Restricted or enabled only by the bounds of
natural selection, nature has proven that a vacuum is hard to maintain. While some types of creatures might seem fit
for science fiction or simply defy our imagination, the natural world holds a place for creatures
that defy common sense or human expectation in existing. Discover poisonous birds, freshwater sharks,
plant-eating spiders, and other animals that just don’t seem right, but are out there
waiting to expand your concept of life. 10. Pitohuis, the Poison Birds of New Guinea A bird is the last thing to come to mind when
we think of poisonous animals, but the different species of Pitohui from New Guinea are toxic
feathered beauties from the rainforest, to be approached with great care. A poisonous bird: What will they think of
next? Native to the rainforest environments of New
Guinea, the Hooded Pitohui is correctly termed as a poisonous species, rather than a venomous
species as a highly dangerous batrachotoxin is present throughout the bird’s feathers,
skin and flesh. The bird’s toxicity became apparent in 1989
when a California Academy of Sciences based researcher named Jack Dumbacher who had set
out to study birds of paradise in Papua New Guinea noticed burning pain in his hands when
scratched by the peculiar Pitohuis caught in nets originally intended to catch birds
of paradise for closer inspection. The toxins that make up the chemical arsenal
of these birds are in fact the same lethal compounds found in poison dart frogs notorious
for being capable of killing predators and humans alike. Exactly why the birds possess this toxicity
remains a matter of scientific interest, with associated speculation that the bright colors
of these birds warns potential predators of their chemical laden bodies. The process by which pitohui toxins concentrate
also formed a subject of scientific curiosity that was solved by Dumbacher when he went
back to the rainforest and in collaboration with locals was able to determine that the
source of the toxins consisted of poison-bearing beetles that the birds consumed in quantity. 9. Ocean Lizards Lizards represent the hot desert in the minds
of most people to a great degree, or at least a sunny, perhaps dusty garden path or tree
trunk in a warm tropical jungle. Yet, a member of this vast and diverse group
of small dinosaur lookalikes has done the unimaginable and become marine, basking on
wave splashed rocks and foraging under the surf. Native to the Galapagos Islands and surrounding
waters, the large and colorful Marine Iguana is a lizard that has mastered the sea, hauling
out on rocks like a sea lion in between dives below the waves, where they forage on marine
algae and seaweeds chewed off the surface of submerged rocks. The plant-based diet is easily harvested with
the help of the iguana’s razor like teeth. Efficiency is key to Marine Iguana survival,
as meals must be gathered quickly to prevent chilling and loss of heat energy. Measuring over 3 feet in length and weighing
up to 22 pounds, the Marine Iguana is the only ocean-going lizard on the planet. Large groups of breeding females jockey for
space in the breeding season, while males fight fiercely for a chance to mate with the
female of their choice. The dinosaur-like creatures are normally blackish
or greyish in color, but the males stand out with its greenish and reddish hues that come
into color during the breeding season, signalling dominance and urging females to select them
as mates. 8. Freshwater Sharks Freshwater might seem like a place to swim
safely without fear of sharks, but a population of Bull Sharks, a species known to have caused
human deaths lives in Lake Nicaragua, while several species of river shark patrol fast
moving waters in parts of Asia and Oceania, including Australia. Bull Sharks are a primarily ocean going species,
but a population oddly yet naturally established in Lake Nicaragua ensures that swimming in
a lake is not a guarantee of safety from shark attacks. While normal marine bull sharks are known
to travel temporarily up rivers, the true river sharks belonging to the genus Glyphis
are rare, at risk species characteristic of rivers and in some species, estuarine waters. The Ganges Shark is the most closely associated
with river habitats, while the Northern River shark and Spear-toothed Shark inhabit rivers
and estuaries but more frequently swim in marine coastal zones. While the degree to which they travel in saltwater
varies, what these sharks have in common is complete mastery of freshwater environments,
with the Ganges shark being especially comfortable far upstream from any source of saltwater. The Bull Sharks that inhabit Lake Nicaragua
are not a separate species, but as a population have admirably adapted to the purely freshwater
environment of the lake. In order to survive, they draw upon their
ability to excrete urine at a higher rate than normal to allow proper osmosis in their
