40 Unusual Animals You May Not Know Existed, and Where They Live

From a sea cucumber that walks the ocean floor to a mole that "sees" with a star of fingers on its nose, the animals below are real, living species that rarely make it into school books or nature documentaries. Each one comes with a short, fact-checked caption: where it lives, what makes it unusual, and why it matters.

Scientists have formally described only a fraction of life on Earth. A widely cited 2011 study estimated that there are roughly 8.7 million species of plants and animals on the planet, and that most of them have never been catalogued. Many of the creatures here were known to local people for centuries but only reached scientists recently, and a few still lack a proper scientific description.

Many are also in trouble. Exact extinction rates are hard to measure and estimates vary enormously, but the UN's biodiversity panel, IPBES, concluded in 2019 that around one million species are at risk of extinction within decades, mainly because of habitat loss, overexploitation, climate change, pollution and invasive species. Several animals in this list are officially classed as Vulnerable or Endangered. Knowing they exist is a good first step toward caring what happens to them.

We have grouped the 40 animals by where they live and what they are, so you can jump to the oceans, the insects or the strange hoofed mammals.

Deep-sea and ocean oddities

1. Sea pig (Scotoplanes)

Sea pigs are not pigs at all but sea cucumbers that live on the abyssal plains of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, usually more than 1,000 metres down. They walk on enlarged tube feet and often gather in large groups. They feed by sifting organic particles out of the deep-sea mud, which makes them part of the ocean floor's clean-up crew.

2. Blue sea dragon (Glaucus atlanticus)

This small sea slug, usually about 3 cm long, floats upside down on the ocean surface by swallowing air and keeping a bubble in its stomach. It eats venomous animals such as the Portuguese man o' war and stores their stinging cells in the tips of its finger-like "cerata." That means its sting can be stronger than the man o' war's, so beachgoers should never pick one up.

3. Mantis shrimp

More than 520 species of mantis shrimp live in warm seas, mostly hiding in burrows. "Smashers" punch with a club-like limb at up to about 23 metres per second, fast enough to create collapsing bubbles that hit prey a second time; "spearers" stab soft prey instead. Their eyes have 12 to 16 types of photoreceptor (humans have three or four), and some species can detect circularly polarised light, something no other animal is known to do.

4. Goblin shark

The goblin shark lives in deep water around the world, generally below 100 metres, and is rarely seen alive. Its long, flat snout is packed with sensors that detect the electric fields of prey, and its jaws can shoot forward at remarkable speed to grab fish. Because it lives so deep, it poses no threat to people.

5. Red-lipped batfish

Found around the Galápagos Islands at depths of roughly 3 to 76 metres, this fish is a poor swimmer that "walks" on the seabed using its fins like legs. A lure on its head helps attract small prey. Scientists think its bright red lips may help individuals recognise their own species when spawning, though that remains a hypothesis.

6. Yeti crab (Kiwa)

Yeti crabs live around deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, and get their nickname from the pale, hairy-looking bristles on their claws and legs. The first species, Kiwa hirsuta, was described in 2005 from the South Pacific. Researchers believe bacteria growing on those bristles may be an important food source, which the crabs effectively farm.

7. Blue parrotfish

This vivid fish lives on reefs in the western Atlantic and Caribbean and spends most of its day feeding. Like other parrotfish, it scrapes algae from rock and coral with beak-like teeth and grinds the hard material it swallows into fine sediment. Parrotfish are an important source of white sand on tropical beaches.

8. Irrawaddy dolphin

With its rounded head and short beak, this dolphin looks more like a small beluga than a typical dolphin. It lives in coastal waters, estuaries and rivers from the Bay of Bengal to New Guinea, including the Mekong, Mahakam and Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy). In Myanmar, some dolphins famously herd fish toward fishermen's nets in exchange for a share of the catch. The species is listed as Endangered, mainly because of drowning in gillnets.

9. Southern right whale dolphin

This slender black-and-white dolphin of the cool Southern Ocean has no dorsal fin at all, which makes it look almost like a large penguin when it surfaces. It travels in groups, sometimes of hundreds, and moves fast with long, low leaps. Because it lives far offshore, it is one of the less studied dolphins.

10. Lamprey

Lampreys are jawless fish with a round, toothed sucking mouth. Fossils show their basic body plan has existed for around 360 million years. Only about half of the 38 or so living species feed on other fish; the rest do not feed at all as adults. The sea lamprey became a serious invasive pest in the North American Great Lakes in the 20th century.

Reptiles, amphibians and freshwater fish

11. Thorny devil (thorny dragon)

This spiny Australian lizard grows to about 21 cm and lives in arid scrub and desert. When threatened, it tucks its real head between its front legs and presents a spiny knob on its neck, a "false head," to predators. It can eat thousands of ants a day and draws water to its mouth through tiny channels between its scales.

12. Bush viper (Atheris)

Bush vipers are venomous snakes that live in the trees of central and western African rainforests. Some species, such as the rough-scaled bush viper, have strongly keeled scales that make them look feathery or bristled. They are mostly night-time ambush hunters, waiting on branches for frogs, lizards, small mammals and birds.

