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Bored Panda

Mantas Kačerauskas

People Are Sharing The Most Unique, Strange And Unbelievable Animals That Actually Exist

Just when we thought we've seen it all, up pops some bizarre but adorable-looking animal that we never even knew existed. It's almost like unlocking a secret level in a video game...

The reality is that Earth is far more creative than many of us give it credit for. And Mother Nature really does have a lot of tricks and surprises up her sleeve. If you've never seen bagworms, tiger quolls or greasefish before, you're not alone.

There's an online community called "Animals I Didn't Know Existed." It has around 29,000 weekly visitors. And as the name suggests, it's dedicated to sharing posts about rare, unusual and lesser-known creatures - great and small.

Some are strange mash-ups that look like nature's version of a mythical hybrid. Others could have walked straight out of a fantasy novel. Then there are those that deserve to be in a sci-fi film. And, of course, let's not forget the cuties that could audition for a Disney cartoon.

Bored Panda has put together a list of the most weird and wonderful animals featured on the page for you to scroll through while you contemplate getting an unexpected exotic pet. Don't forget to upvote your favorites.

#1 Tiger Quoll (Dasyurus Maculatus)

Image credits: Rivas-al-Yehuda

It's highly unlikely you'll see every type of animal on the planet. And that's because there are just too many. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.

It tracks the number of described species and updates this figure annually based on the latest work of taxonomists. In case you're wondering, taxonomists are biologists who specialize in identifying and classifying life on the planet.

In 2022, the IUCN listed 2.16 million species on earth. This included 1.05 million insects, over 11,000 birds, more than 11,000 reptiles, and more than 6,000 mammals. And those are only the ones known to experts.

#2 The Rarely-Seen Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista Petaurista)

Image credits: reddit.com

#3 "Ghost Birds" - A Name For A Type Of Potoo (Family Nyctibiidae) That Is Found In The Amazon Basin

Image credits: Stundesagte

In 1998, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) noted that "more than 200 years after biologists began naming and classifying the world´s plants and animals, they still do not know how many species exist. Estimates range from 3 million to 100 million or even more."

The NWF said that around 13,000 more species are added to the list of known creatures every year. And while a large portion of the world´s mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and flowering plants are named, there are loads more species to be listed.

#4 I've Know About Draco Lizards(Genus: Draco) For Awhile But I Wanted To Share

Image credits: JeweltheTiger

#5 Jaguarundi (Herpailurus Yagouaroundi) Closest Relative Of The Mountain Lion

Image credits: Lita-Yuzuki

#6 Theloderma Corticale Also Know As Vietnamese Mossy Frog

Image credits: weirdbutok5

"The lion´s share of unknown species are small, mostly microscopic organisms that live in some of Earth´s least-accessible habitats: beneath the ground, in the deep sea, in the crowns of tropical trees, and on the backs or in the guts of other creatures," explains the NWF.

"Such insects, worms, mites, fungi, bacteria and other tiny life forms are what Harvard University biologist Edward O. Wilson calls 'the black hole of taxonomy.' Unimaginably abundant, their numbers could alter overall species totals by a factor of 10 or more," it adds.

#7 Male Violet-Backed Starling (Cinnyricinclus Leucogaster)

Image credits: AcidNeku

#8 Nyala (Tragelaphus Angasii): Real-Life Forest Spirit?

Image credits: H_G_Bells

#9 The Dik-Dik Antelope Refers To 4 Species Of The Genus Madoqua. This Is The Silver Dik-Dik (Madoqua Piacentinii), The Smallest Of The Genus, Native To Somalia And Ethiopia. Full Sized Ranges From 4-6.5 Pounds Max. They Have Sharp Hooves And Mark Their Territory With Their Tears!

Image credits: SunOnTheInside

A 2018 PLOS Biology study revealed that 86% of all land and 91% of sea species had not been discovered yet.

When it comes to the number of animals, not species, here a few fun facts... Chickens outnumber humans on earth by a staggering four chickens to each person on earth. "That translates into 26.5 billion chickens for 8.1 billion humans," notes the World Animal Foundation (WAF).

The most common animal in the world is the ant, says the WAF. "With an estimated population of around 10 quadrillion (10,000,000,000,000,000) individuals, ants are incredibly numerous and found in almost every terrestrial habitat on Earth," reads the site.

#10 Chrysina Limbata, A Species Of Scarab Beetle Found In Costa Rica And The Rainforests Of South America

Image credits: CommandersLog

#11 Endangered Canid Native To Asia, The 'Dhole' (Cuon Alpinus)

Image credits: cetacean-station

#12 Cochranella Euknemos - Glass Frog

Image credits: alewiina

"When it comes to creatures that are not big or fuzzy, what we don´t know is a percentage somewhere in the double digits," says director of the Texas Memorial Museum and president of the Association of Systematics Collections (ASC), Edward Theriot.

A sentiment echoed by George Washington University microbiologist Diana Lipscomb. "We don´t even know enough to tell you what we don´t know," she said.