. . .
@DuMussDieUhrDruecken said [^](/forum/redirect/post/EJiH4yHU)
> . . .
Maned Wolf
Texas horned lizard.
The lizard shoots blood out of it's eye to deter coyotes
Binturong. It's from the same family as Civet Cat, but the Binturong live in the trees and is huge compared to others species, so it's nicknamed "bear cat".
@DuMussDieUhrDruecken said [^](/forum/redirect/post/EJiH4yHU)
> . . .
Platypus
Which animal generates both eggs and milk? Platypus. Which animal looks like a bird, but is a mammal? Platypus. They also have venom which makes them highly toxic (like everything in Australia) and they used to be a myth because it baffled the first scientists who looked at the creature.
How can this animal NOT be exotic?
Tradigrade pretty well fits all those categories
I don't know much abt "exotic"
But the capybara is the largest rodent on earth and while appearing "chill", has incredibly sharp teeth.
oh, great examples!
what i had in mind is the mimic-octopus .. that one really baffled me when i saw a docu - next level evolution imho
*branchiocerianthus imperator* because i'm a fan of hydroids and hydras. well probably not the "queerest" or whatever but i'm too lazy and this came first to my mind
idk if it wasn't obvious but it's the largest solitary hydroid, largest recorded height being 7.35 ft (2.24m), lives on the deep sea floors
talking about hydroids hydras are probably my favorite animals. they're tiny freshwater cnidarians (both the hydroid mentioned and hydras are in cnidaria btw) related to jellyfish and sea anemones and they're genuinely some of the most ridiculous animals ever
- they're basically biologically immortal, or at least some species show negligible senescence, meaning they don't seem to deteriorate with age under favorable conditions. they can still die from disease, predators, etc. though
- their regeneration is INSANE. you can cut one into pieces and the fragments can regenerate into complete hydras, provided they contain enough of the right cells
- you can literally separate their cells and under the right conditions they'll reassemble themselves into a functioning animal. insane.
- they reproduce asexually by budding, which basically means they grow little miniature versions of themselves out of their bodies until they detach. they're genetically identical to the parent
- they have no brain, heart, lungs, blood, or centralized nervous system. instead they have a relatively simple network of neurons throughout their bodies
- despite having no brain, they can enter sleep-like states, which is especially interesting because it suggests that sleep evolved before brains did
- they move around by doing actual somersaults. they bend over, attach their tentacles to a surface, release their foot, and flip themselves over
- they're carnivorous and use stinging cells called cnidocytes to immobilize tiny aquatic animals like water fleas
- they only have one opening for both eating and expelling waste. so yes they basically eat and poop through the same hole
- THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE PERMANENTLY OPEN MOUTHS. their mouths are normally sealed shut, and whenever they eat they literally tear their own tissue open to create an opening, sometimes stretching it wide enough to swallow prey larger than themselves. then it seals shut again. like wtf
- some species, like *hydra viridissima*, have symbiotic green algae living inside their cells that photosynthesize and provide them with nutrients
- their bodies are constantly renewing themselves through stem cells, which is part of why they're so interesting to scientists studying regeneration and aging
- some hydras can reproduce sexually too, especially in response to unfavorable environmental conditions, and interestingly certain species can actually undergo aging under specific circumstances
they're basically tiny immortal tentacle creatures that can clone themselves, regenerate their entire bodies, rip open their own mouths whenever they want to eat, and sleep without having brains. i love them so much