67 World's Weirdest Animals 2024 (Strange Animals Pictures)

The weirdest animals in the world in 2024 are animals that are strange, unexpected, unusual, and bizarre in forms. In fact, some among them have funny looks, you may laugh at seeing some. Either you are looking at how weird these animals are; there are benefits of looking at them.

Looking at nature even if it is in the pictures and videos reduces stress, increases better mood, improves attention span. All these contribute positively to our well-being. So looking at the weirdest animals in the world has positive effects on you.

On our planet earth today, there are close to 9 million species of animals. You may have given thought to this question, what is or are the weirdest animals ever here on earth?  No matter how weird they may look, they all have fascinating facts you will love to know. Sadly, some of these animals are on brink of extinction.

Here are the 67 world's weirdest animals 2024 (existing, unusual, wonderful creatures + pictures); they are really unbelievable creatures,

• Kakapo-world's weirdest animal
• Glass Frog
• Asian Sheepshead Wrasse
• Star-Nosed Mole
• Red Lipped Batfish
• Hummingbird hawk-moth
• Jawfish
• Eastern Blue-tongue Lizard
• Gelada monkeys
• Sea pigs
• Aye-aye

and fifty-six more. Keep reading you will never be bored down to the end of this article; there are pictures and videos here.  They are not listed on how strange they are, they are all weird animals in the world. The numbering is just to keep track.              

                                                                              

1. Glass Frog                                     

Image credit: Jen St. Louis

The name says it all; having glass-like skin makes them among the weirdest animals 2024. It has transparent skin in which the stomach, intestine, lungs, and other internal organs can be seen. The translucent skin on their chest and bellies is typically olive green or light green. 

With this, you can even watch as the heart is pumping blood. Glass Frog’s skin condition is known as the edge diffusion phenomenon. Their length varied depending on the species. Typically, their total length is between 20mm (0.8 inches) to 80mm (3 inches). 

They can be found in the rainforest of Mexico, Central and Southern part of America. They live on the tree (Arboreal animals) in waterlogged areas. Glass Frogs are different from tree frogs.

First, unlike tree frogs, they have transparent skin. Second, they are smaller than tree frogs, and their eyes are oriented forward unlike tree frogs in which their eyes are oriented sideways. They feed on insects like spiders. Like other frogs they are territorials, males will chase away other unwanted males in their territory. 

Parent glass frog takes care of the young ones from tadpole until they are old enough to live on their own. There are about 120 species of glass frogs in which their lives are being endangered because of deforestation. Snakes and some birds also feed on them.

2. Asian Sheepshead Wrasse             

Image credit: Ryokou man/Wikimedia commons

Asian Sheepshead Wrasse’s name shows that people believe its head looks like sheep, but it also looks like a human with the forehead and lips. This unusual shape of their head brings them among the weirdest animals in the world 2024. 

Their average weight is 32 pounds and they can be 39 inches long. Asian Sheepshead Wrasses are found in cool sea waters and coral reefs in Korea, Japan, and China. They feed on smaller fishes, crustaceans, and shellfish. Their population and lifespan are unknown.

3. Star-Nosed Mole                             

Star-Nosed Moles live under the ground. They have unusual star-shaped noses, with this, they are part of the weirdest animals in 2024. They have 22 fleshy protrudes called rays around their nose. 

Their nose is not only for breathing but also for feeling and prey hunting in the dark because they are almost blind. The star shape nose helps it to feed because it is very sensitive, in fact, it is the most sensitive organ to touch in animals. 

They eat very fast compares to any animal on earth. Star-Nosed Moles are found in Eastern Canada and North America. They do weigh 55 grams (12 pounds) on average and their sizes range from 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm). They are carnivores; they feed on worms, insects, and small invertebrates.

4. Red Lipped Batfish                        

Image credit: Dailymi

Red Lipped Batfish is also known as Galapagos batfish. This fish looks like a lady with red lipstick that does not apply it well and then being dissatisfied with the makeup because she cannot do anything about it. Red Lipped Batfish do not look like fish, they somehow resemble bats especially with the shape of their pectoral fin. 

They are different from other batfish with their fluorescent red lips. They can be grey or brownish in color. Some scientist believes the red lip is used for the enticing opposite sex for copulating. Red Lipped Batfish are walking fish; they are not good at swimming. They are often found at the ocean bottom. 

They reside in Peru and in Galapagos Island, which gives its second name, Galapagos batfish. They are carnivorous; they feed on small shrimps, mollusks, and crabs. They have an average length of 8 inches. They are not dangerous to humans. They have an average lifespan of 12 years.

 

5. Hummingbird hawk-moth      

Image credit: Jan-Cor Jacobs/Pixabay 

This moth has the characteristics of a hummingbird and hawk. From the picture above, it clear that they are one of the weirdest animals in the world ever. The head and their broad body structure look like a bird, especially a hawk.  

Like a hummingbird, its wings flap very fast while hovering over flowers. This brings about the audible ‘hum’ sound. Their body is filled with gray-colored hair with orange wings; this gives them a feathery appearance. 

They feed on nectar from flowers, while their caterpillars feed on bedstraw plants. Hummingbird hawk-moths are migrating animals. Every year during the summer, they migrate from Southern Europe to the UK. They are 2.5 inches long. Bats and birds are among their predators.

6. Jaw fish                                      

Image credit: Kevin Bryant/realmonstrosities

Jawfish are sand-living fishes that have big mouths. They use their big mouth to move rocks and sands while burrowing. You can spot them in the western Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea where coral reefs are. At seeing this fish, you might feel irritated because this fish looks weird. 

This is because they have stones and sands in their mouth; this brings them on the list of weirdest animals in the world. The mouth is filled with sands and little rocks that they can spit at their predators. Also, they use their mouth for brooding. Jawfish feed on krill and small fish. Their average size is 10 cm (4 inches).

