The animal kingdom is extremely mesmerizing and mysterious. There are thousands of different animal species with unique and strange features. While some are cute, some are dangerous and scary. Few animals are not dangerous but look scary. Though few look scary and disgusting, they are a delicacy in certain countries. Which are those scary looking animals in the world?
Here is the list of 10 scary looking animals that can give nightmares:
10. Geoduck (Panopea Generosa)
Geoducks are very large, edible saltwater clam. Not all will be able to eat these disgusting animals due to their strange appearance. They are native to the coastal waters of western Canada and the northwest United States. These are one of the longest-living animals. They easily live up to 140 years. These unbelievably weird-looking mollusks are the largest burrowing clams in the world. The geoduck looks like an extraterrestrial creature on Earth. Just imagining the appearance of this “delicious” animal may leave some of us sick and difficult to think of their consumption.
9. Living Rock (Pyura Chilensi)
Living rock is a bizarre creature from the sea that looks like a rock. Pyura chilensis is the scientific name of this weird animal. The sea creature lives off the coast of Chile and Peru. Locals eat this strange animal. It looks exactly like an immobile rock that secrets blood like substance containing the metal vanadium. The source and function of vanadium in its blood is unknown. The living rock can breed itself. They eat by sucking in sea water and filtering out the micro-organisms.
8. Japanese Mountain Leeches (Haemadipsa Zeylanica)
Japanese mountain leeches are classified as jawed leeches and are native to Japanese mountains. These animals are weird in their appearance and features. They have five pairs of eyes. These leeches also have two jaws or more. They are commonly called as jawed land leeches. These horrifying animal feed on blood for their survival. The families of these leeches are native to subtropical and tropical regions around Indian and Pacific Ocean.
7. Human Botfly (Dermatobia Hominis)
Human botfly is one of the terrifying insects in the world. It is not only scary but also dangerous. The human botfly can live within the humans as parasite and eats on the flesh. It lays eggs on the skin of humans to parasitize. One of the types of botfly latches on mosquitoes to lay their eggs which in-turn transfers them to humans. Once the eggs are on the skins of humans, the eggs hatch into larvae. These larvae get underneath the skin through the wound left by mosquito bites. This little insect can become a nightmare.
6. Giant African Millipede (Archispirostreptus Gigas)
The giant African millipede is the largest extant species of millipede. Generally, millipedes look terrifying. A larger version is definitely going to scare us. They grow up to 38.5 centimetres in length. Giant African millipedes have approximately 256 legs. They are mostly found in the forests of East Africa. It curls into a spiral and secrete an irritating substance to defend itself. The irritating liquid from the millipede’s body can be harmful if introduced into the eyes or mouth. Some people prefer to keep these disgusting insect as pets.
5. Giant Centipede (Scolopendra Gigantea)
The giant centipedes are the most terrifying centipedes in the world. It is directly out from the alien world. They are the largest centipedes in the world which grow up to 30 cm. These ugly-looking monster lives in parts of South America and the Caribbean. They are dangerous enough to kill and eat bigger animals like rats, rodents, bats, frogs and lizards. They also eat small-sized birds and spiders. The giant centipede is venomous. At least one human death has been attributed to its venom. In 2014, a four-year-old child in Venezuela died after being bitten by it.
4. Mole Lizard (Bipes Biporus)
Mole lizard is a weird-looking animal in the wild which looks like a combination of worm and lizard. You may confuse yourself to an extremely long earthworm but it is not. The other name of this animal is five-toed worm lizard. They are endemic to Baja California Peninsula. It grows up to 9.4 inches. It is one of four species of amphisbaenians that have legs. They also look like a strange snake. It has an odd escaping mechanism by self-amputating itself.
3. Tongue-eating Parasite (Cymothoa Exigua)
Tongue-eating parasite is a parasitic isopod which lives inside the mouth of the fish and slowly replaces the tongue of the fish. The parasite enters the fish through the gills. They attach to the tongue of the fish. The parasite severs blood vessels in the fish’s tongue, ultimately causing the tongue to fall off. Then the parasite attaches to the stub where the tongue was and becomes the new tongue. The parasite can then feed host’s blood and few others feed on fish mucus. Not much is known about their life cycle.
2. Tapeworm (Cestoda)
Tapeworm is one of the most disgusting worms in the world. The tapeworms typically live in the digestive tracts of other vertebrates like humans and other animal species. There are over thousands of species of tapeworms in the world. T. saginata is one of the most common species of tapeworm that infects humans. These worms can grow up to 20 m (65 ft). Tapeworm infecting the vertebrates have a long history dating to as old as 270 million years ago. Tapeworms generally infect humans due to the consumption of under-cooked meat such as beef and fish.
1. Lampreys
Lampreys are jawless fish which are distinguished for their weird mouth. The lampreys have scary looking toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Apart from their weird mouth, they are also known for their strange parasitic feeding behaviors. Few of the lampreys are parasitic that feed by boring into the flesh of other fish to suck their blood. They attach to larger animals to get a free ride. Lampreys are an ancient animal species but their relationship to hagfishes and jawed vertebrates are a matter of dispute. Lampreys have been a delicacy in ancient as well as modern times.