Coconut Crab

As per Wikipedia, "The coconut crab, Birgus latro, is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest land-living arthropod in the world, and is probably at the upper size limit of terrestrial animals with exoskeletons in today's atmosphere at a weight of up to 4.1 kg (9.0 lb). It is found on islands across the Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific Ocean as far east as the Gambier Islands, mirroring the distribution of the coconut palm; it has been extirpated from most areas with a significant human population, including mainland Australia and Madagascar."

The Robber (or Coconut) Crab, Birgus latro, is not only the world’s largest land invertebrate, it’s also a thief that climbs trees at night and steals coconuts! These huge crustaceans of the south-west Pacific and Indian Oceans, can grow to a length of 60 cm (2 ft), from head to tail. They sneak out of their burrows at night, climb the trunks of coconut palms or other fruit trees, and snip off the coconut or fruit with their two giant pincers. They climb back down the tree and gather up the food, then use the pincers to chip at the coconut until it opens.

It is named as the "Coconut Crabs" as it can break a coconut with its strong pincers. They have eight legs and the other two legs have claws, which help them to climb a coconut tree. These species can be of tinged red or deep blue. The females of these species have three large feathery appendages to support the eggs. The length of their body can grow up to a size of 40 cm and weigh up to 17 kg. Their body structure resembles to that of an insect as it lives on the land. The young ones use their shell to protect themselves. They also use the broken shell of coconut in their moulting stages. They have an antenna, which consists of aesthetascs and this provides them an excellent sense of smell.

The coconut crabs mature, either when they grow up to 3.5 meter in size or when they grow up to age of 5 years. The mating season for these species is between May to September. The male and the female are known to fight during the time of mating. During the mating process the male pushes the female onto her back. After that, it places the sperm-sac over the gonopore of the female. The female holds the eggs for (1 to 2) weeks till it gets fertilized. Moreover, the eggs take (3 to 6) weeks to get mature. When the eggs get transformed into juvenile crab, it leaves secretly for (1 to 2) years in their burrows. They have a life span of around 60 years.

Ugly Animals - Coconut Crab

Wolf Spider

What is it about seeing spiders close-up that gives us the creeps? Especially those hairy and big spiders… like that Wolf Spider on your thigh. Heh, just kidding, let go of the chandelier and keep reading. Wolf Spiders (family Lycosidae) have eight eyes like most spiders but the central pair are much larger than the other six, giving its shaggy, fanged face an especially sinister aspect. Wolf Spiders are found in virtually every part of the world not covered with ice or snow, and their bodies can grow to just over an inch wide.

They are usually active at night and capture their pry by hunting rather than waiting in a web. Many type of wolf spiders are found in different environments, in summer they can be found in locations like woods, open grasslands and along lakes and streams. The life cycle of a wolf spider is interesting. The female spider produces an egg sac that contains over a hundred eggs that she attaches to the spinnerettes at the end of the abdomen. When the spiderlings develop, the female opens the sac and the spiderlings climb onto her abdomen, holding the hair on her body. They stay like this for a week after which they disperse.

Wolf spiders will only bite if they are provoked. Wolf spiders have eight eyes that are arranged in three rows with the first two comprising of four small eyes, the second containing two larger eyes and the third row containing two medium-sized eyes. Like all other spiders, wolf spiders also have four pairs of legs. There are a pair of leg like palps (sensory appendages located near the mouth) that are located in front of the walking legs and are used for sperm storage in males. The wolf spider is blessed with a disc that is located at the back of their eyes. This enables them to see at night.

Ugly Animals - Wolf Spider

Giant Salamander

As I always say, I dislike reptiles to a great extent. How can Salamanders be an exception? They look massive, thick, scary, creepy and what not!

As per wikipedia,

The hellbender and Asian giant salamanders (family Cryptobranchidae) are aquatic amphibians found in brooks and ponds in the United States, China, and Japan. They are the largest living amphibians known today. The Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus), for example, reaches up to 1.44 metres (4.7 ft), feeds on fish and crustaceans, and has been known to live for more than 50 years in captivity. The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) can reach a length of 1.8 metres (5.9 ft).