13. Indian purple frog

Found only in India's Western Ghats, this bloated, pointy-snouted frog was formally described only in 2003. It spends most of the year underground eating termites and surfaces for about two weeks during the monsoon to breed. Its closest living relatives live in the Seychelles, a clue to the ancient break-up of the Gondwana supercontinent.

14. Pacu

Pacus are South American relatives of piranhas with square, surprisingly human-looking teeth that they use mainly to crush seeds and nuts. They have been introduced elsewhere, including rivers in Papua New Guinea, where local accounts blame them for harming native fish and injuring people. Widely shared 2013 warnings that pacus target swimmers' testicles were based on a joke and are not supported by evidence, although their strong jaws can cause real bites.

15. Atretochoana eiselti

Despite its unflattering internet nickname, this is not a snake but a caecilian, a legless amphibian. It is the largest known tetrapod with no lungs at all, breathing through its skin, and grows to around 80 cm. Known for decades from just two museum specimens, it was found alive in Brazil's Madeira River in 2011.

Insects that look invented

16. Venezuelan poodle moth

This fluffy white moth became an internet sensation after zoologist Arthur Anker photographed it in 2009 in the Gran Sabana region of Venezuela. Its identity is still unconfirmed: it probably belongs to the genus Artace, but experts say a physical specimen is needed to be sure.

17. Hummingbird hawk-moth

Found across Europe, North Africa and Asia, this day-flying moth hovers in front of flowers and drinks through a long proboscis, so many people mistake it for a hummingbird. Laboratory studies have shown it learns to associate colours with food quickly, making it a useful species for research on insect vision.

18. Thorn bug (Umbonia spinosa)

Thorn bugs are treehoppers, relatives of cicadas, from Central and South America. Their enlarged, spiky shield looks like a plant thorn, which helps hide them from birds. They feed by piercing stems and sucking sap, and some treehoppers communicate by sending vibrations through the plant.

19. Panda ant (Euspinolia militaris)

This black-and-white insect from Chile is not an ant but a wingless female wasp in the velvet ant family, Mutillidae. It grows to only about 8 mm and was described in 1938. The bold colours warn predators that females carry a painful sting.

20. Ant-mimicking treehopper (Cyphonia clavata)

Another treehopper, this one appears to carry an ant on its back. The "ant" is actually part of its own enlarged shield, shaped and coloured to look like an aggressive insect that predators prefer to avoid. It is a striking example of mimicry.

Birds and burrowers

21. Shoebill

Standing up to about 1.4 metres tall, the shoebill lives in swamps from South Sudan to Zambia and is named for its huge, clog-shaped bill. It hunts by standing statue-still for long periods, then lunging at lungfish, catfish and other prey. Once classed as a stork, it is now placed closer to pelicans, and it is listed as Vulnerable.

22. Royal flycatcher

This small, brown Amazonian bird hides a secret: a fan-shaped crest, red in males and yellow-orange in females, that it usually keeps folded and displays only rarely. It catches insects in flight from forest branches. Its long, hanging nest is usually built over water, where it is hard for predators to reach.

23. Naked mole-rat

These wrinkled, nearly hairless rodents live underground in East Africa in colonies run by a single breeding queen, much like bees. They can live more than 37 years, far longer than any other rodent, and are highly resistant to cancer, although a few cases have been recorded in captivity. That is why they are studied in research on ageing and disease.

24. Pink fairy armadillo

The smallest armadillo in the world, at about 9 to 11.5 cm long, lives in the dry plains of central Argentina. Its shell is attached to its body only along the spine, and blood vessels visible through it give it a pink tinge. It digs with powerful claws and feeds mainly on ants and larvae; so little is known about it that the IUCN lists it as Data Deficient.

25. Star-nosed mole

This hamster-sized mole of eastern North America has 22 fleshy tentacles around its nose, packed with about 25,000 touch receptors called Eimer's organs. It can identify and eat a food item in as little as 120 milliseconds, one of the fastest feeding times recorded. It can even smell underwater by blowing and re-inhaling tiny bubbles.

Unusual hoofed mammals

26. Okapi

The okapi has zebra-like stripes on its legs, but its closest living relative is the giraffe. It lives only in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was formally named by science in 1901. It uses a long, dark tongue to strip leaves and even clean its ears, and it is now listed as Endangered.

27. Saiga antelope

The saiga's oversized, drooping nose helps filter dust and condition air on the steppes of Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia. In 2015 more than 120,000 died within weeks from a bacterial infection linked to unusual weather. Thanks to strong protection, numbers have recovered dramatically, and in 2023 the IUCN moved the species from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened.

28. Gerenuk

Its name comes from Somali and means "giraffe-necked." This slender antelope of the dry Horn of Africa stands upright on its hind legs to reach leaves other antelopes cannot. It gets most of the water it needs from the plants it eats, so it rarely has to drink.