lifelong freshwater environment. 7. Meat-Eating Parrots The Kea of New Zealand is an endangered parrot
that acts like a hawk or vulture, eating the young of shearwater chicks and scavenging
mammal carcasses. Superficially cute and cartoonish with huge
“gooey” eyes, the Kea is the only alpine species of parrot in the world, able to handle
cold winds, snow and low temperatures for prolonged periods of time. Their physical adaptations include the ability
to soar like a raptor, effectively insulating, thick feathers and exceptionally sharp, hooked
beaks that make them adept opportunistic harvesters of meat. Attacks on live mammals are also known to
have occurred, especially presenting a concern in the context of livestock management. Because of the tendency for Kea to sometimes
prey on vulnerable sheep, wounding them and removing fat and tissue with their sharp bills,
a bounty was placed on the birds, which are now protected but still classed as vulnerable. When not feeding on meat from carrion or live
prey or searching for plant material, Kea may use their scythe-like bills to extract
juicy grubs from the soil, drawing upon their high quantities of nourish fat and proteins. Brown and green in color at rest, the Keas
may seem disappointingly dull to first time observers searching for these parrots, but
offer a surprise when viewed in flight from beneath with their bright red wing linings
and graceful maneuvers as they search for their next meal. 6. Bipedal Antelopes Humans might have a near monopoly on mammalian
bipedalism and antelopes seem to be the very definition of a quadruped. Yet, the slender Gerenuk, with a name that
originates from the Somali word for “Giraffe-necked” defies ungulate normality as an antelope species
that feeds in bipedal mode. The silhouette of the species is unique among
all mammals, crossing a stretched version of the typical ungulate body with an almost
primate like-vertical stance. While Gerenuk feeds, the front legs awkwardly
extend forward into the air. Standing on its spindly hindlegs to reach
heights of almost 8 feet, this near threatened ungulate presents a bizarre sight in the grasslands
of East Africa, browsing on leaves, berries, buds and flowers that other species cannot
reach, especially Acacia leaves. The ability to stand upright adds to the Gerenuk’s
already long legs and almost ridiculous looking, lengthened, skinny neck in allowing them to
reach edible plant material well beyond the reach of most other antelope species, from
which they also derive most of their water. With the remarkable occurrence of bipedalism
in a hoofed mammal species attracting scientific curiosity, investigation into Gerenuk physiology
has revealed interesting adaptations that facilitate and indicate significant evolutionary
commitment to bipedal capabilities in this species. Specifically, Gerenuks have smaller lumbar
spinal protrusions, known as processes, allowing increased inward curvature of the spine required
to stand upright for prolonged periods of time. 5. Lake Seals A freshwater seal species does exist and it
defies the very definition of marine mammal by it’s entirely lake bound occurrence. Known locally as the Nerpa and possibly half
a million years old as a species, the Baikal Seal is the only true entirely freshwater
seal species on the planet, restricted to the deep and mysterious Lake Baikal, which
is in fact the deepest lake on Earth. Relying on the strange looking Baikal Oilfish
or Golomyankas for the majority of their diet as well as sculpins and amphipods, these aquatic
carnivores are a species of uncertain origin, still presenting a mystery to biologists who
have yet to precisely pin down the circumstances leading up to their establishment in the lake
as an endemic species. Lake Baikal is not only extraordinarily deep,
it is also extremely cold, with ice that remains into the spring breeding season. Well adapted to their environment, female
Baikal Seals have developed the ability to create ice dens, in which they take shelter
and subsequently give birth, usually to one pup. A small seal, the Baikal Seal may reach just
past 4.5 feet in length and weigh no more than 154 pounds in most cases. The gray colored, docile lake seals maintain
breathing holes in the ice and haul out along rocky shorelines in warmer weather. 4. Plant-Eating Spiders The concept of a plant-eating spider is something
that is unlikely to have entered the minds of most people. The reality that a herbivorous spider exists
is likely to surprise even many who are trained biologists or biologists in training. Residing in Southern Mexico and Central America,
the recently discovered jumping spider species Bagheera kiplingi is a huge eyed, rather cute
looking arachnid that lives a lifestyle running completely counter to what we generally would
expect of spiders. The very epitome of a carnivorous invertebrate,
spiders are notorious for trapping their prey in webs, ambushing animals from tunnels, injecting
