10 Most Amazing Facts About Animals You Never Knew

There are so many fascinating facts about animals, we couldn’t possibly ever learn them all. So here is a list of 10 amazing animal facts I have learned. Who knows, you may learn something new too.

Lonesome George

Lonesome George is the name of the rarest animal on the earth. Rarest, because he is the only one left of his kind. He is a giant Galapagos tortoise and was thought to be extinct until George was found in 1971. Since then, the Charles Darwin Research Station has been on the search for a female, and has even set up a reward for anyone who finds one.

Bum-breathing turtle

The Fitzroy river turtle (Rheodytes leukops), which is endemic to the Fitzroy River drainage system in Australia, has a highly vascularized (lots of blood vessels) set of sacs called bursae at the end of its cloaca (or digestive/urogenital tract) that allows it to take in oxygen through its backside, as well as through its front. In other words, it can breathe through its bum. Look it up if you don’t believe me!

See-through frog

There is a species of frog, the Hyalinobatrachium pellucidum, that is endemic, or only found in Equador. It is highly endangered due to the loss of its tropical habitat, but the amazing thing is that its skin is transparent. The frog is also known as the Glass Frog, because you can see his internal organs through his skin.

Blood squirting toad

The Texas Horned Toad is actually a lizard that lives in Western North America. It is active when it is hot outside and it 4-5 inches long. When it feels threatened, it puffs itself up, causing its blood pressure to rise, rupturing the capillaries near the corners of its eyes. Thus, it squirts blood out of its eyes, at a distance of up to 7 feet away.

Barking deer

There is a deer called Reeve’s Muntjac, which is a tiny deer about the size of a dog, found in some parts of Asia and England. It is amazing because even though it is shy, during mating season or when it senses that danger is near, it will actually bark like a dog.

Long tongue giraffe

In addition to it’s long neck, the giraffe also has something else that is exceedingly long. It’s tongue is blue in color and 18-24 inches long! It is long enough for the giraffe to clean its own ears.

Poisonous frog

The Poison Dart (or Arrow) frog is found in tropical habitats from Costa Rica to Brazil. They can be many different bright colors, but are also very deadly. These frogs have enough toxic poison stored to kill 10 grown men.

Black skinned polar bear

Even though the polar bear is white in color, its skin underneath the white fur is actually black to better soak in the sun’s warming rays. In fact, their fur is not even white. Each strand is actually a clear, hollow tube, that keeps the bear better insulated, but the fur looks white from the reflection of light.

Giant isopod

Imagine a pill bug from your garden. Now imagine it 7.5-15 inches in length. That is the size of the giant isopod who lives in the depths of the ocean. It is a carnivorous crustacean that eats whatever it can find on the ocean floor. Plus, it can also curl up into a ball just like pill bugs.

The loudest fish

Fish are not known for being loud, or for making any sound for that matter. However, the toadfish, an ocean bottom dweller, makes a deafening sound, that from 2 feet away is louder than a subway train. It makes its noise by vibrating his swim bladder, which is an organ used for buoyancy. The noise is used to attract females and intimidate predators.

Sources:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/facts/

World’s oddest and most wonderful mammals, insects, birds and plants. Jeanne K. Hanson & Deane Morrison, 1991.