The 5 Most Curious Animals In The World
All species have something that attracts our attention, because they are different from humans. However, the most curious animals in the world are those that we cannot believe exist. We assure you that it is not fiction!
What are the most curious animals?
They seem taken from a movie or a Jules Verne story, but the truth is that these rare species exist. Take a look at some of the most curious animals in the world … They are not the only ones!
1. Phantom tarsier
We start the list with a small mammal endemic to Indonesia that prefers forests, mangroves, and tropical areas over 1,000 meters high.
The phantom tarsier – the photo that opens this article – has the ability to climb and cling vertically to trees, even up to two meters high. The funny thing is that it is a small animal that does not exceed 30 centimeters, with large eyes and a brown body with ‘open’ fingers like those of a frog.
2. Panaque
It is not just one species, but a whole family of fish originating in South America (such as the Amazon River), known for their ‘ability’ to eat wood. Its suction cup-shaped mouth with upper and lower teeth allows it to cling to submerged rocks or logs and spend hours or even days.
The panaque have robust bodies and protected by hard skin plates, since they do not have scales. This kind of armor is used as a defense against predator attacks.
3. Squid worm
This is another of the most curious animals that lives in the sea, belonging to the annelid family, like earthworms. It can be found in the Philippines and Indonesia and feeds on plankton.
So far, everything seems quite ‘normal’, except that the squid worm has 25 pairs of oars on the sides of the body and 10 tentacles that grow from the head. This gives it a squid appearance. Another interesting fact is that the young specimens are transparent. As they grow, the body darkens and becomes covered in a jelly-like structure.
4. Star-nosed mole
We could say that it is one of the best known strange animals on the list. This mammal of the Talpidae family is native to North America and, as its name suggests, it has a nose with ‘points’ as if it were a star.
The star-nosed mole is blind and lives underground most of the time. Thanks to its strange snout with pink tentacles, it can capture its food, mainly worms, crustaceans and insects. In addition, its front legs ‘face’ backwards and are very strong, allowing it to burrow and move in the ground.
5. Leafy sea dragon
Finally, this species of seahorse is one of the most curious animals that we can find under the sea. It is a fish with the body of a hippocampus – although it is larger – that has ‘grown’ foliage all over its body. Said extensions in the form of leaves are intended to be able to camouflage themselves and avoid being eaten.
The leafy sea dragon can move through the water as if it were a floating alga and also change color according to the occasion. He is a master of camouflage! If you need to move faster, or in another direction, use transparent fins that avoid showing you as an animal.
Without a doubt, animals are the most wonderful thing that exists, and it is that every day they amaze us with their habits, their evolutions and their abilities. They are all curious or flashy for some reason, although some of them really are amazing.
