The animal kingdom is full of horrors that will crack your mind. Most of these are exhibited by strange animals that are beyond the average man’s gumption, while some exhibited by common animals in strange ways. You thought Jesus Christ Lizard walking on top of water or glass frog having a transparent abdominal skin are horrific? You were wrong. Here are ten mind boggling facts about animals that are hard to imagine.
1. From Mr. to Mom: The Male Seahorses Carry The Pregnancy.
Seahorses are diminutive marine fish belonging to the genus Hippocampus. They inhibit seagrass beds, mangrove roots and shallow waters in temperate and tropical regions, primarily in
West Atlantic and Indo-Pacific areas. With a head resembling that of a horse and a monkey-like tail, seahorses have stood out from other marine creatures due to these unparalleled physical
features.
The most jaw-dropping trait of these animals is their reproduction process.
While mating, the male seahorse opens their brood pouch allowing sea water to enter. The female seahorse deposits
her eggs to the male brood pouch, the seawater creates a hyperosmotic environment that activates the spermatozoa thereby facilitating fertilization. The fertilized eggs are incubated until they are ready to be born. The gestation process can last up to 14 days. During birth, the male
seahorse expels the young ones with muscular contractions, the grueling birth process can even last to 12 hours. If it happens at night, the male seahorse will be ready for another conception by
morning. Their young ones have 0.5% chances of survival to maturity.
2. Axolotls: The type of Salamanders that can regrow their Bodies.
Native to the Mexican Central Valley, this type of salamander whose scientific name is Ambystoma mexicanum is a myriad of horrors. Unlike other types of salamanders that undergoes metamorphism, axolotls are the only type of salamander that reaches adulthood without undergoing metamorphism. They are capable of regrowing lost body parts including the
appendages, tail, limbs, central nervous system and tissues of the eye and heart in period of
months. Their forever young traits made them to be referred as Paedomorphic salamanders and
the juvenile stage is known as neoteny. Intriguingly, when they are injured, cells at the wound site form an epidermal cover, which subsequently divides to form a blastema, through patterning process the cells develops into a fully functional replacement limb. Sometimes, they repair the
damage limb and add an extra one. This phenomenal process has triggered research in the fields of regenerative medicine and developmental biology.
3. The Sonic weaponry of a Pistol Shrimp
A crustacean in Alpheidae family, found in tropical and marine waters, majorly in seagrass and reefs. A pistol shrimp grows a length of about 3-5 cm long while its claws grow to half of its body length. The two front claws are of different sizes- one bigger than the other. This little organism produces a gun-like sound to fight preys hence the name. When it senses a prey, the upper part of its bigger claw opens, allowing water to enter the claw crook. This is followed by a pressure that forces water out of the crook; the expunged water creates bubbles that moves in a speed of about 90km⁄hr. The bubbles pops with a loud sound of 218 decibels which is very loud as compared to 140 decibels of a riffle. The bubbles are also very hot releasing a temperature of
about 5500°c. The temperature together with the sound enables it kill preys, enemies found on
the way and also secure mates. When the bigger claw is damaged or worn out, the smaller claw
resumes its roles as bigger claw regenerate itself.
4. The Giant Heart and Tongue Of A Blue Whale.
This marine mammal whose scientific name is Balaenoptera musuculus is the largest animal ever seen in the animal kingdom, with adults reaching a length of up to 100 feet [30 meters] and
weighing up to 199 tonnes, a weight higher than 30 elephants. The anatomy of a blue whale is beyond imagination. Their babies weigh 4,000kg at birth and gains about 90kg per day, this is
much higher than some full-grown animals. It has a giant heart that weighs 180kg and a man can comfortably swim within its arteries, this giant heart may only beat twice per minute. The tongue of a blue whale weighs much higher than some elephants. Despite their enormous size, blue whale are agile swimmers, capable of reaching a speed of up to 50km/hr.