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7. Eastern Blue-tongue Lizard      

Most lizards’ tongue is usually pink in color. For Eastern Blue-tongue Lizard, its tongue color is blue. It uses the tongue as a defensive mechanism. If threatened, it will bring out its tongue, flattened its body, and hiss to fend off predators away.

 This animal's total length from head to tail length ranges between 17.7-23.6 inches (450mm-600mm). Eastern Blue-tongue Lizard feeds on fruits, worms, berries, flowers, and insects. They can be found in Australia and Indonesia’s islands (Tanibar). They can live up to twenty years.

8. Gelada monkeys                      

Image credit:Elsemargriet/Pixabay 

Gelada monkeys also belong to the weirdest animals. At the center of their chest, they all have patches of red skin that are hairless that look as if the area of the skin is bleeding. That is where they got their other name from, bleeding heart baboon. 

Gelada monkeys are baboon-size monkeys and they are grass eaters. They can be spot on Ethiopia’s high mountains on rocky cliffs. Their approximate weight ranges between 29-46 pounds while their size is between 20-29 inches. Gelada monkey’s average lifespan is 30 years.

9. Sea pigs                                      

Image credit: NOAA/MBARI /Wikimedia commmons

Sea pigs are characterized among the weirdest animals that look like inflated transparent nylon or soft plastic. They are not pigs as the name says rather they are marine invertebrates or echinoderms like starfish and urchins. Their body length sizes range between 4 to 5 inches long. 

They love to stay at the coolest, darkest, and deepest part of the oceans. Sea pigs are found in every ocean around the world.  They act like vacuum cleaners because they are scavengers. They only walk because they cannot swim. They feed on algae through their tentacles. Their life span is unknown.

10. Aye-aye                              

Image credit: Nomis-Simon/Wikimedia commons

Aye-aye is residing only on Madagascar Island. They are the world’s largest nocturnal primate.  They prefer to stay and sleep on rainforest trees than walking on land. Aye-aye has big golden eyes, smallmouth, large bat-like ears, long slender fingers (the middle finger is longer), with fur bodies. 

The average weights of an adult are between four to six pounds (2 to 2.7kg).  The adults are usually 14-17 inches long from the head to the rest of their bodies. While the tail’s length ranges between 22 to 24 inches. 

They live a solitary lifestyle, they hardly socialize. They feed on nuts, insects, larva, fruits, fungi, and seeds. Aye-aye's lives have always been endangered, in 1933, people thought that they have been extinct, not until 1956, they were discovered back.  

Aye-aye is among the weirdest looking animal because they look scary. Humans are endangering their lives in Madagascar because sometimes they often kill them on sight. 

The reasons being that people from Madagascar believe they can cause bad luck. They have that belief because of its weird look.  They have a long lifespan; Aye-aye can live up to 23 years.

11.  Frogfish                               

Image credit: Wmpearl/Wikicommons

Frogfish can be seen in the Indian Ocean, Eastern Atlantic, Red Sea, Asia, and Indonesia. Frogfish resemble frogs resting on their scab-like legs. Frogfish are walking fish; they are not really good swimmers. 

They are also called grotesque by one mayor in Indonesia, meaning, “the spawn of Satan”. He gave the frog the name, probably because of its weird look, being among the weirdest animals in the world. They have the ability to change color like chameleons. Depending on the species, they can reach a length up to 22 inches.

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12. Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko      

Image credit: Charles J.Sharp

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko is a small animal that is part of the gekkonid lizard species. It is a weird-looking animal; its name says it all, it is one of the weirdest animals. Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko often looks like a dead leaf with the edge of their body like the edge of a leaf.

They have the ability to change their body color, even though it is limited. They have the ability to also change their body structure to mimic their environments.  

Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko resides only in the eastern part of Madagascar's mountainous rainforest. Their sizes range between 2.5 to 3.5 inches. Their average weight is from 0.35 to 1 ounce. 

Like other reptiles, they are carnivores; they feed on small insects, spiders, and crickets.  Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko is a nocturnal animal. No matter how skillful they are at camouflaging, they are still prey to snakes, rats, birds, and other animals.

13.  Pacu Fish                             

Pacu means “quick eater” in Tupi-Guarani language, South America. Pacu Fish also called “vegetarian piranha” is unusual fish with the teeth like that of humans. Unlike most fishes that have sharp, jagged fangs for ripping their prey, Pacu has human-like teeth. 

This enables it to crush and grind shells of crustaceans and nuts that fall underwater. They have flat bodies and they come in different colors like white, black, grey and silver. They are usually between 7 to 42 inches long and can weigh on average around 50 pounds. They have a lifespan between 15 to 25 years.

14.  Naked Mole-Rats                  

The name says it all about their appearance, being among the weirdest animals. Naked Mole-Rats look like naked rats without fur. But in reality, they are not naked and they are not a rat. 

They are bucktoothed rodents that love to burrow in East Africa. Their tooth helps them to grasp things and they have the ability to move each individual tooth. Naked Mole-Rats are not completely naked; they have few hairs on their body that works like whisker according to San Diego Zoo. 

They exhibit a Eusocial lifestyle like termites having lots of males, soldiers, and workers with a single female, the queen, in their colony. They are the only mammals to have this type of lifestyle. 

Naked Mole-Rats can live without oxygen for 18 minutes and up to 5 hours for air with less oxygen. In burrows where the oxygen is less, their body release fructose to the blood and then to the brain, this enables them to survive. They have an average lifespan of 30 years.

15. Amazon Horned Frog              

Image credit: Bernard DUPONT/Wikimedia commons

Amazon Horned Frogs are native to South America and they are part of the Southern frogs’ family. They have an average weight of 1 pound and their length size ranges between 4-8 inches. They have remarkably wide mouths and projections above their eyes like horns. 

