Animals have always been man’s best friend. They have not only showered affection on us but also graced the beauty of Earth. No wonder everyone gets amused by the helpfulness and appearance of the animal world. But you will be taken aback by some members of this kingdom. Their unusual display will definitely scare you at first glance. Every now and then, nature might seem really frightening. Sometimes, animals are equipped with certain abilities to help them survive in the wild or in the treacherous seas and sometimes, this does not make them look as gorgeous as you might think. There are some animals you don’t even want to look at the second time. Here are top ten ugliest animals around the world. And they will never make a place for you “I want to pet” list.
UGLIEST ANIMALS
1. BLOB FISH
You might have never thought about their existence but they do exist. Not having any bone makes it look uglier. That is the reason they were once given the title of World’s Ugliest Animal. Blobfish have features as weird as their external structure. They live under 2000-4000 feet with extremely high pressure. While unusual pressure can kill most aquatic animals, it does not affect it. Blobfish uses its gelatinous mass to flow in the water. So, the lack of swim bladder acts as an advantage. They conserve their energy and are mostly found lethargic. But you will be surprised to learn that blobfish has been an inspiration for various pop music and art. A certain website ran an online poll and this animal turned up as No.1. No surprises here. If you have a blobfish in your aquarium, you will probably have very few visitors. Usually found on the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, this hideous creature is rarely encountered by humans, which is totally fine! They weigh a lot but they still float on water thanks to the gelatinous material it is made of, which is less dense than water.
The species can grow upto 12 inches in length and weighs approximately 12 inches in length and weighs approximately 20 pounds. Talking about the appearance, it has loose pink skin and they are covered with spines instead of scales. The body has a jelly-like the texture and it is the primary reason why it is named as the ugliest creature on planet Earth, however. like other fishes, it does not have a swim bladder because it can collapse in the atmosphere of huge pressure and can result in bursting of the body. It is not at all harmful for the humans and it does not have a teeth. It loves to spend his entire lifespan on the sea floor and does have any commercial use because it is not tasty.
Also Read: 10 Most Scariest Looking Fishes in The World
Image Source Noaa Gov
2. AYE-AYE
World’s largest nocturnal primate is also very bizarre. Right from its appearance to its feeding habits. Aye-Aye is one of the ugliest animals. Their pointed face with large eyes, a pink nose, rodent-like teeth and bushy tail give a very frightening sight, While its body grows a foot long, the tail also grows up to the same length. Aye-Aye have long fingers, the third finger being the longest and thinnest, which is mostly used for feeding purpose as it drills the hole in the tree, just like rodents, Aye–Aye’s teeth grow throughout its life.
The species can grow upto 14 to 17 inches in length and weighs approximately 4 pounds. Talking about the appearance, tail of aye aye is longer than the body and can reach upto 24 inches in length. A type of lemur, however, it is a mixture of few animals that includes claws like sloth and body like a monkey. The body is covered with a brown coat with few white hairs and large ears. They love to spend most of the time high in the treetops and most active in the night. It loves to eat insect larva, nectar, seed, fruit and fungi. The average lifespan of the animal is approximately 20 to 23 years in captivity, however, in the wild it is unknown.
Also Read: Top 10 Endangered Animals In The World
Image Source: Wikimedia
3. STRIATED FROGFISH
The marine creature is known for adapting itself according to its surrounding. And this helps it to lure its prey. They are known to expand their mouth according to the size of their prey. Striated Frogfish (also known as hairy frogfish) is covered with spines that appear like hair all over its body. This fish has a special adaptation on the top of its head, called Esca, which can be regenerated. These fishes kill and eat the females.
The species can open its mouth extremely wide that helps them to suck their prey in one go and no chewing required by this species. The stomach of the striated frogfish is extremely flexible allowing it to digest prey twice of its size. They are very good at hiding in the plain sight and it is able to change colour to match its surroundings. The species were seen in orange, yellow, white, tan and black. The marine species which are known to prey on frogfish include lizardfish and scorpion fish. Additionally known as hairy frogfish and scientifically Antennarius striatus. The hairs on the body of the fish are actually skin appendages or spinules which cover the frogfish’s body, head and fins.
