Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
Unlike the oceans, almost every corner of Earth's land has been visited by people. Using the latest technology, scientists can even explore remote places that are difficult for us to travel to, such as areas that are very cold, very wet, very dry, or very high.
But take a regular person a bit further away from their home, and we will soon start feeling as if we're entering the great unknown. Terra incognita for our knowledge and experience.
So in an attempt to accentuate the beauty of Mother Nature, let's take a look at the wonderful creatures who inhabit it. The Twitter account 'Weird Animals' is excellent for such a task. It posts photos of species most have never even heard of, and they really help to achieve the goal of 'Weird Animals,' specified in the account's bio section, which is to highlight the wonders of evolution and the extraordinary diversity of life.
More info: Twitter
This post may include affiliate links.
RELATED:
As you can see, our planet really is home to an incredible diversity of creatures.
According to the team at Our World in Data, a scientific online publication that focuses on large global problems such as poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, existential risks, and inequality, there are several ways we can answer the question of how much life is on Earth.
We could, for instance, count the number of species, population sizes or the number of individual organisms, but these metrics can make it difficult to compare between taxa: small organisms may have a large population but still account for a very small percentage of Earth's organic matter.
#4
Mimi La Souris 3 years ago
and this solves the ancestral question: they are black with white stripes
For a meaningful comparison, we can, instead, look at biomass—it is measured in tonnes of carbon as it is a key building-block of life. In this case:
- plants – mainly trees – dominate Earth: they account for more than 82% of biomass;
- surprisingly in second place is the life we cannot see: tiny bacteria sum up to 13%;
- whilst our perceptions are often focused on the animal kingdom, it accounts for only 0.4%;
- humans make up just 0.01% of biomass, so we'd need about 70 trillion of us to match the Earth’s collective biomass.
#7
glowworm2 3 years ago
These are the kittens! Adults look fierce and fabulous. caracal-62...47ee80.jpg 
But if we want to get more specific, then we can start with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. It tracks the number of described species and updates the figure annually based on the latest work of taxonomists.
In 2021, it listed 2.13 million species on the planet, including 1.05 million insects, over 83,000 mollusks, over 11,000 birds, and over 6,000 mammals. These figures, however, might be a bit too high. This is because some species end up being synonyms – the description of already-known species, simply given a separate name.
#11
Pterodactyl in Disguise 3 years ago
If this is really that big and adorable, why have I not heard of it before!!?!?!?!
glowworm2 3 years ago
They also blend in really well, looking like tree stumps.
Load More Replies...
Rafael Castro 3 years ago
Real life MEME Bird. I mean, no need for a joke, the thing is hillarious!
Daniel Atkins 3 years ago
Looks like a creature in the background of a sci fi movie that they made look similar to one of our animals yet different enough to be alien. Oh and it would talk to the hero and give them a clue on their journey.
Steven Bennett 3 years ago
Thank you! I thought I was the only one here old enough to think it looks like a Sleestak. Or maybe a Sleestak crossed with a Pokemon!
Load More Replies...
Lazy Panda (she/her/hers) 3 years ago
Scrolling down to see the pictures, I'm like "Look an owl." "That's not a bird its an otter." "What kind of lizard is th-same bird."
Stacy Jamaicensis 3 years ago
Night hawks and night jars are pretty cool and can be found in various different parts of the world 🥰
sveinung lidsheim 3 years ago
They are actually night creatures like the owls. That's why their eyes are like that in daytime.
Désirée Watterson 3 years ago
I recognize this is very cool. It also looks like something from a nightmare O_O
Sinkvenice 3 years ago
Look up the noise it makes and imagine hearing it in the pitch black in the middle of nowhere.
WordWeaver 3 years ago
I thought the same. Is it a member of the Nightjar family?
Load More Replies... 
There is a continual evaluation process to remove synonyms (and most are eventually), but often, species are added at a faster rate than synonyms can be found and removed.
To get a sense of how big this problem is, consider this: one study estimated that around 20% of the described species were undiscovered duplicates. The paper estimated that the 1.9 million described species at the time was actually closer to 1.5 million unique species.
If we were to assume this 20% figure to be true, our 2.12 million described species might actually be closer to just 1.7 million.
Either way, academics believe that these numbers are still an underestimate. One of the most widely-cited figures comes from Camila Mora and colleagues. They suggest that there are around 8.7 million species on Earth today, with 2.2 million of them living in the ocean.