This feature brings them on this list of the weirdest animals.  They have different colors from dark brown to light brown to green. They are prey to birds and snakes, but mice, smaller frogs, lizards, snails are also prey to them. Amazon Horned Frog can live up to 15 years.

16. Giant Leaf Insect                 

Image credit: Drägüs

When you see this insect you think it is a leaf until you see it moving. That is where its other name comes from, Walking Leaf. An interesting fact about this insect is that it looks like a leaf and it also feeds on leaves (Herbivore). Among the Weirdest animals is this insect.

The giant Leaf insect has a small head with short antennas. The insect is 4 inches long (10 cm). They are found in the forest’s canopy in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and some parts of Australia. Giant Leaf Insects are usually flightless. In fact, they have features like a real leaf; some have midrib, vein, leaf holes, and damaged parts like in leaves. 

Giant Leaf Insects are docile in nature; they can stay inert for long. This camouflage helps them not to be easily detected by predators. The females, without the males, can reproduce by Parthenogenesis (i.e. reproduction without fertilization).

17.  Phosphorescent Sea Pen              

Image credit: Nhobgood Nick Hobgood

The Phosphorescent Sea pen is a fascinating invertebrate animal, yet among the weirdest animals in the world. They look like an ancient quill pen anchored into the ground. Around the world, in the deep sea of temperate and tropical waters, you can find them, also in shallow waters.  

Their length upward ranges between 20 cm (8 inches) to 2 meters (6.5 ft.). Sea pens are animals like sea anemones and coral called sessile animals (they are stagnant animals that rarely move). 

Phosphorescent Sea Pen anchored themselves to places conducive for them in terms of food (Plankton is their favorite meal) and environment. They have 8 tentacles, with polyps attaching to each tentacle. 

Phosphorescent Sea Pen takes in foods through their polyps. Most sea pens glow or laminate and they can be male or female.  They are of different colors; they can be brown, orange, red, and yellow.

18. Tarsiers                                

Looking at Tarsiers in the above picture, you know what is weird about this animal, its enormous eyes. Each eyeball is the same size as its brain, making it one of the weirdest animals.  Tarsiers’ r eyes are very big that they are unable to rotate them. 

So don’t get scared when they are looking at you. Like owls, they are capable of twisting their head 180 degrees in any direction. Tarsiers also have elongated appendages that help them to cling and grasp tree branches. With this, they can leap a distance of 5 meters. 

Tarsiers are carnivorous animals; they feed on snakes, bats, birds, lizards, and frogs. Around the world, you can find these animals. There are about 10 types of their species.  Sadly, this sociable animal is listed among animals that their lives are endangered.

19. The Umbonia Spinosa           

Image credit: alchetron.com

It is also known as a thorn bug or treehopper. They have strange big helmets that it is for their protection against predators. This bug poop sugary excrement in which the ants love to eat. For that, the ants are always around this bug protecting it, since the bug is their source of meals. 

Their shape brings them among the list of weirdest animals. Scientists are still making more research about the Umbonia Spinosa for more knowledge about this insect because they are not common.

20. Flying Gecko                      

Flying Gecko looks like a tree bark from far. They have flaps around their face, tails, and arms. Also, they have webbed feet. All these features help this animal while leaping.  They don’t actually fly like the name implies, rather they can leap from one branch to the other. 

Flying Gecko resides in Southeast Asia tropical forests. They are usually between 6-8 inches long. They feed on roaches, worms, and crickets. Flying Gecko can live between 5 and 8 years.

21. Sailfin Water Lizard               

Image credit: reptile.guide

What makes Sailfin Water Lizard among the weirdest animals is its large sailfins on the back and its skin’s look. They also have long tails. They are likewise known as water dragons. 

Sailfin Water Lizard can reach up to 36 inches in length. They reside in rice-field, wood areas, and water banks in the Philippines. They feed on insects and fruits. They have an average lifespan of 8 to 23 years.

22. Desert Rain Frog                 

Desert Rain Frogs are small frogs native to Namibia and South Africa. It has a funny look of being sad, for this, it is classified among the weirdest animals in the world. Desert Rain Frogs are of different colors from brown to black. The black color looks like a rotten avocado. 

At the central and the posterior of its body is the transparent skin that you can see some parts of its internal organs.  Their sound when threatened is very funny.  Desert Rain Frog has an average length of 2.0-2.5 inches.  They can live for fifteen years.

23. Shoebill  

Image credit: Melissa Askew/Unsplash

Shoebills are big birds with big beaks. They are rare large birds and they are parts of the weirdest animals. They are tall birds with spindly legs; they can be as tall as 5 feet. 

As the name shows, the bill of the bird is large shoe-shaped. Their countenance looks like they are frowning (angry look) with their golden eyes. Their body shape looks like a dinosaur. 

This makes them look weird. Shoebills are the 3rd on the list of the world’s longest beaks. Their beak can be between 20 cm (7.4 inches) to 24cm (9.4 inches) long. the edge of their beak is very sharp like a razor blade for killing prey. They often make a loud sound like a machine gun, though not as loud as a machine gun. 

Shoebill often lays just two eggs but eventually, just one always survives. They lived in East Africa countries like Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, and Congo. They feed on fishes like Tilapia, Catfish, and Bichirs. 

They also feed on rodents, lizards, and watersnakes. Shoebill is a very good hunter. It hunts where there is low oxygenated water in which fishes get to the surface of the water for oxygen. 

Also, the shoebill will stay still in an area for long like a statue before it launches its attack on its prey. They are among the world’s most expensive birds. In Zoo trade, one Shoebill can be sold for $10,000 to $20,000. This is why their lives are been endangered seriously, they can possibly be extinct.

