its Small Stature, It Is An Apex Predator
Quite a few canids have webbed feet :D They can act as "snowshoes" for species that live in snowy areas, as well.
Tufted Ground Squirrel (Rheithrosciurus Macrotis)
Tefflus Carinatus Violaceus Beetle
Sorry, you guys, but I REALLY needed a distraction after this last shit-show of a week, and BP has kindly provided it with these lovely animal descriptions. BP, although it wasn't intended, you may have actually saved my life with these mislabellings! Sorry-You-...c9b112.jpg
I Definitely Thought The Standard-Winged Nightjar (Caprimulgus Longipennis) Was AI When It Popped Up On My Recommend Socials Today
*The word “standard” originally meant a flag or banner
Sphaerocoris Annulus, Common Names Picasso Bug Or Zulu Hud Bug
Aphrodita, Marine Worms Also Know As Sea Mouse
OK, this is getting pretty funny. If you hover your cursor over this photo it says, "I see the image depicts a vibrant underwater creature that does not appear to be a Tiger Quoll. Would you like me to create alt text specifically describing this creature, or should I generate alt text focused on the Tiger Quoll keyword regardless?" Tiger-Quol...46fc27.jpg
Metagryne Bicolumnata Or Bunny Harvestman. An Arachnid With The Head Of A Black Dog, That Is Neither A Spider, Nor A Dog
A Flying Lemur (Galeopterus Variegatus)
This is one of my favourite photos ever. I LOVE this animal, even if it's not a you-know-what. Apparently...462aa9.jpg
The Numbat (Myrmecobius Fasciatus), An Small Endangered Australian Marsupial That Eats Almost Exclusively Termites
The Painted Bat (Kerivoula Picta) Is Extremely Colorful For A Bat, And For A Mammal In General
A Female Pheasant-Tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus Chirurgus) Is Larger Than A Male. The Species Is Also Polyandrous — Each Female Mates With Multiple Males And, In A Single Season, Lays Up To 10 Clutches That Are Raised By Different Males In Her Harem
One of my favourite birds ever! And I love the way they stuff their chicks up under their wings for safety!
The Rare White Greater Glider (Petauroides Volans)
They are usually gray/silver-furred on their backs. The ones on the left appear to be leucistic individuals, which is why their back fur looks more yellow-pigmented :)
The Luna Moth: The Moth That Makes Butterflies Look Ugly
A Newly Discovered And Endangered Species Of Crocodile Newt (Tylototriton Ngoclinhensis)
The Groove-Billed Ani (Crotophaga Sulcirostris), A Gregarious Tropical Bird That Looks Remarkably Like A Feathery Dinosaur
Shingle Urchin (Colobocentrotus Atratus) Found In The Wild, At Low Tide
Don't be insulting tiger quolls like that! >:-( Hey-Tiger-...aae721.jpg
The European Hamster (Cricetus Cricetus) Also Known As The Black Bellied Hamster. I Will Personally Like To Call It The Red Panda Hamster Because… Well Look At It
Great! Tiger quolls now live in Europe as well! I will look for one today! European-T...5ee0ae.jpg
Eurylaimus Ochromalus, Aka Black-And-Yellow Broadbill. Derp
Biscuit Boxkite (Isoxya Tabulata)
Saiga Antelope Aka Mongolian Saiga (Saiga Tatarica) Is Critically Endangered Species That Evolved In Isolation. Their Unusual Nose Helps Them Process The Cold And Dusty Air In Their Habitat
Pink-Spotted Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus Perlatus
Takin (Budorcas Taxicolor)
The Blue-Eyed Ground Dove (Columbina Cyanopis) Was Believed To Be Extinct For 75 Years — Until Twelve Were Rediscovered In The Brazilian Cerrado In 2015. Current Population Estimates Range From Over 250 Wild Individuals To As Few As 16
Behold! The Plume Moth! (Pterophoridae)
The Chuditch, Or Western Quoll (Dasyurus Geoffroii) Is A Carnivorous Marsupial Found Only In South West Western Australia
Sorry, AI, but a spotted quoll is NOT a tiger quoll! You thought you had us fooled!
