Be stunned, disgusted and stand in awe at these eight unusual creatures. From angels of the sea to evolved dinosaurs.
We might be able to order food and have it arrive within minutes, and can self-diagnose illnesses online (including hypochondriasis), but we’re not able to survive in space, regenerate and live forever, nor do we have a thousand eyes to see in every direction. But meet eight unusual creatures who can, and some are even in your back garden.
Immortal Jellyfish
Kick-starting our impressive list is the Immortal Jellyfish, also known as Turritopsis dohrnii, and at 4.5 millimetres (smaller than a grain of rice) it’s certainly one of the tiniest around.
But unlike other jellyfish, and pretty much everything else, it has the rare ability of transdifferentiation – meaning it can begin its life cycle all over again. Are they immortal? They certainly have the potential to keep living forever, but prey, environment and, well, also lack of research mean it’s hard to determine their age, what with all the rejuvenating going on.
So how does it do this? First, it’s best to understand that when we picture a jellyfish – tentacles and all – this is in fact the end of a jellyfish’s life cycle. To begin with they start as larvae, before attaching to a hard surface and maturing into polyps. These polyps then break off to form medusae which are the jellyfish we love and know. When an Immortal Jellyfish is hurt/unwell/dying it shrinks and reabsorbs its tentacles (up to 90 of them), before dropping to the sea floor as a transparent blob. Then over a period of 24-36 hours it becomes a polyp once again, and when it buds – medusae break off – each genetically identical to the original jellyfish. So really it is not only potentially immortal, but there could be hundreds to thousands of the same immortal jellyfish, each one starting its life cycle again and potentially forever spawning another “mini-me”. But is there ever an original Immortal Jellyfish? Or are they just clones? Maybe this philosophical question should best be left for someone else to answer.
Image is courtesy of Tony Wills. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Tardigrade
Sci-fi fans may have heard of this amazing creature, and there is certainly something very futuristic about it. Described variously as a hippo crossed with a caterpillar, to a sweet potato with a plunger for a face, it is otherworldly just in looks alone. Also known as Phylum Tardigrada, or the much more pronounceable nicknames of water bear or moss piglet – being a fan of moss and lichens – there are in fact close to 1,300 species of tardigrades.
But what makes them special is the fact that they are extremophiles – meaning they can survive in extremely inhospitable zones – coping with temperatures from below zero to above boiling, can withstand radiation and mountain peaks, as well as high pressures such as those found in the deepest crevices of our oceans and even space! What’s more, they can survive for thirty years without food or water.
How can this be? A tardigrade has two fail-safe measures: firstly, it has a protein – Dsup (damage suppressor) – which protects its DNA, and secondly, they are able to suspend animation by becoming a dehydrated ball, also known as a “tun”. To do this it almost turns in on itself by removing its water, pulling its limbs in and curling into a ball – making it a less than cute hedgehog imitation. It remains in this “tun” state till it’s once again able to survive the environment.
Corvid & House Sparrow
A family of birds, corvidae, is a 120 plus species that includes crows, ravens, magpies and jays. They are an incredibly smart family and have shown themselves to be as intelligent as chimpanzees.
They are also able to fashion twigs into tools – bending the ends into hooks. They can also recognise faces, plan for the future and even hold funerals for the dead – all the ingredients for a crime thriller. What’s more, a group of crows is known as a “murder of crows”. Best treat them well then.
Image is courtesy of Meg Jerrard from Unsplash
Just to add to the nightmares: did you know birds are dinosaurs! Just look at their taloned feet for a start. It might sound like a far-stretch, but thanks to evolution, dinosaurs did in fact evolve to become birds – which is far less dangerous for us humans, whilst you could also argue that dinosaurs are not yet extinct.
But why are dinosaurs compared to house sparrows in particular? Scientists often compare these birds with dinosaurs, simply because they are the most widely distributed bird around the world. So, you could say you have a dinosaur in your very own garden, or better yet, nesting in a tree by your window.
