Mother Nature is always full of surprises. It’s hard to believe how many incredible and different creatures live on our planet!
Today, we at Bright Side suggest you take a look at ten rare animals that you’ve probably never heard of before. The diversity of our beautiful world never ceases to amaze us!
The Ili Pika
This cute and incredibly rare animal is also known as the ’magic rabbit’. Ili Pika was recently photographed for the first time in twenty years. It was first discovered in China’s Tian Shan Mountains.
The Pinocchio frog
This creature also goes by the name ’Spike-Nosed Tree Frog’. When a male frog tries to attract a female or senses danger, its elongated, Pinocchio-like nose points upward.
The snub-nosed monkey
The rarest primate in the world was discovered in 2010 in northern Burma (Myanmar). Because of the unusual shape of its nose, the monkey always sneezes when it rains.
The pink handfish
Several years ago, scientists discovered 14 species of fish with hand-like fins. At present, nine of them are in danger of extinction.
Honduran white bats
These pretty little white fellows from Central America live in a tent of Heliconia leaves, eat fruit, and can grow only up to 1.5 inch (4.7 cm) in length.
The Grimpoteuthis (aka Dumbo Octopus)
This bizarre deep sea animal received its nickname because of the two fins on the membrane between its legs, which resemble the ears of the flying elephant Dumbo from the famous animated film.
The salp
Salps are planktonic tunicates that feed off CO2 in the water, pumping it through their transparent bodies. We should all probably say thank you to them, because they reduce the carbon levels in the water and in the air as well.
The pink-eyed Caedicia
This grasshopper with striking, pink bean-like eyes lives in the Muller Range mountains in the Pacific highlands.
The Cherax Pulcher
This fantastically beautiful, colorful crab was discovered in Indonesia last year.
The Albino Chinese softshell turtle
These little turtles use their long necks and tube-like nostrils as a snorkel to breath under the water.
The Nendo tube-nosed fruit bat
This cute bat with unusually kind eyes and tube-like nostrils was discovered in 2009 in the forests of Papua New Guinea. It became an internet sensation as the ’’Yoda bat’’ due to its resemblance to the Jedi Master from the Star Wars movies.
The Amazon river dolphin
Young Amazon river dolphins, also known as pink river dolphins, are light gray, but some of them become pink as they get older. These dolphins aren’t friendly or easily trained, so they are rarely held in captivity.
Bonus
This image shocked us at first. Then we realized it was Photoshopped. But giant squids actually exist and grow up to 13 m (43 ft) for females and 10 m (33 ft) for males!