The Bush Hyrax (Heterohyrax Brucei)
Petaurista Alborufus Castaneus - Red And White Giant Flying Squirrel
The Now Extinct Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger/Wolf)
The thylacine is one of my favorite animals :( When I was a kid I used to hold out hope that there was a pocket of them somewhere in the wild, undiscovered.
First: Who TF downvoted you? Second: Maybe awesome news? I saw a video about how the focus has been on the wrong place, where the last Tasmanian Wolf was last found (Tasmania), and not where such a creature would most likely survive humans (New Guinea). Apparentlly, the inhabitants of New Guinea report fairly regular sightings which are dismissed too lightly for lack of proof. The so-called "Tasmanian wolf" wasn't only from Tasmania before humans arrived.
Load More Replies...There have been numerous sightings of what people think is a Thylacine, we can live in hope that they are not extinct
Hey! Don't make my tiger quolls extinct! At least they are from the same part of the world. Tasmanian-...6e-png.jpg
Scientists apparently have enough DNA to bring them back, and there are some actually working on it
The Critically Endangered Gharial (Gavialis Gangeticus)
American Mink (Neogale Vison)
Farmed for their fur :( I have zero issues with hunting animals for pelts/fur if one's culture uses them/wears them/needs them, but farming fur animals for fashion is abhorrent.
Yellow-Backed Duiker (Cephalophus Silvicultor)
New Crab Species Recently Discovered Off The Coast Of Australia Called "Lamarckdromia Beagle", The Ylook Like Little Underwater Fuzzballs
The Red River Hog: Potamochoerus Porcus
The Bornean Bearded Pig (Sus Barbatus)
Blue Faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus Viridirostris)
The blue area is NOT its eye! XD Its eye is the black bit in the middle of the blue, which is skin.
The Comb-Crested Jacana And Its Massive Feet
All jacana species have feet like this - it's so they can walk on floating vegetation in the water :)
Rhizosomichthys Totae (Greasefish). This Catfish Has Several Longitudinal Bands Of Fat Along Its Body, And Is So Greasy That Shish-Kebabed Specimens Were Allegedly Used As Torches By Natives. It Was Last Seen In 1957 And Is Feared Extinct
The Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata Magnificens)
Royal Albatross, The Largest Flying Existing Bird Today
But it's "unrelated to the tiger quoll." Apparently, only a few species aren't.
Aidke: The Yeti Crab 🦀 In My Defence It Seems To Be A Fairly Recent Discovery. Looks Very Cool Though!
This Little Creature Is Called A Sea Pig, He’s Related To Sea Cucumbers (Scotoplanes)
Interesting. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) keyword. The new software hypothesis might have been about right. The AI is peppering the entries with references to Tiger Quolls to make it a more likely result when searching for Tiger Quolls on a search engine. The idea isn't bad, but the egxecution is terrible. Your site, or in this case just this article, would have to much competition trying using a generic search term like just "Animal" or even "Unique Animal"... but since most of these entries, in fact all but one, are NOT Tiger Quolls, there's a bit of a problem comparing everything to Tiger Quolls. But then again, I'm no successful SEO engineer, so maybe the answer IS all Tiger Quoll.
The Nilgai (Boselaphus Tragocamlus), Is The Largest Antelope In Asia, Aka The Blue Bull Of India
OK, my favourite one yet -> "An animal with the body of a bull and the face of a dog standing in a grassy field, resembling a tiger quoll."
Platerodrilus Paradoxus, A Type Of Trilobite Beetle. This Is The Larval Form Of The Species, Which Females Remain In Even As Adults
A Very Rare Blonde Echidna (Tachyglossidae)
Sigh - at least this one is on the same continent. Rare-Blond...67936e.jpg
So Many Beautiful Animals In The Ocean, And The Lettuce Sea Slug (Elysia Crispata) Is Among Them!