The Japanese giant salamander is a large amphibian that typically lives in rivers and streams. Like other amphibians, Japanese giant salamanders are capable of living on both land and in water. Japanese giant salamanders look a lot like smaller versions of the amphibian found in North America, though their diet varies more.

The Japanese giant salamander is a threatened creature that is also sometimes called the giant Japanese pepper fish despite not being a fish at all. The main reason for the limited amounts of these salamanders is pollution, though erosion also plays a part. After laying their eggs, they take anywhere from 12 to 15 weeks to incubate. The salamanders lay their eggs near river areas where they make their home. Female giant Japanese salamanders lay as many as 500 eggs. The baby salamanders are usually about 3 centimeters long, hardly an indicator of the huge size they later attain.

I will stop with these facts and lets have a look at some of the pictures of this creature

Ugly Animals - Giant Salamanders

Angler Fish

Are you looking like something out of a science fiction movie? the angler fish uses a natural lure to draw its next meal nearer.

One of the ocean's strangest looking fish of all is the deep-sea angler fish. The deep-sea angler fish is known scientifically as the Melanocetus johnsoni and is one of the deep ocean's most well known residents. The angry-looking deep sea angler-fish has a right to be cranky. It is quite possibly the ugliest animal on the planet, and it lives in what is easily Earth's most inhospitable habitat: the lonely, light-less bottom of the sea.

As Wikipedia says,

Anglerfishes are members of the teleost order Lophiiformes. They are bony fishes named for their characteristic mode of predation, wherein a fleshy growth from the fish's head (the esca or illicium) acts as a lure; this is considered analogous to angling.

Their most distinctive feature, worn only by females, is a piece of dorsal spine that protrudes above their mouths like a fishing pole—hence their name. Tipped with a lure of luminous flesh this built-in rod baits prey close enough to be snatched. Their mouths are so big and their bodies so pliable, they can actually swallow prey up to twice their own size.

Any fish which passes before the angler fish’s eyes can be its prey. Anglerfish’s diet is filled with various genres of fishes. They eat almost all kind of sea worms, batfish, clams, copepods, and marine snails. The predator fish eats even the fishes, which are almost double the size of it.

Ugly Animals - Angler Fish

Finally, the Angler Fish from the movie "Finding Nemo" :-)

Proboscis Monkey

I personally like monkeys but this is one is quite an exception!

What can we say about this animal other than "that's a whole lot of nose!" This unusual-looking primate is called the proboscis monkey for the pendulous nose of the male. It is believed that the long nose is used in mating, possibly to produce loud resonating vocalizations that attract females. Interestingly, proboscis monkeys are born with a blue face and a small nose. The color of the face changes and the nose enlarges with age. Females also have a large nose, though not nearly as large as the male's.

Ugly Animals - Proboscis Monkey

Sea Wolf

No, I am not talking about the indie folk musician based in Los Angeles; neither I am talking about the movie released in 1941. This Sea Wolf is one of the Ugly Animals... Fishes to be specific.

Sea Wolf are also known as Wolf Fish. Sea Wolf is the largest fish in the suborder of blennies, a species resembling eels that have been around for the last 50 million years. It inhabits the northern waters of both hemispheres, finding shelter under large rocks near the bottom. It has powerful teeth with which he crushes its prey and breaks down into edible pieces.

Atlantic wolf-fish use their strong jaws to eat hardshell mollusks, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Sea Wolf fishes do not eat other fish.

The manner of which Atlantic wolf-fish fertilize their eggs distinguishes them from many fish. Instead of the female depositing her eggs in the open ocean for the male fish to fertilize and then continue on his way, they are internally fertilized and the male wolf-fish stays with the nest and protects the eggs for as long as four months, until the brood is strong enough to gain independence.

Enough with the story... Here are a few pictures of the Ugly Sea Wolf

Ugly Animals - Sea Wolf