24. Axolotl  

Image credit: Tinwe/Pixabay

Axolotl means water dog from ancient Aztec mythology. The axolotls are unusual amphibians also referred to as Mexican walking fish. They reside in ponds and freshwater lakes in Mexico. Actually, they are not fish but they are unique neotenic salamander that lives inside water. 

It is among the weirdest animals in the world because unlike other salamanders that just live in marshy areas, it’s live in water. They have three colors, brown, pink and white. Axolotl feed on other small animals such as small fish, tadpoles, and worms. Sadly, their lives are seriously endangered. 

Axolotl feed on its prey by suction, it does not chew.  Unlike other salamanders, they have gills instead of lungs. They do not undergo metamorphosis (the development of lungs and legs like in frogs) like other amphibians. They continue to live in water even at adults with their gills.  They have an average weight of 0.08 kg and a length of 30 cm.

25. Horned viper  

Image credit: Holger Krisp/Wikimedia Commons

Unlike other venomous snakes, this snake has a horn. A horned viper can be found in the Middle East and North Africa. They can reach the length of 12-24 inches. 

To hunt on its prey, the Horned viper usually hides in the sand. They feed on birds, rodents, and lizards. This snake is among the weirdest animals has an average lifespan between 15-18 years.

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26. Whitemargin Stargazer  

Image credit: Bernard DUPONT

Whitemargin stargazer is also known as pop-eyed fish and Marbled Stargazer. They are named stargazer because of the position of their eyes that seems like they are stargazing.  

They look weird when you see them in the sand because they like to bury themselves in the sand with only their eyes and mouth to show. They do that for hurting their prey. Around the world, you can spot them in the temperate and warm sea. They can be up to 45cm long and on average they can weigh 20 pounds (9kg).

27. Umbrellabird  

Image credit: 9gag.com

Umbrellabirds are large black birds native to the Southern and Central American rainforest. They have distinct 35cm inflatable wattle on the male’s neck that is covered with short scaly feathers. The female is half-size in everything compares to the male, like the wattle, their body size, and crest.  

There are 3 species of umbrellabird with similar umbrella-like appearances and crests on their head, but different shapes. These features bring it to the list of the weirdest animals in the world.

 

Their sizes range from 35-50cm (15-20 inches) with an average weight between 350g to 570g (11.3-20oz). They live a solitary lifestyle at the top of trees canopies. 

However, the male congregates during the mating season where they display their wattles, plumage and sing to females. Umbrellabird can only fly a shorter distance with slow flying speed. 

They feed on insects, fruits, and frogs. They have an average lifespan of 16 years. They are vulnerable to Snakes, Monkeys, Eagles, and Hawk. Their lives are being threatened due to deforestation.

28. Indian purple frog  

Indian purple frogs are also known as purple pig-nosed frogs or doughnut frogs. The frog was recently discovered in 2003, in the Southern part of India, in the Western Ghats. They have a small white pig-shaped nose, smallmouth, short legs, and glossy smooth skin. 

Their color can be purple or brown and they are classified among the weirdest animals. Their size ranges between 6-9 inches. On average, they do weigh around 165 grams. Indian purple frog lives under the ground. They only come out of their place for copulation. 

Their lives are been endangered due to deforestation. Indian purple frogs are not poisonous frogs; local people in the area harvest them for food. With this, their lives are being endangered. They feed on small insects by sucking them like moles.

29. Thorny Devil   

This animal, Thorny Devil has more names based on its weird look, Moloch, thorny dragon, mountain devil, and Devil lizard. Though thorns on their body are for protection, they are among the weirdest animals. 

Thorny Devil only resides in the shrub and desert area of Australia’s mainland. They feed mainly on ants about 750 ants daily. They are slow-moving animals in which sometimes they may erect their tails in the air. 

They are solitary in nature. On average, the females lay between 3 to 10 eggs in a burrow. The babies on hatching eat their eggshells before exiting the place. In the wild, their average lifespan is between 6 to 20 years.

30. Leafy Seadragons  

Image credit: James Rosindell

Leafy Seadragons live in the western and southern parts of Australia’s coast. They are also known as Glauert’s seadragon. They look like dragons and seahorses with leaf-like protrude lobes of skin filaments. They are one of the weirdest animals that look like plants. Their seaweed appearance makes them conceal themselves from predators. 

They do not have any predators, since their camouflage is really exceptional. They can change their color to blend with their area and according to the stress they experience.  

Leafy Seadragons are often seen at rocky reefs, seaweed beds, where there are lower light conditions and clear water. They get nourish from small crustaceans and plankton through their elongated tube-like nose. 

They can remain at a place for almost 3 days. Leafy Seadragons are very slow at swimming, often at 150 meters per hour. No parental care when new ones are hatch, the young ones are left alone after hatch. 

Their precise numbers are unknown, but they are limited. They can live close to three years. Collectors do sell them around the US $10,000 to $ 15,000, this is illegal.

31. Pink Fairy Armadillo  

Image credit: Cliff/Wikimedia commons

Pink Fairy Armadillo is native to some areas in South America and Argentina. Its unique appearance is its dorsal shell separating from its body. With this, it appears as if there is a spread of scaly mat on its body. 

This makes it different from other armadillos bringing it among the weirdest animals. They have small ears, so they depend much on their hearing.  Pink Fairy Armadillo has an average weight of 120g with an average length between 90 to 115mm. 

Their lives are seriously endangered that their population size is just around 100 because of the destruction of their habitat and attacks by dogs. This animal when threatened is so smart that it can make a burrow within seconds to conceal it.  Pink Fairy Armadillo has a lifespan between 5 to 10 years.

32. Blue Dragon  

Image credit: Taro Taylor from Sydney, Australia

They are among the weirdest animals and are hermaphrodites in nature. These creatures are also referred to as sea swallows, blue angels, blue sea slugs. Blue Dragons are fragile creatures that reside in the Indian oceans, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. This animal is blue because it displays its blue backside. 

