Our world of strange and amazing creatures

[JBC]

The armored Ground Pangolin of Africa is an anteater that looks like a walking artichoke. It's one of the cutest animals I've ever seen.


The Helicoprion which survived an extinction event far worse than the famous impact at Chicxulub that killed the dinosaurs. This cataclysm ended 57% of life on Earth as a whole and 96% of all life in the ocean, but since it was 250 million years ago no one is sure what caused it. Either way, you have to be pretty badass to get through something like that. The fossilized remains of it's lower jaw are all we have ever found of it which leads me to suspect the artists aren't being imaginative enough with the rest of it's body.


The terrifying Solpugid hails from a species that in some parts of the world grow large enough for camels to become a part of their regular diet.


I suspect the alien Black Dragonfish glows in the dark so that you will be filled with delicious terror by the time it sinks it's jagged teeth into you. Contrary to popular belief they do feed near the surface at night.


The vivid Mandrill, widely known but a personal favorite. They have a fairly complex societal structure for primates and have been observed to coexist in hordes of over a thousand.


The unearthly Basking Shark looks like it has a hole for a head when it's jaw is fully open.

[Drum]

Awesome thread.

Just posting this while it's on my clipboard:

http://vimeo.com/14413689

This little guy was just saved from the brink of extinction by some nice Australian environmentalists.
How you fit all that stick insect into that itty bitty egg I do not understand.

[drauch]

"The terrifying Solpugid hails from a species that in some parts of the world grow large enough for camels to become a part of their regular diet."

A thousand times wrong. So wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. Sorry, pet peeve coming in to action. My love for arachnology and entomology is far greater than my love for video games, so this is a must. Solupugids, or "camel spiders' as they are usually known, do not eat camels, large animals, or chew on people and break down their body and go 30 mph and grow the size of a tanker and scream when they run and yada yada yada. Ever since the whole US/Iraq thing and silly pictures this crap has been blown out of proportion. Most of the order Solifugae grow to be about 3-4 inches and eat other arthropods and on occasion snakes and lizards.

Sorry! Great thread and with prime candidates so far, just wanted to clear that up a bit... .Pangolins are so awesome. I didn't realize they weren't of the dinosaur variety until I found a toy of one a few years ago and looked it up!

And before anyone asks, Daddy-Long-Legs aren't fucking poisonous.

[JBC]

I've always understood that they pack on the animals, each spider individually adding weight and damaging tissue until it collapses. They are carnivorous.

I had to deal with the smaller North American ones when I lived in Arizona and they still had a set of jaws you could easily stick a quarter between. I can't imagine being anywhere close to one that got any bigger. They are very territorial and would run at me in a circular arc. Disgusting.

[drauch]

Yeah, that is one of the rumors. They only eat things much smaller or near the same size much like other arachnids. They also don't have venom or break down tissue.

[JBC]

Yeah, that is one of the rumors. They only eat things much smaller or near the same size much like other arachnids.

I wouldn't put it past them just yet. They do attack humans aggressively just for being within their vicinity. My understanding relies on the assumption that they'll work together as a pack or at the very least nest near each other, each one instinctively latching on to a slower moving creature if it happens to wander into their territory. I've never been overseas myself so it's possible they gained their namesake by some other means. It's also possible that they'll act this way only when deprived of sustenance for extended periods. After all, they do live in the desert. Honestly, I hope you're right!

[ChainsawGuitarSP]

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[TrevHead (TVR)]

Male Angler Fish http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsmxs0uDXMo

[GaijinPunch]

This thread needs a close up pussy shot. Every gotten a good look at one by itself?

[shmuppyLove]

This thread needs a close up pussy shot. Every gotten a good look at one by itself?

TERRIFYING

[Moniker]

This thread needs a close up pussy shot. Every gotten a good look at one by itself?

Thanks for reminding me of the most harrowing music video ever. No, I'm not gonna search for the thread.

[CMoon]

[BryanM]

Can we get some of those man-eating catfish up in here?

[maxlords]

Lampreys are really disturbing! They're all over the place back home....attach to salmon and suck their blood. I've seen a creek with 100+ of those things thrashing about at one time before *shiver*

[BPzeBanshee]

And before anyone asks, Daddy-Long-Legs aren't fucking poisonous.

Thought I might add that while Daddy-Long-Legs can refer to either the standard said spider or harvestmen, neither are poisonous, the latter having no venom glands. Not too sure about the former, but Wiki says the idea came from something about them hunting Black Widows and people thinking "well if they kill those beastly things then they must have more poison than them".