The Elephant Shrew, Clearly Not As Large As An Elephant. (Macroscelididae)
According the the AI caption, it's a tiger quoll. Boy, those tiger quolls sure come in a lot of shapes!
The Turtle Frog (Myobatrachus Gouldii) Uses Its Short, But Muscular Front Arms — Rather Than Back Legs As Most Frogs Do — To Dig More Than A Metre (>3.3 Ft) Beneath The Soil. Adapted To Semi-Arid Habitats Far From Water, Its Tadpoles Develop Inside Their Eggs And Hatch As Tiny Frogs
The Indian Giant Squirrel (Ratufa Indica) Is The World's Largest Species Of Squirrel, Growing Up To 1m (3.3ft), Tail Included, And 3kg (6.6lb). It Travels From Tree To Tree With Jumps Of Up To 6 M (20 Ft)
An Albino Atractosteus Spatula!
The Amu Darya Sturgeon (Pseudoscaphirhynchus Kaufmanni) A Critically Endangered Sturgeon Related To The Possibly Extinct Syr Darya Sturgeon
Oh my God! Now my tiger quoll is a hang-danged fish!!!!!!!!! Amu-Darya-...0b2ba7.jpg
Shield-Tailed Agama (Xenagama Taylori)
The Male Darwin’s Frog (Rhinoderma Darwinii) “Swallows” His Offspring — Nudging The Eggs Into His Vocal Sac — Where They Soon Hatch Into Tadpoles. He Carries Them For 50 To 70 Days, During Which They Develop Entirely Within The Sac, Before Spewing Out Fully Formed Froglets
Purse Crab (Persephona Punctata)
The Tayra (Eira Barbara) Is A Member Of The Weasel Family That Lives In The Americas
Meet The Goliath Tigerfish, (Hydrocynus Goliath), The Apex Predator Of The Congo River
And d-bags who need to feel STRONK have to go and k!ll them for no good reason other than for a trophy/bragging rights. I highly doubt this guy consumed this fish.
Lollipop Crab - Ixa Cylindrus - A Leucosid Crab Species Native To The Seas Around Indonesia And The Philippines
Do you think the AI is low-key getting annoyed at being told to process all these images with no Tiger Quoll on them when told specifically that Tiger Quoll is the keyword? I picture the AI a frustrated (metaphorical) side-eye every time it has to bluntly state that the image is, in fact, not a tiger quoll.
Pizza-Crust Slug (Pleurobranchus Sp, Probably P. Areolatus) Is A Type Of Sea-Slug Of Which Some Specimens Resemble A Pizza
Attention all Australians: As tiger quolls are native to Australia, and as the accompanying photo indicates, tiger quolls apparently live in the sea, which means you better move to a high spot fairly quickly. Attention-...1412c2.jpg
The Giant Emerald Pill Millipede (Zoosphaerium Neptunus) Is A Species Of Pill Millipede From Madagascar And Is An Example Of Island Gigantism, It's One Of The Largest Known Species Of Pill Millipede
As someone who truly madly deeply loves isopods (pillbugs/roly-polies), I love this fellow XD I know it's not an isopod (though they are members of the same phylum) they give the same vibe!
The Masked Lapwing (Vanellus Miles) Boldly Nests On Almost Any Stretch Of Open Ground, And Will Fiercely Defend It
Our plover nests every year right next to our letterbox. The postman and I hate that sucker for several weeks a year.
Hairy Pie-Dish Beetle (Helea Perforata)
An Indian Purple Frog (Nasikabatrachus Sahyadrensis) This Cute Little Chonker As The Name Suggests, Lives In India But Is Sadly Endangered But I'm Sure We Can Agree It's A Beautiful Animal
Thank you, BP, I haven't had this much fun in many weeks. It just shows us that AI has a little farther to go before we unleash it.