Blue dragons are not fish, they belong to nudibranch (sea slugs), a type of mollusk. In its stomachs are air bubbles that help it to float. On average they are 3 cm in length and weighing from 3 to 100 grams. The bright blue color of this animal helps it to conceal from predators since the color blend with the ocean color. 

One thing that is also interesting about this animal is that it can eat a meal that is bigger than its size. They have radular teeth that enable them to eat foods easily. The Group of this creature is known as “blue fleets”.

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33. Honduran White Bat  

Image credit: Geoff Gallice from Gainesville, FL, USA

Honduran White Bats are adorable bats with the unusual appearance of having leaf-shaped noses. The nose also looks like the snout of a pig. Not only that, at the upper part of their jaw, are two fangs and at the lower part, their teeth are like Human teeth. 

They are found in the lowland rainforest of South and Central America. Honduran White Bat is among the world’s weirdest animals in the world because of its unusual appearance.  They are from 4-5 cm in length with an average weight of 6 grams. 

Honduran White Bat flies to search for food and run from predators like snakes, monkeys, raptors, and owls. They are nocturnal animals and like other bats, they stay upside down. 

They feed on fruits from one specific fig tree, Ficus colubrine tree. Unlike other bats, they do not have tails. They can live for more than 15 years. They live a polygamous lifestyle. They have a natural inbuilt mechanism to protect them from the sun’s ultraviolet light. Their females give birth in colonies.

34. Panda Ant  

Image credit: Chris Lukhaup

As the name says, it is a small weird creature that looks like a panda. Actually, they are not ants, they are wasps. They can be spot on in southwestern U.S and Mexico. Like other wasps, they do not live in colonies, unlike ants. Be careful around Panda Ant, because they can sting. Their sting is very painful, for this some people call it “Cow killer”. 

It is only the female that stings because the female ovipositor is modified into a stinger. Also, it is only the female that is wingless. Nectar is their main source of food. They can live up to 2 years as their average. Sadly, Panda Ants are animals listed among endangered and weirdest animals.

35. Hairy frog  

Image credit: Gustavocarra

Hairy frog is also known as Wolverine frog and Horror frog. All its names depict it as one of the weirdest looking animals because it is unusual for frogs to have hairs. On average they are 11cm long, though females are shorter than males. 

They have the ability to break their bone and develop claws. Hairy frogs are native to some places in some Africa countries like Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Cameroon.

36. Jabiru  

Image credit: Charles James Sharp

In countries like Argentina, Mexico, and in Americas (Central America and South America), you can see this large stork called Jabiru. Its name means “swollen neck” in the Tupi-Guarani language. Its neck looks segmented, this brings it among the weirdest animals in the world. 

They can be tall up to 5 feet (1.5m), its wings length can measure up to 9.2 feet (2.8 m). Its broad black beak ends in a sharp point. Jabiru resides very close to ponds and rivers as large groups because they feed on amphibians, fish, and mollusks. Their feathers are whites except for the ones on the neck that is black with a red pouch.

37. Male Magnificent Frigatebirds  

Image credit: Andrew Turner from Washington, DC, U.S

This bird is Magnificent as its name implies when it comes to its bright red gular sac in males. The male has the ability to largely inflate its sac to attract the female. 

The female does not have this red gular sac, instead, they have white plumage on their chest. They can be spot on in Ecuador, Southern Brazil, Florida, and Mexico. They have an average length of 89 to 114 cm and a weight between 1 to 1.6 kg. They can live between 15 to 25 years as their average lifespan.

38. Ocean Sunfish  

Ocean sunfish are enormous fish with weird looks. In German, they are also referred to as “swimming heads “, because of their strange appearance. They are the world’s heaviest bony fish that have an average weight of more than 1,000 pounds. There has been one that weighs 2300 pounds. Their sizes range from 8 -10 feet long. 

They are really sunfish because they love to swim towards the surface of the water to show their sides to the sun (Sunbathing). They do that probably to feel warm after diving into deep cool waters. 

Their females can lay up to 300 million eggs at once more than any other animal on earth. They also have weird fused teeth that look like beaks with all these; they are characterized among the weirdest animals in the world.

39. Armadillo Girdled Lizard  

Image credit: Handré Basson/Wikimedia commons

Armadillo Girdled Lizards are heavily-armored lizards with flattened stocky bodies. When threatened they can curl up like a ball. This makes them one of the weirdest animals. They are also known as armadillo spiny-tailed lizards.  They are the only lizard that their females do not lay eggs but give birth. 

Armadillo Girdled Lizard also has parental care, unlike other lizards.  They reside in desert places on South African’s western coast. They are insectivores and are sociable animals. They have an average weight of 8-17 pounds with 15-17 inches long. Their lifespan is unknown.

40. Surinam sea toad  

Image credit: Dein Freund der Baum 

They are native to the Caribbean and South American rainforests. Surinam sea toad looks like a brown leaf with tiny eyes. They have hind webbed feet. On seeing the back of this toad, you might feel irritated or cringe at glancing through the back of this frog, because of its strange look as part of the weirdest animals. They have this weird look because of the strange way they give birth. At their back, the females incubate their babies. 

Image credit: Endeneon

But at first, they release around 100 eggs for the male to fertilize, the male clings to the female back while fertilizing the eggs. After the fertilization, they embedded the eggs back into their skin for incubation and it will be sealed. 

Then their skin forms tiny pocket structures, after 3-4 months, the babies emerge from the mother’s skin. Unlike other toads, the Surinam sea toad does not undergo a tadpole or larval stage. They give birth to mature young toads. They can live for 8 years.