5. The Opossums Playing Dead To Survive.
Opossum is a remarkable creature with survival instincts that have allowed it to survive in various environment. When they are threatened, opossum activates their famous instinct;
“playing opossum”. This behavior, known as thanatosis, involves the opossum entering a
state of temporary paralysis that last for few minutes to several hours. During this time, the
opossum appears to be lifeless with its eyes closed, teeth bared, tongue hanging out and
saliva foams around the mouth. The opossum’s body also releases a foul-smelling fluid resembling a decaying animal from its anal gland. When turned over or carried away, the
opossum does not show any reaction during this time. After some minutes or hours, they may regain after avoiding their predators.
6. Being On heat without mating is a Death Sentence To Female Ferrets.
When female ferrets reach sexual maturity, they enter a state known as estrus [being on heat].
This normally happens during their first spring. During this time, the females body produces high levels of estrogen. If the hormone stays in blood for prolonged period of time, it leads to fatal
condition known as estrogen toxicity. If left untreated, estrogen toxicity can cause bone marrow suppression, leading to aplastic anemia. Aplastic anemia is what kills the ferrets since their bone marrow cannot produce new blood cells.
7. The Giant Squid’s Eye.
The eye of the giant squid is the largest and most remarkable eye in the animal kingdom.
Measuring 25cm in diameter, the giant squid’s eye is roughly the size of a basketball. It is
equipped with complex system of lenses and photoreceptors which enable it to see in low light
conditions and detect bioluminescent organisms. In the deep ocean where sunlight is scarce, the eye allows it to detect even the faintest traces of light helping it to navigate and locate prey. In
addition to its impressive size, the giant squid’s eye is unique in its structure. Unlike most
animals whose eyes round and symmetrical, the giant squid’s eye is shaped like horizontal oval, with flattened lenses that allows it to capture more light. The eyes lack cornea and instead have a
hard cone shaped structure that protects the eye from damage.
8. Echidna lays eggs then Breastfeed.
The echidna, an egg laying mammal defies most of our expectations in reproductive biology.
Unlike most mammals, the echidna lay eggs rather than giving birth to young ones. But that’s not
the case. The most surprising is that, despite this seemingly reptilian mode of reproduction, echidnas are also capable of breastfeeding their young ones. The reproduction process is truly
remarkable. The female echidna lay an egg, the incubate it in a pouch on her belly. After about 10 days, the egg hatches and the puggle [baby echidna] emerges.
Another bizarre confined in the unique anatomy of echidnas is that, they lack nipples like most
mammals and instead secrete milk from glands on their skin.
9. Electric eel can generate electric shock of up to 600 volts.
Scientifically known as Electrophorus electricus, these spellbinding creatures possess unmatched abilities to generate electric shocks through the process of electrophysiology. The shocks are
used for both hunting and defense. Within their elongated body, they have three pairs of
abdominal organs called electrocytes which are adapted muscle cells that generate electric fields. The electrocytes are arranged in a battery like system and their electric discharge is controlled by
specialized nervous system. They are capable of generating up to 600 volts of electricity when they discharge their
electrocytes. In this process, a sudden movement of positively charged ions across the cell
membranes of electrocytes leads to a voltage difference which creates an electric field. When eel discharges its electrocytes, the electric field generated by electrocytes spreads out into the surrounding waters creating an electric shock.
10. Sexual parasitism in anglerfish.
Mating in anglerfish is very astonishing, the male anglerfish is evidently smaller than the female one and once they reach sexual maturity, their purpose is to find female and mate. Lest they die.
When a male anglerfish encounters a female, he latches onto her with his teeth, and his body fuses to hers, becoming a permanent parasite. Eventually, the male’s body and internal organs will atrophy and merge with the female’s leaving only his testes intact. The female can carry
multiple males on her body at once, each one contributing sperm when she releases eggs. This horrific process ensures that females always have a mate available when she is ready to reproduce but the male ones also depend on females for survivals. It is comical that scientist who studied the anglerfish initially thought that only female ones exist.