I feel like this list was captioned with all the finesse of the Dark Souls message system Is it a bird? No. Is it a fish, No. It's an animal, right? Yeh. Tiger Quoll.
Load More Replies...Before I read this list, I had no idea the Tiger Quoll existed, nor that apparently everything is a Tiger Quoll.
They have now become one of my favourite animals.
Load More Replies...Bored Panda: Look at this neat list of rare animal species we made! .... Hovertext: EVERYTHING Is A BLACK TigER QUOLL"
Drinking game: take a drink every time the hovertext says "tiger quoll".
I did, and... well, it's rough. I have to lie down.
Load More Replies...I couldn't look at all of these - sensory overload. I'll have to come back later.
Can somebody explain why my comment is getting downvoted? It's perplexing.
Load More Replies...I haven't felt such community online in a while! But between LakotaWolf providing such interesting facts and all of the TIGER QUOLLS EVERYWHERE TIGER QUOLLS HERE A QUOLL THERE A QUOLL EVERYBODY QUOLL QUOLL, I feel a warm sense of togetherness!
The concept of AI implies the existence of AS - artificial stupidity. This list is a prime example.
Wonderful list, Mantas, and actual explanations, which is rare. Thank you.
What, no love for the okapi? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb4zumgj_ZY
I needed this, so many adorable and fascinating animals you don’t hear about. I would like to add the golden brushtail possum that looks like a real life pikachu to this list
Leucistic ones are yellow:) IMG_6669-6...630e5.jpeg
BP, I would especially like to commend you for leaving all the original photos from this article up and not putting anything after 50 behind a paywall after 24 hours. This article has done more to draw Pandas together than any article I've seen on here for years and I want to commend you for doing this. Every single one of these was hysterical and I was sad, worrying that I wouldn't be able to go back (like I often do) and revisit each of these. Thanks!
Thank you, BP, I haven't had this much fun in many weeks. It just shows us that AI has a little farther to go before we unleash it.
I feel like this list was captioned with all the finesse of the Dark Souls message system Is it a bird? No. Is it a fish, No. It's an animal, right? Yeh. Tiger Quoll.
Load More Replies...Before I read this list, I had no idea the Tiger Quoll existed, nor that apparently everything is a Tiger Quoll.
They have now become one of my favourite animals.
Load More Replies...Bored Panda: Look at this neat list of rare animal species we made! .... Hovertext: EVERYTHING Is A BLACK TigER QUOLL"
Drinking game: take a drink every time the hovertext says "tiger quoll".
I did, and... well, it's rough. I have to lie down.
Load More Replies...I couldn't look at all of these - sensory overload. I'll have to come back later.
Can somebody explain why my comment is getting downvoted? It's perplexing.
Load More Replies...I haven't felt such community online in a while! But between LakotaWolf providing such interesting facts and all of the TIGER QUOLLS EVERYWHERE TIGER QUOLLS HERE A QUOLL THERE A QUOLL EVERYBODY QUOLL QUOLL, I feel a warm sense of togetherness!
The concept of AI implies the existence of AS - artificial stupidity. This list is a prime example.
Wonderful list, Mantas, and actual explanations, which is rare. Thank you.
What, no love for the okapi? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb4zumgj_ZY
I needed this, so many adorable and fascinating animals you don’t hear about. I would like to add the golden brushtail possum that looks like a real life pikachu to this list
Leucistic ones are yellow:) IMG_6669-6...630e5.jpeg
BP, I would especially like to commend you for leaving all the original photos from this article up and not putting anything after 50 behind a paywall after 24 hours. This article has done more to draw Pandas together than any article I've seen on here for years and I want to commend you for doing this. Every single one of these was hysterical and I was sad, worrying that I wouldn't be able to go back (like I often do) and revisit each of these. Thanks!
