29 Fascinatingly Strangle Animals From Around The World

Published August 3, 2021
Updated November 8, 2023

From see-through frogs to fish that can walk, look at these unbelievable photos of the world's most supremely weird animals.

Some glide through the dark abyss of the ocean depths while others hang from trees in dark jungle canopies. Some sport enormous eyes while others have horned flesh or bubble gum pink skin. Some skirt the line between gorgeous and terrifying, and all are absolutely fascinating.

These are twenty-nine of the most incredibly and real weird animals on Earth:

Axolotl

Axolotl Real Weird Animals
Native to Mexico, this aquatic salamander retains its frilled gills and fins into adulthood; it’s considered rare to see one fully mature and emerge onto dry land.Wikimedia Commons

Glass Frog

Glass Frog Weird Animals
This bizarre frog’s eerily transparent skin allows it to blend seamlessly with its leafy surroundings.Wikimedia Commons

Thorny Dragon

Thorny Dragon
Thorny dragons have a false head on the back of their neck to throw off predators.Wikimedia Commons

Aye-Aye

Aye Aye
These bizarre primates are most easily recognized by their enormous eyes and long, spindly fingers, both of which allow this animal to easily inhabit treetops at night.Wikimedia Commons

Cape Rain Frog

Cape Rain Frog
This animal's rotund shape allows it to inflate itself with air and puff up when danger comes near.Wikimedia Commons

Cassowary

Cassowary
Don’t let the feathery exterior fool you. This giant bird is known to be notoriously aggressive, eviscerating any creature that comes too close with its dagger-like talons.Wikimedia Commons

Tree Kangaroo

Weird Animals Tree Kangaroo
Not all animals from Australia are killers; case in point, the tree kangaroo, which looks more like a stuffed animal than a living. breathing creature.Wikimedia Commons

Tufted Deer

Weird Animals Tufted Deer
This deer’s striking tusks may raise some eyebrows, especially considering that it’s an herbivorous animal; male tufted deer actually use their fangs to resolve territorial disputes with their own kind in lieu of antlers.Wikimedia Commons

Star-Nosed Mole

Two Star Nosed Moles
This strange creature, found in North America, is distinguished by its bizarre, fleshy nose. Used as feelers, the mole’s nose has twenty-two mobile, pink tentacles at the end of its snout that are extremely sensitive.

Image Sources: Flickr (left), Flickr (right).

Angora Rabbit

Angora Rabbit Buck Furry
One of the oldest types of rabbit, Angoras appear as veritable clouds with ears, marked by their intense amounts of fur. They were once popular pets of 18th century French royalty.Wikimedia Commons

Chinese White Dolphin

Weird Animals White Dolphin
Despite being referred to as a “white” dolphin, these ocean dwellers are actually well known for sporting a curious shade of pink.Flickr

Proboscis (Long-Nosed) Monkey

Long Nosed Monkey
As the name suggests, these exotic creatures have extremely long noses that are believed to be the result of sexual selection.Wikimedia Commons

Fossa

Fossa
While feline-like in appearance, this carnivorous Madagascar native is close relative of the mongoose family.Wikimedia Commons

Tarsier

Tarsier
This tiny, bizarre primate may have once inhabited mainland Asia, Europe, and North America, but can now only be found on a handful of Malaysian islands.Wikimedia Commons

Florida Softshelled Turtle

Florida Softshelled Turtle
Instead of a turtle's typically hard, dome-like shell, this bizarre animal sports a shell that resembles a flat slab of leather.Wikimedia Commons

Hummingbird Moth

Hummingbird Moth
With a confusing name and an equally as confusing appearance, this moth is able to hover over flowers to drink nectar, much like its equally tiny avian counterpart.Wikimedia Commons

Mantis Shrimp

Mantis Shrimp Real Weird Animals
The mantis shrimp is one of nature’s most talented pugilists; cocking its club-like hand back as if it were a spring-loaded weapon, this shrimp is able to shatter shells and even aquarium glass with the force of a .22 caliber bullet.Wikimedia Commons

Maribou Stork

Maribou Stork Weird Animal Pictures
Due to its ominous appearance and the fact that it's a scavenger, this bizarre stork is often referred to as “the undertaker bird.”Flickr

Mouse-Deer

Mouse Deer
Despite its names, this tiny animal isn’t actually a deer and in fact shares a closer relation to donkeys and pigs.Wikimedia Commons

Sloane's Viperfish

Two Sloanes Viperfish
As the species holds the world record for largest teeth relative to head size in a fish, the nightmarish viperfish is obviously distinguished by its menacing fangs. Even with its mouth closed, the Sloane viperfish’s teeth overlap and are able to impale prey.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons (left), Flickr (right).

Lowland Streaked Tenrec

Lowland Streaked Tenrec Leaves
If a bumblebee and a hedgehog mated, the lowland streaked tenrec would be its rather bizarre spawn. Found in Madagascar, these bristly creatures are covered in yellow and brown striped quills, which they use to attack their enemies.Wikimedia Commons

Blobfish

Blobfish
Native to Australia and parts of Tasmania, the blobfish is a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water. Now facing extinction due to deep sea fishing, it will eat any organic matter that passes in front of it and only expends a small amount of energy when swimming.Flickr

Shoebill

Shoebill
This enormous African bird with a shoe-shaped bill can grow up to five feet tall with a wingspan of over eight feet.Wikimedia Commons

Silkie Chicken

Silkie Chicken
While some seek out these chickens as a unique pet, others are more interested in the jet black meat that lies beneath its fluffy exterior.Wikimedia Commons

Red Handfish

Red Handfish
Finding swimming a bit too common, the red handfish uses its fins to walk along the ocean floor rather than swimming like everyone else. Its even more rare pink cousin, discovered in Tasmania, Australia, has had only four specimens ever identified.Wikimedia Commons

Giraffe Weevil

Giraffe Weevil
This curious insect mimics its mammalian namesake, using its long neck to fight other males for the honor of mating with a female.Wikimedia Commons

Ocean Sunfish

Ocean Sunfish
The heaviest of all bony fish, the ocean sunfish dwarfs any divers who swim nearby, as they can grow to an astonishing 14 feet in length.Wikimedia Commons

Spiny Orb-Weaver Spider

Spiny Orb-Weaver Spider
Known by some as the crab spider, the spiny orb-weaver spider can be found in various places across the globe but is known particularly for appearing in the humid gardens of Florida. It has a distinctive, colorful "shell" with "spines" running down it to ward off predators.Wikimedia Commons

Leafy Sea Dragon

Leafy Sea Dragon Weirdest Animals On Earth
Delicate leaf-like appendages help the sea dragon to camouflage itself among kelp and seaweed.Wikimedia Commons

See Some Of These Stunningly Weird Animals In Action Below:

Leafy Seadragon

Giraffe Weevil

Aye-Aye

Proboscis Monkey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5bt-i4QFoo

Star-Nosed Mole

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m0PMcXK6XA


For more strange animals, check out six weird pets that you can actually own and then discover the rarest animals on the planet.

author
Savannah Cox
author
Savannah Cox holds a Master's in International Affairs from The New School as well as a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and now serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Sheffield. Her work as a writer has also appeared on DNAinfo.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.