41. Rufous Potoo  

Image credit: Eric Gropp 

You can spot Rufous Potoo in French Guiana, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. They are frequently found in images because of their somewhat bizarre and dreadful looks. They are among the weirdest animals with their largemouth and tremendous googly yellow eyes, just as their name, potoo. 

Rufus Potoo is different from other Potoo with their brown color with white spot. They are nocturnal and insectivorous animals. Their weight sizes range from 46 to 58 grams with an average height of 8 to 10 inches.

42. Okapi  

Image credit: Tina Robson/Pixabay 

Okapi is a shy animal that can only be found in the Democratic Republic of Congo forests. It has some weird features, bringing them on the list of weirdest animals in the world. 

It has two horns that are right above its eyes, unlike other horned herbivores whose horn is in between the two ears. Another feature is its white and black striped legs.

 From that, it seems Okapi belongs to the Zebra family kind of, but they are actually related to the Giraffe family. The stripe pattern helps them in camouflaging in the forest. Okapi has a dark long tongue that they can use to clean their ears and eyes. 

Their large ears can rotate in opposite directions and they will be able to hear sound from behind and in front. Their fur is velvet with oily skin. 

If you got the opportunity to rub your hand on their body, your hand will be left with a dark slippery deposit. Sadly, Okapi's lives are endangered in the last fifteen years; their numbers have reduced drastically to half.

43. Lowland Streaked Tenrec  

Image credit: Frank Vassen

Lowland Streaked Tenrec being among the weirdest animals in the world belong to the Tenrecidae family. They have fur-like spines with a pointed snout. They reside in the Madagascar lowland rainforest. 

They feed mostly on insects and earthworms. Their weight is usually 200 grams with an average length that ranges between 4.8 to 6.5 inches.  They can live close to 3 years.

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44. Frilled Lizard 

Image credit:  Matt from Melbourne, Australia

This Lizard is beautiful and at the same time, it is one of the weirdest animals. Around its neck is a pleated flap of skins. If threaten; the lizard will raise its pleated skin flap like an umbrella and hiss. In cool condition, it will simply fold the skin back. 

It belongs to arboreal animals and is also part of the dragon family. Frilled Lizard weighs around 1.1 pounds with an average length of 3 ft. from head to tail. In New Guinea and Australia, you can find them in warm tropical parts. Insects are their favorite food and they are also prey to birds and snakes.  Their average lifespan is 20 years

45. Titicaca water frog  

Image credit: Petr Hamerník - Zoo Praha

Titicaca water frogs are only found in Lake Titicaca, Bolivia. The usual nature of this frog is that its skin is baggy; it is like the frog wears an oversize dress. But it is actually good for its survival because the baggy skin enables it to absorb oxygen. 

They breathe through their skin, though they have nostrils as well. It rarely surfaces to ground, they live entirely in water. Titicaca water frogs on average are 5.5 inches in length. Sadly, their lives are critically endangered

46. Hoatzin               

Image credit: Francesco Veronesi from Italy 

Hoatzins are native to Northern countries in South America. They are also known as stink birds, skunk birds, and reptile birds. This bird is weird apart from the unusual look of the bluish face and erect plumage on its head, they have an unpleasant odor and they also make a lot of noise. 

Like ruminant animals, they feed mostly on leaves. Hoatzins are the only bird to have foregut digestion like ruminant animals such as cows and goats. This feature makes them among the weirdest animals.  Foregut digestion involves fermenting food which helps in breaking down cellulose for easy digestion. 

Fermentation of food in the gut of this bird causes this unpleasant smell that makes Hoatzin stink. Their average weight is around 1.78 pounds and they are 25 inches in length. Their average lifespan is between 15 to 30 years.

47. Burton's legless lizard  

Image credit: Matt Clancy/Wikimedia commons

If you did not see the name above, on seeing this picture, you will think, this is a snake.  It is not, it is Burton's legless Lizard that is native to New Guinea and Australia. Legless lizards can be seen around the world; it’s because of the snake-like look that people cannot differentiate them from snakes. 

You can tell them apart from snakes, in two ways. First, legless lizards are like other lizards in the sense that they have external opened ears and eyelids while snakes do not have these. Then second, snakes have broad bellies whereas legless lizards don’t have broad bellies. Burton's legless Lizard is among the weirdest animals.

48. Angler fish  

Image credit: Masaki Miya et al/Wikimedia commons

Angler fish looks ferocious, is like it has bad-tempered. Their mouth is filled with transparent sharp teeth. They are large fish with big heads. Their length on average is 8-40 inches and 110 pounds in weight. 

Their reproduction is weird which is parasitic; this also brings them to the list of weirdest animals. The male, which is smaller than the female will hook the female with its sharp teeth. It will then fuse into the female losing its eyes and every other internal organ except its testes for fertilization.  

After which the male depends completely on the female. 5 or more males can be attached to a single female’s body. Angler fish reside at the bottom of the Antarctic and Atlantic oceans (that is 3000 ft. below the surface of the water). That is why their full name is actually deep-sea angler fish.

49. King Vulture  

Image credit: Ian Lindsay/Pixabay

They are colorful vultures that can be spotted in South America, Central America, and Mexico. King Vulture’s nostril is like a tumor is attached to it and the upper parts of its head are like its skin is folded or peeling away. Being among the weirdest animals in the world, its head and neck are bared; there is no plumage in it.

 It’s the only vulture that does not have eyelashes.  Like other vultures, they are scavengers and they can spread diseases. They have an average weight of 3.17-4.08 kg (7-9 pounds). Their height ranges from 71-81 cm (28-32 inches). Their lifespan is between 20-25 years

50. Sloth  

Image credit: Sophia Müller/Unsplash

The black coloration surrounding their eyes is like a woman that applies too much mascara but mistakenly rubs it off and spreads below her eyes. Sloth is the world’s laziest animal. Per day, they can sleep between 15-20 hours. 

