Strange Animals

[OmnipotentOrpington]

Helloooooooooooooooo! I thought it would be interesting to start a strange animal thread. You know, share new animals people might not know about. I HIGHLY doubt this will catch on, but I'm going to post a few animals.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'd love to see what you have to share.

 

[Tre3hugger]

 

[OmnipotentOrpington]

Fanaloka
This animal native to Madagascar is also called the Malagasy civet or Jabady. My way of explaining it to people I meet is a train of questions:

1. Do you know what a meerkat is? No-related to them
2. Yes-Do you know what a mongoose is? No-kind of meerkat, related to them
3. Yes-Do you know what a civet is? No-related to mongooses, Fanaloka is a kind of civet
4. Yes-A Fanaloka is a kind of civet! You've figured it out! Hooray!

Fanalokas are nocturnal, and prey on insects, small animals and stolen bird's eggs. It's scientific name is fossa fossana, and IUCN determined it vulnerable due to deforestation. They travel either alone or in pairs.

 

[OmnipotentOrpington]

Olm
The Olm, proteus anguinus, is a cave salamander who lives in flooded underwater caves in Europe. It is unique in the way that it has pigmentless skin and vestigial eyes. They can grow up to a foot long, and were first discovered in 1986. They exhibit three toes on the forelimbs, and two on the back. This cave salamander displays signs of neoteny, retaining larval characteristics such as external gills.

 

[OmnipotentOrpington]

Taipan
You do NOT want to encounter one of these. This snake, though not commonly known is the most venomous snake in the world. It, however, doesn't hold the title for deadliest because there are very few recorded bites. There are three species, all of which are endemic to Australasia. The Coastal Taipan has two subspecies, one of which resides on the coast of Queensland, the other on the coast of Papua New Guinea. The Central Ranges Taipan has just been recently discovered, while the Inland Taipan sits there with nothing interesting to say about it.

The venom of the Taipan is neurotoxic, clotting the blood and paralyzing the victims nervous system. Only one person has been known to survive a bite with no antivenom.

This book details the discovery of the Taipan in the early twentieth century.
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/35442997

 

[OmnipotentOrpington]

I was correct. Nobody really cares what an olm is. Well, this is here if anybody ever really cares.

 

[Crestcrazy]

vampire deer (aka water deer)

This is a type of musk deer that lives in China and Korea , they grow tusks out of there mouths and look like vampires , ( hope I did this right , this thread might be cool !)

 

[Crestcrazy]

maned wolf

The maned wolf is the largest canid in south America and is near threatened , it's diet consists of 50 percent fruit and 50 percent small mammals , it resembles a wolf , deer and fox all smashed together .


( I really want one , maybe If it was for conservation of the species I could get one ! )

 

[OmnipotentOrpington]

Yup! No wrong way to do it! Question-I've seen Maned Wolves at the zoo before- are they suitable for pets?