House sparrows live closely with humans – in fact you won’t find them in areas where there aren’t any people, with these little birds preferring cities, towns, villages and farms. They also prefer to do a little boogey with their walk, choosing to hop rather than step forward. Native to Europe and Asia, these little birds have spread their wings and can now be found on every continent except Antarctica.
Image is courtesy of Amee Fairbank-Brown from Unsplash
Wood-eating cockroaches (Salganea taiwanensis)
Most people cringe at the thought of cockroaches, and this is probably going to make it worse – for this species of cockroach chew each other’s wings off. This is known as mutual cannibalism, and scientists believe that this species might do this for the following reasons: reducing mite and mould infection; to help them move more easily in tight spaces; or, as others postulate, to make them better parents – for they can’t leave home without their wings. It may also mean more offspring in the future. Lucky them.
Credit: Haruka Osaki, Eiiti Kasuya. Image of Salganea taiwanensis: the cockroach on the right has eaten the wings of the left cockroach.
© 2021 The Authors. Ethology published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0
West Indian Fuzzy Chiton
A mollusc, chitons are protected by their hard shell and hundreds of embedded rock-eyes – yep that’s right, their shells are covered in eyes. Each eye made of aragonite minerals but with photoreceptors, which mean their eyes work much like our own. However, because they are so small, they are not able to see details, and instead see a very, very blurry, shadow. Although for these little suckers that can make all the difference as they clamp down when detecting predators, while their overlapping shell plates – eyes and all – act as protective armour. If dislodged from the surface the overlapping shell plates allow it to roll into a protective ball, though this isn’t so very protective as they get swallowed whole instead. It’s therefore much better for them to hold on tight.
Image is courtesy of Karl Callwood from Unsplash
Arapaima Gigas
A contender for the largest freshwater fish in the world, you certainly don’t want one of these in your pond, and you would certainly need a really big pond since it can grow up to 10 feet in length and weigh 200kg.
Going where other fish fear to swim, where oxygen levels are too low, the arapaima gigas are able to survive. For these fish can breathe air, thanks to their modified swim bladder which opens in their mouth to function as a lung.
Their diet meanwhile is a little unusual; fruits, seeds, insects, other fish and those that have found themselves unfortunate enough to be on the water’s surface where they get gobbled and chewed on by the arapaima gigas, which can include birds and mammals.
Image is courtesy of Muzina Shanghai, ‘Arapaima Gigas’ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Sea Angel
With such a lovely name and beautiful ethereal appearance, these creatures seem to be exactly what you imagine. But they are a little less pretty when you know they survive in part by eating sea butterflies. But as the chemistry of the sea changes there are less of these butterflies, which in turn means this angel of the seas is endangered.
Sea angels fly (swim) gracefully through the water by flapping their wing-fins (parapodia), but these wings are in fact an evolved muscular foot, and when they are hunting their prey tentacles appear from their head much like a crown. But this crown has the function of hooking onto its prey and pulling it out of its shell.
A shell-less snail themselves, sea angels have a translucent gelatinous body which shows off their internal organs with a red/orange hue. However, they don’t start off this way. They are in fact born with a shell, but due to metamorphosis they later shed their shell. But this isn’t the only change they go through: starting off as males they later change in life to become females (making them protandrous hermaphrodites – males to females).
But love hurts and when these sea angels find a mate, they are left with a nasty scar – having turned their reproductive organs inside-out and latching onto each other in a swirling dance that lasts four hours. When they are due to separate this suction understandably causes some damage.
But they are certainly not frail. In fact, these little angels are little skunks too, able to secrete a chemical that deters predators. Perfect!
Image is courtesy of JesseClagget, Sea Angel, CC BY-NC 2.0
Lilac breasted roller bird
They are just so pretty! And you’d be forgiven for thinking their name comes from looking like they’ve been hit with a roller-brush of colours, but in fact it’s a nickname bestowed on them for their courtship rituals. Flying at a height they suddenly dive downward, swoop and, most importantly, they roll.
And though they look beautiful, do not be fooled by the rainbow colours, as they’ll happily feed on prey escaping bushfires. Nice.
Image is courtesy of Laya Clode from Unsplash
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