There are more than 2.15 million animal species worldwide, each with its peculiarities. The peculiarities cut across their lifespan, feeding, mating, life, death, and more. Today, we are looking at 10 of the most bizarre animal facts you will ever encounter.
1. Some animals have many brains
Humans and many other animals have only a single brain, but some have many. The octopus, for instance, has as many as 9 brains. While each is different from the other, they are still connected and communicate with each other.
Leeches outdo octopus by having as many as 32 brains. Each of its brian is found on different segments of its body.
2. Some animals Mate Themselves To Death
The male antechinuses is one of the animals that die during sex. Before it turns one, it will go out in search of a partner to mate and it will never come back. During the mating process which may last for hours, this animal will deplete all its sperm and then its immune system will give way. Its fur will all fall away, and it will bleed internally, leading to its death.
A more interesting story among animals that live to mate and die is that of the Twisted-wing parasites. The female lives inside of insects such as bees or wasps, but her butt sticks out for the make to mate with her. Once this happens, the male flies away to his death while the female is left to hatch and brood her babies who in return, feed on their mother from the inside out.
3. The deadliest animal is one of the smallest
It is easy for humans to think hippos are the most dangerous animals in the world, but it is not so. The most dangerous animals in the world are mosquitos. They are directly responsible for the death of close to a million people each year. They are followed distantly by snakes, causing the death of over 100,000 each year.
4. There are animals that have multiple hearts
Unlike many others that have a heart or two, Hagfish brags of having 4 hearts that all serve to pump blood and maintain blood pressure. Octopus has as many as three hearts while Cockroach is yet another that has more than a heart. It has two hearts, one is located in its head and the other is in its abdomen.
5. Some animals can sleep for more than 20 hours a day
With only 24 hours in a day, some animals only have 4 hours to spend as they sleep for around 20 hours or more. Koala is on this list. They sleep for as much as 20 to 22 hours because of their feeding habit. They feed on eucalyptus which is very toxic so their digestive system works very hard to break down the food, This leaves them with little energy to do anything else apart from sleep.
Sloth is the next animal that sleeps for very long hours. It sleeps for as much as 20 hours in a day, while brown bat sleeps for 19.9 hours.
6. Even with their heads cut off, some animals can still live
A human can survive only a few minutes without his head, but other animals can live for much longer. The Cockroach can live for weeks without a head before it dies of starvation. Interestingly, the head can also survive on its own for a while before dying.
Earthworm is also another animal that survives when the head is cut off. It can always regenerate from the tail down and live a normal life. However, the head will die off.
7. Some animals have thousands of teeth
An adult human has a total of 32 teeth but many animals have much more. Snails have a total of 25,000 teeth which is lower than the teeth of animals with the highest number of teeth some species of sharks that can have up to 30,000 teeth in a lifetime. There is also the sea-dwelling Rainbow Slug which has over 700,000 teeth.
8. The shortest-living animal only lives for 24 hours
The mayfly is the shortest living animal in the world with a lifespan of only 24 hours. The only thing they do in their short life is to mate as their mouths in the final stages do not even get to develop. In another twist, the mayfly is considered to be the oldest flying insect species that is still in existence.
Other animals that have a very short lifespan are the Sign Eviota which lives for 59 days, the American Copper which lives for only 2 weeks, Labord’s Chameleon which can live for only 4 to 5 months, and then the Giant Sunda Rat which lives for only between 6 months to a year.
See Also: 13 Mysterious Places That Scientists Still Can’t Explain
9. Some male animals through pregnancy and give birth to babies
Unlike all other animals where females are known to get pregnant and have babies. there are some animals for which it is the other way around. The male seahorse is the one that carries the baby and delivers rather than the female. All that the female does is transfer the eggs she produces to the enclosed brood pouch of the male to fertilize and deliver.
Seadragons are also known to have the same practice.
10. Some animals can change their gender
In the natural state of animals, some are born either male or female, while others are born with both male and female features or sex organs. Some can switch biologically from male to female or vice versa at different points.
They include clownfish which can switch to another sex if there is a need. The bigger clownfish is always the female but if something happens to the female, her mate can become a female and then choose a male for itself.
This is also happening among some species of frogs which have been found to change their sex with fully functioning reproductive organs. Other fish species such as hawkfish, sea bass, and humphead wrasse experience the same thing.
