Top 10 Animals With Totally Crazy Body Parts

Sponge’s “Brain”

Although modern sponges are brainless animals, some scientists believe that this was not always the case. These marine invertebrates may once have had, if not true brains, something similar to them.

Mantis Shrimp’s Eyes

The mantis shrimp’s bulging compound eyes, set on stalks, are so incredible they seem unreal. Unlike human eyes (and those of most other animals, including those of other arthropods), the mantis shrimp’s eyes are not equipped with single lenses through which light funnels onto a retina. Instead, the light-sensitive receptor cells at the surface of the shrimp’s eyes enable them to detect wavelengths of light in the visible, the infrared, and the ultraviolet spectra.

Sheepshead Fish’s Teeth

The sheepshead fish’s teeth are so bizarre they are downright unsettling. They are not the huge, jagged teeth most fish flash. Instead, they are fairly even and similar in size to one another. The fish has teeth that look much like human incisors, canine teeth, premolars, and molars.

Earwig’s Wings

The wings of the earwig are marvels of natural development. The arthropod lives on the ground. A glance at the insect, of which there are over 2,000 species, would not suggest that they have wings that, together, are twice the size of their bodies.

Harvestman’s Legs

For many, the harvestman is better known by one species among them, the daddy longlegs. The harvestman has eight legs, but, although it is an arachnid, it is neither an insect nor a spider, nor, as some believe, is the harvestman venomous. The harvestman’s most astonishing, totally bizarre body parts are its legs and not only because of their length.

Tentacled Snake’s Tentacles

The appendages that grow from the face of the tentacled snake are unique. No other snake on the planet is so equipped. If its tentacles also make the reptile look rather sinister, its approach to hunting, author Bec Crew says, is downright “diabolical.”

Spanish Ribbed Newt’s Ribs

The Spanish ribbed newt doesn’t use its ribs just for the support of its abdomen. According to Matt Walker, an editor at Earth News, when it is under attack, the newt “pushes out its ribs until they pierce through its body, exposing a row of bones that act like poisonous barbs.” Astonishingly, the newt is none the worse for having adopted this bizarre defense maneuver.

Shoebill Stork’s Bill

Although humans are not on the menu of the shoebill stork, baby alligators are part of the bird’s diet, as are such fare as lungfish, eels, . . . catfish, and . . . crazy stuff like Nile monitor lizards [and] snakes,” writer Nicholas Lund observes.

Venomous Platypus’s Feet

More animals than might be thought have really strange feet. One of the most bizarre of these body parts are those of the venomous platypus. Mindy Weisberger’s description of the platypus itself also perfectly captures the appearance of their feet in particular: they do, indeed, “look like they were stitched together by a rogue taxidermist from the [feet] of unrelated animals, as a prank.”

Proboscis Monkey’s Proboscis (and Penis)

As its name implies, the homely proboscis monkey has a strange-looking nose. Although the animal’s name doesn’t suggest that any other part of its body is in any way bizarre, the male of the species has a penis that can only be described as totally bizarre.