doses of venom that are sometimes strong enough to kill a human and running down small prey
on foot. In contrast, the primary component of the
diet of the brown and white jumping spider Bagheera kiplingi consists of Beltian bodies,
tiny, fibre-rich parcels of plant material that provide certain Acacia plants with the
resources to engage in a mutually beneficial relationship with ants that feed on the Beltian
bodies but defend the tree from plant eaters. The enterprising Bagheera kipling, however,
feeds on the Beltian bodies “intended” for the ants, while avoiding attack by the
ants through what might be termed mock predation, swiftly lunging for the Beltian bodies and
then beats a hasty retreat from the advancing ants. The spiders are mostly herbivorous, but at
times may feed on ant larvae. 3. Nocturnal Gulls The owls might be the first and only category
of birds recalled when nocturnal avian species are brought up. Yet, a little known and unlikely marine bird
from the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador and Malpeno Island, Colombia has fully mastered the night
sky through an incredibly strange detour in evolutionary history. Foraging above the moonlit waves, the Swallow-tailed
Gull sees in the relative darkness well enough to navigate and capture their fish and squid
prey by moonlight, resting and tending to the young by day. With ghostly pale spots on its plumage, a
dark head and fleshy red tissue circling the eye, the Swallow-tailed Gull is the only truly
nocturnal seabird on the planet. The strange looking gulls are equipped with
extra large, darkened eyes containing a layer of reflective tissue that bounces light back
through the retina to the bird’s photoreceptor cells, aiding it in seeing well while hunting
at night. Biochemical adaptations include reduced melatonin
levels, a sleep inducing hormone found in higher quantities in all other gulls. Heading out at night in large flocks, the
night gulls swoop down to seize squid, small fish and any other invertebrates in reach
in their prominently hooked bill before returning to their nesting colonies. 2. Fishing Cats It is a well established fact in the minds
of most that cats detest water, yet there is a species of feline from Asia so committed
to an aquatic lifestyle that dramatic physical adaptations have defined its evolutionary
history. Instead of shying away from water, the appropriately
named Fishing Cat from South Asia and Southeast Asia inhabits wetlands, mangrove swamps and
the edges of rivers and streams where they hunt for fish, catching aquatic prey with
their sharp claws or seizing prey in their teeth during opportunistic dives into watery
feeding areas. Not afraid of water, the cats have a variety
of physical adaptations that give them mastery of the water as some of the most skilled swimmers
among predatory mammals. Fish eating cats have short tails, powerful
muscles and the ability to walk in mud without sinking and excellent paddling and diving
ability, allowing them to plunge deep into the water to capture fish, which forms the
major portion of their diet. A thick, short fur base layer of fur insulates
the cats from wet and cold when in the water, while longer hairs provide camouflage. An underwater surprise attack approach to
hunting waterfowl, where the cats grab swimming birds by the feet from below has also been
reported and ranks among the eeriest ways that a mammal can hunt birds. 1. Vegetarian Vultures Vultures are the quintessential carrion scavenger
and often carry a distasteful association with death in human minds. Yet, a quirky vulture widely distributed across
sub-Saharan Africa stands out in total rebellion against vulture ways. Through yet another unlikely and incredibly
specific jog in the evolutionary history of modern fauna, the appropriately monikered
Palm-nut Vulture has adapted to a diet centered primarily upon plant material, focusing its
foraging on the fruits of the Kosi Palm, Date Palm and Acacia. To feed, the Palm-nut Vulture opens the kernels
before extracting the nutritious, fatty meal inside each palm kernel utilizes its massive
bill to crack fearsome beak to break open its palm kernel “prey” and strip fruit
flesh. At just two feet long, with a wingspan under
five feet wide, the black and white bird with bright fleshy facial patches is actually the
smallest Old World vulture species in the world. The plant eating raptor’s small size and
agility, coupled with talon bearing, powerful feet facilitate its impressive foraging gymnastics,
where it hangs upside down like monkey from palm branches, accessing its food. The entirely vegetarian source of protein
forms the bulk of the natural food supply for this bizarre bird of prey, up to 92 percent
of the juvenile diet and 58-65 percent of the diet of adults. Fish, insects and occasionally, bats supplement
the palm nut, fruit and seed diet of this bird.