29. Markhor

The markhor is a wild goat of the mountains of Central and South Asia and the national animal of Pakistan. Males grow spectacular corkscrew horns that can reach 160 cm. Local folklore says the foam it produces while chewing cud can draw venom out of snakebites. Conservation work helped it recover, and it has been listed as Near Threatened since 2015.

30. Babirusa

Babirusas are wild pigs found on Sulawesi and nearby Indonesian islands. In males, the upper tusks grow upward straight through the top of the snout and curve back toward the forehead. In rare cases a tusk that is not worn down can grow into the skull. All species are listed as Vulnerable or Endangered.

31. Southern red muntjac

Also called the barking deer, this small deer of South and Southeast Asia gives a loud, dog-like bark when it senses a predator. Males have short antlers and tusk-like upper canines that they use in fights. Its genetics are remarkable too: the Indian muntjac has one of the lowest chromosome counts known in any mammal.

32. Tufted deer

Named for the dark tuft of hair on its forehead, this small, shy deer lives in the forests of central and southern China. Males have tiny antlers that are often hidden by the tuft, along with long fang-like canine teeth. It is mostly solitary and stays close to dense cover.

33. Zebra duiker

This small forest antelope from West Africa, including Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire, has a golden coat crossed by bold dark stripes. Both sexes have short, spike-like horns. It feeds on leaves and fruit, and it is threatened by habitat loss and bushmeat hunting.

Rare carnivores and other mammals

34. Dhole

The dhole, or Asian wild dog, lives in packs across South and Southeast Asia and communicates with a distinctive whistling call. Packs cooperate to run down deer and other large prey and have been recorded standing up to much bigger animals. It is classed as Endangered, with only a few thousand adults left in the wild.

35. Fossa

Madagascar's largest native carnivore looks like a small cougar but is more closely related to mongooses. Flexible ankles let it climb up and down trees head-first, which it needs to hunt its main prey, lemurs. It is listed as Vulnerable because of forest loss.

36. Maned wolf

South America's tallest wild canid looks like a fox on stilts, but it is neither a true wolf nor a fox. Its long legs help it see over the tall grass of the savannas of Brazil and neighbouring countries. Unusually for a canid, fruit makes up a large part of its diet, especially the "wolf apple."

37. Raccoon dog (tanuki)

Despite its raccoon-like mask, this East Asian animal is a member of the dog family. It is one of the few canids known to slow down in winter, and it is a capable climber. In Japan, the tanuki is a beloved figure in folklore, while in parts of Europe it has spread as an invasive species after escaping from fur farms.

38. Snub-nosed monkey

Snub-nosed monkeys live in the mountain forests of China, Vietnam and Myanmar, and some species endure snowy winters at high altitude. They live in large groups, sometimes numbering hundreds, and have a wide range of calls. Most species are threatened, and the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey was only discovered by science in 2010.

39. Sunda colugo

Often called the "flying lemur," the colugo neither flies nor is a lemur. It glides between trees across Southeast Asia using a skin membrane stretched from its neck to its tail, sometimes covering more than 100 metres in a single glide. Genetic studies suggest colugos are among the closest living relatives of primates.

40. Patagonian mara

This long-legged rodent from Argentina looks like a cross between a rabbit and a small deer and can run fast across open scrub. Maras pair for life, and several couples often raise their young together in a shared den. It is listed as Near Threatened.

Why these animals stay under the radar

Many of these species are unfamiliar for simple reasons: they live in the deep sea, underground, high in the canopy or in remote, politically unstable regions where research is difficult. Others are small, nocturnal or shy. A few, like the Venezuelan poodle moth, are known from photographs but not yet properly described.

That obscurity has a cost. Animals nobody knows about rarely get conservation funding. The saiga and the markhor show what is possible when people pay attention: both were once in serious decline and have recovered thanks to protection and local support. If one of these 40 caught your eye, look up a conservation group that works on it, or share it with someone who will be just as surprised.

Sources: Photo collection first shared on Imgur and True Activist; Holocene extinction, Glaucus atlanticus, Mantis shrimp, Red-lipped batfish, Irrawaddy dolphin, Lamprey, Thorny devil, Indian purple frog, Pacu, Atretochoana, Venezuelan poodle moth, Euspinolia militaris, Shoebill, Naked mole-rat, Pink fairy armadillo, Star-nosed mole, Okapi, Saiga antelope, Markhor and Babirusa (Wikipedia).

Related:

• 22 Unfamiliar Animals: A Gallery for Curious Readers
• 25 Perfectly Captured Photos Of Animals in Snow
• China Outlaws The Eating Of Endangered Animals
• Australia wins whaling case against Japan
• India Declares Dolphins "Non-Human Persons", Dolphin shows BANNED.
• Bolivia Gives Legal Rights To The Earth
• Gray whale dies bringing us a message — with stomach full of plastic trash
• Earth is Alive! Beautiful... Finite... Hurting... Worth Dying for!
• A Short Environmental Film About Consumption and Its Consequences
• 19 year old Develops Ocean Cleanup Array That Could Remove 7,250,000 Tons Of Plastic From Oceans
• Floating Seawer Skyscraper Rids The World’s Oceans Of Plastic While Generating Clean Energy