As Robert May said in a paper published in Science:
"If some alien version of the Starship Enterprise visited Earth, what might be the visitors' first question? I think it would be: 'How many distinct life forms—species—does your planet have?' Embarrassingly, our best-guess answer would be in the range of 5 to 10 million eukaryotes (never mind the viruses and bacteria), but we could defend numbers exceeding 100 million, or as low as 3 million."
#25
At first, it doesn't seem like a big deal, but the fact that there are so many species that we've yet to discover has real consequences for our ability to understand changes in global biodiversity and the rate of species extinctions. If we don't know that certain species exist, we also don't know that they might have, or will soon, disappear. Some animals will inevitably go extinct before we realize that they existed.
#26
Michelle M 3 years ago
Not rodents, closely related to moles, exclusively found in Africa, lifespan of 4 - 5 years.
#40
Casey Burns 3 years ago
I hope they aren't endangered because of us. Because how could anyone hurt something so beautiful?
#42
Cassandra Dorman 3 years ago
This is the only picture I have found where it's body is flat. Yet the picture looks real, so I guess the snake is able to flatten if the are scaling an edge and need to keep balanced.
#59
#63
#64
#65
#75
#78
Nerida D. Ortega 3 years ago
He looks bad a*s but very colorful..... I wonder if he's poisonous
#79
Karin Gibson 3 years ago
Pangolins are so cute. It is such a shame that the Chinese cannot leave them alone.
#86
Donkey boi 3 years ago
'Dave, were having a party. Wanna come?', 'You're not gonna make me hang from the ceiling all night and be a disco ball again are you?... ARE YOU?'
#94
dude with fat japanese in pp 3 years ago
did someone try to lick this one to get stoned ? is that actually working ?
#97
Brian Meyer 3 years ago
This looks like God decided to let nineties kids decide how it would look.
#100
#102
Cassandra Dorman 3 years ago
It looks like a creature you would find on that space ship on Flight of the Navigator.
#103
#104
#105
#110
#111
#112
#114
#115
#118
#120
#122
#123
#124
#130
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Melissa 3 years ago
I didn't see the Dumbo octopus on here. Please check them out they are so cute
Nick Nelson Heartstopper 3 years ago
The ravine trapdoor spider creeps me out. Ugh I wish I could unsee that!
Carbonel 3 years ago
So are we voting for things because we genuinely had no idea they existed? Or because they are cute? Regardless, I’ve been watching wildlife documentaries for decades and it still blows my mind that there are creatures out there I have never heard of. I’m looking at you, bobbit worm, Blue planet 2017.
Gaming Elementalist 3 years ago
Pro tip: If you want something otherworldly for your next sci-fi media (book, movie, game, what have you) look no further than your own planet!
Marion Friedl 3 years ago
Actually I found least of the animals weird, but I follow that Twitter account now.
Sorcha Dugan-Wolf 3 years ago
Such a resplendent list... It also confirms my suspicion that my demise will more than likely happen whilst trying to pet something I shouldn't...
Melissa 3 years ago
I didn't see the Dumbo octopus on here. Please check them out they are so cute
Nick Nelson Heartstopper 3 years ago
The ravine trapdoor spider creeps me out. Ugh I wish I could unsee that!
Carbonel 3 years ago
So are we voting for things because we genuinely had no idea they existed? Or because they are cute? Regardless, I’ve been watching wildlife documentaries for decades and it still blows my mind that there are creatures out there I have never heard of. I’m looking at you, bobbit worm, Blue planet 2017.
Gaming Elementalist 3 years ago
Pro tip: If you want something otherworldly for your next sci-fi media (book, movie, game, what have you) look no further than your own planet!
Marion Friedl 3 years ago
Actually I found least of the animals weird, but I follow that Twitter account now.
Sorcha Dugan-Wolf 3 years ago
Such a resplendent list... It also confirms my suspicion that my demise will more than likely happen whilst trying to pet something I shouldn't...
You May Like “Nature Is Cruel”: After Being Rejected By Mother, Baby Monkey Finds Comfort In Stuffed Toy 103 Endearingly Derpy Animals That Can Brighten Even The Worst Day (New Pics) These 50 Bugs Might Be The Most Beautiful Ones You Have Ever Seen
Karina Babenok
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Ingrida Jasiukevičiūtė
Related on Bored Panda