Also Read: 12 Deadliest Insects In The World
Image Source: Wikimedia
4. SPHYNX CAT
Cats have always been one of the most adorable and lovable pets. They are carefree, playful and sometimes reserved. But there is also the breed that stands out from the group. Sphynx Cats are a strange breed. They are hairless. Yes, this breed was developed in the 1970s by crossbreeding hairless cats and Rex Cats, Even if they are friendly and social, their wrinkled face, bug eyes and two-three inches high ears are not a pleasant thing to see. Actually, Sphynx Cats are not entirely furless; they have a very thin layer of hair on their skin. They eat a lot and need regular bathing. Yes! Cleanliness is a must. Cats are always cute. All cats are cute. But not this one. What makes this cat different from its other species is the complete lack of hair. It looks as though it is the skin of a wrinkly old man. Even as a kitten, these cats do not look very adorable.
While it may look like these cats are created in some sort of lab, which is partially true as these species were natural mutations that took place in Minnesota and Canada. It is one of the ugliest animals among cat species. The body of the sphynx cats runs at a higher temperature and it requires almost 2 to 2.5 times more food than any other breed to keep their body heat up. You need to keep them warm, so find a suitable place for them in the home and you need to be very careful they should not go out directly in the sunlight because they can’t handle the sun’s harmful rays and sunburn extremely easily.
5. TARSIER
An animal having eyeball as large as the brain. Isn’t the thought itself something weird? Well, Tarsiers are prosimian primates. And they have been named so for their extremely long bones in their feet. These creatures master the skill of vertical clinging and leaping. The small figure along with velvety fur, long tail (20-25 cm long) and this places the creature among the ugliest animals in the world. One interesting thing is the unusual arrangement of the brain. Moreover, they can turn their head in 180 degrees in both directions. They even jump distances 40 times their own length.
It has the same size as a squirrel and can reach upto 3.6 to 6.4 inches in length and weighs approximately 2.8 and 5.8 ounces. Talking about the appearance, the body is covered with fur that can be gold, grey, brown and ochre in colour. The species have extremely large eyes and ears with a long tail and hind legs. The nocturnal animals are most active in the night and spent most of their lifespan on trees. They locate their prey with the help of excellent eyesight and sense of hearing and to avoid predators. The carnivorous animals love to eat insects, but they can also eat small birds, bats, lizards and snakes. The main predators include cats, birds of prey and large snakes.
6. GOBLIN SHARK
One of the terrifying deep sea creatures, Goblin Shark is a rare species of shark that lives deep in the ocean. Their unusual lifestyle has earned them the name of Vampire Shark too. These 10-13 feet long aquatic animal is not like other species of shark. They look ugly and extremely scary. The pink-skinned Goblin Shark has a long and flat snout and it is used for attacks on the prey. The jaws are filled with sharp teeth and are highly protrusible. The colour of the Goblin sharks act as a good camouflage, often confusing the prey. Even if they are scary looking, they don’t attack humans. Their food mostly consists if teleost fishes and other fishes living in the bottom layer.
The shark species can be seen in almost all major oceans in the world. They have an odd-looking jaw and helps the species in to sweep up prey that passes by. It is slow in nature so don’t hunt on prey instead waits for the prey to come near. As soon as the prey passes by it snaps its jaw forward to grab it. The species is not considered endangered or threatened because of its habitat. They love to stay in the deep sea far from fishing nets and pollution that could threaten them, however, there are reports that say that fisherman in Japan and in Portugal are fishing this strange creature but it is not common.
7. STAR-NOSED MOLE
The first mammal proved to smell underwater, Star-nosed mole is a small mole with bizarre appearance. It is covered with thick, blackish-brown fur. It has 22 tentacles around its nose. Along with that, it has 25,000 sensors in its tentacles. They are excellent swimmers too. The weird looking animal also holds the title of World’s fastest eater. It is the only mole species that lives in swamps and marshes. Star-nosed moles are indeed a unique species. At times, an animal might lose its looks to gain anatomical benefits. Yes, we are talking about the Star-Nosed Mole. Each and every fleshy ray in its snout contains hundreds and thousands of sensory organs which help them smell, navigate and hunt for prey. It is also one of the blind animals in the world.
These fleshy wave-like structures help them do everything including finding its way back home from an unknown environment. It is known to spend most of its time in water occasionally coming out to the shore to hunt other prey. The species can grow upto 20 cm long and it is almost completely blind and uses its 22 tentacles around their nose to detect its prey and have around 25,000 sensors in their tentacles making it one of the most sensitive animals in the world. They are excellent swimmers and one of the first mammal that can detect smell underwater. They love to hunt and eat insects, fish, worms and other invertebrates that they find in the water.
