Climbing Fish

As per ScienceDaily, a new species of fish from tropical South America is confirming suspected roots to the loricariid catfish family tree. Lithogenes wahari shares traits with two different families of fish: the bony armor that protects its head and tail, and a grasping pelvic fin that allows it to climb vertical surfaces.

The discovery of both of these characteristics in Lithogenes suggests to ichthyologists Scott Schaefer of the American Museum of Natural History and Francisco Provenzano of the Universidad Central de Venezuela that the common ancestor of the Loricariidae and Astroblepidae probably could grasp and climb rocks with its tail and mouth.

It took years to pin down where the fish was found, but the team collected L. wahari after several trips further and further into the headwaters of the Río Cuao, a tributary of the Río Orinoco. They literally picked 84 specimens off of rocks.

Well, this is how it looks... Not so pleasant but interesting!

Ugly Animals - Climbing Fish

Hagfish

This is definitely one fish that I would not want to catch with my fishing rod and you will see why in a few seconds.

The weird and wonderful hagfish has managed to capture the interest of scientists since the 1700s but we still know very little about this animal. The hagfish was scientifically described in 1753 by one of the disciples of Carl von Linné, a Swede named Per Kalm. In 1747, Per Kalm left the Swedish town of Uppsala. His ultimate destination was North America, but boat repairs forced him to stay a while in Grimstad, Norway where he found hagfish. Thinking it was a blind lamprey, Kalm wrote down his observations and later shared them with Linné. The description can be found in his “En resa till Norra America” (A Journey to Northern America) from 1753. Linné discussed the strange “lamprey” with Norwegian Bishop and naturalist Johan Ernst Gunnerus and they both classified it as a worm. In 1763, Gunnerus wrote about the creature and he then referred to it as a Sleep-Marken. During last decade of the 18th century the animal got its own scientific name – Myxine glutinosa – and was placed in the roundmouth family. Today we know that Myxine glutinosa, commonly known as the Atlantic Hagfish,is only one of many species in the large hagfish family Myxinidae. There are currently 67 described species of hagfish and the number might very well increase as the bottoms of our oceans become more thoroughly explored.

The hagfish can turn 20 Litres (5 Gallons) of water into slime in a matter of minutes.

Ugly Animals - Hagfish

Tasmanian Devil

Have you ever heard of this name before? NO? Well, you sure must have seen the Looney Tunes show - TAZ, is an animated cartoon character featured in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes series of cartoons.

But hey, the real one is not all that cute as the animated ones. The Tasmanian Devil is the largest carnivorous (eats meat) marsupial (a mammal that has its babies in a pouch) in Australia. Tasmanian Devils are a nocturnal (active at night) animal. lives alone and prefers its own company hence it is a relatively shy animal

The Tasmanian Devil is usually black with a white "collar" or patch around its neck. It is the size of a small terrier dog very solid and "stout" and weighs in between 6 and 8 kgs It has a tail of between 9 to 12" long. Tasmanian Devils have an extremely large powerful head with a wide jaw with sharp teeth pointy pink ears (that turn red when angry due to increased blood flow) and piercing dark eyes Its dark colouring helps it to move around unseen at night time (feeding time)

Tasmanian Devils are very loud especially when there are a number of them at the one carcass, trying to scare each other off. They have a range of sound, from barks to snorts to growling to screaming !. This screaming and their fierce looks gave birth to their "Devil" name

Ugly Animals - Tasmanian Devil

Goblin Shark

Slow, silent, and slender, but not necessarily small - the goblin shark can be as long as a small car - about 12.6 feet (3.85 meters). Only a few goblin sharks have ever been found. Except for one small one 3.5 feet, the rest ranged from from 10 to 12.6 feet. The largest found weight 463 pounds (210kg)

Though only less than 50  (according to one source) have been found, it seems they may be found in many of the world’s oceans. They've been found off the coast of Japan, Australia, California, the Atlantic near Portugal, South Africa...and other places. Goblin sharks thrive in the dark deep sea at depths between 885 feet (270m) and 3149 feet (960m), one as deep as 4265 feet (1,300m).