Yet, they are strong animals; they are 3 times stronger than us. During the bright day, they are almost blind, this accounts for their slowness. They have the slowest digestive system too; this makes them among the weirdest animals. They feed on tender shoots, leaves, and buds. It takes nothing less than 30 days to digest their food. 

From 100 feet height, a slot can fall from it, without sustaining any injury. They can be found in Peru, Brazil, and Central America.  Their weight is 8.8 pounds (4kg) on average while their sizes are 23 inches (58cm) on average. They have the ability to turn their head 270 ⁰ to view their environments. About their lifespan, nobody knows.

51. Jackson’s chameleon  

Image credit: Amy Humphries/Unsplash

Jackson’s chameleon is different from other chameleons with 3 horns they have on their face. It is only the males that possess horns, females don’t have. They use their horns for defense.  

They can be found in forest and woodland areas and it seems they really love to stay at coffee plantation areas. Two of the horn is above the eyes and one on the nose, with this they are part of the weirdest animals. 

On average, their size can be 5.5 inches (14cm). Unlike human eyes, their eyes can rotate freely of each other. Like other chameleons, they change color. Jackson’s chameleons are omnivores; they feed on insects, leaves, berries, geckos, snails, butterflies, etc. They have an average lifespan of 10 years.

52. Darwin’s Frog  

Image credit: Mono Andes - Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

Darwin’s Frogs are native to South America. It was discovered by Charles Darwin, for that, the frog was named Darwin’s frog. At the upper part of its body is a large Blotches that looks like a leaf fallen on its body. Their colors range from brown to green which helps them in camouflaging. 

They have a pointed snout and triangular-shaped head. Their average weight is between 0.07-0.17 ounces with 0.9-1.4 inches in length. Darwin’s Frogs feed on snails and worms and they are also prey to animals such as birds, snakes, and rodents. Their average lifespan is 10-15 years.

53. Narwhal   

Image credit: blueocean.net

Narwhals are among the weirdest animals in the world with longs spiral tusk on their head, like a sword. Some males have up to two tusks, while females do not have, though sometimes females may have small tusks.  

In reality, the tusk is an enlarged elongated tooth with millions of nerve endings in it. The function of the tusk is not really clear to scientists, but it seems it is used for attracting females. Narwhal feeds on shrimp, squid, and Polar cod. 

They have an average length of 13-20 feet with an average weight of 1.5 tons. They can be found under sea ice and in the Open Ocean in Russia, Norway, and the Arctic waters of Canada. They are very social, they travel in groups.

54. Two-Headed Turtle

Two-Headed Turtle is not a type of sea turtle. Animals with two heads are really one of the weirdest animals. The phenomenon in which a turtle is having a single body with two heads is known as polycephaly. 

It is a mutation that causes the fusions of two embryos or the incomplete splitting of two embryos. Though this type of phenomenon is very rare, the survival rate is low, and they do not reach adult life before they die.

55. The buff-tip moth  

Image credit: Ian Lindsay/Pixabay

When buff-tip moth folds its wings around its body at the resting time, it looks likes shopped dry wood. Buff-tip moths usually rest on the ground or on twigs to camouflage. 

You can spot them in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England from May to July every year. This moth sizes range between 22-34mm, and for the weight, you know it will be very light.

56. Goblin Shark  

Image credit: Dianne Bray / Museum Victoria/Wikimedia commons

Goblin Shark is a rare species of Shark found in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. The shark has an elongated compressed snout with pink or grey skin. This animal is characterized among the weirdest animals in the world with its jaws full of teeth that look like nails. 

The upper jaw has about 53 teeth while the lower jaw has about 62 teeth. Goblin Shark feeds on other small fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans. Unlike other sharks, they pose no threat to humans.  They have an average lifespan between 30-35 years. Other sharks feed on them too.

57. Blue Parrotfish  

Image credit: Simões, N.; Zarco Perello, S.; Moreno Mendoza, R. - Simões, N.; Zarco Perello, S.; Moreno Mendoza, R. (2014)/wikimedia commons

Blue Parrotfish are among the ray-finned fish. They are between 11 to 29 inches long. On average, they often weigh 20 pounds. They have the power to intensify their bluish color. They are very active during the day, but at night they conceal themselves.

 They have the ability to conceal themselves by secreting mucus around their body which tastes bitter and makes them harder to grip. Blue Parrotfish reside in the coral reef of the Caribbean Sea and the Western part of the Atlantic Ocean. They feed on coral and Algae. Blue Parrotfish have a beak-like mouth in which their teeth are fused. 

Under their throat, they have another set of teeth named pharyngeal apparatus, designed for grinding corals. Blue Parrotfish are sociable animals; they are often seen in groups. A single group can contain up to 40 fishes with just one male among them, which always leads them. They can live on average up to seven years.

58. Giant Isopod  

Image credit: a friend of User: Borgx/Wikimedia commons

They are animals like crabs and shrimps (crustaceans). These giant intimidating-looking animals are found at the seabed of the Southern Ocean. They have numerous sets of spiny legs, plates on their back, 2 pairs of jaws, and 4 antennae. They have multifaceted mouths for cutting and ripping their prey. 

They are of two different colors, ranging from lilac to brown.  Giant Isopod being among the weirdest animals, they look intimidating, but they are really mild. They feed on small moving animals and on sponges because they themselves are slow animals. Their sizes range between 7.5 to 14.2 inches. 

They can live without food for long. There was a report of a Giant isopod that lives for 5 years without food before it eventually died. But when they decide to eat, they will eat a lot that they will not be able to move. Giant Isopods only moves when they feel the need to eat.

They do hibernate themselves sometimes (though semi-hibernation). There is a possibility that they do not see but use different senses to discover mates and food, like their antennas. To gain size, their old strong overlapping exoskeletons are shed.

