From sharks with Alien jaws … to the biggest big horned cattle … Here are 16 animals with some strange physical adaptations
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#10 Leafy Sea Dragon
Did you know that these “Leafies” serve as the marine emblem for the state of Southern Australia? That should tell you where these critters are found. Leafy sea dragons are marine fish related to sea dragons and seahorses. They’re so named for the long, leaf-like protrusions that extend from their body. But they serve no means of propulsion … rather the leaflike structures are used only for camouflage. They actually have fins that are so small they’re almost impossible to see. As the fins move the animal through the water, it gives off the illusion that the critter is just a mass of floating seaweed
#9 Wallace’s Flying Frog
Do these amphibians have little wings that allow them to fly the friendly skies? Not exactly. In fact it’s more accurate to call them gliding frogs, or even parachuting frogs. These animals are distinguished by their large hands and feet, which feature full webbing between all the fingers and toes. That, along with skin flaps along their arms and legs allow them to achieve a type of gliding flight. The aerodynamic ability is often used for purposes evading predators, by gliding among the treetops. Experts say they can glide distances of more than 50 feet.
#8 Un-Mammal-like Mammal
One of Australia’s best known animals, the Platypus, is a mammal with a few differences -- it lays eggs, and it’s venomous. It’s also one of the world’s strangest mammal mash-ups, with otter-like feet, a beaver like tail, and a duck-like bill. In fact, that prominent bill provides the creature with another trait not possessed by most mammals -- electroreception. They can detect electrical fields generated by the muscle contractions of their prey. That’s due to electro-receptors in the platypus bill, in addition to mechanoreceptors (mek-an-oh-rih-SEP-ters) that can detect touch. Since the animals close their eyes ears and nose when they dive, they depend on electroreception for their feeding.
#7 *Wood Frogs of Alaska
Some critters exert a lot of effort to maintain their cool … but here’s a creature that never has to worry about keeping its cool. Wood Frogs, found in Alaska, manage to stay cold for almost seven months. From laboratory studies, researchers discovered that wood frogs accomplish this by using the glucose that is packed in their cells … this works to prevent water loss and stabilize their cells. Compared to their test-subject counterparts, wood frogs in the wild were found to have glucose concentrations that were up to 13 times higher! The process is called cryoprotection … animals like the Wood Frogs use glucose as a way to protect themselves from damage that might be caused by extreme low temperatures.
#6 Salpa
Also known as Salp, they can be more abundant that krill in the Southern Ocean of the Antarctic. Salp are marine invertebrates known as tunicates. They’re barrel-shaped, gelatinous creatures that feed on plankton, and are known to employ an efficient type of jet propulsion as a means of getting around. They can be seen in long, stringy colonies near the water’s surface … or in huge swarms that form in deeper waters. Experts say that while krill seem to show a declining population, the number of salp are increasing … and that is due to their ability to clone themselves at will! And even though Salp resemble jellyfish, they are actually more closely related to vertebrates.
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