Since goblin sharks live at the bottom of the water, they tend to feed on the organisms that are also down there. That includes sting rays, mollusks, and crabs. In some areas they are also able to eat squid. They do feed quite frequently which is interesting. The goblin shark has a very large liver which is usually found in sharks that don’t eat very often. Oil is stored in it and therefore they can live off of it in between feedings.

The reproductive process of the goblin shark hasn’t been well observed. Since they live so deep in the water it is hard to know how the process is taking place. It is believed the females carry eggs inside of them that then hatch and they babies are expelled from the body. This isn’t known for sure though and researches continue in their quest to capture a pregnant goblin shark so they can find out for sure

Ugly Animals - Goblin Shark

Solifugae AKA Scorpion Spider

Well, I had to post this one because one of my blog visitors commented about this. Spiders are already creepy in nature. They are venomous too. Here is one kind known as camel spiders, wind scorpions and sun spiders or solifuges.


They may grow to a length of 300 mm (12 in) including legs, and have a body comprising an opisthosoma (abdomen) and a prosoma (head) with conspicuously large chelicerae, which are also used for stridulation. Most species live in deserts and feed opportunistically on ground-dwelling arthropods and other animals. A number of urban legends exaggerate the size and speed of Solifugae, and their potential danger to humans.

Ugly Animals -  Solifugae AKA Scorpion Spider

Sloth

Sloths are extremely slow-moving mammals found in the rainforest canopies of Central and South America. There are two species of sloths:two-toed and three-toed. Most sloths are about the size of a small dog and they have short, flat flat heads. Their hair is grayish brown but, at times they look grey-green in color because they move so slowly that tiny camouflaging algae grow all over their coats.

Sloths are nocturnal and sleep curled up with their head placed between the arms and the feet drawn close together. This disguises them as part of a tree so that its enemies like the jaguar do not see them. Sloths rarely climb down from the trees and can live for up to 30 years.

Ugly Animals - Sloth

Pleco

These common algae eaters are known for their unique, suction-cup-shaped mouth.  Aquarium experts will recommend them to any fish-keeper with an algae problem in their tank.  The way they attach themselves to glass and rock never ceases to amaze.

Pleco is the common name for Catfish species in the Family Loricariidae. The name Pleco is derived from the Latin name of one of the species in this family, the Hypostomus plecostomus, and is today widely used even for the other species in this family. The Family Loricariidae is also known as the Armored Catfish family, since the fish in this family display longitudinal rows of scutes over the upper parts of the head and body, and this pattern is somewhat similar to an old armor.

Plecos are very popular aquarium fish, even for beginners. They can help keeping unwanted algae growth under control in the aquarium, since algae and plant material are their staple foods in the wild. If you want to read more about how to care for your Plecos we suggest that you read some of the featured articles below.

Ugly Animals - Plecos

Tarsier

Tarsiers are prosimian primates of the genus Tarsius. Tarsiers have enormous eyes and long feet. Their feet have extremely elongated tarsus bones, which is how they got their name. They are primarily insectivorous, and catch insects by jumping at them. They are also known to prey on birds and snakes. As they jump from tree to tree, tarsiers can catch even birds in motion. Tarsiers have never formed successful breeding colonies in captivity, and when caged, tarsiers have been known to injure and even kill themselves because of the stress.

Big-eyed tarsiers: Tarsiers have remarkably large eyes, about 1.6cm. Each eye is bigger than the entire brain and larger than the stomach. So much so that they cannot move their eyes within the sockets. Instead, they special modifications to their neck vertebrae allowing them to rotate their heads nearly 360 degrees, even though they seem to have almost no neck! Unlike most other nocturnal creatures, however, tarsiers do not have a reflective layer behind the eyes (tapetum). They have excellent hearing, using their large funnel-like ears which are hairless, and thin and membranous. They can furl and unfurl their ears.

Ugly Animals - Tarsier