For them to scare away predators, they do curl up like a ball when threatened. The female can hatch 20 to 30 eggs in their body at once. They are the first marine invertebrates with large eggs.

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59. Mata Mata Turtle  

Image credit: J. Patrick Fischer

They are also called matamata,” or “Mata-Mata, which means “kill, kill” in Spanish. They are aquatic turtles with an unusual appearance with shell ridges and skin flaps. They appear like rough tree bark and leaves floating in the river, this brings them on the list of weirdest animals in the world 2023. 

They have elongated necks with flat triangular heads. They reside in South America Rivers and swamps. Mata Mata Turtle comes in different colors, dark green, brown, black, and grey. 

On average the adults weigh around 33pounds. They can be as long as 45 cm (18 inches). Some people take them as pets. They feed on insects, frogs, and small fishes. On average, their lifespan is thirty years.

60. Saiga Antelope  

Image credit: Andrey Giljov/Wikimedia commons

This animal has the weird look of a large pump-up nose, as among the weirdest animals in the world. Horn can only be seen in males, it is a way to identify males.  Saiga Antelope can be found in countries like Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Russia. 

They feed on shrubs, herbs, and plants, for this, they are often seen as large herds grazing on grassland and woodland. They are vulnerable as prey to feral dogs, foxes, and wolves. Their lifespan ranges from 5 to 12 years. 

Their weight ranges between 57 to 152 pounds depending on the gender. While their length from the head to other body parts is 3 to 5.6 feet and their tail length is between 2.4 to 5.2 inches. In Kazakhstan, Saiga Antelope's lives are endangered because they are killed for their meat.

61. Mexican Mole Lizard  

Mexican Mole Lizards are among the weirdest animals, they look like three creatures, worm, snake, and lizard. Its body has segments like a worm, its head is like a snake but its skin is like a lizard. 

They are actually a Lizard that is 18-24 cm long (7.1-9.4 inches) with 6cm (0.3 inches) wide. The lizard got its name from where it resides in Mexico and nearby areas. It is also known as the five-toed worm lizard. No matter how long this lizard is, it has just two legs. Their average lifespan is between 1-2 years.

62. Proboscis Monkey  

Image credit: Pen_ash/Pixabay

The Proboscis Monkey has this unusual pendulous nose. Actually to their females, that attracted and impressed them, depending on how elongated this nose is. 

Their nose brings them to the list of weirdest animals. Both the female and the male have this elongated fleshy nose, but that of the female is shorter. The female is smaller, like half size of the male. 

They also have large bellies. Proboscis Monkey resides very close to coastal mangroves, swamps, and the Island’s rivers of Borneo.  In males, their average weight is around 50 pounds while their size ranges from 24-28 inches. They feed on unripe fruits, seeds, and leaves.

63. Tapir  

Image credit: Coffee-king/Pixabay

Tapir looks like a wild hog, a pig, and an elephant from the shape of its nose. They are sometimes called living fossils. They are native to Southeast Asia, Central America, and South America. They are herbivorous animals very close to the zebras and rhinoceros. 

Their calves have dotted and stripped matches of fur and they look so much like a piglet. Like elephants, they use their nose to clench leaves and fruits to eat. 

They are also great swimmers. Tapir is a heavy animal that can weigh around 720 pounds with an average size of 4 feet in length.  Sadly, their lives are seriously endangered. They can live between 25 -30 years.

64. Turtle frog  

Image credit: Ry Beaver/cc-by-NC-4.0

Here is another weird animal, a turtle frog that looks like a shell-less turtle. They reside in Southwestern Australia. It lives mostly in the burrow except for mating season that they only come out.  Their babies come out of the egg as completely formed frogs. Turtle frogs feed on what they come across in burrows like termites and ants.

65. Marabou Stork  

Image credit: MAKY_OREL/Pixabay

Some people also refer to it as the national bird of Uganda. Though that is not the only country they are found in, they can also be spot on in Namibia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Senegal, and South Africa. 

From Marabou Stork’s look, it is considered as one of the world’s ugliest birds and it is also called “the undertaker bird”. They have this weird look, being among the weirdest animals in the world because of their faces that appear bleeding. 

Their feathers also look like hair and having sacs below their neck with their skinny legs. Marabou Stork has an average wingspan of 10.5 feet (3.19 m) and a height of 5 feet (1.52 m). On average they are 20Ibs (9kg) in weight. They have an average lifespan of 20 years.

66. Dugongs  

Image credit: PublicDomainImages/Pixabay

You can spot them in pairs around the house reef, Pupa Paradise. Dugongs are also called sea cows. Dugong means lady of the fish in the Malay language. The lower part of the sea creature is like the shape of ladyfish. While at the upper part of their body, they resemble elephants. 

They are shy animals but they do socialize and travel a long distance. They are often seen in pairs. The way they converse is similar to Dolphins' and whales' noise. Their gestation period is between 12 and 14 months.  

Dugongs have parental care, in fact, their mother takes care of their young ones for six to nine years. They have an incredible life span in which they can live for more than 70 years. Sadly, their lives are being endangered due to hunting and injuries from boats.

67. Kakapo  

Image credit: JIDANCHAOMIAN/CC BY-SA 2.0 LICENSE

Kakapo is the only parrot that cannot fly. Though they don’t really look like parrots, they even look more like owls and walk like ducks. They are part of the weirdest animals in the world because they are actually parrots not owls. 

They are one of the rarest birds in the world found in New Zealand. They have facial hair for courtship rituals. The males dance and sing to females to attract them. 

When threatened, this bird will freeze up, by standing still instead of running hoping that they will not get noticed. Kakapo's weight is between 4-9 Ibs with an average height of 24 inches. This bird has an incredible lifespan of 90 years.

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