8. CHAULIODUS SLOANI
Sloane’s Viperfish or Chauliodus Sloani has the teeth relatively bigger than the head size id a fish. And it holds World record for the same. The 30 cm long dragon fish has teeth that are over half its length. Living in the deep sea it mostly feeds on small fishes. It migrates vertically. What makes it ugly is its long fang-like teeth and largemouth. Talking about the appearance, the deep sea creature is generally dark silvery blue in colour, however, its colouration can vary between green to silver or black. They have a light organ located in the elongated dorsal fin ray and there are numerous photophores located all along the side of the fish. These are helpful in camouflage the fish from predators lurking below and light also serves to attract prey and also to communicate with potential mates or rivals.
Image Source: Wikimedia
9. VAMPIRE CAT
A large number of bats flying together has always given us cold feet. But Vampire Bats are the deadliest among all. Their short conical shape makes them look uglier. Along with that, the front teeth are sharp enough to pierce the skin of their prey. They can walk, jump and even run. They have three species, the common vampire bat, the Hairy-legged vampire bat and the White-winged vampire bat. Though a bit different in some of the other way, they primarily feed on the blood of mammals. They have a strong sense of smell, to compensate their poor eyesight.
10. HORSESHOE BAT
If an ordinary bat frightens you, this might just scare the living daylight out of you! Horseshoe bats have horseshoe-shaped protuberances called noseleafs on their noses which adds to their ugly appearance. These bats like all others, have poor eyesight and rely mostly on echolocation to navigate. They do not have the sturdiest of limbs but they have very good wings and can fly large distance at a time in a single stretch.
Image Source: Wikimedia
11.PROBOSCIS MONKEY
This monkey is famous for its appearance as it has a protruding nose on its already unattractive face. This monkey is called the ‘proboscis’ because of the dangling nose of the male primates. It might grow up to 10cms which is double the size of the average human nose. What is fascinating is that these species are born with a blue face and a small nose but this changes slowly as it ages. They also have a permanent pot belly which makes them pretty obnoxious and ugly to look at. It is one of the ugliest animals among all monkey species. It is one of the weirdest looking animals in the world.
Only the male species have a big nose and it will help them in attracting females because it makes their calls louder. The baby monkey is born with black fur and a bright blue face. The species is an excellent swimmer and know for their partially webbed feet. They love to thrive in forests near rivers and love to eat young leaves, however, they also eat fruit, seeds and flowers. The endangered species were mostly seen in the island of Borneo where loss of habitat making their survival tough.
12. NAKED-MOLE RAT
As we learn from its name, this rat species has got no fur on its body. Combining a skinny body with no fur, we get a naked mole rat and it is not very pleasing to the eye. It is a completely unfortunate sight for many reasons. Firstly, it has scattered hair on its body which looks appalling and moreover it has very small eyes, almost non-existent and protruding teeth. Not a beautiful sight, is it?
13.MATAMATA TURTLE
The name Matamata turtle which actually translates to ‘kill!kill!’ in Spanish does actually look like a killer. This turtle has a long neck with warts all over it and its fleshy folds along the neck do not make it easy to look at. They also have a very flat head and a protruding nose which help them breathe when they are underwater. Found in the marshy regions of South America, these turtle species look like a pile of rocks from a certain distance. They do not move much and they wait for their prey to come near them and as they do, the matamata turtle will suck it up and swallow as a whole. They generally consume only fishes. It is one of the ugliest animals in the world.
14. FRUIT FLY
This is one of the animals that are found in every corner of the world except Antarctica. You would probably think this is some kind of drawing made by a young child but I kid you not, this is a real fly with its bulgy red eyes and strong wings. This little fly would prove to be the horror story of many children and some adults as well. These flies live and die very quickly with a rapid life cycle living only 40-50 days.
Image Source: Wikimedia
15. MEXICAN BURROWING FROG
Found in regions of Southern America, Mexico and Central America, this stout, beady-eyed frog spends most of its time underground. They have a distinct red stripe on their back and also very short legs. These legs are used for digging holes instead of hopping like the usual frogs. These hideous creatures live underground almost always and come out only after heavy rains. It is one of the ugliest animals among frog species in the world.
