(upbeat music)
- [Voiceover] Number 10, the thorny dragon.
More commonly known as the thorny devil,
this creature's named after Moloch,
the god of human sacrifice.
Found only in the Australian subcontinent,
these horned creatures consume thousands of ants
every single day.
Thorny devils have a strange knoblike appendage
on the back of their necks, which serves as a false head.
When threatened, the lizard hide its real head
behind its forelegs, leaving its false head in its place.
Number nine, the hummingbird hawk-moth.
This bizarre-looking moth can be found everywhere,
from Portugal to Japan,
yet few people are even aware of its existence.
Sharing the distinct appearance of hummingbirds, moths,
and hawks simultaneously, this hummingbird can be identified
by the audible hum it makes while feeding.
Number eight, the gerenuk.
The gerenuk means giraffe-necked in the Somali language,
and the gerenuk certainly lives up to its name.
A gerenuk can spend its entire life without drinking water.
This is because gerenuks can obtain
all the moisture they need from the plants they consume.
Unlike other antelope species which feed on the ground,
gerenuks stand on their hinds and often use their forelegs
to pull down tree branches,
making them a unique combination
between antelopes and giraffes.
Number seven, the mantis shrimp.
Despite their exotic appearance, the mantis shrimp
is actually a perfectly design killing machine.
Its claws strike at its targets so fast
that they move at the speed of a .22 caliber bullet.
This striking movement is so fast, in fact,
that water actually vaporizes around
where the mantis shrimp strikes,
often emitting visible light during the process.
Number six, the red lipped batfish.
The red lipped batfish is a bottom-dwelling fish
that travels across the ocean floors
with modified fins that it uses to quote unquote
walk across the ocean floor instead of swimming.
Because the red lipped batfish is incapable of swimming,
it preys on small moving crustaceans
and can only be found traveling on the sea floor
near the Galapagos Islands.
Number five, the blue parrotfish.
The blue parrotfish is most known
for its bright aqua blue color.
This species of fish primarily consumes algae for its food.
To harvest algae and coral reefs,
the blue parrotfish uses it blunt snout
and grinding teeth to scrape of algae from rocks.
This evolutionary quirk gives the blue parrotfish
the awkward facial expression that it is most known for.
Number four, the saiga.
This unique creature certainly has a distinct appearance.
Found primarily in Central Asia,
the saiga is thought to be a cross species
of antelope and sheep.
The most distinctive feature on the head of the saiga
is its nose.
Although it looks weird, this nose prevents dust
from entering its lungs during the summer
and warms the cold air before reaching the lungs
during the winter.
Unfortunately, as of this video's release,
the saiga is critically endangered.
Number three, the aye aye.
Out of all the creatures on this list,
this one is probably the most disturbing.
In many ways, the aye aye resembles Gollum
from the Lord of the Rings movies.
Found exclusively in Madagascar, these rare animals
may not look like primates at first glance,
but they are, in fact, related to chimpanzees, apes,
and even humans, so in many ways we have a lot more
in common with the aye aye than we'd like to think.
The aye aye is a nocturnal creature,
which explains its unnerving and disheveled appearance.
Hunting coupled with habitat destruction
have made the aye aye critically endangered.
Number two, the okapi.
The okapi are actually the only living relative
of the giraffe.
Found exclusively in the Congo,
although closely resembling a horse,
the okapi has a relatively long neck,
although not as long as its giraffe cousins.
Today, the okapi has been placed
under near threatened status
as it has lost its habitat to human settlement.
And number one on the list is the liger.
Even today, if you ask most people
if they think ligers are real creatures,
they'll insist that the liger is just a Photoshopped hoax.
The truth is, though, ligers are 100% real,
although they can only be found in captivity.
Ligers are created by pairings between a male lion
and a female tiger.
Their offspring are called ligers
and often suffer from gigantism.
Unfortunately, the liger is more a quirk
or genetics and nature than an actual species
as ligers overall have extremely low fertility rates.
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