Also, wow! Those worm things look like Goa'uld symbiotes.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

During the age of dinosaurs, some scientists found eight fossils of huge ancient fleas almost an inch long. Big suckers indeed. The couldn't jump but they could crawl. Talk about huge insects during that time like with dragonflies with six to seven foot wingspans & the like.

Sounds like a new novel idea for a monster horror movie of the week with them huge fleas running amok on the SyFy Channel.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[drauch]

And before anyone asks, Daddy-Long-Legs aren't fucking poisonous.

Thought I might add that while Daddy-Long-Legs can refer to either the standard said spider or harvestmen, neither are poisonous, the latter having no venom glands. Not too sure about the former, but Wiki says the idea came from something about them hunting Black Widows and people thinking "well if they kill those beastly things then they must have more poison than them".

Also, wow! Those worm things look like Goa'uld symbiotes.

Well, there are actually three arthropods that are commonly called "daddy-long-legs": The crane fly, the cellar spider, and the most common: the harvestmen. Calling a harvestmen a Daddy-long-legs is generally the most accepted, for both the Crane Fly and the Cellar Spider have fairly similar looking legs, despite one being an insect and having wings and the other a web-spinner. How in the hell people get a large flying insect confused with an arachnid is beyond me.

[Moniker]

How in the hell people get a large flying insect confused with an arachnid is beyond me.

Because they're both big and freaking insane looking. God, I hate nature.

[drauch]

How in the hell people get a large flying insect confused with an arachnid is beyond me.

Because they're both big and freaking insane looking. God, I hate nature.

Yeah, fair enough. I generally forget that most people hate small crawly things and could care less. Why I was born with such an infatuation I will never know.

[RNGmaster]

Lampreys

SHAI-HULUD!

Turn off your shield or you'll be swallowed!

I have heard that lampreys are apparently delicious, though, which makes up for their appearance.

[Casey120]

Fun thread

[GaijinPunch]

Name: Japanese Gyaru
Species: Lemur:
Usually Found in: Shibuya and Harajuku areas of Shibuya Ward, Tokyo
Characteristics: Often walks with new-born giraffe legs. Lives in a world of ultra-modern fashion, and ultra-vintage junk grooming habits. Proceed with caution.

[Casey120]

She no fun !

[sven666]

Proceed with caution.

In case of encounter: hit it then dump it for maximum satisfaction!

[system11]

God I hate arachnids. Nearly every last one of them. The only ones I like are commonly called Cellar Spiders here. Some people call them Daddy Long Legs, which is pointless since that can mean 3 different things. These ones are briliant spiders though:

1) They don't look very scary.
2) They're slow and clumsy outside of their webs.
3) They don't get very big (although a stored pinball machine did contain one nearly 4 inches across at the legs which is very unusual).
4) THEY EAT HOUSE SPIDERS - which are big, ugly, fast, agile and frankly terrifying.

[Leader Bee]

Name: Japanese Gyaru
Species: Lemur:
Usually Found in: Shibuya and Harajuku areas of Shibuya Ward, Tokyo
Characteristics: Often walks with new-born giraffe legs. Lives in a world of ultra-modern fashion, and ultra-vintage junk grooming habits. Proceed with caution.

As weird as she looks i don't find her un-attractive.

[drauch]

God I hate arachnids. Nearly every last one of them. The only ones I like are commonly called Cellar Spiders here. Some people call them Daddy Long Legs, which is pointless since that can mean 3 different things. These ones are briliant spiders though:

1) They don't look very scary.
2) They're slow and clumsy outside of their webs.
3) They don't get very big (although a stored pinball machine did contain one nearly 4 inches across at the legs which is very unusual).
4) THEY EAT HOUSE SPIDERS - which are big, ugly, fast, agile and frankly terrifying.

Yeah, the Cellar Spider is about the most harmless thing around. They sit in the same spot for days--how terrifying!

[BIL]

4) THEY EAT HOUSE SPIDERS - which are big, ugly, fast, agile and frankly terrifying.

This unsettles me a bit. I grew up in the caribbean, where our common house spider still creeps me the hell out. Totally harmless but they hide anywhere imaginable and are often about a hand's span in size. Having moved to northern England the only spiders I've seen in my house over a decade or so could fit on a thumbnail. Maybe I shouldn't feel so complacent, as I do plan on moving elsewhere in the country when the time is right. Ugh. I'd rather deal with smaller poisonous spiders than the gangly skittering things we get back home.

[CMoon]

Pastries vs. Possum!

[BulletMagnet]

Those in this thread who aren't fans of spiders might not want to see this.

Currently keeping an eye out for similar circumstances involving Gyarus.