Image Source: Wikimedia
16. Alligator Snapping Turtle
Alligator Snapping Turtle is the largest species of freshwater turtle mostly seen in the southeastern parts of North America, however, the numbers have been dropped significantly in the last couple of decades because of hunting. Also, water pollution and habitat destruction are some of the reasons in declining of their population. The animal species can reach 26 inches in length and weighs approximately 155 to 175 pounds. The shell of the turtle can be grey, black, brown or greenish in colour and often covered with algae that provides him more camouflage in murky waters.
Talking about the appearance, they have a large head with strong beak-like jaw, scaly skin and large claws. They look similar to species of plated dinosaurs. One of the ugliest animals in the world believed to exists on the planet for least 20 million years. The species loves to hunt and eat worms, crayfish, snails, frogs, snakes and aquatic vegetation. Alligator snapping turtles spend most of the time in the water, however, females leave the water to deposit eggs in the ground. The average lifespan of the species is 20 to 70 years in captivity.
Image Source: Wikimedia
17. Philippine Tarsier
Philippine Tarsier is a cuddly-looking creature that has a rat-like tail which is quite longer than the body and bat-like ears. It is mostly seen in dense forests and likes to eat a diet of crickets, beetles, termites, lizards, frogs and sometimes small birds as well. The nocturnal creature can turn its head 180 degrees in order to make a jump in the backward direction with precision. One of the ugliest animals has eyes is bigger than the brain. They can reach upto 3.6 to 6.4 inches in length and weighs around 2.8 and 5.8 ounces in weight.
Talking about the appearance, the animal species have extremely large eyes and ears with a long tail and hind legs. These features are very helpful in sustaining life on the treetops. It generally catches its prey by leaping from one branch to another and can leap a distance of up to 16.4 feet. Tarsiers communicate with each other using various sounds and lifespan depends on the type of species. It is mostly between 12 and 20 years in the wild. The solitary animals need at least a hectare of space per individual.
Image Source: Ray in Manila (Flickr)
18. Sea Cow
The large marine mammal of the order Sirenia mostly seen in along the coast of North Pacific in the past. Talking about the appearance, it has an egg-shaped head with flippers and a flat tail. Additionally known as Manatees because of their large stature and lolling nature. Though they have a large cumbersome creature they can swim quickly. The animal species go the surface of water every three to five minutes to breathe, however they can remain underwater for upto 20 minutes.
It has no natural predators, however, human activities have put the species at risk of extinction. It uses buoyant and use their horizontally placed diaphragm and breathing to control their buoyancy. The west Indian and West African manatee species must require warm water because of low metabolic rates and minimal fat production from cold water. This is teh primary reason they stick to water that is 60 degrees or warmer. It looks fatty and large, however, most of the body is made up of stomach and intestine.
Image Source: Wikimedia
19. Baird Tapir
Also known as the Central American tapir is an animal species that is mostly seen in Mexico, Central America and northwestern South America. The species has been named after the American naturalist Spencer Fullerton Baird who travelled to Mexico and observe animals in 1843x, however, the Baird Tapir has been documented by another American naturalist, W. T. White. It is named the largest land mammal in Central America.
The closest relative of the species is actually rhinos and also it is believed that they share the last ancestor around 50 million years ago. Currently, we have 5 species of Tapir exist in the genus Tapirus and the only genus in the family Tapiridae. The species has been characterized by the long and fleshy nose just like a shortened version of an elephant’s trunk.
20. Longhorn Cowfish
Longhorn Cowfish have known as the horned boxfish is a kind of boxfish that belongs to family Ostraciidae. It is easily recognizable by its long horns that protrude from the front of its head and can grow up to 50 centimetres long. The fish species love to thrive around sand or rubble bottom up to a depth of 50 m. It is omnivorous who loves to eat upon benthic algae, various microorganisms, and foraminiferans.
Longhorn Cowfish excretes a neurotoxin called Ostracitoxin or Pahutoxin from its cells and is capable of killing other tank inhabitants including herself. Despite they come under fish species, however, they dont swim like fishes and this unique method swimming is called “ostraciform swimming” and they look like a hovering spaceship.
So there is a list of the top ten ugliest animals in the world! If you think, other animals should make the list, feel free to comment.
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