If it really exists, Salinella , a tube of ciliated cells each of which is internal and external, reported once from Argentina. Weirdest I have seen, maybe Calma, a nudibranch without an anus because it can completely digest its diet of fish eggs, or Sacculina, the parasitic barnacle that castrates crabs and turns male hosts into females! Weirdo that I want to see, the velvet worm, Peripatus. Any advice on this one welcome!
Peripatus are common in New Zealand forests. Turn over a few logs and you'll find them eventually. I'd imagine the same would be true in South America's southern beech forests. Various species are sold in the pet trade in Europe and America too, but I don't know how commonly or where you'd actually find one.
You may have seen this already but I read this article on the BBC in the last couple of days which I think you may find interesting. It makes the tardigrade even more fascinating. The indestructible 'water bears' stuck on the moon
About as weird as the amoeba Pelomyxa palustris, which I have seen alive. It is another eukaryote which lacks mitochondria, but has symbiotic bacteria (and a marked dislike of antibiotics!)
When I get to New Zealand to chase down the endemic bird families, I’ll contact you for further advice...
Breathing is not the same as respiration. Mitochondria, lacking in both these wired organisms, are the organelles which carry out respiration, ie energy release from food molecules. Both rely on other organisms doing this for them; the host for Henneguya, and the symbiotic bacteria for Pelomyxa. It then becomes a matter of choice whether it is weirder to have always done this differently (Pelomyxa) or to have lost the ability to do it for oneself (Henneguya). Basically, Henneguya is not as unique as the journalists would have you believe, but, unlike Pelomyxa it is undeniably an animal. Mind you, I still like Pelomyxa‘s claim to weirdness as a single cell easily visible to the naked eye, and most easily found in a pond formerly used to prepare elephant skeletons for display by letting the flesh rot off!
Mammal: For me, it's probably the Echidna. It's like a cross between a hedgehog and an anteater, but you make it 95% hedgehog. It's just an animal with the weird look. Bird: Probably the Cassowary. It has a weird mesh of colours, and it looks like something an abstract painter would paint it as. It just seems like you got a default ratite skin then pressed the random button. Reptile: Mata-Mata turtle. Just the face looks so weird. Looks like little tentacles on it's face. Amphibian: Probably all the Caecilians for me. The weirdness that they look like a snake but are so different at the same time is very weird for me. Fish: For me, always Lungfish. They look like an eel, but can somehow walk on land. It's a remarkable creature though, and I definitely would want to learn more about it. Invertebrate: Do I even have to explain what makes this...thing weird?
For mammals, it's gotta be the Saiga. Something about it's weird tapir-like nose rubs me the wrong way. Birds, maybe kiwis and kakapos, and also ocellated turkeys. Pelicans always freaked me out. I don't know for reptiles, but caecilians are the weirdest amphibians. Worms in general are unnerving, except earthworms. I'm done with lanternflies on this entire planet. Also, here is a kakapo that doesn't know what a female is:
Yes, I would most definitely second that. For me there are actually very few animals and particularly vertebrates which come to close to being as weird and wonderful as the axolotl (maybe the tuatara, aye-aye, solenodon and echidna come somewhat close). You have the bizarre biological characteristics such as it's evolutionary history, the neotenic life cycle , potential to metamorphose and the mindblowing ability to regenerate it's own limbs and organs (something I've actually witnessed on numerous occasions). Then of course there are the human / ethnozoological dimensions of how this animal was perceived in Aztec mythology and its use as a metaphor in modern philosophy , anthropology, poetry and literature. Not to mention the utility studying this creature has had (and will continue to have) for modern medicine and its search for cures and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, cancers and third degree burns. There is also the total paradox of this salamander being both a popular pet and standard laboratory animal kept around the world as a "model organism" and the jarring reality of how close it is to extinction in the wild. I think all of these things make it even more worthy of the conservation funding and attention given to the large mammal species and birds (but unfortunately I don't see that as ever being likely to happen).
Hahaha an instant classic with Sirocco. For weirdest mammal i'd either say Saiga, Naked Mole Rat or Proboscis Monkey. EDIT: For weirdest amphibian definitely Australian Lace Lid.
Definitely an interesting thought- that we are the weirdest animal species. I mean, we are the self-proclaimed smartest species, yet are also the only one actively trying to destroy other species.
