unusual and wonderful creatures!!?

Question

No not just me!!

I mean ones like the plant that eats insects (venus fly trap)
or the fish that shoots insects off of branches to eat them with jets of water (archer fish)
or the self sacrifice of ants on the march..

Out of all of the creatures that you have heard of, what is the most amazing and why?

Answer 1

Well, there are a number of interesting "carnivorous" (more properly, "insectivorous") plants, including the Venus' flytrap (Dionaea muscipula). There are a number of "tropical" pitcher plants with pitchers that grow to 2-3 liters in capacity, and have been known to drown rats (reference 1).

And while the archer fish is interesting, both the electric catfish (Malapterurus electricus) and the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) are capable of generating substantial electric shocks. In the case of the eel, 400-500 watts- and even more- may be released in a single pulse.

There are also giant spiders (tarantulas) that can reach to be 10"- or more- across, such as Theraphosa blondi. There are scorpions that can be frozen in a block of ice, and emerge unharmed when thawed. The Siberian frog may also be frozen, and be thawed back to life.

There are also other exciting plants, such as the "tumbo tree" of the Namib desert, which lives only on the dew from the cold Atlantic ocean on the west coast of Africa. It consist of only two leaves that grow out and out of the base, and may live several hundred years (Welwitschia mirabilis). The Victoria water lily has pads that can grow 6' or more across, and has flowers that "capture" pollinators, dusting them with pollen before releasing them hours later.

There are many oddities, all of which have strange and peculiar properties. The amazing diversity of life on our planet holds many more secrets which have yet to be discovered- perhaps some stranger than anything we know.

Answer 2

Besides Man, in general, (and I know that's not what you meant) i consider the female of almost any mammal, particularly of the larger, more intelligent varieties.

The mother is the most self-sacrificing creature one can imagine. A mother bear will ferociously defent her cubs from even the slightest hint that the baby might be at risk. A female lion will fight to the death the much larger male from attacking her litter.

Examples of this are all over the animal kindom, but mammals, in particular demonstrate this amazing trait. As a higher order intelligence, these creatures KNOW the risks they face from their actions. Instinct may start the drive to defend, but something else moves them to disregard the dangers.

Women are amazing, wonderful creatures.

Answer 3

The so-called Jesus Christ lizard (or basilisk) can walk on water. It uses the surface tension of water and webbed feet to accomplish this.
http://www.ohs.osceola.k12.fl.us/teachers/animals/rljclizard/

The fish Amazon natives fear most is surprisingly not the piranha. It's the candiru, a small parasitic fish known for its unusual habit of swimming up a stream of urine into a body cavity, where it feeds on blood. The candiru is feared because it does attack humans who urinate or bathe in the Amazon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candiru

Strangler figs start off life in the branches of another tree. Their roots grow down the host, encircling it and preventing it from growing. The fig's leaves crowd out the host tree's, and the host eventually dies. What's left is a free standing strangler, with a hollow root cage lattice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strangler_Fig

Those are some of the weirdest I can think of, the links have pictures of the creatures and plants I described.

Answer 4

Any type of big cat because despite the human races best effort 2 eradicate all the species around they are just about hanging on I also love the grace and ferocity inherent in all the feline species right down to my humble little feral house tiger they move so ghost like I love 2 sit in my garden watching my living room Tiger stalking anything that dares to come onto her patch she can I honestly believe hear a fish fart in the pond and its that way she lurks belly down when on the hunt and I laugh when she do,s that funny little bottom shake thing just before she leaps on to her chosen prey I also like Crocs,Gators& Rhino,s because they all seem to be bad tempered things

Answer 5

OK, this is a boring answer, but a valid one, I think. The shark is an amazing creature. It has been around since before the dinosaurs, and it is a perfectly evolved predator. Like the guy said in that film, "Jaws", "it swims, it eats, it makes little sharks; that's all it does." Not as interesting as some of your other answers, but worthy of consideration.

Answer 6

there is an insect that develops for 16 yrs, is born or reborn, whatever then walks up a tree then is eaten by a bird. how unfortunate is that? whats the name of the creature? surely 10 pts?

Answer 7

"the platypus, a creature with very amazing features which are only seen in very diverse species: mammals - mammary glands (all), three ear bones (all), beaver like tail, fur (many); reptiles - cloaca (all) (however, it does have a uterus and as in birds, only one of the ovaries is functional), egg laying (all), poison (snakes) spurs for defense; birds - duck like bill (which is soft however), it breathes through the bill like the duck, duck like webbed feet (however, these feet have claws in the front and spurs in the back); fish - it has an amazing electro receptor (paddle fish) in its bill which allows it to catch prey under water while its eyes are closed and its hearing shut, it also has a very large vocalization range more bird-like than anything found in other mammals (except man)."

Answer 8

Check out Sarah C's picture, it's amazing!
As for me, I like the Horny Devil, it's a spiky lizard, the look amazing enough but what tips the scales is their self-defence mechanism. To ward off predators they bleed out of their eyes.

Answer 9

erm, "supernatural" creatures such as yeti, bigfoot, new england sea monster, etc. also that amazonian fish that has a pair of kind of double--eyes, it can swim on the surface and see above water and below it

Answer 10

Triceratops because they have the courage to fight a Tyrannosaurus rex and are very impressive with their frill and 3 horns.